June 2019 FROM ROLAND AVENUE Last Friday, I put on my Gilman tie – the one Headmaster Arch Montgomery '71 presented to me back in the spring of 1994 – for the first time in 25 years. We were about to hand out Gilman ties to this year's graduating seniors, and it seemed like the perfect occasion. My tie is woven silk and features an older version of the school shield. It's a more traditional look, perhaps even a touch outdated. Putting it on again evoked stronger feelings than I had anticipated. Styles may have changed over the years, but what these ties represent has not: honor, respect, integrity, humility, and excellence. Even before they were called the Gilman Five, they were preached and practiced on a daily basis. Aspiring to live up to them forges bonds that last a lifetime. Pulling up my tie, I was reminded how truly special these relationships are and how seamlessly they connect Gilman men across generations. As members of this special community, please join me in welcoming the Class of 2019 into the ranks of the Alumni Association. They have already accomplished so much on the field, on stage, in the studio, and in the classroom, but it's exciting to imagine what they will accomplish in the years ahead. Read on for more about the Founders Day festivities, college choices, an alum who tells fascinating stories through film, and more. Nathaniel Badder '94 Director of Alumni Relations & Outreach
FOUNDERS DAY The 122nd Founders Day was held on a beautiful June Saturday. Click here to learn more and see photos and videos from the event.
TIE GAME As the Class of 2019 gathered in preparation for the Baccalaureate ceremony, dressed in their familiar white slacks, blue button downs, and navy blazers, one important piece was missing: their Gilman ties! Thankfully, Alumni Association Board of Governors President Tom Waxter '82 and Treasurer Beau Smith '99 were on hand to help. Click here to read more and see pictures from the event.
THE RESULTS ARE IN! The Class of 2019 will attend 65 institutions across the nation. Twenty-eight schools will welcome two or more incoming freshmen from Gilman, with the largest cohorts attending: Bucknell, University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and UVA. Eighty-two percent of the class is heading to a most or highly competitive college according to Barron's scale. Seven of the eight Ivy League colleges will include Gilman graduates in their first-year classes, with Brown welcoming the most, at four. See the full list of college choices here.
SENIOR ENCOUNTERS Senior Encounter is the capstone of a student's Gilman experience. During two weeks in late May/early June, seniors are paired with an Encounter host and sent off into the world to learn what it is like to work in a field of their interest. Several seniors – working at places like Firaxis Games, Masonboro.org, Gilman and St. Andrew's Episcopal schools, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the restaurant Cinghiale – wrote about their Encounter experiences in this story.
AROUND CAMPUS: DEMO DAY The Spring Entrepreneurship course came to a climactic end with Demo Day, a "Shark Tank"-style event in which the budding "studentrenpreneurs" pitch their business ideas to a panel of alumni and parent judges. Over the course of five months, students were led through the process of developing a business to solve a relevant problem. They were paired with alumni and parent mentors to help steer them through the pitfalls of business building. Learn more and see pictures from the event here.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Allen Moore '70 When Allen Moore was in Upper School, he found a Leica camera stuffed into the back of his mother's closet. With the help and encouragement of Gilman classmates Bob Cole and Brad Harrison (who would produce an exhibition of their street photography at the Baltimore Museum of Art when they were seniors), he repaired the camera and headed out to shoot a roll of film. After producing a contact sheet in the dark room, Bob exclaimed, "Allen, you've got an eye!" And thus was born a lifelong passion for image making. At Harvard, Allen learned the expanded version of image making using motion picture and sound, and earned a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies. After graduation, he worked as a teaching assistant at Harvard, did some film production with professors, and began freelancing throughout New England as a director of photography. He returned to the D.C. area and cold-called the documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who was opening an office in the area. Hired on the spot, he has since worked on many of Burns's best-known pieces including Baseball, Civil War, Jazz, Lewis & Clark, Thomas Jefferson, and Mark Twain. Says Allen, "Ken likes the way I see the world." In 2004, he began teaching film at Towson University and has since expanded his academic role. He has taught film and video production at MICA for more than 15 years, and currently teaches at the JHU-MICA Film Centre. Allen's two brothers – Joe '66 and George '67 – both attended Gilman, as did his son, Duncan '07, and his father, Ray Moore '41, a local dentist who tended to the teeth of many Gilman alumni. And, yes, he still has that Leica camera! Click here to learn more about Allen's film career and see examples of his work here.
COMING UP
WHAT'S THE BUZZ? Lighting Designer Bradley King '02 has won his second Tony Award in three years for his work on the Broadway musical Hadestown. Clinton Daly '74 has been named the Outstanding Fundraiser of the Year by the Maryland Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Leonard Frenkil, Jr. '81, Mark Caplan '76, and William Bradley '04 demonstrate the power of the Gilman network in their new property management venture. Ryan Boyle '00 will be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Learn more about these stories and more on Buzz Worthy.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: The First Founders Day June 8, 2019 marked Gilman's 122nd Founders Day, but only the 117th graduation. Although Gilman's first graduation was in 1903, on June 4, 1898, the School's founding faculty, students, trustees, and families gathered on Homewood's campus to mark "Closing of the First Session" of the Country School for Boys. Headmaster Frederick Winsor addressed the crowd on subjects including the study of language, and changes on campus, including the addition of a dining hall and indoor playroom. Tours of Gilman's old campus were given to the large crowds that attended. By the following year, the event was formally called Founders Day, and continued to include festivities and an address by the headmaster. Here is a Baltimore Sun article about the event.
A PATH TO FOLLOW: THE REDDY FINNEY STORY Thanks to Maryland Public Television, A Path to Follow: The Reddy Finney Story is now available to view online. Click here to view. The School Store will have DVDs of the film available to purchase in July. |