Celebrating a Half-Century of Excellence

When hosting the Alumni Awards Ceremony at the conclusion of Fall Fair and Homecoming Day on October 5, I noted that this year’s event celebrated seven individuals who have made an impact on the Wardlaw+Hartridge community for a half-century. I underestimated that time frame; it actually began before Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Don O’Hare ’64 graduated from Wardlaw Country Day School and still continues today after fellow AHOF inductee Taylor Gerhart '14 graduated. Impact does not end when students graduate and teachers move on to other places, especially with esteemed individuals like this year’s honorees.

Appropriately, this year’s Alumni Awards Ceremony began and ended with presenting an award to a teacher – Distinguished Faculty Member Ellen Colandrea and Athletic Hall of Fame Coach Dr. Leslie “Doc Rud” Rudnyanszky, who was also a longtime W+H teacher. The five honorees in between are all proud graduates of our fine institution – Distinguished Alumnus Eric Lathrop ’77, Distinguished Alumna Michelle Clark ’91, and Athletic Hall of Fame inductees Don O’Hare ’64, Meredith Reece-Cassidy ’02 and Taylor Gerhart ’14.  All of the introductory presenters were also either alumni, alumni parents or former coaches. It was quite a celebration and homecoming for so many, including the 120 guests in the audience in the Berry Performing Arts Center.

The wonderful attendance at this year’s ceremony and reception is a testament to the character and popularity of this year’s award recipients. Former students, some of whom graduated 30, 40, even 50 years ago, returned to show their support and congratulate their former teachers and old friends.

Alumni Kayla (Kluse) Miller ’11 and Brian Downing ’12 introduced Miss Colandrea, who also filled a table with old friends and colleagues at the reception. Eric Lathrop was introduced by his sister Barbara Starosciak ’71, one of five sisters who attended The Hartridge School. Stacey Brown Nevel ’90 affectionately introduced her “little sister” and longtime friend, Michelle Clark. I enjoyed the pleasure of reading an introductory presentation written by Peter Madsen ’65, who has been close friends with Don O’Hare since they were growing up in Plainfield. Pamela Hattem, a former member of our Board of Trustees, gave a wonderful introduction of her daughter, Meredith Reece-Cassidy, during which she saluted the school for providing a wonderful education and preparation for life. Jackie MacLean, former W+H softball and soccer coach, shared fond memories of watching Taylor Gerhart dominate in every sport she played. Matt Albano ’81, who was inducted into the W+H AHOF in 2022, enjoyed coming back to introduce Doc Rud, his Upper School wrestling coach and history teacher.

All the introductions and acceptance speeches shared common themes of gratitude, reflection, humility and joy. When following up with honorees to plan the ceremony, I’m often greeted with a “Why me?” or “Are you sure I deserve this?” The answer is always “Yes” and sometimes it takes a bit of convincing, but quite often after the honorees take some time to reflect, they realize that they indeed have achieved great things, made an impact on many, and the recognition is more than justified. There’s absolutely no doubt that all seven of this year’s award winners belong in this elite class, which represents more than a half-century of excellence at Wardlaw+Hartridge.