West Chester Friends School

Welcome to our Alumni News Page!

 

Help us mark our 175th Anniversary in 2011-2012 by helping us collect 175 memories of the school!  What was special to you when you were a student here?  The teachers, the buildings, Meeting for Worship, your friends?  Help us create a wonderful book of memories !  To add your contribution, click here.

Recent  Updates...Keep 'Em Coming!

Carolyn Renshaw Chernak '39 reports that “Thanks to Thumbprints, Phil Garrett '39 and I have been in contact for over two years and get together for lunch during the summer. None of my friends can believe that we got in touch with each other after seventy years!”

 

Carolyn Cooper Bream '53 says “I enjoyed my first visit back to WCFS in 58 years! The school has come a log way since we were there, but I could feel the same dedication to the education of young minds.” Carolyn is interested in planning the 60^th reunion of her class for 2013; members of the Class of 1953 should email Carolyn at carolbee1597@juno.com, and/or development@wcfriends.org.

 

Kinnie Knowles Pearce '57 has recently moved from Denver, Colorado to St. Louis, Missouri, where she now lives very close to her son. She looks forward to visiting West Chester several times a year to visit her mother, Alda Knowles, and to “see old-time friends who I know from Friends School Days, all those years ago!”

We were delighted to visit recently with Peter Furlong, who was in T. Kathy Bollinger's fifth grade at WCFS in 1989-1990. Peter is a musician who currently lives in Albany, New York and was in the area, so he stopped by! He remembered his time at WCFS as a happy and productive one...and remembered being particularly inspired by T. Rege. He was thrilled to know that T. Rege was, in fact, on campus and that he could see her! T. Rege recognized Peter immediately and they reminisced about concerts and a music festival from that year. Keep in touch, Peter!

 

Serafina Youngdahl-Lombardi '94 is living in northern New Mexico, farming, gardening and meditating.  Her sister, Becca Youngdahl-Lombardi '95, lives nearby.  Serafina and her partner recently welcomed baby Joshua Sol-Fiore Lombardi Roberts . You can reach Serafina at serafina3333@yahoo.com or P.O. Box 92, Tesque, NM  87574.

 

David Deitch '95 is an advanced studio student and B.Arch candidate at the Boston Architectural College.  He spent a month last summer at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela in Spain on a special architectural project. He is married to Heather Marshall Deitch an Estates and Tax Attorney with Cushing and Dolan, in Waltham, Massachusetts.  They live in Roslindale, Massachusetts.

 

Roger Rengert '97 recently completed the 26.2 mile 2011 Pahiladelphia Marathon in just under four hours.

 

Graham Rengert '98 received his RN from the University of Pennsylvania (post-baccalaurate program). While taking nursing classes he was a residence hall Graduate Assistant, was a Teaching Assistant in a 65-student class in Gender and Society, took classes in American Sign Language, and did various volunteer activities including as a doula.

 

Molly Slotznick '99 completed a year-long fellowship at the World Food Programme in Dakar, Senegal. She now works as a Public Information Officer at the World Food Programme headquarters in Rome, Italy.  She graduated from Princeton in 2010.

 

Alysia Brown '00 was an Artist in Residence in photography at Peters Valley Craft Center in Layton, New Jersey. She is completing her BFA in photography, sculpture, with a minor in ceramics, at Kutztown University.

 

Andrew Deitch is a student at the Community College of Philadelphia majoring in Theater Arts.  He has appeared in several productions and currently is in rehearsals for "The Importance of Being Earnest.”

 

Ariel Diliberto '00 received her BA in Urban Ecology at Vassar College in 2011. She has interned with the atelier d’architecture autogérée (Studio for Self-Managed Architecture) in Paris, the Plant Biology program at University of Texas-Austin, and the NYC Department of Design and Construction. Ariel currently works for the New Kensington Community Development Corporation where she is the coordinator for “Sustainable 19125,” a program that provides information, workshops and services on environmental topics.

 

Madeline Iacobucci '00 graduated from Cabrini College with President's Honors. While at Cabrini, Maddie appeared in nine theater productions. In her senior year, Maddie served as an officer in Alpha Psi Omega, the national theater honor society, and was inducted into the the Society for Collegiate Journalists, a national honors organization. She is currently enrolled in the M.A. in Theater program at Villanova University.

Christopher Lewis '00 has graduated from Muhlenberg College and will begin an internship in neuroscience research at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

Brian MacNeill '00 graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in psychology. Brian currently works with children with autism spectrum disorders.

 

Eric McAnelly '00 graduated from Columbia University in May with a dual major in political science and Middle Eastern languages and culture..  He completed U.S. Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island at the end of October, and reported in February to Dam Neck Naval Base in Virginia to begin five months of courses at the Naval Intelligence School.

Kate McKelvey '00 graduated from Williams College and is studying for her Masters in Urban Planning and Policy at Rutgers University.

 

Averyl Hall '01 is a senior at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. She has a double major, in Peace and Global Studies, and Environmental Studies.

 

Billy Broderick ' 02, who attends Oberlin College, is spending the semester in Budapest studying Math. Visit his blog at http://billyinbudapest.blogspot.com/

Louisa Diffey '02 and Samantha Moog '02 vacationed together in Budapest. Louisa is a junior at the University of Denver in International Studies and French, and is spending her junior year abroad at l'Universite' des Science Politiques in Paris. Samantha is a junior at Middlebury College, studying abroad at Marseille in the south of France.

In June, Julien Reddick '05 will begin an internship with Dr. Jonathan Brody in the pancreatic cancer research laboratory at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

 

Lauren Reilly '05 is a senior at Mercersburg Academy where she has appeared this year in “Bye, Bye Birdie,” and “Rumors.” She played Lady MacBeth in a University of the Arts pre-college program production of “MacBeth.”

 

David Srinivasan '05 is finishing up his seventh (and final)  year at Malvern Prep.  The Friars had a great football season and won the Inter-Ac championship with the help of David on the defensive line.  He is 6'2" and weighs 240 pounds! 

Aliyah Chase, who attended WCFS with the Class of 2006, recently returned for a one-day student teaching opportunity with T. Connie's class. Aliyah is a junior at Center for Arts and Technology.

 

Ben DiFilippo '06 is enjoying his time at Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts. He ran cross country this fall and was invited to the New England Championships. Academically, Ben completed his first semester at Tabor with a 3.5 grade point average.

Alex Horne '06 won third place in the 30-pound class of combat robots with his robot, Phoenix, a flipper combat robot, at Motorama Robot Conflict. The event, sponsored by the Northeast Robotics Club (NERC) is the premiere robotics combat event on the East coast. Alex is a junior at Westtown.

 

Will Slotznick '06 spent three weeks last summer teaching middle school students at the Heritage Academy in Ghana.  He was one of three 2011 American Scholar grant recipients from the Schoerke Foundation which founded the school there. Will is a junior at Rustin High School.

 

James Lewis '07 graduated from Upland Country Day School and now attends Shipley School in Bryn Mawr. This fall, he played soccer for Shipey's JV team.

 

Nikka Braceland '07 attends Rustin High School where she is in her second year on the Rustin Dance Team. This fall, the Team hosted an all-day workshop where Nikka worked with several current WCFS students!

 

Gisella LoGioia '08 is participating in crew at Radnor High School which she is enjoying immensely. The JV boat she raced in her first race won in the Bill Braxton Regatta this past fall. 

 

 

In Memoriam

Anna Cope Brinton (attended in the 1930s)

Kenneth Weller '60

Jack Forcey, WCFS maintenance person, 2004-2011

The Class of 2004 News

 Grace Diliberto is attending Bard College. She recently enjoyed an internship at the Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

 

Elizabeth DiFilippo graduated from Sanford School and is enrolled at Salve Regina University, in Newport RI. She played #2 singles and #1 doubles for the women's varsity tennis team, and was selected this fall for All Conference in the Coastal Athletic Conference, a tremendous achievement for a freshman!

 

Tracey Durnell graduted from Westtown and is attending Widener University.

 

Sarah Glessner graduated from Villa Maria Academy and is attending University of Scranton to study nursing. Sarah completed 15 years of dancing with Harrison Dance Studios in West Chester.

 

Westtown graduate Caylin Haldeman is currently a first year student at Global College, an accredited program of Long Island University through which students spend four years abroad, each year in a different country.   For her first year, she is in Costa Rica; next year will be in India and then on to China.

 

Nikki Mancuso graduted from East High School. She is studying interior architecture and design at Philadelphia University.

 

Wendy Morrison graduated from the Baldwin School and is enrolled at the University of Virginia. She was a National Merit Finalist. Wendy highly recommends going to a challenging, all girls school, and feels it really made a difference for her!

 

Kevin Myers graduted from Westtown and is attending Lafayette College.

 

Kieran Nelson graduated from Westtown and attends Pennsylvania State University.

 

Sean Novak graduated from Westtown and is studying at Muhlenberg College.

 

Alyn O'Brien graduated from Wilmington Friends School and attends Ithaca College, where she plays on the Ithaca Women's Club Lacrosse team.

 

Nyan Oliver graduated from Woodstock Union High School and is enrolled at the University of Vermont.

 

Kay Wade graduated from Tome School and is attending Loyola University in New Orleans. She studies a double major, in music industry (business) and Latino studies, with a minor in journalism.

 

Jack Webster graduated from Westtown and is studying at Tufts University.

 

Alyssa Young graduated from Westtown and attends Bryn Mawr College.

 

Kevin Alloway and Bella Dieckmann, who attended WCFS, graduated from Westtown and are attending the University of Richmond and Johns Hopkins, respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                           

 

 

We love to hear from our alums and hope you will use this page as a way to stay connected to your classmates and to keep us updated on your news.

 

Please click here to submit your news online.  You may also send your news to development@wcfriends.org or call us at 610-696-2820.

 

Do you have memorabilia from your days at West Chester Friends School or Friends Community School that you would like to share?  We are eager to preserve the history of the school and welcome any donations to our archives.

 

We strive to keep our alumni database accurate and up to date. Please be conscious of the environment and help us reduce mailing costs by contacting us if you have new contact information.  Please send us your email address to help us reduce the amount of mailings we send.

 

The success of our alumni program depends on you!  We welcome your thoughts, ideas and comments about ways we can stay in touch and events you would like us to plan.  Would you like to be a class representative?  It's a great way to touch base with your classmates.  Do you have news of a former classmate?  We'd love to share it.  Please help us keep our alumni program vibrant and responsive to your needs.

 

To read the Fall 2010 issue of Thumbprints, click here

To read the Spring, 2010 issue of Thumbprints, click here.

To read the Fall 2009 issue of Thumbprints, click here.

>To read archived editions of Thumbprints, click here .

 

Drop by and keep up to date on school news by visiting West Chester Friends School

Promote Your Page Too

 

Congratulations to our newest group of alumni, the Class of 2010!  They were honored at our recent Alumni Graduation Luncheon, as were members of the Class of 1960, celebrating their 50th Reunion.

Billy Parker' 60 and Bob Ford '60

 

 

 Emily Ferris '99 and Molly Slotznick '99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recent News from Alumni 

 

Gay Gilpin Johnson '36 recently exhibited a quilt at the Chester County Historical Society's quilt show, "Layers:  Unfolding the Stories of Chester County Quilts."

 

Leslie Kirkman Reed, Emilie McIlvain Barber and Lynne Fox Little, all of the Class of 1958, spent a morning with Development Staff, helping to identify old photographs and enjoying lunch together.

 

 

 

 

Linda Donatoni '99 was named to the Fall 2009 Dean's List at Gettysburg College.  Following graduation, she will be a teacher with Teach for America.

Max Kane '07 enjoyed the warm and sunny climate of Florida during the fall of his eighth grade year, as he polished his tennis game at the IMG Academies Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida.  Dividing his days between school and sports, he enjoyed getting to know high-achieving athletes from around the world.  Max is a noted local tennis player who hopes to play in college.