May 2024

The Class of 1974 celebrates 50 years at the home of Brian Melius ’74 and Jennifer Tuero Melius ’75.

The Class of 1984 celebrates 40 years at the home of Tracey Moore.

The Class of 1994 celebrates 30 years at the home of Whitney Samuel Drennan.

Tootie Conway is honored with the Dorothy Porter Service Award during Alumni Chapel, and joined by her children Kim ’87, Jason ’95, and Elizabeth ’91.

Several members of the Class of 1964 gather on the steps of the Van Slate House.

The St. Martin's chapter of the National Honor Society inducts its newest members.

Congratulations, Class of 2024! Collectively, these Saints have earned more than $5,475,000 in scholarship awards for college. During graduation on Thursday, May 30, the valedictorian and salutatorian spoke from their hearts to their classmates and teachers, reminding them to enjoy the moment and to cherish the value of these special StM friendships.

Salutatorian Patrick LaForge, Jr. reminded his classmates that they “will always have the support from the people in this room to help you get through any hard times.” Valedictorian and 13-Year Club member Gabrielle Rubin reminded her classmates to hold on to these important “moments before they become memories....Our time at St. Martin’s has been fun, but it has also been life-changing. Our memories are what help us appreciate the small things in life. We must learn to live in the moment and cherish the now. We must learn to enjoy every second of life before it fades into a memory.”

Talk about the classes and teachers who stand out the most in your memory.

I came to St. Martin’s in Middle School, in the 7th grade, and I remember being way behind in grammar. Coming from a public school in Georgia, and then having Eileen Beckman, was something! I remember she gave me extra work over Christmas break, in adverbs, specifically. She was an amazing teacher, but I don't think I thought that over that particular Christmas break! I also remember our class’ 8th grade trip to the Y.O. Ranch in Kerrville, Texas. We took the train, and I remember playing cards on the trip with Bill Rosenbaum, who was our Social Studies teacher at the time. It was special that he moved up to the Upper School, and I had him again my senior year for Psychology.

So many teachers stand out in my memories. My senior year, I remember, I took one semester of Shakespeare’s comedies and one on tragedies with June Wells. I’ll never forget how Wayne Lumpkin could turn one hand hot and one hand cold! I had Rex Mooney; he was our History teacher and College Counselor. I remember that Warren Lind was completing his student teaching in my Zoology class when I was in 9th grade. I had Jim Marsalis for Algebra II, and I did pretty well. I can’t forget Jane Schmidt, our Upper School administrative assistant. We all loved her and called her “Aunt Jane”! I could go on and on.

I was really into the arts as a student; I loved Carole Lawrence’s dance classes and being a part of the performances. I remember I played Frenchy in Grease, and Ado Annie in Oklahoma under Mrs. Lawrence’s direction. I also loved drama classes, and pottery and art with Carolyn Boone and Shirley Timmrick.

What do you enjoy most about teaching Middle School?

Well, for one thing, the students make me laugh; they crack me up, and they keep me feeling young. This is the first year that I’ve taught Religion to all Middle School grades. We focus on the Hebrew Scriptures in fifth grade, and study the New Testament in sixth, then church history in seventh, and finally, world religions in eighth grade. I enjoy witnessing them starting to think about what they believe in, as well as seeing them begin to develop empathy for other people and other cultures. 

I also teach seventh and eighth grade English. Both years we focus on social issue elements with a mixture of fiction and nonfiction stories that explore religious and racial differences, and we take a cross-curricular focus with what they’re learning in American History as well. In addition, I teach Shakespeare in both grades. I love being the first one to teach them Shakespeare; it’s fun. They think it’s going to be so hard at first, and I love watching them realize that they actually do get it!

You are the new president of the Alumni Council. What are your plans for this group and how would you like to see more alumni get involved? 

I have always enjoyed being a pretty involved alumna; I remember when I first graduated, a group of us would come back to the Martin Family Library and host a phone tree. We’d call our old classmates to catch up and then, of course, ask them to donate to the school! Even when I moved away, I would still try to stay in touch and give back. Patti Riess Micklin was our class agent forever, then I took over when I moved back and started teaching here a few years ago. I have always tried to keep a core group of classmates together. We celebrate birthdays and milestones together and even travel across the country to stay in touch. 

Alumni Weekend has always been a favorite of mine, and I really love the Spirits Party. I want to do more events that take place over a whole weekend. Alumni Chapel and the tours on Friday were wonderful; we even had a group stay to eat lunch on campus! This year’s Alumni Weekend was particularly special - I celebrated my 60th birthday the day of the Spirits Party, which was great because I was able to be with family and so many classmates. 

I also really enjoy Fall Fellowship. This past year, I worked with the Class of ’73 to help them extend their reunion, which they started during Alumni Weekend 2023, into Homecoming weekend. This is a great model and I want to try to invite more classes to do this. 

The Alumni Council has been reaching out to alumni across all decades and encouraging more people to be involved with the school and the many activities we have. One of my main goals in this role is to help re-engage our newest alumni, and get more of these young Saints back to campus. I want to help our younger alumni feel how special it is to come back here and reconnect with the school and fellow classmates. For example, with the Class of ’82, I might not see my classmates for years, but we can easily pick up right where we left off like it’s been no time at all. Even though we went off to college and had different life experiences, we stayed connected. When you’ve known someone’s youth, you have a closeness and comfort with them. It’s a different connection from what you have with your college friends or work buddies. It’s just so special because we grew up together. 

What I want our alumni to know is that we all share something special. We all have that same feeling of connectedness, as Saints, despite graduating years apart. You’re “always a Saint!”

Alumni, you helped raise $32,786.05 on GiveNOLA Day this year! Thank you! Additionally, StM placed in the top 3% of 1,003 nonprofits participating in GiveNOLA Day, and in the top 10 of 223 schools. Special thanks to Bert Wilson ’77 for his generous matching offer that helped us reach this goal. The support of St. Martin’s on GiveNOLA Day serves as a shining example of the collective power of the generosity of our incredible community. We couldn’t be more grateful for the support from our alumni for your alma mater!

We invite you to send us your career triumphs and milestones with us so that we can share them with the community here and on our social media channels. Tag us on Instagram and Facebook, or email alumni@stmsaints.com to submit your news. #AlwaysASaint

Hans Luetkemeier ’84, who just celebrated his 40-year reunion, has been named the new president of the Dupuy Group, a global logistics provider servicing ports in New Orleans, Charleston, Houston, and Jacksonville. He will oversee all of Dupuy’s operations and lead its future business strategy.

Roby Arensman ’91 has been named Director of Enrollment Management. He is tasked with the strategic oversight of the school’s enrollment efforts, from prospective families’ first contact with StM through Saints’ experience as students. Arensman brings two decades of management experience in diverse yet related fields of hospitality, sales, and business management. Arensman is no stranger to StM, having been connected to the school for more than 45 years. He is a member of the 13-Year Club and a graduate of the Class of 1991, as well as the parent of two alumni.

Peterson Harter ’03’s San Francisco-based muffuletta shop, Sandy’s Muffs, has been recognized by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the city’s best restaurants.

Hunter Monsour ’04 was recently named a partner with Wexford Real Estate Investors, a real estate investment and development firm based in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is the Vice President of Investments and Development.

Conway Solomon ’10 is the co-creator of the live events management startup WRISTBND. The company was recently purchased by AXS, the ticketing subsidiary of live events giant AEG. Solomon is excited to help his Elmwood-based company, which manages the post-gate experience at live events, continue to grow under the new ownership. 

Christine Catinis ’12 was one of the featured speakers during Digestive Disease Week in Washington, D.C., the world’s leading educational forum for gastroenterology, hepatology, GI endoscopy, gastrointestinal surgery, and related fields. 

Jessica LeCoq ’16 earned her J.D. from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. 

Lillian Doskey ’18 received her white coat in April 2024 as a symbol of transition from didactic schoolwork to the upcoming year of clinical rotations. She is in her third year of physical therapy school at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in Baton Rouge.

Rimi Mandal ’18 completed her Master of Science (M.S.) in epidemiology from Tulane.

Andrew Gary ’20 graduated with distinction and honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a degree in history and peace, war, and defense. Andrew was honored with Chancellor’s Awards, including the Cazel Prize for excellence in History; the Albert and Gladys Hall Coates award, which recognizes an outstanding member of the Student Congress; and the John Johnston Parker, Jr. Medal for Unique Leadership in Student Government. He will pursue his master’s in public health in the fall at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and this summer, he will be working with Brady United as part of their Team ENOUGH youth organizing program. 

Alexis Akers ’23, last year’s salutatorian and member of Furman’s prestigious Shuckers Fellows Program, is currently enrolled in a three-week experience studying International Perspectives on Public Education, traveling to both Finland and the Czech Republic.

• Homecoming and Fall Fellowship - Friday, September 27, 2024
• Annual Golf Tournament - Friday, November 8, 2024 at Chateau Golf & Country Club

What are some of your favorite memories from your time at St. Martin’s?

Email our Alumni Office to share your memories and photos!

Senior Favorites - Mr. and Miss St. Martin’s

As St. Martin’s graduated its first senior class in 1951, Eugenie Stoll and Bill Doswell were recognized for their outstanding loyalty and devotion to the school. This tradition would later become the annual naming of Mr. and Miss St. Martin’s. This month, we look back on these two Senior Favorites from various classes, including those who celebrated milestone reunions this year.

1951

2024 Emerson Arensman and Manny Bejaran

1999

1969

2019

1954 Charlene Smith and Jimmy Gundlach

1959 Leigh Moise and Chip Favrot

1974

1994

1989

1964 Bill McHugh and Jeanne Rowan

2014

1984

2009

2004

1979 Kate McCall and Doug Ashton

• Donate to the Annual Fund.
• Browse old copies of The Shield.
• Can’t get to campus? View photos from StM events on our Flickr site.