Volume VIII | August 2020
LAWRENCE ACADEMY ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
Thank You!
Summer Greetings from Lawrence Academy! We hope that you are having a wonderful summer and finding the time to rest and restore.

We remain extraordinarily grateful to all alumni who chose to partner with the school this year in so many inspiring ways; interaction that included the Board of Trustees, Alumni Council (leadership and committee work), reunion committee work, successful Days of Giving, career networking, support of the Lawrence Academy Fund, and volunteerism. Alumni Giving increased by 23% this year and given the complexities of 2020, this is very exciting news in which we hope you will all take pride in and celebrate!

Please accept my sincere thanks for this outpouring of support during an admittedly challenging time. It is inspiring that so many of you chose to make LA a philanthropic priority. Your generosity will make so many things possible as we plan for new a school year that will likely look very different than most.

Reunions 2020 & 2021
Planning for Reunion 2021 is underway and we are pleased to share that we are planning to host a Double Reunion in June. LA looks forward to bringing all of the 2020 Reunion Classes (postponed from this past June) for a joint celebration with all of the Reunion Classes scheduled to celebrate next spring.

Yes, this will be quite a party!

So, mark your calendars for June 11-12, 2021 and please contact me directly if you’d like to participate in reunion planning this year. LA is in the process of forming committees for all classes now, and we could use your support. Reunion 2021 will be an unprecedented event for Lawrence Academy. Be sure to lend your voice to help support and shape the event.

Virtual Events (Coming Soon)
As always, I look forward to working with you all this year on behalf of Lawrence Academy. We will be transitioning our regular alumni event calendar to a virtual one. So please stay tuned for updates and invitations regarding Zoom events for classes, career networking, and simply getting to know more about the members of our alumni community.

Of course, if you have an idea for engagement that you’d like to share, please be in touch.

Happy summer and thank you for continuing to hold Lawrence Academy in a special place in your life.

Sincerely,

Jo-Ann Lovejoy P’06,’08,’10
Director of Alumni Advancement
A VIDEO MESSAGE FROM THE ALUMNI COUNCIL
We want to hear from you: Send us your class notes!
A MESSAGE FROM THE ALUMNI COUNCIL PRESIDENT
As you know, the Class of 2020 certainly had a different graduation experience than we did. However, that doesn't mean that it was any less memorable!

In May, prior to the annual Senior Class Breakfast, all seniors received an LA alumni "swag" package including an LA coffee mug, both a school pin and pen, and a ‘2020’ class banner. While this year’s Senior Class Breakfast was a virtual meeting, hosted by the Alumni Council on Zoom, we had strong attendance from both the graduating seniors and LA alumni, who wanted to welcome the Class of 2020 into the LA Alumni Association and share their sincere congratulations with them on completing their LA careers.

Moreover, we had a very strong alumni turnout, all wanting to send off our senior class into the direction of success and welcoming them into our LA alumni network!

A big "shout-out" goes out to all current Alumni Council members and the numerous Alumni Council past presidents and trustee members who made the early morning a success. Alumni Council past presidents in attendance included: Trustee Rick Tyson 87, Trustee Barbara Brammer ’75, Trustee Rob Achtmeyer ’97, former Trustee Ruth White ’76, Catie McMenamin ’97 and Kevin McDonald ’70.

Then, in July, we saw Raquel Majeski, LA’s Assistant Head of Equity and Community Life, initiate the DEI Summer Series. I was able to attend the first session, and although I had hoped to see even more alumni join these virtual events, those who did attend certainly found the session to be a positive first step as we look to further embrace the school's ongoing work toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Going forward, as an alumni body, we are strongest if we speak together. And attending a virtual event would be a great first step, as each of our individual voices also matters to the greater goals of DEI. So, please, mark your calendar for the last of the three-part DEI Summer Series on August 18th. Read more and register below...

Finally, if you are aware of a classmate who is doing something interesting, please let me know. The Alumni Council is starting a short 20-minute interview series and welcomes content!

Be well, be safe, and be present,

Carolyn Balas-Zaleski 84, P17
Alumni Council President
A MESSAGE FROM ASSISTANT HEAD RAQUEL MAJESKI
All alumni are invited to participate in Part 3 of the virtual:

DEI Summer Series: A Space to Plan
Tuesday, August 18, 7:00 PM

We will use this time to review the series and create a space for alumni to participate in community initiatives.
Lawrence Academy’s inaugural DEI Summer Series creates space for our broader alumni community and aims to:

  • Support participants in giving voice to their diverse experiences while students at LA and now as alumni;
  • Provide an opportunity for participants to obtain greater awareness of LA’s diversity initiatives and commitments; and
  • Encourage participants to leverage the power, connections, and insight established during the series to propel forward LA’s commitment to diversity.
 
The Summer Series is just one piece of LA’s broader effort to center the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion into our daily operations and sense of community; to more fully energize LA’s commitment to recognize you for who you are and inspire you to take responsibility for who you want to become.
 
In preparation for our Martin Luther King Jr Day speaker, Anthony Ray Hinton, this summer all faculty and staff will read the memoir The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. This text will inform our themes for the year. Also, concepts in Matthew R. Kay’s book Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom will also be used throughout the year as a tool to guide our professional development as we focus on relationship building and navigating courageous conversations.

Alumni are invited to read The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. I will host a virtual discussion at the beginning of September to discuss the book. Please stay tuned for more information and a Zoom invite.
 
For more information:

 
Warm regards,

Raquel Majeski
Assistant Head for Equity & Community Life
Lawrence Academy
LA: DID YOU KNOW?
File Under: Party Foul

In 1859, eight Lawrence Academy students were suspended for attending dancing classes offered at the Town Hall. This violated a school rule which prohibited dancing in a public place during a term. Editor's note: It is doubtful this rule remains on the books, but we will check with Mr. Scheibe. Thanks to Paul Husted '64 for this fun fact.