2022 Class Notes

2010s

The Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia in August were the setting for the marriage of Griffin McGregor Anderson ’12 to Vivian Grace Hagerty. Griffin and Vivian, both avid hikers, climbers, and canoers, chose a small celebration with immediate family and attendants due to COVID concerns. They hope to have a larger celebration next summer. Finley Hamman ’32 was a flower girl, with Rory Hamman ’35 as her escort. Griffin, former communications director for Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, is now supporting Ford Motor Company’s Public Affairs Communications in Washington, DC. Vivian is an assistant program manager & military operations analyst for Systems Planning Analysis, focusing on undersea warfare. They currently live in Washington, DC, but have recently purchased a home in the foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains. Stay tuned!

Luisa Barbano ’11 posted this on Facebook:

“A decade ago, I wrote a short story for Patricia Malone‘s (Upper School English, 2009 to present) creative writing class…This spooky season, my Gothic horror piece has finally found a home!

“The Double-Goer

“It is said that if one sees one’s bodily double, bad luck will ensue. If one talks to one’s bodily double, death is imminent. Such is the case for Harold Lawrence, whose misfortune begins, classically, on a dark and stormy night.

“I don’t care which twice-removed cousin of yours is marrying for the fourth time, we aren’t going anywhere in this weather,” the gentleman howls over the violent drumming of the rain on the windowpanes, fumbling desperately with his maroon tie. Underneath the percussion of the rain and wind, a vaudevillian voice resonates from a phonograph in the corner. A woman stands in her evening dress and plumed hat in the hall, throwing her arms to the air and shouting a retort drowned out by a resounding clap of thunder and the hysterical squawking of the caged parrot in the parlor. A car horn can be heard from the slick streets outside the apartment”” https://drunkenpenwriting.com/2021/10/02/the-double-goer/. 

Caitlin Broman ’11 and Tom Lombardo on their wedding day in November!

A very pregnant Maggie Lloydhauser ’11 stopped by Harley to drop off a Blast! item from Gail McGuire. She ran into James Aldrich-Moodie (JAM) and head of school Larry Frye.

Ulrik Soderstrom ’11 recently shared about his interest in working with Betsy Vinton (Upper School Math and Science, 2001 to present) as she creates Harley’s first climate change curriculum.

Middle School math teacher Dan O’Brien, P ’11, ’13, ’17, ’27 and Grace O’Brien ’13 watching Wagso O’Brien ’27 and the HAC boys modified soccer team beat Honeoye!

American composer, Michael Torke, featured opera singer and recent graduate of the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase, Lydia Brown ’15 in a music video for his latest release, “Psalms of Canticle” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYIiSMeKMvE).

Justin Fox ’15 says every time he wants something, he finds a way to make it happen.

That was the case when he decided to come to Harley. He was a Grade 10 student at Norman Howard School and knew from the time he was a young boy that he wanted to be a doctor. He was speaking to friends one day at school and they were talking about how difficult Harley was and the fact that “that school gives so much homework.” Justin, wanting to challenge himself and be in the best position to make becoming a doctor a success, told his father, “I want to go to The Harley School next year”—and he did: https://www.harleyschool.org/alumni-news-justin-fox-15-making-it-happen/.

Max Bednarcyk ’16 is always our go-to guy when we need tech help. He helped with the upper school Covid Cabaret as well as the end-of-year staff party. Thank you for all your help, Max!

Jasmine Cui ’16, a senior at Emory College majoring in political science and economics, was recently awarded the annual Artistine Mann Award in Creative Nonfiction for her story, “Variations on My Chinese.”

She is an extremely talented writer and this winning essay is actually a revisit of a piece from the poetry class she took with Dr. Pat Malone (English, 2009 to present).

Jasmine said, “Harley is a unique school because it exposes students to contemporary English books as well as the classics.” Even when she started in Grade 8, the texts, compared to those at her previous school, were more challenging. “Harley believes,” she continued,”in the potential of young students and challenges them right from the start.” Jasmine came from a large public school and says that because of the small classes at Harley, teachers can get to know their students and they really “encourage you to challenge yourself.”

Here is an excerpt from her story, “Variations on My Chinese” (after Melissa Lozada-Oliva):

“My Chinese is an exotic heirloom, the kind that is auctioned off at Sotheby’s. My Chinese is blue enamel vases and a silkscreen of koi or delicate girls—case study in feminine. My Chinese is red and urgent, always wanting too much…My Chinese is the wound—not its siren red flight path.”

When Liam Brennan-Burke ’17 first joined Harley in Grade 6, he was already thinking about invoicing. He had started his own business that year, “Liam’s Lawn Service,” and wanted to figure out how to easily bill his neighborhood customers and receive payments from them. So he learned some basic Excel, which helped him organize services, payments, and accounting. He sent out paper invoices and received checks back in the mail. It worked well for an 11-year old running a business, but was not the most efficient in terms of payment processes.

Throughout high school and college, Liam had the opportunity to learn more about financial technology. He was first exposed to “mobile wallets” and companies like M-Pesa that were at the frontier of peer-to-peer payment while doing an independent study with his sister, Erin Brennan-Burke ’15, in Malawi and Tanzania. While in college at Claremont McKenna, Liam returned to East Africa to intern for a tech startup in Uganda. There he learned more about mobile wallets while doing operations/product work at SafeBoda (think Uber for motorcycles), where the ride-hailing app’s drivers used mobile wallets to accept funds for completed rides. His junior year internship at a Buy-Now-Pay-Later FinTech company involved working with four engineers and developing a web extension for credit cards. These experiences showed Liam the power of financial products and cemented his interest in the space.

Click here to learn more about Liam: https://www.harleyschool.org/alumni-news-liam-brennan-burke-17/.

“Maximize your joy in learning.” This is what Aliza Leit ’17 says we should all strive for and she is doing just that.

Aliza joined Harley in Grade 7, following in the footsteps of her brother Jeremiah Leit ’14, who was already here. Their parents decided to move Aliza and her siblings Aidan ’20 and Josefina ’23 from the Brighton School district. Aliza was so excited to join The Harley School as “Brighton had large class sizes and I wanted more one-on-one. That is what I love about Harley.” She said that Peter Hentschke’s (2010 to present) biology classes brought “joy to life” and that she loved her work with Food and Farm Coordinator, Lisa Barker (2018 to present), and the recently retired history teacher, Bill Schara (1997 to 2021). She said the teacher and experience that was most influential for her was with former director of social and environmental sustainability, Chris Hartman ’93 (2007 to ’16), in his Food and Farm Lab and the Harley Microfarm. She said that Harley teachers offer unique experiences and when they are excited about their subject, the students can feel it. “Psyched teachers get kids engaged.”

Click here to learn more about Aliza:

Aliza surveying seaweed in a tide pool at Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park. National Park research permits were required for this work. (for picture)

There was a mini reunion in Tel Aviv, Israel with Aliza Leit ’17, Rachel Present Schreter ’02, and Aidan Leit ’20.

Former parent Grant Holcomb, P ’18 and alumni non-grad Dylan Holcomb ’18 at Jines!

Lorie Rick (Physical Education, 1999 to present) also shared with me that Ryan Hilton ’19 is making quite a name for himself in the ultimate Frisbee world. According to a write-up in December on ultiworld.com, Ryan was named a favorite player following a game:

“Who’s the best player you’ve seen this weekend? Who’s your favorite?”

Zakk Mabrey (from ultiworld.com): “…my favorite player on the weekend might have been Ryan Hilton for Rochester. Rochester didn’t have an exceptionally good weekend, and Hilton wasn’t an obvious star player. There was something unassuming about him: taller, decently athletic. Hilton won me over during Rochester’s matchup with North Park. He continuously escaped down the field and exploited the deep space, making a number of big plays for the team. As a unit, Rochester didn’t take many deep shots, but when they did, they were to Hilton.”

Rochester Fire Department welcomes Ethan Smith ’19

Ethan Smith, a non-grad from the class of 2019, recently graduated from the Rochester Fire Academy. According to his mom, Terry Fonda Smith, P ’19, ’21 (and head of Harley’s Lower School), “Hard work, long hours, tragedy, and teamwork” pulled the 82nd graduating class through the pandemic and beyond. Ethan’s badge was pinned by his dad, Aaron Smith! Willie Jackson ’77, recently retired fire chief, was also a part of the ceremony to celebrate the newest members of the Rochester City Fire Department.