Academy World: Fall 2020

Thank You WMA Alumni Health Care Professionals

With numerous WMA Alumni engaged in the health care industry, so many have embodied the meaning of our mission statement of “being challenge-seeking citizens and leaders of an evolving world.” From fighting COVID-19 on the front lines to caring for some of the most vulnerable populations, we are highlighting in our Health Care Series a handful of those who have embraced the challenges of a global pandemic. WMA extends our gratitude to all of our alumni on the front line of COVID-19.

Dr. Mark Keroack '72

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Dr. Mark Keroack ’72: Through pandemic ‘we will question old ways of doing things’

There was no playbook for Mark Keroack ’72, M.D., MPH, on how to definitively approach COVID-19 when it crept into the Western Massachusetts region in March.

Dr. Bonnie Faulkner Ryan '82

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Dr. Bonnie Faulkner Ryan ’82: ‘At WMA, I learned how to learn ... communicate and lead’

As an emergency physician at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, Bonnie Faulkner Ryan, M.D. ’82 was surrounded by COVID-19. For Dr. Ryan, a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians (FACEP), it put her in a potentially fatal environment.

Brett Zalkan '83

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Brett Zalkan ’83: WMA was ‘a boot camp for a lifetime of managing complexity’

After a shift in careers and just 10 months into his new profession as a registered nurse, Wilbraham & Monson Academy class valedictorian Brett Zalkan ’83 found himself on the front lines in the early and uncertain stages of the escalating COVID-19 pandemic

Kiersten (Peterson) Falteisek '95

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Kirsten (Peterson) Falteisek ’95: WMA proved ‘preparation and hard work will always pay off, even in ways not intended’

In her interview for an Academy World article regarding the challenges essential workers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kirsten (Peterson) Falteisek ’95 shared her struggles as a registered nurse at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona.

Eric Peterson '99

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Eric Peterson ’99: ‘WMA was like a family, and I would do anything to help my family’

Zoom became a household name in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many academic institutions used the online video company to hold classes, while businesses throughout the world benefitted from its user-friendly format to conduct conference-like meetings.

Jeremy Korytoski '06

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Jeremy Korytoski ’06: WMA initiated ‘a level of perseverance and determination even while under tremendous stress’

Jeremy Korytoski ’06 was cautious and uncomfortable, but prepared.

For this Academy World story, he was asked questions about being a front-line worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. What was the experience like? How did it affect you?

Kayla (Caine) Richards '09

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Kayla (Caine) Richards ’09: WMA ‘encourages each individual to find ways in which he or she can improve the community as a whole’

Like a great athlete with a big game on the horizon, Kayla (Caine) Richards ’09 was ready to play her role in the fight against COVID-19.

Elijah Barrows '12

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Elijah Barrows ’12: ‘WMA taught me everything I needed to know on how to communicate effectively with anyone’

Every single day, there was anxiety.

Every single day, there were new patients. Every single day, bodies had to be taken to the morgue. And every single day, COVID-19 didn’t relent for Elijah Barrows ’12.

Megan Pehoviak '14

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A passion for science and health care led Megan Pehoviak ’14 to the front lines

With a passion for science and the experience of taking care of her ill grandmother in high school, going to nursing school for college made perfect sense for Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s Megan Pehoviak ’14.

Hannah Clewes '15

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Hannah Clewes ’15: Nursing career gives chance to ‘strive to make an impact in someone’s life every day’

Phrases such as “going to war” and “plan of attack” are often used as military terms.

For Hannah Clewes ’15, she was going to war — against an invisible, deadly and vastly unknown enemy called COVID-19.

Also in this issue:

From Head of School Brian P. Easler

‘The WMA community has what it takes . . . to persevere despite what lies ahead’

There is only one thing I know for certain about this school year — that it will continue to challenge the WMA community, all of us, in ways we have never been challenged. I am also confident, although we are still learning more every day, that we have done everything in our power, literally, to prepare the Academy for this year. This preparation, regardless of how extensive, will inevitably be insufficient to totally shield WMA from some impact from the global pandemic. There are hard days ahead, but we remain ready.

Opening of School 2020

Opening of school a complete team effort

WMA’s rapid transition to online learning in the spring was extremely effective, especially for the limited time available to make it happen. We were thoughtful and decisive in our actions, and we led the way among our peer schools for timely and successful communication and implementation of our plans.

Alumni in Action

Antonacci Family

Antonacci Family uses Foundation to make a difference

As COVID-19 spread, businesses closed and jobless rates skyrocketed during the spring of 2020, one selfless family thought the time was right to step in and help people in need.

Well, technically it’s two families.

OK, breaking things down another step, at this point in their adult lives, it’s really six families — specifically, six Wilbraham & Monson Academy graduates.

Board of Trustees Q&A

Paul Sullivan ’91: ‘Without WMA, I wouldn’t be where I am today’

A Q&A with Paul Sullivan '91, one of our newest members of WMA's Board of Trustees.

Without WMA, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I was a financial aid student and WMA literally pulled me out of a bad public school setting and gave me the tools to create a life I never would have imagined.

Oldest-known living alumnus

Oldest-known living alumnus has aptitude for success

One would never suspect that when Alton “Al” W. Cheney ’38W was born, a loaf of bread cost 12 cents or that the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote had been law for barely a month. Mr. Cheney’s voice is clear and steady with an easy chuckle and an obvious sense of humor, completely belying the fact that he turned 100 in September — making him the oldest-known living alumnus of WMA.

Alumni Reflection

Alumni Reflection: ‘We all have the potential to be a light in this world’

I cannot talk about my current accolades without giving a well-respected homage and ode to the life-changing work an experience at Wilbraham & Monson Academy did in elevating a quirky, teenager from Brooklyn, New York, to be a confident Black woman, educator and mentor.

From the Archives

Mr. & Mrs. James L. Brown IV ’55M help bring Academy’s African American history to forefront

The connection between Wilbraham & Monson Academy and the important history of African American people has been present from the start of WMA’s formative years. It began at Wesleyan Academy, where it sat on the same footprint as the current WMA campus, continued through the days of Monson Academy and Wilbraham Academy, to the current days at WMA.

Senior Stones

Every Stone has a Story: Ton-Morrison '16

From “The Hill” to the front of Rich Hall, along Main Street and Faculty Street, and now past the Athletic Center, Academy alumni have designed and left their own, unique 10-inch-by-7.5-inch mark on our campus. All told, approximately 6,500 Senior Stones are permanent fixtures of both individual and Academy history.

Class Notes

1955 Monson

At 85 years young, Dick Bailey is still coaching softball at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, Maine, and is enjoying time with his family, including two great-grandchildren.