See photos from Saturday’s reunions here.See Class Photos here.See RL Today photos here.A record 340 alumni and guests converged on Saturday evening, 14 May, for class reunions. The weather held for cocktails in the courtyard, followed by dinner served in the newly refurbished Palaistra.Kerry Brennan presented Brian Adams ’91 with the Wellington Award which recognizes outstanding service to the School by a member of the 25th anniversary class.

The Class of 1991 also took a moment in Rousmaniere Hall to remember together their late classmate, Joe Nadol ’91, who was a victim of the tragic MTA traincrash in Valhalla, NY, last year.Saturday evening was the culmination of the weekend’s reunion activities. On Friday, alumni returned for RL Today—a chance to visit Alma Mater while school is still in session, attend Hall and hear from the Headmaster. A Q&A with a group of seniors followed. Friday evening offered a 25th Reunion class picnic for the Class of 1991 and a concert by RL classical and jazz musicians, while Saturday afternoon presented opportunities to cheer on the home teams in baseball and LAX against Lawrence Academy.(photography by Gretchen Ertl)

A panel of parents in the medical profession described their careers and career paths in Hall on 11 April. With such a wealth of experience within the R.L. community from which to draw, it seemed a perfect way to broaden the career horizons of our students with first hand knowledge and insight.

One of the things almost all of them touched on was how they discovered their own particular penchant within a medical career.

Dr. Larry Epstein thought he wanted to be a pediatrician, but it wasn’t until he began his rotations that he realized he wanted to do medicine with adults. His decision to specialize in breathing disorders in sleep was influenced largely by his mentor, a pulmonologist. Because the field was so new, he had to combine two areas of studies—pulmonary critical care and sleep.

Dr. Paul Weitzel majored in history in college, but took premed anyway “just in case.” He knew he didn’t want to spend his life at a desk; he knew he did like people, fixing things, and working with his hands. In his chosen field of sports medicine and orthopedic surgery (where his tools include drills and saws) he has found all three.

Dr. Elizabeth Drucker was trained as an interventional radiologist, but went back to law school when she realized that the kind of care patients were getting (or not getting) was determined by things beyond their control. Since then she has been involved with policy and ethics, and creating software and systems to make medical records accessible to doctors.

As a follow up to this medical panel Hall, Harry Callewaert II organized a session with Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, Faculty Dean of Continuing Education and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, who spoke about his work and career path to interested juniors, seniors, and faculty on 19 April. 

The parents who graciously gave their morning to be on the panel were:

Dr. Elizabeth Drucker (Ben Rivitz I), radiologist affiliated with Newton-Wellesley HospitalDr. Dorothy Cunningham (Evan Epstein I), owner and physician at Washington Square Dermatology specializing in medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatologyDr. Larry Epstein (Evan Epstein I), instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate physician, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women’s HospitalDr. Deborah Zuckerman (Jacob Gendelman I), pediatric ophthalmologist at Burlington Eye AssociatesDr. Paul Weitzel (Will I, Harry III, Charlie V), orthopedic surgeon at New England Baptist Hospital, assistant clinical professor at Tufts University School of MedicineDr. Merrill Weitzel (Will I, Harry III, Charlie V), specializes in gynecology and obstetrics at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s HospitalDr. Huihong Xu (Kevin Zhu I), assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Boston University School of Medicine

The 44 boys comprising Class V trekked the full 10-mile Walk for Hunger route on Sunday, 1 May—raising $11,000 for the cause. Then on Monday morning they were off on a field trip to Woods Hole, where they embarked on an exploration of the bay with marine biologists from the Oceanographic Institute in one of their boats. The day included a visit to the labratories. Neither day’s weather favored the excursions, but that didn’t slow down these boys—although their teachers predicted they’d sleep well!See photos here.

Another collaboration between Winsor and RL brought this year’s musical, The Secret Garden, to the Smith Theater stage. Based on the 1911 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the musical (script and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon) premiered on Broadway in 1991 and ran for two years.Twenty-one actors from Winsor and RL, along with a robust stage and tech crew, produced the show under the direction of RL Director of Dramatics Derek Nelson and Director of Music Rob Opdycke. The show had two evening performances on 29 & 30 April.  See photos here.