Alumni News

Braeden Thomson '20 Graduates from Cornell University

7/23/2024

Shoutout to Braeden Thomson '20. He recently graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, concentrating in ocean science. He also majored in Environment and Sustainability with a concentration in Environmental Biology and Applied Ecology.

As an undergraduate, Braeden engaged in several lines of research with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In Hawaii, he connected sound and spatial ecology in the Palila, helping to shape approaches for conserving this critically-endangered honeycreeper species. He also earned an honors distinction for completing a senior thesis on the oxidative physiology of black-throated blue warblers, a small songbird common to Eastern North America. In addition to research, Braeden was a teaching assistant for field ornithology and oceanography courses.

Braeden took a gap semester in spring 2022 to pursue some extra-scholastic endeavors. In March of that year, he traveled through Europe, volunteering at a refugee camp on the Ukrainian border. From April through mid-August he hiked from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail to raise money and awareness for the Ukrainian refugee crisis.

This summer, he's spending his time at Shoals Marine Lab in the Gulf of Maine deciding what area of research he wants to pursue in graduate school.

Way to go Braeden!

Bren Coakley Graduates From East Carolina University

7/23/2024

Congratulations to Bren Coakley '20. She graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Marketing with a minor in Fashion Merchandising. Bren is currently job searching while enjoying some summer family activities and looking forward to starting her new career.

Way to go, Bren!

Grace Georgo '18 Begins Career with Tennessee Attorney General

7/23/2024

Congratulations, Grace Georgo ’18! She’s working as a law clerk at the U.S. Attorney's Office where she’s responsible for working on legal projects with attorneys from both the criminal and civil divisions.

This July, she’ll begin working for the Tennessee Attorney General in the law enforcement and special prosecutions division. This division represents the state and various state agencies—including the state’s law enforcement agencies—defending civil rights cases, tort claims, and the constitutionality of state statutes. It also handles a limited number of criminal prosecutions.

This fall she’ll also enter her final year at Vanderbilt Law School. Way to go, Grace!

Kelly Tiblier '04 Graduates from Liberty University

7/23/2024

Shoutout to Kelly Tiblier '04! She recently graduated with her doctorate in Education with a focus in Curriculum and Instruction from Liberty University!

Way to go, Kelly!

Ray Tahhan '20 Featured in Old Dominion University Publication

7/23/2024

Congratulations, Ray Tahhan '20. Ray recently graduated from Old Dominion University with his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in pre-health.

Ray was named a College of Sciences Scholar and he reflects on his time at ODU, his service to the community and the school, his work in the lab on antibodies and vaccines and what his next chapter looks like.

“That was super interesting and super fun, mostly because I got to dive into some of the immunology behind it," he said of his work....I think if students have the opportunity to do research at the undergraduate level in the sciences, they should. It's super beneficial, and it can only help you build practical skills early on, and for me it was a no brainer, and I loved it.”

Ray will be attending Eastern Virginia Medical School's Medical Doctor's Program this fall. Read the article here.

Way to go, Ray!

Seth Smith '20 Spends Summer as Merchandising Intern at Dollar Tree Corporate

7/23/2024

Shoutout to Seth Smith '20! He's a senior majoring in Management and Economics at Old Dominion University. He's also spent his summer as a merchandising intern at Dollar Tree Corporate.

"It has been an eye-opening experience to observe the inner workings of a Fortune 500 company that generates billions of dollars annually," said Smith. "My team is responsible for researching, selecting and managing many of the products customers see in the over 8,000 Dollar Tree stores nationwide, as well as identifying trends and opportunities in the market."

The internship will conclude the second week of August and is his fifth internship during his undergraduate career and his second experience with a Fortune 500 company.

"I've interned with Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP), The Breeden Company/Breeden Construction, and the newly founded ODU Monarch Internship and Co-Op Office," said Smith. "I've gained a plethora of knowledge from every internship I've completed. If there's one piece thing I've learned throughout my undergraduate journey, it's that internships shape the trajectory of where you go in life, especially in business and when you're in college. I've arguably learned more outside of the classroom by engaging in experiential learning opportunities (including internships or LEAP when I was at Collegiate) than I ever have in a lecture hall."

Post-graduation from ODU, Seth plans to apply to the University of Virginia for his master's degree.

Summer Strength & Conditioning Begins June 10

5/29/2024

Summer Strength and Conditioning is back, Oaks! Sessions will begin on June 10, 2024, under the tutelage of Coach Matt Talley, and will continue through Thursday, Aug. 1. Sessions will be held Monday through Thursday daily in the Watt-Baker Gymnasium.

- 9-10 a.m. varsity/JV athletes and young alumni
- 10-11 a.m. middle School athletes, families and faculty
Please note that there will be not be training on June 19 and July 4.

We would love to see you there, Oaks!

Questions? Contact Coach Jon Hall at jhall@norfolkcollegiate.org.

Students attend community Diversity Dialogue Day

3/20/2024

Several upper school students participated in the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities’ Diversity Dialogue Day at Old Dominion University. The one-day event brings together students from public and private schools. With the help of trained facilitators, the program works to increase the students’ understanding of what prejudice is, decrease stereotypic attitudes and develop an expanded awareness of discrimination and its harmful effects on individuals and groups. It also works to expose students to diverse perspectives and create connections between peers.

Students learned about the LISTEN Model which emphasizes:

LOOK: Look at the person speaking and make good eye contact

INQUIRE: Ask open-ended questions

SUMMARIZE: Reflect your understanding of what the person is saying

TAKE NOTES: Write down or make mental notes about what the other person is saying

ENCOURAGE: Use positive nonverbal and verbal cues to encourage the person to say more

NEUTRALIZE: Try to stay positive and avoid bias

The goal was to have students leave feeling an increased sense of personal empowerment and recognize the positive impact they can have on their own school and communities.

Mike Cutter '88 Tip-Off Tournament

11/20/2023

Dear Norfolk Collegiate Community,

This past Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, Norfolk Collegiate School hosted the inaugural Mike Cutter ’88 Tip-Off Basketball Tournament welcoming four schools including our own Mighty Oaks! The tournament was developed to honor the legacy of leadership and service of Mike Cutter ’88. Amy Cutter joined us at the tournament to share in her words the impact Mike made on his family, the school and the community.

We are pleased to share Amy’s words with you and the announcement of the new Mike Cutter ’88 Student Leadership Endowment Fund. The fund will help provide Collegiate students with leadership and service opportunities to carry forward Mike’s legacy in the Norfolk and Hampton Roads communities. If you would like to support this fund, please make a gift using this link.

Sincerely,

Stacy Nixon

Assistant Head For Advancement

"A Christmas Carol" Comes to Collegiate

11/17/2023

Mark your calendars to see “A Christmas Carol” on Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. or Sunday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. on the Hackney Theater stage in the Meredith Center for the Arts.

This family-friendly adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale and adapted by Michael Marrone has all the familiar characters we know and love who nimbly bring us through Scrooge's journey of self-reflection and redemption.

Former Head William W. King Passes Away

11/1/2023

That this was the letter was shared with our community from Head of School Scott Kennedy:

Dear Norfolk Collegiate Community,

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that Mr. William W. King passed away on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. Will served as headmaster of Norfolk Collegiate School from 1988 to 2008. He provided compassionate and visionary leadership to the Collegiate community while also tirelessly dedicating his time to civic organizations throughout Hampton Roads. Will left a remarkable legacy on this school, this region and this Commonwealth.

Oaks Athletics is Now on Hudl

9/21/2023

Norfolk Collegiate is excited to announce a new partnership with Hudl, a video software company used by 162,000 teams worldwide and more than 4.1 million active users. Oak Nation will have its first opportunity to check out the Hudl cameras the week of Sept. 25-29, 2023, as our teams take to the fields and courts. The cameras will capture competitions for our fans near and far! After the competitions, the games will be available for viewing for those who may have missed the game or want to see a replay of their favorite Oaks.

To watch Collegiate games, Oaks fans can go directly to our Hudl page, (fan.hudl.com/NCOaksAthletics). Collegiate has invested in three cameras, with one located on the Franklin Family Field, one on the Mathas Family Field and one in the Watt-Baker Gymnasium. For varsity, junior varsity and middle school teams playing in those locations, fans will be able to sign on and cheer on their teams!

As we implement this new and exciting system, there are a few key things to share with families:

The Hudl camera does record our athletic competitions and games will be available for replay on the site.
When student-athletes are competing off-site, if the host school also offers Hudl, the game will be recorded and shared with Collegiate.
For Collegiate athletic activities offered off-site, Collegiate is exploring opportunities to leverage the Hudl platform to include those sports.
The Hudl camera will record sound from the sidelines, so cheer on our Oaks loudly!

For more information, please contact Jon Hall, director of athletics, at jhall@norfolkcollegiate.org.

Student Pottery to be Sold at Empty Bowls Charity Event

3/27/2023

Fourteen Pottery and Advanced Pottery students, along with middle and upper school art teachers Ms. Emily Pope and Mrs. Cathy Wright, donated soup bowls to be sold at this weekend’s Empty Bowls charity event at Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU).

The Empty Bowls project is an annual event dedicated to raising money for feed-related charities to assist the hungry in their community. Local artisans and crafters make bowls and donate them to the event.

Collegiate’s students were challenged to make two bowls each—one to give and one to keep—experimenting with different shapes and surface decorations, such as texture, slip trailing, engraving and additives. They then did some sample layering with the high-fire glazes on some pieces that had been left in the studio and finally glazed and fired their pieces.

Administrators, Faculty Gain Better Understanding of Experiences of Students of Color During Professional Development

3/24/2023

Dr. Jackson Collins, Prep for Prep executive director, shared insight on the importance of lived experiences and a sense of belonging for students of color in their school during a recent professional development workshop. The session delved into research conducted on the experiences of students of color in independent schools in which they were the minority.

Faculty and staff worked together to share how Dr. Collins’ story affected them and to share their stories using “Cards on Race,” which is a deck of cards that helps individuals “develop racial literacy, empathy and the healthy racial coping strategies needed to navigate everyday world and our most challenging conversations on race,” according to CardsonRace.com.

Dr. Collins’ workshop was one of many that Collegiate faculty, staff and administrators are participating in as part of our comprehensive Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Initiative to create a more inclusive and supportive learning community for all students, families, faculty and staff.

Student-Produced "Into the Woods" Hits the Stage April 14-16

3/23/2023

Norfolk Collegiate is proud to present Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods” at 7 p.m. on April 14 and April 15 and at 3 p.m. on April 16. The student-produced, student-teched production is musically sophisticated and weaves fairytales together for a twisted adventure.

“Being a part of the cast is hard work. We're memorizing lines, music, choreography, blocking and more while making sure to keep up with school and extracurriculars,” said Alexa B. ’26. “Luckily my class, Theatrical Production, revolves around our musical. We're responsible for designing and building the set pieces.”

Experiential Learning LEAPs With TowneBank Support

2/28/2023

Mr. Scott Kennedy, head of school at Norfolk Collegiate, was joined by students Colby F. '24, Bailey W. '24, Addy R. '24 and Sarah M. '24 to receive a generous gift of $100,000 from TowneBank in support of experiential learning-a cornerstone of the Collegiate student experience.

Presenting the generous gift from TowneBank is Karen Priest, executive vice president of commercial banking, and Dawn Glynn, chief experience officer. In addition to the check presentation, our guests toured both campuses to see experiential learning in action and enjoyed lunch with the above-listed students who shared some of their exciting LEAP projects.

Alumnae Speak to Students about Using Their Voices for Change

1/27/2023

On Jan. 13, 2023, the upper school welcomed alumnae Dr. Taraneh Azar '85 and Afsaneh "Affie" Azar Ambrose ’88. The sisters emigrated to the United States from Iran following the Iranian Revolution and spoke to students about using their voices to change the world.

“We reached out to open up a topic of understanding,” said Head of School Scott Kennedy in his opening remarks. “One of the key parts of the school’s philosophy is to make sure you have an understanding of global events. Having an understanding and appreciation of the complexity of what happens around the world makes you better global citizens, which is something that we strive to do.”

The program came to life after Ava M. ’26, an upper school student, saw images of Iranian women and the men supporting them being mistreated for voicing their opposition to the Iranian government’s oppression. The student approached David Buckingham, interim upper school dean, and asked if there was something that she could do at the school. They joined forces with Dr. Nefertiti Makeda, Collegiate’s director of diversity and inclusion, and together, they were able to bring Dr. Azar and Ms. Ambrose to campus.

Theodore "Ted" Forté

1/26/2023

Dr. Theodore “Ted” Forté passed away on Jan. 23, 2023, following an extended illness. Ted was a gifted educator who was instrumental in building Carolton Oaks School into the Norfolk Collegiate we know today.

Foremost an instructor of music and physical education, Ted’s legacy far exceeds the classroom. During his time at Carolton Oaks (1958-1965), he was instrumental in the growth and development of the student experience, having instituted the first homecoming, holiday dance, field day and extracurriculars. Ted coached basketball, started the junior varsity team and launched the tennis and baseball programs. In 1960, he unveiled the school’s alma mater, and in 1962 he became the first director of student activities. He also served as a guidance counselor for the school’s first graduating class. All of this while teaching music and physical education.

Ted went on to work in Norfolk Public Schools and later became an educational consultant and coach. He was also involved in Old Dominion University's Teacher Preparation Program. In addition to working with generations of students and teachers, Ted used his musical talents to serve as the organist and choir director of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Norfolk.

Ted is survived by his sister, Mary Josephine Powers of Moss Point, Mississippi; his daughter, Alexandria Forte-Nijssen; and granddaughter, Alexandra Elizabeth White ’11, her husband Robert Adam White; and "adopted" daughter Mary Nolte Ruffin (Louis).

Please keep Ted’s family in your thoughts and prayers during the very difficult days ahead.

Julian de Nijs ’09

1/23/2023

Shoutout to Julian de Nijs ’09 on his venture, Da Boon.

A startup entrepreneur, Julian is focusing his passions on his startup, Da Boon, which designs and manufactures original dog supplies. With two products on the market–a reflective dog collar (pictured) and dog leash (pictured second) –and seven in the works, Julian is staying busy working to ensure our furry family members have quality products.

Learn more about Da Boon at da-boon.com.

Way to go, Julian! We’re excited to see your company expand!

David Kirkland '10

1/18/2023

Congratulations, David '10 and Courtney Kirkland on their newest addition to their family…and the Collegiate family, daughter Maddie.

Do you have life updates to share? Email Cayte Brown '08, associate director of alumni, family & community relations at cbrown@norfolkcollegiate.org, and let her know!

Congrats, David and Courtney!