This is a very exciting time of the year at The Wardlaw-Hartridge School. The school year is underway. Students are writing their first papers and taking their first quizzes and tests of the new school year. The athletic teams have won their first games.

It's not just a great time for the current students. The W-H alumni/ae also have cause for celebration. Our Fall Fair and Homecoming festivities are right around the corner. This year's event, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 24, promises to be bigger and better than ever. 

As the new Director of Alumni Relations, I hope to see you back on campus very soon. Be sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, Oct. 24.

I am thrilled to be back at Wardlaw-Hartridge, except without hair this time!

In many ways, it feels like I never left. Some of my former teachers and coaches are still here. Although the campus has changed with many beautiful new constructions and wonderful new facilities, the mission and values of W-H have remained the same.

After graduating from W-H in 1983, I attended the University of Notre Dame and graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies with a concentration in Journalism and Broadcasting. For the past 20 years, I worked in the newspaper industry as a sports editor for the Princeton Packet Publications chain.

After two decades in the newspaper business, it was time for a change. When the opportunity arose to join the W-H team in the development office, I jumped at it and feel very fortunate to have landed back here with both feet. It’s a wonderful opportunity and I look forward to working with all of you to continue making Wardlaw-Hartridge feel like home.

My goal is to help a growing number of alumni/ae reconnect with the school. For those who have recently graduated, we want you to stay in touch from the moment you receive your diplomas. For graduates of past years and previous generations, we want to welcome you back at any time, even if you haven’t been here for decades.

I’ve been a part of the W-H community for more than 30 years. I enrolled as a seventh-grader and attended the Lower School on the old Plainfield campus for one year prior to moving up to the Upper School campus from grades 8-12. My future in-laws taught at W-H for more than 20 years and my wife, Macada, who graduated in 1987, teaches Latin and mathematics in the Upper School.

Macada and I met at a W-H reunion during her first stint as a teacher in 1996. We have three children – Robert, 7, Ryan, 5, and Braelyn, 20 months.

This year's Homecoming/Fall Fair festivities promise to be bigger and better than ever. We’ll have a wide variety of great food, wonderful array of delightful boutiques, exciting soccer games, tennis and volleyball matches, theme baskets, a 50/50 raffle, an alumni tent for reconnecting with old friends and much more. The afternoon will also include campus tours and an alumni cocktail reception.

We're also bringing back the Hall of Fame. This year’s athletic inductees are Jill Kenny Christen ’83, Valerie Pate ’92 and the state champion 1975 boys’ soccer team. Gregori Lebedev ’61 and Pat Tuner Kavanaugh ‘63 will be honored with Distinguished Alumni awards. Mr. Howard Freeman, who is retiring at the end of September, will receive a Distinguished Faculty award.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony, starting at 5 p.m., will conclude a spectacular day on our beautiful campus.

As the new Director of Alumni Relations, I’m thrilled to be planning my first Fall Fair and Homecoming. It was a special event for me during my days as a W-H student and has continued to grow in the many years since my graduation in 1983.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, Oct. 24. The alumni tent opens at 11 a.m. Please join us!

For more information about this year's Homecoming/Fall Fair, click here

Alumni/ae groups remained active during the summer with four major events.

A group of Hatridge women enjoyed a full weekend gathering at the Jersey Shore on July 18-19 at the home of Bethanne Howard Wilkens '72 in Mantoloking. The list of attendees included Suzanne Vaucher ‘71, Gina Millspaugh Parker ‘72, Missy VanBuren-Brown ‘72. Julie Miner Caldwell ‘72, Tara O’Neill Tranter ‘72, Suzanne Lang ‘72, Kathryn Ganss Grillo ‘71, Linda Lathrop ‘71, Gretchen Roll ‘71, Portia Thorburn Richardson ‘72 and Susan Moon ‘ 78.

Also in the summer, members from the Class of 1989 met to celebrate their 20th reunion at the home of Dr. Joseph R. Banker DMD '89 and his wife, Jennifer Bergen Banker '89 in Scotch Plains. New Jersey Monthly magazine recently named Dr. Banker one of the state’s “Top Dentists - 2009.” The list of attendees included 1989 graduates Gerard Gonnella, Darren Geissler, Emily Ritz Cutler, Matt Johnson, Lisa Horowitz, Dr. Peter Roblejo, Michelle Dennis, Mark Gruba, Sarah Finizio, Blake Sturcke, Jeff Schraeger, Karen Rinaldo, Rob Rizzo, Gary Pate, Linda Fink Delboccio, Alexandra Deutsch, Dusty Wyman, Kevin Swenson, Josh Perfit, Kerry Sullivan and Steven Edisis.

On the final weekend of August. Lisa Minard Hartigan '84 held a party for W-H alumni of the 1980s at her family's home in Long Beach Island. Inclement weather kept some people away, but the gathering still served as a great 25th reunion.

Finally, many former players returned to campus for an alumni soccer game. Rain forced the action to be moved indoors, but the participants played 5-on-5 and had lunch together in the AP Room after the game. There will be another alumni soccer game held at 12 noon on Fall Fair/Homecoming Day. Be sure to join us on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Thank you to the hosts of these wonderful summer gatherings!

Class of 1999

Stephen Levin won the Democratic nomination to succeed Councilman David Yassky in the 33rd Council District in Brooklyn, New York City in a Sept. 15 primary. He was endorsed by U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney and the Brooklyn Heights Courier.

Levin’s message states: “We are living in tough and interesting times. We are facing unprecedented challenges all across the country and right here in New York City. The economy is reeling on unsure footing, jobs across the city are drying up, and it’s harder and harder to find a decent and affordable place to live. Property taxes are going up and services are being cut. Despite all this, I believe that we have the optimism and the innovation to get through this time together.”

For more information on Levin and his campaign, click here.

Class of 2002

Ravin Shah started law school at St. John's University (Queens) in August. He is on pace to graduate in 2012. Ravin recently reported that things are going well so far with classes as he gets back into the groove of studying and reading. He took summer classes to get a head start in an effort to lighten the load for the fall semester. Ravin has also moved to Queens to an apartment not far from campus. He loves living near Manhattan.

Class of 2005

Jessica O’Connell is working as a research assistant for the Psychology Department at George Washington University. She started her new job the day after graduating from GWU with a major in psychology last May.

Her research centers on Developmental Psychology in young children, from 9 months to 3 years. She’s currently working on an adoption study evaluating the traits of children and comparing them to their adoptive parents vs. birth parents. Jessica visits homes, talks to families and plays with children who have been placed in adoptive homes right after birth.

“I get to play with kids and play with toys,” Jessica said with a smile.

Jessica travels along the East Coast and to the Midwest to conduct her research. She’s planning to pursue a Master’s Degree and hopes to obtain a doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

Jessica visited W-H during the second week of school to drop off two of her younger siblings, John ’10 and Liam ’14. She’s the oldest of five O’Connell children, four of whom started attending W-H in sixth grade. Her sister, Stephanie, was graduated from W-H in 2007. Anna, the youngest child in the family, is a second-grader at Cook Elementary School in Plainfield who’s on pace to graduate in 2020. If Anna enters W-H and graduates, she would complete a run of 22 consecutive years with at least one O’Connell in the school.

She still keeps in touch with W-H classmates Ashley Harris, Lexi Correll, Chandni Patel, Jordan Garner, Sean Gough and Wayne Lewis.

Class of 2007

Alexandra Faust of Westfield, a student at Valparaiso University in Indiana, presented her group project “An Analysis of a Pro Bono Triadic Relationship of Corporate, PR Agency, and Nonprofit” at Valparaiso’s Celebration of Undergraduate Scholarship.

The annual event celebrates the research, scholarly and creative work of undergraduate students. Alexandra’s research was among seven projects chosen to receive the Board of Directors Award out of the nearly 90 projects presented.

Alexandra’s group project focused on the third party that is integrated to moderate the relationship between the nonprofit agency and the corporate organization. This third party is a public relations agency. The purpose of the research was to examine how this triadic relationship functions in such arrangements. The results indicated that there are few guidelines developed in these pro bono relationships and that the public relations agencies have the most insight into the process.

Alexandra, who is a public relations major, is the daughter of Tammy Racine of North Kingstown and Alexander Faust of Westfield.


Class of 2008

Michelle Liu, who is beginning her sophomore year at George Washington University, spent over a month teaching in Poland last summer. Michelle taught English to children primarily between the ages of 7-13 during the morning hours from Monday through Friday for five weeks.

“I didn’t know what I was doing (when I made the decision) but I’m so glad I did it,” said Michelle, an International Affairs major. “The decision was made on a whim and I was a little nervous but it was great.”

Michelle learned how to cook Polish food, which became a much more interesting venture after she was served a big plate of goulash on her first night in Poland. Her host family served her “huge amounts of Polish food” and she loved it. She also gained a basic knowledge of the language during her stay in Poland.

“I want to go travel,” Michelle said. “I don’t know what I want to be. I’m really unsure, but I guess I can tell people I’d like to be a foreign services officer or maybe an ambassador.”

Michelle has been all over Europe, visiting countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and France. She plans on doing much more travel in the future.