April 2019
Academy Alumni in the News

Jack Lint '14 was highlighted as a University of Michigan student-athlete for his academic pursuits as a part of the university's Scholar-Athlete Stories series. Also included in this month's press clippings are Rob Ackerman '76, Jennifer Neal Bardavid '97, Avishar Barua '05, Michael Corey '01, Ian Dumain '95, Bob Eckhart '87, Jim Friedman '68, Ming Peiffer '06, Julia Rizk '15, Jesse Van Genugten '12 and the obituaries for Thomas R. Benua Jr. '63 and James P. Lape '69. 

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 [email protected] .
All Day 4 CA: It's Almost Time 
 
The excitement is building for this week's All Day 4 CA, April 4-5. Double your impact thanks to matching funds provided by 11 alumni and school families who wanted to inspire all of us to be all in. Click here to see why your Annual Fund gift is important to Academy, the arts, athletics, curricular innovation, faculty and financial aid. 

You will receive an email this Thursday at 10:00 a.m. ET with a link to the special 25-hour giving day donation site. Stay tuned, support, follow your class' progress and help spread the word (there will be a shoutout for the class in each decade with the most donors at the end of the event)!

We hope you enjoy these All Day 4 CA stories featuring alumni and faculty!
Alumni Networking Reception: Register Today!

Join us for the Alumni Networking Reception on Thursday, May 2, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Columbus Academy Dining Hall, where Rachel Carpenter '01 will be honored with the 2019 Young Alumni Award.

The event will also feature an expert panel discussing the digital customer experience. Guest speakers include Rachel Carpenter '01, Global Head of Insights and Design Strategy, Citi; Ricky Joshi '97, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Saatva; and Ryan Williams '08, Co-Founder and President, Jopwell. The panel will be moderated by Chelsea Clements '05, Website Performance Marketing Manager for Green Growth Brands.

Attend in-person or via live-stream! Please register online by April 26.
Alumni/Student Service Project Saturday, April 20
  
Central Ohio alumni and upper school students are invited to help make a difference in the local community by volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House (711 E Livingston Ave, Columbus 43205). During the program, participants will work together to make lunch for house residents. 

The event will take place on Saturday, April 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

If you wish to be a part of this program, kindly RSVP by Monday, April 15, to Director of Alumni Relations Melissa Clarke Beckett at [email protected].
School News

Rent, the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning rock musical loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème, is coming to Columbus Academy on April 11-13! And for the first time at Academy, tickets are available online. RENT School Edition is recommended for high school ages or older. We encourage parental discretion for all three 7:30 p.m. shows. This will be the last performance of any kind before the school's Schoedinger Theatre undergoes a complete renovation.  
 
Students in our Latin program excelled at last month's Ohio Junior Classical League's 2019 Convention at the Columbus Crown Plaza. Highlighting the event were juniors Maggie Ridgeway (Treasurer/Spirit Leader) and Andrew Cahall (2nd VP, Community Service) being elected to the OJCL State Board, and our Lion King-themed skit titled "Sons Will Rise" winning first place for just the second time in school history! The cast included Aden Weiser as Octavian (Simba), Ginnie Ma and Lindsay Sutherland as Livia (Nala), Will Mathews as Julius Caesar (Mufasa), Marcus Grewal as Marc Anthony (Scar), Cole Raiken as lead hyena (Lepidus), Eric Menq as Agrippa (Pumba), Jacob Rhee as Maecenas (Timon), Camille Reeves as Sibyl (Raifiki), Rekha Marar as Livy (ZaZu) and Latin II students as hench people/hyenas.
Sports News

Dominic Facciolla, who is retiring this spring after 20 years as Columbus Academy's athletic director, shared this at his induction into the Mid-State League Hall of Fame during last month's MSL winter awards ceremony: "For my fellow athletic directors to put my name up for this award makes this very special to me because there is no greater compliment than one that comes from your peers. As for my career in education, I simply recall thinking many years ago while I was working towards my goal how lucky I would be to make a living teaching and coaching high school students as well as being able to work alongside other people with the same interest. Many years later, my feelings have not changed. I am a very lucky person to have worked at something that I have truly enjoyed, and I am very thankful."  
Academy point guard Sophie Spolter (#5) became the second girls basketball player in school history named to the All-MSL Ohio First Team as a freshman. She also earned third-team all-district honors while senior forward Shelemiah Crockett (#35) was an all-league honorable mention. They led the squad coached by Ron McClendon and JoAnne Adams to a 10-12 overall record, including the first-ever home tournament game, which the Vikes won 45-33 over CSG (watch highlights).

Our boys completed their successful basketball season as outright league champs and district runners-up with a 20-5 overall record. They gave eventual state champion Harvest Prep their toughest game of the postseason in a 71-67 district finals loss (watch highlights). Both of our AquaVike teams, meanwhile, finished in the state top 10 as the fifth-place boys were led by Jacob Eismann, who placed third in the 100 backstroke while also anchoring our state runner-up 200 freestyle relay and third-place medley squads. Reaching the state podium for our ninth-place girls were Jordan Skilken (third in diving) and the seventh-place 200 free relay. In wrestling, our team finished third in the MSL-Ohio with five Vikings winning individual league titles. Ninth-grader Gyvnn Mendenhall also went on to claim a sectional championship at 195 pounds and was runner up at the Freshman All-State Wrestling Tournament. At bowling sectionals, our girls placed 25th and our boys 26th overall after seven Vikes earned all-league honors. And our first varsity ice hockey season concluded with a third-place finish in the Capital Hockey Conference Blue Division and 17-15-1 overall record. Senior co-captains Gunnar Geiger and Cole Walker were both recognized as All-Ohio honorable mentions and CHC Senior All-Star Game selections.
Send In Your Class Notes

If you have news and/or photos for the next issue of Academy magazine, please email them to Director of Alumni Relations Melissa Clarke Beckett at [email protected] or mail them to the Alumni Office at 4300 Cherry Bottom Road, Gahanna, OH 43230.
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