May 2020
All In This Together Vikes

This month's "All In This Together Vikes" series features Dr. Paige Gutheil Henderson '94, who shares her expertise on whole health as the owner of Signature Primary Care and Wellness in Hilliard, Ohio. Paige has created a resource with 28 whole health hacks, ideas to help you feel better physically and emotionally during this unprecedented time. She also created drpaige.com/academy, a resource where you can receive regular wellness updates by simply entering your email address. Thank you to Paige as well to Will Westwater '12 for allowing us to add his latest acting tips video to our collection. Consider it a " How to Break into Professional Acting" tutorial as he takes us through his career, starting with a commercial for Wendy's when he was still an Academy student, a breakthrough reality TV series with John Cena and his latest gig alongside Kevin Hart! 
 
If you would like to participate in the #AllInThisTogetherVikes series, please email Director of Alumni Relations Melissa Clarke Beckett at beckettm@columbusacademy.org  with information about the content that you would like to share with the Academy community. We look forward to hearing from you!
School News

 
"This is a time of serious hardship and one for resilience, resolution and generosity from our school," wrote Head of School Melissa Soderberg in her recent letter announcing the Academy Community Fund. In addition to a tuition reduction for every student in 2020-21, the school has established a bridge fund to support families experiencing substantial and unforeseen hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we turn our philanthropic attention toward this critical initiative, we have determined that All Day 4 CA will not be rescheduled this school year because we recognize that this is not the right time for this spirited online giving event. If you are able, you can show your support of our Academy community with a gift to the Academy Community Fund at any time by clicking here, or mark your calendar for The Columbus Foundation's online giving event, The Big Give on June 10-11, when donations to Columbus Academy and other participating Central Ohio nonnprofits will be boosted with a generous pool of bonus funds (more information will be coming soon).
 
 
On their final day of classes at Columbus Academy this past Friday, seniors were invited to drive through campus to hear the bell chimes signaling the end of the school day. Each member of our Class of 2020 received a gift bag and was greeted by their teachers and coaches who were spaced out along the route. It proved to be a unique event that exceeded all expectations for the amount of joy and much-needed bonding created for our community in this period of social distancing. To catch up on our daily senior spotlights and other efforts to recognize this 98-member senior class, including the newly released matriculation map, please visit our senior celebration page. 

Five more seniors recently committed to continuing their athletic careers on the collegiate level: Annalise Grammel (track and field at DePauw University), Ezra Johnson (track and field at California Institute of Technology), Charlie Mueller (soccer at University of Chester), Rhian Seneviratne (tennis at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) and Annie Wimsatt (field hockey at Ohio University)! They join 12 others who we previously celebrated with fall and winter signing ceremonies: Kiersten Thomassey (field hockey at University of North Carolina), Ali Khan (golf at Ball State University), Matthew Cammeyer (golf at Lafayette College), Sam Massick (football at Princeton University), Griffin Mitchell (golf at Drexel University), Sarah Neltner (soccer at Washington University in St. Louis), Mitch Priest (basketball at Grinnell College), Livy Seline (rowing at Bates College), Mackezine Smith (lacrosse at College of Wooster), Philip Soderberg (football at Kenyon College), Andrew Swartz (lacrosse at Christopher Newport University) and Carter Warstler (basketball at College of Wooster).
 
Academy Alumni in the News

Ali Haque '01 and Nick Jones '01 (pictured) were selected by Columbus Business First for its "2020 Class of 40 Under 40." The publication's longest-running awards program, now in its 28th year, recognizes emerging talent in the Central Ohio community. Each year, the 40 honorees under the age of 40 are chosen for their outstanding career achievements and impressive community service. Also included in this month's press clips are  Caroline Anders '17, Michael Cicetti '01, Michael Corey '01, Janelle Ghanem '17, Paige Gutheil '94, Morgan Harper '01, Erich Hunker '81, Liz Mote '03, Randy Schoedinger '86, Sydney Smith '12, Sheila Dioun Trautner '98, Sam Tuckerman '16 and Patti Zettler '98.

If you have clips (either in print or on the web) to pass along for future issues, please send them to Director of Alumni Relations Melissa Clarke Beckett at beckettm@columbusacademy.org.
Exciting Alumni Volunteer Opportunity 
 
All alumni are invited to help with a fun and exciting middle school project. Laura Miller's eighth grade class will be conducting its Cold War Mock Trial later this month, and Laura is looking for alumni to serve as judges. While previously this volunteer role has only been open to locally based alumni, this year's digital format will allow any alum from across the world to participate.

The mock trial will take place the week of May 18 and consist of three one-hour trials. Volunteers can judge all three trials, two trials or just one trial. Judges will receive the prerecorded trials on May 18 or can watch the students live-stream their arguments from 2:00-2:50 p.m. on May 20 for Case 1, on May 21 for Case 2 and on May 22 for Case 3. Verdicts will be announced on Friday, May 22, at 3:00 p.m. There is no need to prepare or research the history of Cold War events prior to participating as the judging should be based on the students' presentations. More details about the trials and judging criteria will be shared with alumni volunteers.

Please contact Melissa Clarke Beckett at beckettm@columbusacademy.org if you are interested or would like more information. 
Sing with our CA Virtual Choir
 
Hello Columbus Academy Alumni! 
 
During these difficult times, the performing arts have provided much solace for all of us. We have seen incredible live-streaming performances of many famous musicians. Television show hosts have begun broadcasting from their homes. Visual artists have even logged online to teach children how to doodle, draw and paint. The list goes on and on.
 
One of the most powerful ways of producing large-group performances has been in a "virtual concert" format, where each of the performers uploads a video of themselves singing or playing an instrument with an assigned accompaniment. These videos are then combined by a tech guru in order to make them all perform together. The effect can be breathtaking.
 
It is therefore with great excitement that we would like to offer our Academy community the opportunity to participate in a Virtual Choir. We will be using the song "You Will Be Found" from the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. If you are interested in participating,  please email Amy Brooks at brooksa@columbusacademy.org or Amy McLaughlin at mclaughlina@columbusacademy.org. We will send you specific, detailed instructions (including music and sing-along guides). Anyone in our CA family may participate, including faculty, alumni, staff, students and their families! We would love to have all videos submitted by May 15. 
 
Please let us know if you have any questions. We can't wait to hear you lift your voices in song!
 
With great musical excitement,
Amy McLaughlin, Michelle Schroeder-Lowrey, Amy Brooks, Whitney Eads & Jennifer Kristoff
Columbus Academy's Vocal Performing Arts Faculty 
Alumni Weekend 2020
 
As a member of our Academy family, we appreciate the trust you place in your alma mater. We are closely monitoring the pandemic and understand concerns around large events and COVID-19.

Alumni Weekend 2020 is currently planned for October 9-10, and our staff is carefully considering many options including moving forward with a modified Alumni Weekend celebration, rescheduling the in-person celebration to 2021, and/or providing a digital experience to encourage classmate connections.

Our hope, and current plan, is to offer a memorable in-person Alumni Weekend 2020 with special celebrations for classes ending in 0 and 5.

The school is committed to making a final decision on how to proceed with Alumni Weekend 2020 no later than Wednesday, July 1, based on the recommendations received from the Ohio Department of Health and the Governor.

If you have any questions or if you would like any additional information, please contact Director of Alumni Relations Melissa Clarke Becket at beckettm@columbusacademy.org.
Send In Your Class Notes 
 
We love keeping in touch with our alumni, and we want to hear all of your latest news. Do you have a life event that you'd like to share with fellow alumni and the Academy community?  Fill out our class notes form at columbusacademy.org/alumniclassnotes or send via email to alumni@columbusacademy.org to be sure your message is included in an upcoming issue of Experience, the school's newly redesigned magazine!
Stay Connected!