N C S S Mm a g a z i n e

SpriNg/SuMMer 2005 / VoluMe 6

THEFIRST

FIVE YEARS

Five years into the Presidency of Dr. Gerald L. Boarman:

where NCSSM has been and where he wants to take it.

Slower traffic please stay to the right

After waiting all winter to pick up fly fishing this spring, my rod still dangles in the ga-rage under a shelf of camping equipment, having not been bent over once by the weight of a trout. It’s an ugly little omen that reminds me every morning I’m not taking the time to do what I want. So, am I just another victim of the rat-race? Man, that’s cliché. Heck, am I a cliché?

Last week I stepped out my front door to water some plants before leaving for work and saw one neighbor dragging his empty trash bin back to the house and another neighbor shoving a gaggle of backpacked kids into his minivan. I’m in a commercial, I thought.

Despite all the mundane stereotypes defining my lifestyle, I’m a pretty happy commuter.I consider my daily destintion a place worth traveling to–something I don’t think a lot of people can say.

At NCSSM, your life-schedule is defined by extended weekends, Mini-Terms, and vari-ous annual campus events. For example, Convocation signals the beginning of the year, the Halloween dance reminds you Fall is here and before you realize the leaves have fallen, it’s Christmas break. However, for the first time since I started working at NC-SSM, Commencement became more than just the signal of summer. The 24th NCSSM Commencement marked the departure of my first group of academic advisees.

Their donning of caps and gowns and broad smiles reminded me that more than two years had past since I started working at this school. For my advisees however, it marked something much more important than the length of their advisor’s tenure. In fact, I real-ized that an amazing transformation had taken place and its butterfly was gracing the stage under a canopy of oak trees.

For Class of 2005 members Myra Fulp, Rebecca Parker, Marsalis Smith and Jason Herrera, graduation from NCSSM meant the start of a long and thrilling philosophi-cal commute of their own. It meant that it’s their turn to merge into one of life’s more thrilling─and challenging─highways. With a diploma from NCSSM, they’ll steer right into the commuter lane and set the cruise control. Of course, speed bumps and fender-benders will occasionally alter their route, but there is no doubt they will reach their destination.

So while I sometimes struggle with the mundane travails of suburbia and that minivan with its brakes on in the left lane, I know my destination everyday is worth it. I know that even though these magazines don’t get out as often as I like, I know that the things preventing their printing, like calls from USA Today reporters and National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration representatives wanting more information on our students, are good things. I understand why putting together events to celebrate scholarships and driving students to speaking engagements are acceptable ways to neglect timelines.

As editor of this publication, it is not easy to see missed deadlines. Yet, if I was to tell you why, I think you would understand. It is with sincerity that I tell you I hope that the next alumni magazine you read will be in January, as I try to formalize a June/January publishing cycle. Still, I don’t know what’s in store for the Class of 2006 and where their academic commutes will lead me. Only time will tell.

Regards,

Editor Craig C. Rowe

Photography

Craig C. RoweFred Hurteau

Contributing WritersCraig C. Rowe

Staci Barfield ‘83 Rachel Wingo ‘05

PrinterB&B Print Media

Bristol, TN

NCSSM1219 Broad Street

PO Box 2418Durham, NC 27715

www.ncssm.edu

Address Changes?Alumni/Development

PO Box 2733Durham, NC 27715

alumni@ncssm.edu www.ncssmalumni.com

© 2005 NCSSMPublished semi-annually by the Communications Department.

7,500 copies of this public document were produced at a cost of $4,578.09.

SpriNg / SuMMer 2005 / VoluMe 6

CONTENTS

Alumni are involvedAlumni involvement on campus is making a real difference

The Boarman years A look at President Boarman’s impact

You’re from where?The second in a series spotlighting the smaller areas from which our alumni hail

Odyssey Campaign updateGuaranteeing the future

Calling all writersShare your creative energy with your fellow alumni

Class NotesMarriages, births, promotions, relocations and just what’s going on All in a day’s workAlumnus Scott Jacobson wins Emmy Awards for “The Daily Show.”

Can they play together?Team sports and the classroom

Jonathon Kuniholm marches onAfter losing his arm serving in Iraq, Jonathon Kuniholm ‘87 presses on. A Herald-Sun reprint

N C S S Mm a g a z i n e

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SCOTT JACOBSON ‘95 WriTES FuNNY STuFF FOr ONE OF ThE MOST WATChED NEWS ShOWS iN AMEriCA.

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COMMENCEMENT 2005: For a list of 2005 graduates and the schools they will attend, see the new alumni connections site, www.ncssmalumni.com

if you have not received login information, email alumni@ncssm.edu

NCSSM ALuMNi BOArD: For information on your alumni board representatives, go to www.ncssmalumni.com, click on Clubs & Groups, choose NCSSM Alumni Board, and search by “has registered Online.”

www.ncssmalumni.com

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ALUMNI CAMPUS

Alumni have steadily increased their presence on campus. From

faculty positions to Mini-Term mentors to leadership donors,

alumni impact is playing a major role in the future of NCSSM.

Rodney Dangerfield did it. So did Drew Barrymore in a movie called “Never Been Kissed.” That’s right, they went back to school. And every year, more and more NCSSM Alumni are doing just that─as employees and volunteers.

Their participation, from adopting halls to mentoring mini-terms, is having a great impact. Jon Davis ‘88 and Dr. Christine Muth ’92 are Biology instructors and two of three graduates who currently teach at the school. Their motivation for returning to NCSSM? Says Muth, “I had a really great experience as a student here, both academically and in terms of the friends I made, life on cam-pus.” Adds Davis, whose career at NCSSM began in Distance Learning two years ago, “I wanted to give something back to the state of North Carolina and back to the school…By working in Distance Learning and providing workshops all around the state, I thought I could give something back by enhancing the school’s profile in the rest of the state.” Both Muth and Davis described working at the school as a “privilege,” even though they say it’s more demanding than they imagined it would be.

Lauren Carr ’00 and Jackson Brown ’98

Be part of Mini-Term: Alumni can assist faculty, staff, and other alumni who are teaching courses for Mini-Term or they can help out students who are doing independent projects.

Adopt a hall: By adopting a hall on campus, an alumnus agrees to do one thing for that hall sometime during the school year. It can be as simple (and inexpensive) as mailing a Blockbuster gift card so the hall can have a movie night. Or, wallet permitting, one can order pizza for the entire hall or have cheesecake delivered.

Chaperone a dance: Not only do alumni provide an adult presence, but they also get to interact with current students while listening to good tunes and reliving some of their own high school memories. Alumni can also donatefood, help set up, or man the concession stand.

Lend your experiences to a club: NCSSM students are able to start a club for anything that interests them. The variety of alumni experiences will add insight and per-spective to these efforts.

Be part of the Spring Alumni Forum & Lecture Series: Alumni gather on campus to welcome soon-to-be-grad-uates to the Alumni Association. They then break off into smaller groups (based on profession) to share advice and experiences with students.

Flex your muscles on move-in/move-out days: A tradi-tion has developed in which faculty, staff, alumni, and other volunteers act as worker bees to get students moved into and out of their dorm rooms as quickly and efficiently as possible.

on

hOW TO GET iNVOLVED

by Staci Barfield ‘83

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SUMMER 2005

become an NCSSM faculty or staff member? Many alumni help shape the direction of the school through volunteerism. For the first time ever, NCSSM graduates preside over both the Board of Trustees and the Foun-dation Board. In addition, Elizabeth Grainger Page ’82 serves as the national chair of the NCSSM Annual Fund. Her appointment to that post marks the first time that it has been held by a alumnus.

The NCSSM Alumni Board, led by Eugene Murray ’82, is comprised of former students who volunteer their time to act as the alumni voice in school governance. Its membership consists of representatives from class-es that span the school’s twenty-four year existence. Brian Mahoney ’90, the Secretary of the Alumni Board, says that he became involved because he believes “the current students can benefit from our experience and alumni can benefit by being engaged with bright young people.”If you are still not sure how you can re-enlist in the NCSSM experience, the school offers a number of volun-teer opportunities for those who can-not make a formal or extended com-

returned to NCSSM as Student Life Instructors (SLI—formerly called Resident Advisors) at the advent of this school year. In fact, of the twenty SLI’s at NCSSM, seven are former students. When asked how the school had changed since her tenure as a stu-dent, Carr replied, “What’s changed is where I am four years later and where my position is now on this campus. It’s not the school that’s changed, it’s me that’s changed…being the discipli-narian and the adult.”

Both the instructors and SLI’s in-terviewed believe their high school experience at NCSSM provide them with an advantage in their current roles. They understand not only the rigorous academic demands the school places on its attendees, but the resi-dential struggles faced by many of the students. They also see their former classmates reflected in the students of today. Says Brown, who is an SLI for the hall on which he lived while attending NCSSM, “I tell guys on my hall all the time that they remind me of somebody who used to live on the hall when I was there.”

Not ready to leave your job and

mitment (see sidebar). Assistance is needed for everything from chap-eroning dances to teaching Mini-Term. Students want to hear about your college and career experiences. Teachers want to leverage your academic and professional achieve-ments. The NCSSM staff welcomes alumni involvement and can tailor tasks to meet your availability. Ac-cording to DeAnne Dotson ’86, the Alumni Volunteer Coordinator, no effort is too small and “anybody who wants to do anything can con-tact me and we’ll find something if there’s nothing that interests them listed.”

Like many of our alumni are real-izing, it is easy to go back to high school─and not nearly as challenging the second time around. If you would like to get involved on campus, please contact: alumni@ncssm.edu / 919.416.2865 DeAnne Dotson ’86: akadeanne@nc.rr.com

Be a guest lecturer: Spend an hour or two imparting your knowledge to NCSSM students. Do it in person or via tele-conferencing or the web.

Share your college experience: Students who are begin-ning to apply to college are faced with many options. Help them by sharing your college experiences, from both academic and lifestyle perspectives.

Participate in a phonathon: The State of North Carolina pays for 80% of an NCSSM student’s edu-cation by providing the finest faculty and classroom experience. However, everything after 3:30 p.m. that enhances the NCSSM experience—athletics, academic competitions, dances, school picnics, guest lecturers, van loops and so much more—is from private funding.

Call your classmates and help raise money for these impor-tant components of the NCSSM experience.

Be a part of Welcome Day: All finalists and wait-finalists are invited to NCSSM to celebrate their acceptance to NCSSM. Volunteers are needed for concessions and apparel sales, welcoming parents and students, and generally assisting in whatever is needed for that day.

Be part of the Alumni Board: Get involved in one of the many committees designed to increase communica-tions with alumni and enhance the NCSSM experience for students and alumni alike.

www.ncssmalumni.com

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SB: What did you do before you became a Student Life Instructor?

SJ: I taught public high school for ten years. Then my wife and I had Zoe, our first daughter, and I stayed home for a year with her and came to work in External Programs in 2000.

SB: Why did you decide to return to the school?

SJ: I was ready to get back and do something after being off for a year. I didn’t want to teach because, ironically, it took too much of my time. I was just looking in the want ads and saw there was a position [in External Programs] that combined technology, which I really like, and teaching. It was working with teachers to help them set up workshops to learn how to use technology in the classrooms, all over the state. It was a grant-funded program so it didn’t last.

SB: Why did you become an SLI?

SJ: I was just looking—it was probably, I don’t know, April of 2002—for things to do and I’d assumed I would go back and teach. I saw this job and I went home and told my wife about it that night. We were actually driving somewhere and I said, “You know, I have this crazy job idea that came up today.” And I thought she would just laugh because we lived in a two thousand square foot house and we had two kids and I thought she would just die laughing. We didn’t like that lifestyle; we always wanted to simplify. And she said, “Wait. What?”

SB: So how does she like it now?

SJ: She loves it. This is just an ideal job for us for many reasons, but one of them is it gives us time with the kids. It’s incredibly flexible. We work weird hours but we have so much time that we can see the girls all day.

SB: You said being an SLI is a 24x7 job. How are the demands on your personal time?

SJ: It’s hard. It’s really hard. I’ve had two completely different years. Last year I was just a standard SLI. I worked primarily a 9 pm to 3 am shift. So that was rough on the mornings I had to get up and help get the girls off somewhere; so I was getting three or four hours of sleep. I’d make up for it later, but three or four hours of sleep wasn’t good. This year, I’m the Student Activities Coordi-nator as well as an SLI.

SB: Student Life Instructors were previously called Resident Advi-sors. Is there a difference from what we experienced with RA’s with what an SLI does now?

SJ: I think that when we were here, it was more of a part-time job. They lived here, but a lot of them were going to college full-time or they were doing other jobs twenty to thirty hours a week and this is just what they did at night. Now this is pretty much supposed to be our very main job and we can have a very small job, maybe 10 hours, but that’s really kind of discouraged. Or you’re taking one class at a college. The other thing is the “I” part, the Instructor part. They’re really pushing the idea of teaching students things like how to get along, how to live in a community, diversity issues. A lot of more real world kind of things; it’s actually a class now.

SB: What differences or similarities do you see now versus when you were a student?

SJ: I think the students today are so much more polished. They’ve thought about Science & Math. Some of them have been, since middle school, doing activities because they want to get in.

SB: If an alumnus were considering becoming an SLI, what would you tell him or her?

SJ: A hard thing for a lot of them [alumni] is the baggage they bring with them, their old memories and beliefs and ideas. A lot of them come in thinking it’s going to be the same way it was when they were here, and it’s not. From year to year, it’s not the same. And the whole idea—yes, when you were here you did some things you shouldn’t have done, probably, and you broke some rules you shouldn’t have—but given that, you can’t be in a posi-tion of forgiving those same things now. You can’t turn a blind eye because then the whole system breaks down.

Steve Jones ’83 is a Student Life Instructor who lives on campus with his wife Jennifer Ashe (who is also an SLI at the school) and their two daughters Zoe Ashe-Jones, four, and Lucy Ashe-Jones, two. Steve took what little time he had to sit down with Staci Barfield ‘83 to talk about what brought him back to campus.

ALUMNI on CAMPUS...

Keeping up with the Joneses. an interview with Student Life instructor Steve Jones ‘83

Steve and Jen’s daughters, Lucy (left) and Zoe (right) are perrenially the most popular kids on campus.

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SUMMER 2005

Slides shows Class parties All classes receptionS.M.A.R.T - Science & Math Alumni Run & Trek Kids activities Faculty brunch NEW!

NEW!

September 9 - 11 Register online! www.ncssmalumni.com/alumniweekend

2005Alumni Weekend

is part of the NCSSM Quarter Century Celebration

www.ncssmalumni.com

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Gerald Boarman will begin his sixth year of service upon convocation for the 2005-06 school year in August. So just how far has NCSSM come since 1999? Read on. The Boarman years.

unlimited Potential Dr. Gerald L. Boarman moves fast. He doesn’t say what he doesn’t mean and he has a vision for the school that could make NCSSM a living, breathing, economic development engine for the state of North Carolina. “We could build another dorm but what would be the point? We have the entire state of North Carolina as a classroom,” he states. Upon his arrival to NCSSM in 1999, Dr. Boarman didn’t see a school in need of improvement, but a school that could reach even higher. He saw unlimited potential in the idea of having kids on an academically-energetic campus 24-hours a day. He was also intrigued by NCSSM’s status as a public school. “I believe so strongly in public schools because they are color- and economi-cally-blind in the sense that you can go to a school, if you have the determination, regard-less of who you or your parents are, and suc-ceed. This school is even more than that.” Boarman was introduced to NCSSM after a search firm asked him to consult on the candi-date recruitment for the job of President. “I ac-tually wasn’t actively pursuing the position. The school in Maryland where I was Chief Educa-tional Administrator was part of the consortium [of Science and Math high schools] and they asked me, ‘Can you help us find some people that might be appropriate to head NCSSM? Brock Winslow was then chair of the search committee. For the first few months they had been conducting the search on their own. After about seven months or so, they hired a search firm. I was happy to help. The woman heading the firm called and said she was flying through Washington and asked me to meet her at the airport. We talked about education and about my belief in public education versus private education. As we talked more about NCSSM, I became even more excited because the school we were talk-ing about is residential. I had run a science and math high school at Eleanor Roosevelt in Maryland and had 900 students in that component, and I thought about what could be accomplished if I had those kids all day and

by Craig C. rowe

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SUMMER 2005

The Boarman years.

night and all weekend. I told her that your potential is unlimited with a school like that, especially with North Carolina’s reputable university system. A week later she called and told me that the committee wanted to interview me.” He was prepared to share what he thought could be accomplished at the School rather than take part in a formal job interview. Apparently, the people on the committee shared his vision. “I didn’t just give them an honest opinion; I gave them my opinion.” ”I informed the committee what I would need in order to make this work. I wanted a commitment to look at the curriculum and adjust it to suit today’s times. I also wanted technology improvements; they were using 20-year-old microscopes from Duke. I saw myself as a conduit for change, a conduit to bring more money to the school.” Dr. Boarman has an impressive list of professional awards and achievements. He was selected by the National Academy Foundation and White House for the National Technology Academy Pilot Program in 2000; he received the New American High School Award from the U. S. Department of Education in 1999; and, he was the recipient of the 1997 Washington Post Distin-guished Educational Leadership Award. The Educational Media Association awarded him the Outstanding Administrator Award in 1998. He was appointed by the Governor to chair the Maryland State Task Force on class size reduction and also made rounds as a national speaker on hybrid scheduling, restructuring high schools, and improving student achievement. Literally, the list of appointments and recognitions goes on and on. Dr. Boarman engaged that list as a way to evaluate what he could accomplish at a high-performing, res-idential public school. He asked himself: “Can I take the success I’ve had—to whatever degree people judge it—and transfer what I’ve learned to a whole new culture, a whole new state, and make the institution better than it was before, for the benefit of the students?”

It came down to seeing the school on the cover of Newsweek and realizing that NCSSM spurred the rise of science and technology schools. “Today, some say we may not be the same leader we were because so many other excellent schools are catching up. I think, and there may be some other judgment on this, that we are moving in the direction of once again being the best.” Truth tellerDr. Boarman believes the sum of the institution is more important than its parts, including himself. “The institu-tion will be here long after individual presidents,” he says. It is his belief that each leader needs to make the school stronger for the next. When visiting the school

with his wife, Valerie, he met with the NCSSM community.

“I’m not sure I was received that well because I told the truth. The community asked me what I could do for them.” From his perspective, the question should have been about what he could do for the institution. “So, the answers to my questions may have seemed a little vague. At some points I was specific, and said, ‘well, no, I won’t do that.’” He knows how that sounded. “I’m sure that may have turned some people off. Who was this guy? He hasn’t even been here and he’s already saying what he will or won’t do.” His direct style suggests he simply doesn’t have time for glossing over issues. “I never say anything to deliberately hurt anybody’s feelings, but I want to express that sometimes I don’t think that’s how we should go about doing something.” It seems his matter-of-fact nature is the hardest facet of his personality for people to understand. “The trans-formation of intellectual properties is very difficult in an environment where everybody has participated…edu-cation is the only institution in America in which everyone has participated. Not everyone goes to church, for ex-ample, but everybody has been to school, so everybody knows how to run a school, what’s wrong for a school, what’s right for a school.” Add to the mix the type of passion felt at NCSSM and it is easy to understand how new ingredients to a proven recipe might spoil its taste. Boarman believes he is only seasoning the mixture. “Certainly me coming in, saying there will be changes…no one thought I looked at it [the school]. I had looked at it, in a number of different ways. From the standpoint of this institution, some of my changes may seem fast. From my perspective, they’re not. We only have students here for two years so we only have a small window to know how changes are affecting their lives here,” he explains. His first initiative involved GPAs. “There was nothing pre-conceived in my idea to implement grade point averages…people thought that would create a com-petitive environment.” He countered with not making GPAs a part of the school’s quarterly assessments of student performance. They are used in the final tran-scripts students send to colleges. “It became apparent that many of our kids weren’t fairing well in college’s early admissions decisions because some of the top schools to which our kids were applying weren’t figuring it out [NCSSM’s grade system].” He also cited NCSSM’s 4.0 scale in contrast to public schools’ 6.0 grade scale. Grade Point Averages were accepted by one point when voted on by the Grade Point Average Assess-ment Task Force.

On the surface, it’s easy to note the lack of classroom competitiveness at NCSSM. One can argue though, that inside the dorms and in the corners of the library, student study groups know who their rivals are. Most

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The new Bryan Center, inside & out, above

people suspect that kind of “behind the scenes monitoring” of others performance had been going on long before Dr. Boarman’s arrival. Still, students are not ranked at NCSSM and the number of students accepted to Ivy league colleges has increased with the estab-lishment of GPAs. Boarman also recognized that, despite the high level of coursework NCSSM students were completing, they were not receiving the equivalent college credits for the curriculum taught. “Why should we not allow students to have college credit?” Boarman saw a simple solution in Advanced Placement courses. “I feel many of our core requirements are better

than APs, but many colleges and academic systems still con-sider them [APs] a measure of excellence.” NCSSM now offers 23 AP classes, more than any other high school in the state. Dr. Boarman believed that the financial operation of the school was also in need of fine-tuning. Besides its lack of funding over the years, he equated the school’s ability to manage year-end surplus funds to “being in handcuffs.” In the past, once a department depleted monies assigned to a particular budget component, they could not move surplus funds from a differ-ent budget into that empty coffer. After Boarman pushed for, and received, flexible spending, departments are now able to move money freely from, for example, miscellaneous supplies and equipment to professional development. It’s an aspect of

financial control few state agencies have. While budget controls and carry-over—the money the school is allowed to keep if not spent by the end of the fiscal year—may not have a measurable impact on students, those items do affect where they live. “Facilities are an important key in the life of an institution,” Boarman states. “They don’t directly impact learning, but they sur-round it, they help facilitate it.” His physical changes to the campus stretch from Broad Street to Maryland Avenue. “I never want to give a student the opportunity to say, ‘Why am I here?’” He started by tearing down an old utility plant that posed potential environmental hazards. It stuck out of the Reynolds Breezeway like an old wart. That area is now a plush courtyard earmarked for beach-blanket studying during the warm months. Dr. Boarman understood the odd sense of pride in the campus’ worn appeal, but believed in the long run that it didn’t have to be that way. “I wanted to show the NCSSM community that they deserved better.”

And better they got. The Royall Center was dedicated in May of 2003 and served to physically materialize the growth the school was experiencing under Dr. Boarman. Two-thirds of The Royall Center is a female residence hall and the remainder of the building is dedicated to counseling and administration. The Royall Center was financed through private gifts and NCSSM’s share of a state bond package. It was named for the late Senator Kenneth Royall, a political and financial supporter of the school. On the other side of campus, the Bryan Center beckoned to those students looking for a place to relax or discuss group projects. It was dark and out of date and operationally ill-equipped for the traffic it received as a second entrance for the school. In August of 2004 after 18-months of construction, the Bryan Center welcomed students back to its lobby. This time however, it provided them a hardwood-floored, almost open-air environment in which to assemble clubs and accept Chinese-food deliveries. Today, the Bryan Center gives visitors a memorable first impression of the school, houses two conferences rooms, several department offices, a fully-equipped student life center, and an actual NCSSM retail store. The F. Borden Mace library was also included in the renovation, receiving a new research lab and even a student coffee bar. Dr. Boarman’s physical changes to campus also entailed improvements to classrooms and conference rooms

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cont’d on pg. 22

with network hookups and data projectors. The cam-pus networking capabilities were severely limited prior to Boarman’s arrival. After recommendations by NCSSM’s IT staff, Boarman supported the installation of campus-wide wi-fi and several computer labs, demon-strating his belief of the value of technology in learning. It’s not hard to find someone on campus willing to admit that change is not readily accepted. One could even say that until Boarman’s arrival, any change at all was simply tolerated. Then again, there was never a need for change; the school’s model was proven. The curriculum was unlike any other public school and the teachers were more qualified with deeper intellectual pockets than the student body had ever experienced. New worlds were opened as a result of NCSSM. Not only were students being taught in subject areas most North Carolina kids wouldn’t see until a few years into college, they were being instructed by a faculty with uncanny communication skills. In essence, NCSSM existed on its own academic island, far away from the mainland of standard public school education.

By the time Boarman arrived, education alternatives for the advanced student were becoming abundant. Home schooling increased dramatically, as did the number of charter schools, Montessori schools and county magnets, many of which offered advanced curriculum options. Perhaps those schools’ classes are not as in depth or well-taught as NCSSM’s, but they provide more than adequate alternatives nonethe-less. With that, Boarman’s challenge doubled. He was expecting to arrive at a high school considered the best in the state and take things from there. However, the rise of alternative education centers in the state mandated that he envelope his ideas for the school around efforts pointed at maintaining its isolated excel-lence. In the Triangle alone, students find alternatives in magnet schools like Enloe and Southeast Raleigh that offer countless technology and advanced placement options for students. Suddenly, NCSSM was no longer alone on the island. Not long into his tenure, Boar-man came to understand the passion of NCSSM alumni. “I worked, and still do, to bridge the gap between admin-istration and alumni.” He admits he underestimated their passion. “I tried to keep up with them, but it was difficult. I think I had a rough start with the alumni.” Public schools are not always associated with as much tradition and identity as private, or in NCSSM’s case, public boarding schools. Thus, it is not as critical for an academic leader to establish solid alumni relations. Boarman does indeed keep in touch with many of his former Eleanor Roosevelt students and welcomes their occasional visits to Durham. He quickly notes, however, that he knows of no other academic institution with an

alumni base as passionate as NCSSM’s. Thus, he faced having to convince another portion of the NCSSM community, one with the strongest ties to its history, that changes were needed.

“I have seen a turn-around in my five years, and I’m starting to see the benefits. We have alumni chairing both boards and teaching. I see them everyday.” With campus politics creating an undercurrent of skepticism about some of his changes, Boarman continued to demonstrate that his drive to bolster the proven model of NCSSM would not be easily knocked off course. There is no better example of that than the change to the academic calendar in the 2004-05 school year from semesters to trimesters. Boarman assembled a committee to examine the feasibility of this modification two years prior to its implementation after a suggestion by history instructor Jim Litle. Lilte recommended that trimesters may be a solution to decreasing the withdrawal numbers while broadening the opportunities for academic discovery.

“The model of NCSSM as an academic boot camp was not working anymore. We had to ease the transi-tion between high school and their junior year here.” Many argued that students who come to NCSSM and withdraw after a few months are not getting much benefit from the experience.

“This is a pilot program,” Boarman affirms about the calendar change. “As a two-year school I think some of our course offerings are limited, though they are still very rigorous.” The trimester debate was waged over several fronts, ranging from graduation requirements to teacher contact hours. The switch to trimesters is certainly Dr. Boarman’s most sweeping change to the school. After the first year, the student jury in the middle of the issue has returned a positive verdict for the most part, namely because of the flexibility in daily sched-ules and new course offerings. Courses in psychology

and forensics, for example, have been hard to get into if a student doesn’t return their course selection materials within a day or two. A student’s daily schedule now fluctuates throughout

the week, with some students not having classes until 11:00 a.m. and others taking more than one night class. Many faculty members have demonstrated a willing-ness to try to make the change work. Others have voiced opposition from the beginning. Either way, the school is pressing on and students are continuing to excel. “The students have more choices. They are learning from more teachers,” Boarman states in refer-ence to the trimesters.

Despite the Sisyphean appearance of some of these

“i never want to give a student the opportunity to

say, ‘Why am i here?’”

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“You’refromwhere?”

SylvaCounty: Jackson, near Western Carolina Universityincorporated: March 9, 1889Population: 2435Elevation: 2036 feetLand area: 3.2 sq. milesZip code: 28779Walmart: Yeshome Depot or Lowes? NeitherFast Food representatives: Arby’s, Mc-Donald’s, Wendy’s, Bojangle’s, Subway, Quizno’sClaim to Fame: Sylva was named for William D. Sylva, a wandering man who never revealed his past. The town was given his namesake at the requestof a young Mae Hampton and her mother because of his likeable charac-ter and politeness. Sylva kept wandering however, and later settled in Cleburne, Texas, where he passed away in 1927.

Hurdle MillsPerson County, between Durham andRoxboroEarliest Record of a Post Office: 1859Population: 3346Elevation: 650 feetLongitudinal and Latitudinal Location:-79.074811, 36.201692Zip Code: 27541Walmart: Nohome Depot or Lowes? NeitherFast Food representative: Nonereason to stop by: Home to the famous semi-annual barbeque supper hosted by the Hurdle Mills Volunteer Fire Department.

MurphyLocation: Cherokee County, near the Tennesse and Georgia state linesFounded: as Huntersville in 1839Poplulation: 1566Elevation: 1538 feetLand Area: 2.3 sq. milesZip Code: 28906Walmart: Yeshome Depot or Lowes? LowesFast Food representatives: Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Arby’s, Burger King, Subway, Quizno’s, Chick-Fil-Ainteresting Fact: In 1865, Kirk’s Raiders burned the Cherokee County court-house in Murphy. The present court-house is now over 70 years old, and is made of blue marble. Part two of an ongoing series.

by Rachel Wingo ‘05

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intrinsic to the spirit of NCSSM is the dynamic created when such a diverse cross section of North Carolina’s residents are brought together on only twenty-seven acres in Durham. it is safe to say that some students come from corners of the state not found on most maps. until now.

in celebration of the many Alumni who bravely ventured from these charming rural pockets to the Durham Metropolitan, NCSSM Magazine has decided to highlight some of the lesser known locales that so many of our graduates call home. In the last issue, we profiled Ahoskie, Hamlet, Mount Olive, Newland and Red Springs.

GrandyCurrituck County, just west of Kitty HawkFounded: County Founded in 1668Population:1690Elevation: 89 feetLongitudinal / Latitudinal Location: -75.901365, 36.239229Zip Code: 27939Walmart: Nohome Depot or Lowes? NeitherFast Food representatives: Hard-ee’s, Chick-Fil-Ainteresting Fact: There are techni-cally no towns or cities in Currituck County. They are all either named communities, like Grandy, or are beaches.

Elm CityWilson County, near Wilson and Rocky MountChartered: 1873 as ToisnotPopulation: 1165Elevation: 143 feetLand Area: .7 sq. milesZip Code: 27822Walmart: Nohome Depot or Lowes? NeitherFast Food representatives: Nonehistorical Fact: Elm City was origi-nally not a city, but a railroad depot. Joyner’s Depot, on the Wilmington-Raleigh Railroad, was founded in 1839.

www.ncssmalumni.com

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The NCSSM Foundation’s Odyssey campaign continues to be the catalyst in providing the School with the necessary resources to remain at the forefront of math and science education. To date, $5.5 million dollars has been raised in the Campaign. Of that amount, more than $700,000 has been given in support of new endowments. I am pleased to report that 12 new endowments have been created since 2002, thanks to the generosity of the Foundation’s supporters.

We recognize that giving is a highly personal matter, a meaningful process and activity that often are life-long. So many factors come into play, in-cluding one’s situation in life and one’s values. The needs of the School move in cycles as well, and the funding vehicles that support the NCSSM Foundation through its current, short-term, and long-term goals, anticipate those needs. An endowment gift exists in perpetuity. Endowment funds are the best way to show commitment to and belief in, a department, a campus unit, or the School itself.

Since Joseph M. Bryan’s gift of $1,000,000 in 1995 for endowment, we have sought to offer an environment where exceptional learning opportunities challenge both teachers and students, both on campus and through the School’s distance learning programs. In this endeavor, NCSSM has ben-efited from the generosity of alumni, parents, corporations, grandparents, and friends who, following in the footsteps of Mr. Bryan, have made gifts and bequests in support of the Foundation. Although few individuals have an opportunity to fund an endowment, as did Joseph Bryan, many can do something equally important and permanent by underwriting education for future generations. One of the most effective and certain ways of achieving this end is through careful estate planning, including endowments.

Guaranteeing the Future

Odyssey CampaiGn Update

i m a G i n e t h e p O s s i b i l i t i e s

www.nCssm.edU/Odyssey

Summary of NCSSM Foundation Named Endowments

As of June 30, 2005

REStRiCtEd

Mace Library Support of the Library

Nicholas Fagan Faculty Development

GAR Foundation Faculty Development

Broyhill Foundation Leadership Speaker Series

Glaxo Foundation Student Research in Science

Alumni Pioneer Scholarship One year scholarship for Student

J. Freeman & M. L. Britt Endowment Physics electronics lab

Burroughs Wellcome Faculty Development

troan Endowment Technology

Class of 1983 Academic Endowmentfor academic programs

Hurd Memorial Residential Life Endowment

George E. & Etta Lou Loftin Endowment Student Financial Needs

Faculty Award Scholarship for NCSSM Student attending

Duke University

Aldrich Music Program Endowment

Wachovia Mathematics Endowment

Wachovia Science Endowment

Wachovia Humanities Endowment

Wachovia technology Endowment

Jon Miller Endowment for the Humanities

UNREStRiCtEd

General Endowment Supported by individual gifts

Wachovia Endowment

Joseph M. Bryan Sr. Endowment

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SUMMER 2005

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16

Dear NCSSM Alumni, Faculty and Staff,

In 2006, the North Carolina School of Science

and Mathematics will celebrate its 25th

anniversary. Twenty-five classes will have

donned caps and gowns and taken the next steps towards their

futures.

For many of us students, Science and Math opened up worlds we had never imagined.

Perhaps for the first time in our young lives, we met people from different cultures and

socio-economic backgrounds. We joined others who shared a love of learning and supported

our academic endeavors. We developed friendships that have lasted much longer than our

two-year tenure at the school.

It was also at NCSSM that many of us found our voice. In addition to physics, calculus,

and chemistry, we fell in love with language. We listened as our teachers read to us from the

classics, as they challenged our minds with words that transported us to different places and

times. We learned to express ourselves in poetry and prose. We bared our souls—fears, suc-

cesses, loves, and loneliness—on paper.

At a recent visit to the school, a conversation with Jon Miller turned to poetry. How wonderful

it would be, we thought, to create an anthology of poems, short stories, essays and biographi-

cal sketches by Science and Math alumni, faculty and staff.

In celebration of the school’s 25th year, we have undertaken this project, with the ultimate

goal of producing a body of work that can be sold, with the proceeds going to NCSSM. Your

assistance is requested. We are seeking poems, short stories, essays and biographical sketch-

es for inclusion in the compilation. We welcome works from your time at the school as well

as subsequent years; indeed, how interesting it will be to see how we have continued to express

ourselves through writing. The original work must be written by an NCSSM alumnus,

faculty or staff member and meet the attached guidelines. Each contributor may submit up

to three works, in any combination.

Your continued support of NCSSM is greatly appreciated. We look forward to hearing your voice.

Staci Barfield ‘83

Jon Miller, Faculty

Published? Not published?

Here’s your chance...

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SUMMER 2005

Not published?Here’s your chance...

Submission Guidelines:Any former student, faculty member, or staff member may make a submission.

All work must be original and previously commercially unpublished.

Submissions must be received no later than September 31, 2005.

Work should be submitted on paper or in one of the fol-lowing electronic formats:• Microsoft Word document• Microsoft Word Pro document• Text (.txt or .rtf) document

Poems should not exceed two, 12 point type, double-spaced pages. Poems must be titled.

Short stories, essays and biographical sketches should not exceed 2000 words.

Each person may submit up to three works, in any combination (e.g., two poems and one essay; one essay, one poem, and one short story).

When making submissions, contributors should bear in mind that they are contributing to a public school publication.

Submissions should not include or be accompanied by graphics, photographs, or other non-textual components.

Submissions are accepted on the basis that the author grants NCSSM a non-exclusive license for the use of the work without any monetary compensation. All rights remain that of the submitter.

Submissions will not be returned, regardless of whether they are used or not.

Each person submitting must complete an information form. The form can be found in the following locations:

For alumni: see the NCSSM Poetry Anthology library in the NCSSM Connections Download Center (www.ncssmalumni.com)For staff: T drive/staff/development/poetryanthologyFor retired/former staff: contact poetry@ncssm.edu

Questions/submissions should be sent to poetry@ncssm.edu or:North Carolina School of Science and MathematicsPoetry Anthology Project/ATTN: Staci BarfieldAlumni/DevelopmentP.O. Box 2733Durham NC 27715

The Editorial Process:The editorial board will consist of alumni, faculty and staff representatives selected based on experience and interest in the project. The editorial board will review each submission to determine if it is of sufficient quality and appropriateness to be included in the anthology.

The editorial board has the right to refuse to publish any work submitted without giving reason as to why the work has been refused. The editorial board will make every effort to honor the formatting of the submitted work. In the event that printing limitations require formatting be altered, the author will be consulted.

Although pseudonyms are welcome, the author’s name and class or service years will also be published with the work. All decisions by the editorial board are to be considered final.

www.ncssmalumni.com

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CLASS NOTESKids, weddings, jobs...

80sJohn humphrey ‘82has launched The Humphrey Law Firm in Alexan-dria, Virginia. The practice focuses on litigation, civil rights, and family law issues. His wife, Luisa, chairs the education committee of a local chil-dren’s museum. They have two children, Ana (4) and Mia (2).

Elizabeth Page ‘82has been named to the Board of Trust-ees for the National MS Society, Eastern North Carolina Chapter. She rides annually in the Magical Mystery MS 150 Bike Tour and serves as the chapter’s Re-search Advocate.

Karen Sams ‘83and husband Robery Miola adopted children Michele Elena and Karen Juliet, six and eight con-secutively, on a trip to Columbia. They are now in the 1st and 2nd grades at a local public school, and are making the transition to speaking English. Ms. Susan S. Woodhouse ‘83has accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in Counseling Psychology in the Department of Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology and Rehabilitation Services at Penn State.

Cecelia Foy-Johnson ‘84was recently hired as the Property and Casualty

Claims Manager with Senn Dunn Agency; one of the largest agencies in North Carolina. Tushar Shah, MD ‘84is married to wife Bina and has three children; Monica 7, Anand 5, and Milan 2. Tushar is a cardiologist with the Oklahoma Heart Institute and his research interests are in advanced cardiac im-aging, specifically the clinical application of MRI in the study of cardiovascular disorders.

ron Boling ‘85and his wife, Cindy, have 2 girls under the age of 4. When not changing diapers or reading bedtime stories, he is running his own consulting practice in the RTP area that focuses on business process consulting, project management, supply chain operations, and management advice for startup services companies. Elizabeth Wells Priddy ‘85married Jeffery Priddy in 1992 and they are proud to announce the birth of their son, John Logan Priddy, born August 30, 2004. Donn C. Mueller ‘85 graduated June 2004 from Harvard MBA Program and lives in Cinncinati, OH.

Paige Walend ‘85is a an MD living in Phoenix, AZ; married to Larry Tamburro, MD. They have two wonderful children, Sarah (5) and Olivia (3).

Elizabeth Page ‘82

Don’t forget to post your class notes on the new www.ncssmalumni.comDon’t forget to post your class notes on the new www.ncssmalumni.com

19

SUMMER 2005

rEMEMBEr! update your contact information! www.ncssmalumni.com

Jerome By ‘86 is a cabinet/furniture maker in the style of Thomas Day, a free African American who, at one time, had the largest furniture business in North Caro-lina. Jerome will be offering an educational presentation to teachers across the country this summer at the North Carolina Museum of Art. He is a graduate of Wooster.

Zach Coleman ‘86traveled the world for a year, catching up with classmates Billy Pizer and Nancy (Smith) Parks in Washington, RJ Dellinger in Charlotte, and Geoff Burgess in London. He finished back in Hong Kong where he is now a senior reporter for The Stan-dard, a local daily newspaper. Colin Law ‘86married Davida Kerner on Sept 24th, 2004, in Atlanta, GA. Davida is now doubly related to the NCSSM family as she is the younger sister of Her-bert Kerner (Class of ‘87). Many fine ‘86-ers were in attendance. Jerrilyn W. Woodard-Entrekin ‘86and her husband, Andy Entrekin, live in Bedford, TX. They proudly announced the birth of their first child, a girl, Morrow Lynne Entrekin, born Good Friday, March 25, 2005, weighing 6 lbs, 8.3 oz.

Aruna Chandra Spencer ‘87 and husband David, welcomed their son, Kiran Chandra Spencer, to their family last fall. They are living in New York City where Aruna is an at-torney at Chadbourne & Parke LLP and David is an investment banker with Bank of America.

Tanya Stephens henderson ‘88 and husband Dorian Hender-son, proudly announce the birth of their baby girl, Phoebe Claire, on October 3, 2004.

Dr. roger A. Ladd, ‘88 and wife Melissa Schuab, are very happy with their new baby, Francis Wasser “Frank” Ladd, born 9/6/04.

MeShelle (hart) hays ‘88is living in Columbia, SC and currently at home with Austin, now 8, and Kori, now 5. Husband Jim is working at WIS-TV in South Carolina.

Dr. Christine E. Barrow ‘89received her Ph.D. in Biology from Howard Univer-sity in 2003, married Charles Barrow in September 1995, and had son Tremaine in October 2001 and daughter Kayla in April 2003. Sally hundley ‘89 was named Western Region Teacher of the Year and is a part of the eight-member NC TOY team. Beth Krodel ‘89 and husband Bryan Smith ‘89

gave birth to a beau-tiful baby girl, Sofia Dyane Krodel Smith at 10:25 am on Monday, Dec. 27, 2005, in Boulder, Colorado. Mom, Dad and Sofi (as family and friends call her) are happy and healthy.

Dr. rebeccah A. hoffman ‘90married Vincent Vattari on November 27th, 2004 in Pittsburgh, PA. Jason A. Lineberger ’90Became father on May 13th of a third child, a daughter, Harper Lyra Lineberger. She has an older brother Miles Orion Lineberger who is four and an older sister Madeleine Gal-axy Lineberger who is seven. Ac-cording to Jason: “In true NCSSM geek fashion, I’ve created an intergalactic theme family.”

90s

Phoebe Claire Henderson

Harper Lyra Lineberger

Sofia Dyane Krodel

www.ncssmalumni.com

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CLASS NOTESKids, weddings, jobs...

Mrs. haila r. Maze ‘90and husband Jonathan Maze announced the birth of their son, Owen David Maze, on July 15, 2004. They currently reside in Charleston.

Stephen Schneider, Ph.D. ’90 and wife Cecelia ‘91 are pleased to announce that son Matthew is the proud big-brother of Eleanor Louise. Ellie was born at 10:42 am on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 in Raleigh. She weighed in at 7 lb 11 oz, and 20 1/4 in long. Toby Eshelman ‘91Received his B.S. in Biochemistry from Antioch College in’97 and a D.V.M. from NC State Univer-sity College of Veterinary Medicine in 2001. He has just begun a residency in small animal surgery at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana, IL. Toby Married Amanda Wagner back in December 2003. Kim Osborne ‘91and husband moved to Asheboro, where he teaches Math/Science in a middle school there. They have a new addition to the family, Shenandoah Lee Osborne, born No-vember 17, 2002.

Dr. Sirena hargrove-Leak ‘92 Is married to Roland Leak ’92 and in Dec. ‘03 completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of South Carolina. She is now a member of the faculty at Elon University.

Andres Jokisch ‘93and wife Deborah have a new baby girl named Maya, born January 13th.

Catherine Etheridge Otto ‘93 and husband Tim Otto are proud to announce the birth of their son, William Etheridge Otto. Wil-liam was born in Raleigh on January 19, 2005.

Laura (Thomas) Blanchard ‘94graduated from UNC-CH in May 1998 with a BA in English and then attended the UNC School of Public Health and School of Medicine in 2004, obtaining an MD and a Master’s of Science in Public Health. She is now a Pediatrics Resident at UVA and lives with her husband, Matt Blanchard, their dog, cat and fishes in Charlottesville, Virgin-ia. They were married in May 2004 at the Forest Theatre in Chapel Hill. Vaishali Gupta Escaravage was by her side as a bridesmaid! Toni ruth (Phillips) Smith ‘94 married Wesley Chad Smith November 13, 2004. They are both United Methodist pastors serving in High Point, North Carolina. Her fellow alumni: Ruffin Phillips Ayers ‘92, Kerry Garland Welsh ‘94, Lisa Vizer ‘94, Derek Easley ‘94, Heidi Ledford ’94, Eris Wesley ‘94, and Amy Hatfield ’94, also attended the wedding.

William T. Tyson, Jr. ‘94completed his PhD in Sociology from Duke Uni-versity in June of 2004. He is presently working as Assistant research professor with Anchin Project at USF in Tampa, FL. Amy Shelton Parker ‘94 and husband Rafe Parker an-nounce the birth of their second son Joshua Thom-as, born on December 30, 2004. He weighed 8lb 13 oz. Caleb (big brother) Maya Jokisch

The Osbornes

The Parkers

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SUMMER 2005

rEMEMBEr! update your contact information! WWW.NCSSMALuMNi.COM

loves his baby brother and the family is doing well.

Schultz (Elizabeth) DeStephens ‘95relocated to Houston, TX in 2003 for a job with ExxonMobil and stays involved with her dogs, United Way, and mentoring programs. She sees Amy (Elliott) Curtis quite often as she has also relocated to Houston.

Scotty hoopes ’96 works with the DEA as a Forensic Chemist in their San Francisco lab.

Daniel Lane ‘96married Latasha Wilson on November 27, 2004. Daniel completed his Pre-Pharmacy Curriculum at Mercer University and obtained his Doctor of

Pharmacy degree from Hampton University. He has pursued post-graduate education and training at the University of Texas at Austin and Austin State Hospital in the areas of Psychopharmacology, Mental Health Out-comes, and Pharmacy

Administration. He currently serves as an Operations Pharmacists for Omnicare Northwest Ohio.

Jocelyn reneé Kearney ‘97married Donald Maitland Todd, Jr. of Morrisville on September 25, 2004. She graduated from Duke University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She is a scientific recruiting consultant with Kelly Services. Jennifer McGinnis ‘97finished her B.S. from Clemson in Sport Management in 2001 and her MS in Educational Psychology & Sports Psychology from FSU in 2004. She is currently working for the North Carolina Tennis Association, and is starting law school in the fall with the hopes of continuing her work in the sport sciences.

Tracey howard Truesdale ‘97is living in Chandler, NC and is a Clinical Pharmacist at Haywood Regional Medical Center in Clyde, NC.

hannah randall Edelen ‘98is an engineer w/ Progress Energy.

Kimberiey Milliam ‘98is proud to announce the birth of her first baby Sophia Christine Milliam. She was born on August 7, 2004.

Joshua Sawyer, ‘98 married Sh’Rhonda Jones on December 18, 2004. Patience Lewis,’99 Is getting married on June 18, 2005 to Jason Gray. She has earned a MA in Teaching from UNC-CH and is now teaching Earth science at East Gaston High School in Mt. Holly, NC.

Scott McCann ‘99 and Jillian McFee ’00

were married on August 15, 2004 at Magnolia Manor in Greensboro, NC.

Candace D. randall ‘00is a Ph.D. candidate in Botany at University of Wisconsin.

Joseph Grey rowell ‘02is a Junior in Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach, FL and is a Presidential Scholar.

Sophia Christine Milliam

00s Scott & Jillian

www.ncssmalumni.com

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cont’d on pg. 31

Boarman

internal debates, the school’s foundation has slowly become immune to internal conflicts, even those waged in a public coliseum. Such public arena melees are even harder for a school’s top administrator, since the position mandates diplomacy. Thus, Boarman often finds himself holding back responses to his oppo-nents’ salvos as a show of self-confidence in his deci-sions. In turn, its that self-confidence that further irritates those on the other side of table.

“I understand the faculty was not prepared for having their input challenged. As I said, I don’t say or do any-thing to hurt anyone’s feelings, and I do listen to what people have to say, but that does not mean it’s going to be done that way all the time.” Boarman is very matter of fact in describing how he reaches decisions. “Again, I’m a truth teller.”

A Better mousetrap“We have a transportation fleet in our parking lot at our disposal, and some of the best universities in the nation in our neighborhood.” Dr. Boarman has a vision for the future of the school that includes NCSSM faculty teaching their students in the classrooms and labs of North Carolina’s great universities. “We don’t have to build all the facilities here, but we have to utilize the facilities that are around us.” “I would love to see our faculty members waiting with kids in front of Watts to board a bus over to Duke for an advanced research class.” Dr. Boarman waved his hands towards Watts Hall, wishing it were already happening. A school with wheels, he calls it. “Maybe people say we don’t have enough labs…well we have enough labs, they just may not be on this campus…why can’t one of our teachers, teaching nanotech-nology, just do it in a facility at a local college? How is that different than busing kids to a sporting event?” Essentially, Dr. Boarman believes the intellectual ca-pacity of our students and what NCSSM faculty can teach is outpacing the financial capability of the school. “As we get into some very high tech stuff, needing facilities we just won’t have the operational means for, why can’t we have a classroom on wheels that takes kids and teachers to places that can handle it.” His excitement about the future of the school is indeed alluring. NCSSM has proven it has the capability of functioning like a university tech-transfer office. Still, Dr. Boarman is grounded in the fact that NCSSM is a high school and that proactively exposing students to the pressures of producing commercially-viable research instead of encouraging them to attend the after-prom lock-in is not the best stewardship of teenagers.

“I see this school as not only a center for learning but also as a center for discovery. The school’s mentorship program is growing and there is certainly room for it to expand. Students have the opportunity to work along-

side renowned scientists by means of many competi-tions through which the school has made a name, like Intel and Siemens. But why not offer opportunities for the entire student body?” The idea has plenty of merit. “For lack of a better term, a research practicum…that will allow more students to get engaged in the actual world of research,” Boar-man said. “The kids that want to do it [research] will do it, but I want to reach the other students, the ones not entering the contests, to be more involved. It won’t be to the extent of Lucie’s and Xianlin’s [2004 Siemens-Westinghouse competition winners] project. I don’t ex-pect that; but, I expect them to understand research and how do it, that they will understand statistics and how to research literature and write a report without plagiarizing it.”

Day-to-day activities, meetings in Raleigh and com-mittee responsibilities often pull Dr. Boarman away from conversations where he has a chance to openly explain his ideas. Find that time, however, and you’ll discover an educator overwhelmed at the potential of his student body. Despite completing five years at NCSSM, it seems he still sees a blank slate.

“I’ve been told some of the things I want to implement, and have implemented, wouldn’t be possible. People told me, ‘you’ll never get 1,000 applications.’ Everyone tells me what isn’t possible. I ask people what is pos-sible?”

“I want to provide our kids with educational experi-ences outside this institution as well as ones they share alongside their classmates and faculty on campus.” With that, Dr. Boarman sees the school’s distance learning facilities playing a stronger role.

“Learning is global now. We should have our kids talking with kids in Japan and Germany.” There are early plans, he mentioned, to retrofit the Newt Fowler Lecture Hall to accommodate video conferencing technology. “The power of distance learning is some-thing most people don’t fully appreciate,” he stated. “Learning does not take place just in our classrooms, which is a sometimes another source of conflict here.”

Dr. Boarman admits he has some ideas that may never see the light of day because of how difficult change can be at NCSSM. He does see an increased empha-sis on research as a graduation requirement being realized in the next couple years, however. And with those changes, added scrutiny probably won’t be far behind.

It is not about change to the curriculum with Boarman, though. It is about changes to the student. It is about his vision for a school to which he was introduced five years ago wherein he saw unlimited potential.

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SUMMER 2005

NCSSM Magazine: You majored in English in college. Did you have a passion for writing at Science and Math?Scott: I did. I wrote for The Stentorian. I was—I think I was—the entertainment section editor. But I got vetoed a lot by the editor-in-chief. NCSSM Magazine: Who did you have for English?Scott: I had Mr. Woodmansee and Dr. Miller, both of whom I really liked. I got in touch with Woodmansee when I went back to speak at Science and Math and he couldn’t come because his daughter was sick, but we had a nice email ex-

For the past year and a half, Scott Jacobson ‘95 has been part of the writing team for the hit comedy “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”. Scott and his colleagues have each walked away with two Emmys for Outstanding Writing in Vari-ety, Musical or Comedy Series. Their spoof of the institutions of American government, “America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction”, is currently #25 on Amazon.com’s best sellers list and holds the #6 spot on the New York Times (Hardcover Nonfiction) Bestseller list.

Given his recent achievements, one might not expect the words ‘humble’ and ‘unaffected’ befitting of Scott. But they are. Says Scott, “When you’re a part of a writing staff, it’s driven home to you everyday that you’re just one of a team.”

Scott came to NCSSM from Cameron, North Carolina. He earned a degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before moving to New York City to pursue his dream. Scott speaks fondly of his younger brother and sister, celebrating their achievements, and his parents who, he says, “…were always supportive. [They] never told me to come home, never told me I needed something to fall back on.”

When he got the job at “The Daily Show”, Scott was teaching kindergarten and considering giving up the idea of com-edy writing. Fortunately for the show’s fiercly loyal audience, he didn’t..

A conversation with Scott Jacobson ‘95, who makes America laugh at itself every night as a writer for “The Daily Show.” he even won a couple of Emmy Awards for it.

All in a day’s work.

All in a day’s work.

By Staci Barfield ‘83By Staci Barfield ‘83

www.ncssmalumni.com

24

NCSSM Magazine: You were in Durham in November promoting your book with Rich Blomquist, a fellow Daily Show writer and Elon College graduate. How did it feel to come back to North Carolina, and specifically Durham?Scott: It felt scary and weird. I’m the one who set up the appearance. Rich, my writing partner—the guy I got hired with—was going to Elon where he went to school and they actually couldn’t work it out, so he just came with me to that one appearance. And I was really looking forward to it until I actually started flying down there. Then I just was terribly nervous the entire weekend. Afterward it was nice; I just hung with friends. And my parents seemed pleased. Afterwards they weren’t embarrassed, hiding their faces. NCSSM Magazine: Did you and Rich go in for your jobs at The Daily Show together?Scott: Yeah, we submit-ted together, which was great. The Daily Show hires a lot of people who have not worked in TV before. And neither of us had had a writing job and we were incredibly nervous. We were a good support system for ourselves. NCSSM Magazine: How did you get this job?Scott: We were writing sitcom specs, whatever we could to try to get noticed, and we wrote a [Late Night with] Conan O’Brien packet. Rich had been a writer’s assistant on Rob-ert Smiegel’s show “TV Funhouse” and Rob Smiegel is sort of the godfather of comedy writers. He’s sort of a genius, the guy who started “Saturday Night Live” in the ‘80s. He’s still there. He does TV Funhouse; he does Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. He’s responsible for [Late Night with] Conan O’Brien in the early years. And so we sent it to him, not really thinking he would buy it, but he did. He liked it and said he would forward it on to that show. Then he’s the one who ended up recommending us to our agency, who were also his agents. From there, I think, we got a tip that they were hiring at “The Daily Show,” which is sort of the way it has to work. You have to hear it through the grape-vine. So we got together and whipped up another package and Smiegel put in a good word for us there, too. NCSSM Magazine: What suggestions do you have for those just starting out in this field?Scott: Get an internship early. When you’re in college, don’t think that the internships are hard to get. I thought that until I was a senior in college. Then I just applied for some and I got every one I applied to. You just have to apply to the show that—if you want to write comedy for a TV show—just apply to the show that you like the best. Just don’t be afraid of doing heavy-lifting work for a couple of years. I mean everyone we got to know we got to know

through our really crummy jobs—moving boxes around and driving trucks and stuff. NCSSM Magazine: So you were a struggling writer at first?Scott: Absolutely. I know there are a lot of other guys at the show who didn’t go that route. They went into advertising or something first and they got hired in their early 30’s or something. I think most of the younger writers I know sort of went up—there’s no direct route to a job—but I think that’s the closest thing to it. Get an internship is the best advice. And also write constantly. Make yourself a student. Watch comedy shows with a critical eye. NCSSM Magazine: It’s said that comedy is harder to write than drama. Do you find that to be true?Scott: I don’t know. I’ve never tried to write drama. It’s

frustrating because you’re constantly beating your head against the wall trying to…It’s kind of like writing pop music and you’re con-stantly searching for some novelty or new twist on old jokes.

NCSSM Magazine: The Daily Show is news-oriented (or news-mocking). How do you stay up on current events?Scott: We all read a lot of newspapers and websites. We have free time in the afternoon to sit down and flip through the paper and check the blogosphere and whatever we need to do. NCSSM Magazine: So you’re writing in the morning and researching in the afternoon?Scott: Yeah. We’ll get in around nine o’clock and I’ll just look at CNN.com and Slate for half an hour. Then we go in for a writer’s meeting. We watch AP packages—just the big stories of the day—to decide what we’re going to do based on how good the footage is or how salient the story is. Then we all go off and individually write and they take the jokes from that. By one o’clock we’re usually done writing our headlines. NCSSM Magazine: Do you watch the show to see how your material goes over?Scott: I do unless I’m too nervous about it. Then I just sort of ask around the next day. NCSSM Magazine: Where do you keep your Emmys?Scott: The first one we won, I had only been there a few months and I really didn’t feel like I deserved to be a part of it. I didn’t even like seeing it in my apartment so I sent it to my parents. The second one—I had been there for the entire year and I felt like part of the show—so I keep it in my apartment. It’s on my refrigerator.

“What good comedy isn’t in poor taste? What good comedy

doesn’t open itself up to something from somebody?”

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SUMMER 2005

NCSSM Magazine: When you get that kind of award, does it put more pressure on you, or take it off?Scott: It hasn’t affected the show. It brings more prestige to the show. Individually, the writers…I don’t think that my Emmy would help me get a better job within the enter-tainment world. There are so many people who have won awards…awards go out every year to a whole bunch of people and people don’t even remember who the last year’s winners are. So, it doesn’t really have much effect. I think if I were to go outside, if I were to want to get a job in adver-tising after this, it would probably look good on my resume and help me. NCSSM Magazine: What’s your favorite part of the book?Scott: It’s really not stuff that I worked on. I really like the eye-witness accounts of the Supreme Court. I like Rob Corddry’s “The Founding Fathers” piece. I think those are two of my favorite pieces. NCSSM Magazine: There’s a lot of criticism of the book, people who say it’s blasphemous or in poor taste. What’s your stand?Scott: What good comedy isn’t in poor taste? At least, what good comedy doesn’t open itself up to something from somebody? Good comedy should not please everybody. You just take any criticism like that with a grain of salt. There is such a thing as being too offensive, absolutely. And a lot of people push the envelope to a point where I think it’s unnecessary. But if there’s a point behind it…there’s a difference between satire, sort of barbed satire, and being offensive for the sake of being offensive. NCSSM Magazine: You also wrote a short film?Scott: Yeah. That’s “Partners in Blues.” I worked on “Strangers with Candy” with Stephen Colbert—I was a PA and writer’s assistant, not like we were working together. I got to know Greg Holliman who played Principal Blackman and I always wanted to do something with him. I’m even writing something now for him to be in because I really think he is an underutilized resource. But I made that with him. NCSSM Magazine: Are you encouraged to do other things?Scott: Yeah, definitely. We have the free time that a lot of shows don’t have. The show is a well-oiled machine now. Actually, when we were hired, the executive pro-ducer said they really like the writers to do their own things. NCSSM Magazine: Are you going to stay there a while?Scott: I’d be crazy not to. There are so few shows…if I wanted to make a lateral move, I don’t even know where I’d go. NCSSM Magazine: Going back to Partners in Blues, do you want to do more films?Scott: I want to do more stuff. I’m doing a little animated

show now, a little pilot thing. It’s also going to have Greg in it. I’d like to do more short films. It’s such a laborious process, putting them together, and there’s so little payoff. No one sees them. I’m always trying to think of pilot ideas or sketches to write. NCSSM Magazine: If you didn’t have your current job, what do you think you’d be doing?Scott: I can honestly say there is no job I’d rather have. There is no job in New York, no show I’d rather write for. I was thinking about that kind of recently and I really can’t think of anything else. NCSSM Magazine: How do you measure your own suc-cess?Scott: I don’t know. Maybe if something that had come from me were to go on and be successful. I don’t think I could ever do anything successful at “The Daily Show.” NCSSM Magazine: Do you not consider yourself successful now?Scott: No…I’m successful. Thing is, in a job like this, you have to keep it going. You’re sort of on a treadmill or log-rolling. I’m 27-years-old and I have a long career ahead of me. I’m certainly not going to be at “The Daily Show” riding Jon Stewart’s coattails for the rest of my life. It’s going to be hard. There are very few comedy writers who really call themselves successful. Robert Smiegel is one of them. Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show), David Cross, people like that. But for the most part, there are genius comedy writers who are out of work who have to take really crappy jobs at sitcoms they don’t like. NCSSM Magazine: What’s next?Scott: I want to keep writing comedy. I want to be with the show for as long as they’ll have me and after that, like I said, it’s hard to make…You can’t really go up from “The Daily Show.” I just have so much respect for Jon [Stewart] and everybody there. I think that if I were to make a lateral move it would have to be to something that I made myself. Either that or just some show that hasn’t come along yet. NCSSM Magazine: Are there things you learned at NCSSM that you apply in your life on a regular basis?Scott: A lot of my good friends are still from Science and Math. All my best friends are from Science andMath, so it’s weird. I’m actually, right after this, going to have dinner with a friend of mine who’s at NYU who I met at Science and Math. In the book, in the acknowledgment section, I acknowledge my family and Manoj Kohli, which is just a…it’s my friend Manoj who I’m going to see after this and my friend Robin Kohli, who were both my hall mates at Science and Math. They were just very supportive from the very beginning. cont’d on pg. 31

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Branson Brown introduced sports to The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He structured the schedules, lobbied area parks and schools to let the stu-dent-athletes share facilities and left his own sweat on the baseball field.

Branson’s impact on NCSSM is felt every day. NCSSM students are increasing their participation in varsity sports and a portion of the NCSSM Foundation’s Odyssey Cam-paign is earmarked for campus improvements that include long-term plans for a track & field and soccer facility.

Despite the School’s commitment to sports, fielding consistently competitive team sports remains a significant challenge for the school. For the students, balancing the academic workload is considered an immense undertaking in itself. Add the additional commitment to athletics and that balancing act suddenly moves from the floor exercises to the high wire.

“That challenge is what makes NCSSM the school that it is. We shouldn’t grant any sort of leniency,” said Lance Harden ’05, a cross country and track standout. “Teachers shouldn’t have to grant extra flexibility for athletes.”

Lance knows quite well how to handle sports and the class-room. He was deemed “Most Athletic” by his classmates in the Class of 2005 senior superlative list in addition to being named a Belk Scholar at Davidson. Yet, when asked if a student who is showing Division I athletic talent at an early age should consider NCSSM if his or her academic performance was on par, Lance thinks his alma mater might not be a great fit. “It could be a little better at Science and Math, if we had a little more sustainability in coaching. In the team sports especially. I definitely think there is the

potential for solid team sports at Science and Math. But for star athletes right now, they would be better off staying at their old high school. Even in smaller high schools, you’ll see a more serious attitude about sports.”

Kara Anasti, a multi-sport athlete during her two years at NCSSM and also a recipient of the Most Athletic senior crown, disagreed. “If you really value your education, it shouldn’t matter.” Kara was a standout in tennis, track and cross country. She competed in tennis and cross country simultaneously in the fall of her senior year and will be at-tending UNC-Chapel Hill.

Harden thinks the individual sports, the sports that first and foremost highlight individual performances, such as track and cross country, are a different story at NCSSM. “Some-one who has the motivation to train by him or herself, who has that drive, can definitely succeed here.”

While campus improvements are scheduled and two ten-nis courts are currently under construction thanks to the financial support of the Class of 1984, there is still a feeling on campus that sports are not totally engrained into the mindset of the NCSSM community. For example, while the Class of 1984 was aiming their gift towards the installation of four or more competition ready courts, campus infra-structure prohibited the construction. Thus, two courts are being built and the prospect of conference tennis matches on campus has been put on hold.

Lance noted, “We don’t have home facilities for a lot of sports so it’s hard to generate interest, if someone was to just take a general look around.” This general look around would provide an insight into the lack of on-campus facilities.

Team sports and grades at NCSSM.

Can they play together?

The Class of 2005’s Most Athletic discuss the puzzle.

by Craig C. rowe

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The issue of a stadium on campus to provide adequate facilities for track and field and the soccer program is also a hot button with the Watts Hospital-Hillandale neighbor-hood association. Multiple school officials regularly attend the group’s board meetings to help smooth out an ongoing debate over sound and lighting issues. Still, the school is dedicated to working things out with their neighbors and one can get a sense that this kind of open-door communica-tion would not be taking place if the school wasn’t dedi-cated to seeing its sports program bolstered.

President Boarman, as stated in this issue’s five-year pro-file, believes NCSSM students deserve an improved cam-pus. He recognizes that one time, there was an odd sense of pride in the condition of the campus. Nevertheless, a large part of President Boarman’s campus improvement vision is the track & field/soccer stadium.

Anasti was firm in her reply when asked if she would have still attended NCSSM if varsity sports were not offered, “I would have still applied to come here. I’m realistic about my future in athletics.” Despite her modesty, several of Kara’s classmates believe she can compete at the next level.

”I would not have come here,” Harden admits. “One of the things that made me reluctant about applying was that my friends kept me telling me to stay at Northwood (Apex) be-cause we had a shot at the state cham-pionship in cross country and the 4 x 800 relay.

My father en-couraged me to apply.”

Lance’s tenure at NCSSM was marked by an appointment to the School Improvement Group, service as an RLA and steady involvement in stu-dent government. Thus, the debate must include a discus-sion about how many more Lance Hardens out there don’t finalize their applications.

”We know we’ve missed out on kids because we don’t have a football program. But on the other hand, we have had students win Division I athletic scholarships. It’s an age-old debate,” said Kevin Cromwell, Director of Student Services.

One of three NC State Park Scholars from NCSSM this year, Isaac Owolabi, won two state championships in hurdle events and also broke the school record for the 400 meter hurdles event. Clearly, students at NCSSM can suc-cessfully maintain the academic and athletic balance.

No one will argue against the fact that a high school’s first priority is academic education. Athletics have always been a part of high school life and for some students, sports do provide an alternative future than one centered on academ-ic goals. Another inarguable debate is that academics is, and will forever be, first at NCSSM. So, how does a coach meet the challenge of building a team when having a full squad at practice or games, is a rarity?

“Our tennis coach was really good this year, but he couldn’t handle not having courts on campus, getting everyone back in time, missing dinner. And we had such a horrible problem getting people to show up. It’s really hard

for a coach to deal with.” Anasti stated.

Harden added, “There needs to be con-sequences for athletes here who do not show up and don’t say anything about it. That certainly would not have flown at my old school, as far as athletics is concerned, but it does here Then again, if you punished the kids who couldn’t make it all the time, you wouldn’t have a team. The biggest problem coaches have is that students don’t have the best communication skills [with their coaches]. Add to that injuries, and it’s not uncommon to see teams dwindle in numbers after only a couple of weeks.”

Lance Harden pulls ahead in a cross country race. courtesy of The Herald Sun, 10/6/04, Christine Nguyen

Kara was voted Most Athletic

cont’d on page 30

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Durham native Jonathan Kuni-holm has always been good with his hands. A graduate of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, he could do it all -- from installing a new bathroom to playing guitar, from developing an explo-sive-disarming robot to designing biomedical devices for people with disabilities as a Duke University doctoral student in engineering.

But as a captain and platoon leader in the U.S. Marine Corps, Kuniholm faced a shocking twist of fate New Year’s Day when he was caught in an ambush by Iraqi insurgents while inspecting enemy activity near Haditha Dam on the Euphrates River. An explosion, possibly from a rocket-propelled grenade or a hidden mine, killed one of his comrades, injured another and shredded Kuniholm’s right arm below the elbow.

He was airlifted to a nearby field hospital for emergency treatment and stabilized at the Landstuhl military hospital in Germany. Then Kuniholm was flown to Bethesda Naval Hospital outside Washington, D.C., and transferred to Durham, where he underwent some eight hours of deli-cate reconstructive surgery on the damaged limb at Duke University Hospital.

courtesy The Herald Sun, Bernard ThomasFinally, Friday evening, for the first time since his August deployment, Kuniholm, 33, was able to return home to his wife, UNC radiology resident Michele Quinn, 33, and their 4-year-old son, Sam. Kuniholm’s father, Bruce, a Vietnam veteran of the Marine Corps and a well-known Duke professor of public policy, lives nearby.

Kuniholm and Quinn celebrate their seventh wedding an-niversary today. But Kuniholm didn’t expect to be with his family when he last celebrated, on New Year’s Eve. That night, Kuniholm entertained fellow troops by singing and playing rock, folk and country tunes on his guitar. The war took its toll the next day.

Kuniholm, who had volunteered for combat leadership, recalled that some of his comrades had engaged Iraqi in-surgents near the dam, and asked him if he wanted to join them in a follow-up battle.

“I said yes, got my gear and we took off in two high-speed military boats,” he said. “We got back to where they’d made earlier enemy contact, dismounted the boats and

Marine’s spirit still intact after part of arm lost.

Article reprinted with permission from The Herald-SunALuMNuS JONAThAN KuNihOLM’S SErViCEiN irAQ

BY: Jim Shamp, Durham Herald-Sun

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shell casings around an agricultural pump station, where there were irrigation pumps going out all over the place. They were taking pictures of drag marks where they sus-pected the enemy was removing their dead.”

Kuniholm said he remembered standing next to a radio op-erator, Lance Cpl. Brian Parrello, from New Jersey, “when all of a sudden, this explosion in front of me knocked me back off my feet, onto my side. I leaned forward and saw what had happened to my arm. A good part of my forearm was missing and my hand was hanging by a piece of skin. I reached for my rifle. It had been blown in half by the explo-sion.”

Kuniholm said fatal injuries weren’t uncommon, just from the pressure of such an explosion. “I’m an extremely lucky man in many respects. All the frag hit me at chest level. If it had been 18 inches higher, it would’ve taken off my head. I had my eye protection around my neck because it had fogged up and I couldn’t see through it.”

Fellow soldiers told Kuniholm later that they’d pulled large chunks of metal fragments from his body armor, including his mangled captain’s insignia.

It wasn’t until later that Kuniholm would learn of Parrello’s death. He said he hoped to find the soldier’s family so he could share his memories with them.

This weekend, just over two weeks after the attack, Kuniholm and his family were doing what they most enjoyed doing on weekends before his deployment -- playing with Sam, eating breakfast at Elmo’s Diner, walking down Ninth Street to buy books at The Regulator. Only this time Kuniholm had to carry what remained of his right arm elevated in a bulky orthopedic brace. Little Sam, with the help of some friends, made his dad a prosthetic arm out of found objects -- plastic, bubble wrap -- just in case his father had an immediate need. But Kuniholm has found the device too valuable to use. Besides, other, more expensive, but less precious, prostheses are awaiting him.

“I’m looking at probably six months of rehab before I’ll have a working prosthesis,” said Kuniholm. “But my first goal is recovery. After that I’m looking forward to rejoining my dual pursuits of grad school at Duke and my work with Tackle Design.”

Tackle Design is a Raleigh-based engineering start-up firm established by Kuniholm and colleagues Jason Stevens, Chuck Messer and Kevin Webb. It’s those partners who helped transform some of Kuniholm’s ideas for a bomb-sniffing robot into an actual battlefield prototype they

named Bubba.

Though Kuniholm said he wasn’t using Bubba at the time of his injury, he hopes to be able to continue work on this and other kinds of military and civilian applications in a creative “Ant Farm”

environment, similar to one established by MIT robot scien-tists. He said he and his partners also hope to move Tackle Design to Durham.

Quinn, Kuniholm’s wife, said her husband had already started adjusting their home to his needs. “He switched the computer mouse over to the left side already, and it’s got me all tied in knots,” she said. “One thing you have to accept when you love Jonathan is that Jonathan does what he needs to do. You might as well be supportive and just go with it.”

“I’m supposed to stay somewhat still and let my flap heal,” said Kuniholm. “So for now my plans are to sleep as much as I need to. But I also want to get back on the Internet and check e-mails. Maybe I just won’t be as verbose as I was.” He said his colleagues in the lab of Duke engineering, including professor Robert Clark, were already looking for good voice-recognition software to help speed his return to the Web.

Kuniholm said his son had been curious about his injury.

“He’s actually doing all right with it, I think,” Kuniholm said. “He had some questions about how I was injured, about the other Marines caught there with me. Some are hard questions, obviously. But so far I’m answering them honestly -- maybe even in too much detail. I don’t know whether a 4-year-old needs to know what an RPG -- a rocket-propelled grenade -- is.”

“Jon’s sister says, when you’re 4 years old, anything that happens seems normal,” says Quinn. “Sam’s good about asking questions on what he’s worried about. But this has been an amazing experience for all of us.”

“I’m an extremely lucky man in many respects.”

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Anasti supported her classmate’s view. “We’re still young when we come here, so, were not used to having to do things all on our own.” Harden added that teachers at his old school were more ac-cepting of classroom complications as result of sports and that missing class because of athletics is not a very accept-able excuse. Again, NCSSM would not be the institution it is without this firm hold on the value of classroom time.

“I remember my pre-calc teacher yelling at us last year about missing class for track. Well, she didn’t yell, but she was clearly mad. It was the last period of the day, so we al-ways had to leave class,” Anasti admitted. “I think it’s much less flexible than my old school.”

Harden believes the only trick to balancing sports and academics at the school is planning ahead. “Take a look at what lies ahead and know when your meets and games oc-cur. Take advantage of your free blocks. The teachers don’t have any problem with you wanting to work ahead of the class a little.”

“I studied on the weekends to keep up,” said Anasti. “The teachers don’t intend for the work to be much longer than

45 minutes per assignment, so, it’s manageable. I like the trimester system though, I don’t think I could have handled it as well this year without it.” She sheepishly confessed to receiving one B this year.

Every year a number of gifted athletes forgo varsity com-petition for the heated hall versus hall intramural program. Whether serving as a relief from academic pressure or as

a way to feed one’s competitive drive without the daily commitment of practice and extensive travel, NCSSM intramurals is often taken more seriously than interscholastic contests. This makes evident the argument that the community is aware of athletics and that they are embraced, just maybe not as much as everyone hopes.

“IMs are a really big deal,” Harden confirmed. “President’s Cup is cut-throat.”

NCSSM varsity team sports continue to face a number of challenges. Teams with roster numbers that ebb and flow day to day because of academic

competitions, labs, orchestra practice, MPC meetings or tutorials, are having a harder time remaining competitive against schools with teams whose players attend sports camps together, play on club teams year-round and have million-dollar facilities.

NCSSM students being what they are, no visiting team leaves campus without a healthy dose of witty heckling from the fan base, demonstrating that the support of the student body is blind to the box scores and that ultimately, the school community is above winning and losing.

There is no doubt that the balance of sports and academics at NCSSM will remain precarious for many of the school’s student-athletes. And school administrators clearly recog-nizes the challenges that a two-year institution faces when trying to build perennially competitive team sports. Those who love to compete on the playing field will continue to find frustration with rosters that change daily and bus rides with boxed dinners and coaches who continue to come on and off the payroll.

Still, each year the trophy cases lining the foyer of the Charles L. Eilber Physical Education Center always seem to obtain a few new residents and school records are still being set.

From the perspective of the box score, perhaps the team sports program at NCSSM will never be as consistently healthy as those at bigger, more typical high schools. Nev-erthless, our student-athletes are as equally skilled as their opponnets, begging an important question that even the NCSSM community has yet to find an answer to.

“...we had such a horrible problem getting people to show up. it’s really hard for a

coach to deal with.”

Sports cont’d.

Class of ‘84 presents a check for tennis courts at Alumni Weekend 2004

31

SUMMER 2005

NCSSM Magazine: Is there a single event—academically or otherwise—that stands out most from your time at NCSSM?Scott: The first comedy pieces I ever had published were in The Stentorian. I think that’s when I really started trying very hard to write comedy and when I set my sights on that as a career. So, if anything, it gave me my first audience for writing. Mr. Woodmansee had me as a work service stu-dent. That was a big boost for me because I wasn’t really confident at all about my abilities. And just the fact that he believed in me, even though I was always very quiet in class, but that he sensed or saw from my papers that I had some little kernel of talent. I really appreciated that. I’ll always be indebted to him. NCSSM Magazine: Did you enjoy Science and Math?Scott: You know, I didn’t, but that was just because I was a sullen teenager and I think that I wouldn’t have been good anywhere. Like I said, in retrospect, socially there was no better place. I love my friends from Science and Math. It’s one of those things were I look back and realize how good I had it. There was no school newspaper in Cameron. There was no measure of appreciation [in Cameron] for any sort of artistic achievement or endeavor. It’s great to be put in a situation where you’re not the big fish in the pond anymore, where you’re not the top of your class. Because you really do start to believe, if you grow up in a place like that, that the world is much different than how it actually is. Scott’s Emmy Awards were awarded for the Outstanding Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program at the 55th & 56th Annual Emmy Awards. For more information on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart or America (The Book) go to www.comedycentral.com. To order Partners in Blues, go to http://www.straintest.com/partners.html.

Jacobson cont’d Boarman, cont’d

Whether it’s his direct management style or a by-prod-uct of his drive to help a school personify its potential, Gerald Boarman is always finding ways to communicate ideas.

“There has been money set aside in the Governor’s budget for a study on the feasibility of non-residential campuses,” he continues. This idea encompasses the es-tablishment of three regional campuses across the state to serve the number of highly qualified students who may not have been accepted to the school in Durham. “It’s in the planning stages and may not be realized for more than five years…we want to have our stamp of approval on it.” Jerry Boarman is a man of action–but the action must have a plan. “Whether it be tennis courts, the Royall Center, trimesters...I know that to people who have been here for twenty years these changes seem unsettling.” Dr. Boarman likes to reiterate that his ideas and decisions are truly aimed at the betterment of the entire institution, both physically and philosophically. Little changes can make a big difference too, Boar-man stresses. “Who knows about the new tractor for Luke [Mason, plant facilities] so he can keep this place looking good and a truck for Chris [Taylor, plant facili-ties] so he can do what he needs to do…little things matter too.” You can never question the impact Dr. Gerald Boarman has had on NCSSM. In his tenure, the school has seen a tremendous increase in the number of applications, realized a renewed awareness in state government and gained solid footing on the grounds of corporate part-nership. Annual giving is at record numbers and the School’s largest capital campaign to date, the Odyssey Campaign, was kicked off last December. These external relationships and fundraising milestones, critical to the development of any progressive institu-tion, signify his understanding of who and what needs to be touched in order to enact change at a place like NCSSM. He understands the rich academic tradi-tions of the school and the power held by its faculty to educate teenage minds. Regardless of how bumpy some transitions have been, there is no questioning the validity of the path traveled to reach them. Quite simply, Gerald L. Boarman’s first five years have been non-stop, suggesting he asks him-self the same question every morning: “What would you do tomorrow if you knew you could not fail?”

In a school like NCSSM, one with unlimited potential, that is a good question to ask.

The North Carolina School of Science and MathematicsAlumni/Development OfficeP.O. Box 2733Durham, NC 27715

nonprofit organizationUS postage

pAiDDurham, NC

permit no. 957

North CAroliNA’s ClAssroom for 25 yeArs. Events begin August 23, 2005