Alumni News
Arts Guild purchases alumnus’ paintings for Arts Center
Thanks to the Fine Arts Guild, KCD has acquired a pair of paintings by Martin Benson ‘05, who is now working as an artist in New Orleans. The works, titled Diptych, are a pair of abstract, mixed media paintings that will be hung in the new Fine Arts Center. The paintings were delivered in December, and we plan to have Martin back this spring to unveil the work and speak about his experiences as an artist after graduating.
Film premiere will honor Gray Henry Blakemore ‘61
On February 1, a Clifton Center event will celebrate birthdays of Gray Henry-Blakemore and Thomas Merton. This event will also see the Louisville premiere of Transmissions, a film by Eleanor Bingham Miller.
According to Ms. Miller, the film “travels with Gray on her 50-year spiritual journey from Louisville to New York, then Egypt and the East, then England and finally home to Louisville, where she founded The Fons Vitae Press. Transmissions honors her tireless efforts on the local, national and global level in the field of Interfaith Relations.” Fons Vitae regularly draws internationally known religious leaders and scholars to Louisville, and Ms. Blakemore helps plan and produce Louisville’s annual Festival of Faiths.
Please RSVP to ebmiller@mac.com or 502-560-1355.
The KCDate Car Raffle returns!
Would like a chance to win an Audi Q5, A5 convertible, or $40,000 in cash—all while benefiting KCD? If so, now is your chance! A maximum of 1,000 raffle tickets will be sold at $100 each, and all proceeds benefit the students of KCD. The raffle will take place at KCDate on Saturday, February 25, but you do not need to be present to win. To purchase your ticket/s, contact Debi Ballard at 814-4370 or at debi.ballard@kcd.org. Thanks to KCD parent Mike Vine and Bluegrass Audi for organizing this raffle again this year.
Alumnus honored at Chair’s Reception
Lowry Watkins Jr., a 1964 graduate of KCD predecessor Aquinas Preparatory School, was presented with the Exceptional Service Award during the Chair’s Reception held in the Fine Arts Center on Friday. During the presentation, KCD Board Chair LouAnn Atlas said that, “Few, if any, have had as broad an impact on KCD as a result of their philanthropy. Over the years, Lowry has established endowments to benefit the tennis, baseball, and soccer programs, as well as the library.
He contributed to the construction of this theater by naming two seats, one in memory of his brother. Most recently, Lowry has established an endowment to provide a full scholarship, renewed annually, to a deserving student based on merit and need. In doing so, he has enriched the KCD experience for generations of students, and his generosity will make the KCD experience possible for students who wouldn’t otherwise have this sort of opportunity.”
Will Heyburn '07 wins swimming award
Will Heyburn '07 has been named a Scholar All-American honorable mention by The College Swimming Coaches Association of America. To qualify for All-American Scholar honors, Will posted a Division One provisional NCAA qualifying time and achieved a 3.78 GPA his senior year. This past June, Will received a B.A. degree in government from Harvard University, where he was a member of the varsity swim team all four years.
While attending Kentucky Country Day School in Louisville, Will won two Kentucky state high school swimming championships, swam for the Lakeside Swim Team which won a national team championship, and received High School All-American Swimming and All-Academic honors. At Harvard, Will achieved All-Ivy honors, swam on a relay which holds the current Harvard record for the 200 Free relay, made five Ivy Championship individual event finals and posted the 6th and 7th fastest times in Harvard swimming history for the 100 Free and 100 Breaststroke respectively. During those years, Harvard won an Ivy Championship, upset top ranked Princeton in the 2011 dual meet and consistently ranked in the top 25 of Division One swim teams. This year Harvard also achieved the second highest team GPA of all Division One swim programs.
Will became interested in finance while working during a summer for Chrysalis Ventures, a Louisville based private equity company. He also worked for Louisville-based Brown-Forman Company and Genscape, Inc., during subsequent summers. In July, he began work as an analyst in New York City for Moelis & Company, a world-wide investment bank.
Final career workshop showcases alumni in the arts
The final alumni career workshop was held today in the Upper School. About a dozen alumni spoke to our students about careers ranging from film to graphic design to studio art. Thanks to the following alumni for sharing their time and experience with our students: Stu Pollard '85, Weasie Gaines '89, Carter Wood Sartor '89, Courtney Reiss Kempf '97, Blair Robertson '01, Churchill Davenport, Emily Albrink '00, Tess Whittle '05, Tiffany Barlow '00, and Connor Bell '97.
Alumni present career workshops
Fifteen alumni visited the Frazier Upper School this morning to discuss their careers in law and medicine with our students. The sessions are a great opportunity for our students to learn about various career paths from former KCD students. This is the second of three alumni-led sessions; the final installment will focus on careers in the arts. The sessions are organized by Dean of Students Patrick Mulloy '98.
Thanks to these alumni for sharing their time and experience with our students: Alex Sweet '04, Farah Nasraty '06, Sadie Tamplin '98, Brooken Smith '96, Nicole Staffieri Coffey '99, Bobby Vice '98, Hunt Rounsavall '91, Omar Amin '98, Darran Winslow '92, John Bahe '94, Bianca Ummat '02, Ryan Goode '04, Samyu Kemparajurs '07, Elsa Stephen '07, and Matt Adamkin '04.
Alumni share work experience with students
This morning, a group of 14 alumni came to KCD for a series of discussion groups exploring careers in business, finance, and small business ownership. Students participated in a series of sessions in which alumni shared their work experience and answered questions. According to Dean of Students Patrick Mulloy '98, this is the first of three alumni-led sessions. Future installments will focus on legal careers and careers in the arts.
Thanks to the following alumni for sharing their time and experience with our students: Helen Killarney Vice '00, Allen Bahe '01, Pai Charasika '94, Charlie Farnsley '00, Gary Bockhorst '87, John Jennings '00, Jackson Andrews '00, Amy Frankenberger Cimba '93, Fiona Harkess Starks '86, Maggie Barrett '03, Wendy Burke Brown '83, Jason Hagan '91, Patrick Neely '91, and Chris Radford '04.
Alumni receive athletic honors
Last Friday, five alumni were honored for their contribution to KCD athletics. Four alumni were inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, and one into the Royal Bearcat Society, which represents the highest athletic honor a KCD athlete can achieve. Former coach John Filar was not able to attend the ceremony and will receive his honor next year.
Inductees are listed below; each name links to a short bio of each individual's accomplishments.
2011 Royal Bearcat Society Honorees
- Betty Baird KCD 1979 (girls' golf)
- John Filar (girls' basketball head coach 1979-1988)
2011 Athletic Hall of Fame Honorees
- Albert Hulbert LCD 1964 (boys' basketball)
- Robert Nolan APS 1966 (boys' tennis)
- Beth Radford KCD 1973 (girls' golf)
- Charles Rush KCD 1973 (boys' swimming)
KCD honors veterans at all-school assembly
Today, KCD students, faculty, and staff observed Veterans Day with the annual all-school assembly, which was held in the Gardner Gym. Lower schoolers Caroline Ceaser and Max Mead opened the assembly by leading the school in the Pledge of Allegiance. Senior Ryan Scinta provided a short history of Veteran’s Day, and senior Paige Henry introduced special guest speaker, veteran, and KCD alumnus Neale Bennett '79.
Mr. Bennett served in the U.S. Air Force and the Air National Guard. He left the active Air Force in 1991, joined the Indiana Air National Guard, and began flying for Delta Air Lines. He served with the National Guard as an F-16 Fighting Falcon Instructor Pilot until 1995 and maintained his commission as a major in the inactive reserve until 2004. Mr. Bennett spent about eleven years as a “mission ready” pilot capable of worldwide deployment. During his remarks, Mr. Bennett said veterans should be appreciated because they help provide the world with a beacon of hope. He also recognized KCD alumni that have served in the military and asked all students to thank veterans for their service.
Following Mr. Bennett’s remarks, the Upper School Chorale performed two numbers, and middle school student Luke Brownlow read a patriotic poem.
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