BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHER, ENTREPRENEUR

George Sugihara began his academic career in a blaze of glory. After earning his B.S. from the University of Michigan, he went on to Princeton University securing a Masters and Ph.d in 1980 and 1983 respectively. His Phd. in mathematical biology received the Ogden Porter Jacobus Prize, Princeton’s highest academic award given by the Graduate School.

LAWYER, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

“Heard memories are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter,
Therefore ye soft pipes, play on.. . .” So spoke Debbie Smolover in her Bandy quote.

Debbie had a beautiful voice, but often left it unheard. So, too, with her raw power. She was a very good student in a regular American History class and she applied to Harvard. Somehow in her application her human qualities caught the attention of the Harvard Admissions people. They took her ahead of some all AP students

TEACHER

While the caption placed under Eric Rothschild’s name in the 1954 Bandersnatch yearbook no doubt ably captured his high school accomplishments, the Bandy editors could not possibly have known how perfectly their moniker for him, Wonder Boy, would serve to capture the breadth and range of his many achievements in the years to come.

BUSINESSMAN

The Senior quote in Daniel Lee Rosensweig’s 1979 Bandersnatch set a high standard:
“Life itself can’t give me joy
Unless I really will it
Life just gives me time and space
It’s up to me to fill it.”

WRITER, DIRECTOR, ACTOR

“Don’t compromise yourself. It’s all you got.” -- Janis

No wonder Michael Masarof is our youngest Distinguished Alumnus. The words above from his senior yearbook capture him perfectly.

VISIONARY, LIBRARIAN, INVENTOR, ENTREPRENEUR

It’s really simple. All Brewster Kahle wants to accomplish is “Universal Access to all Knowledge.” He started on that goal at M.I.T. where he studied artificial intelligence and invented WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers, Inc.) which he sold to America Online. At that time, customers included the New York Times, the Government Printing Office, The Wall Street Journal and the White House. It must have been quite a bargain since afterwards Kahle and his wife were able to establish the Kahle/Austin Foundation trust worth $45 million.

COMMISSIONER, POLITICAL ADVISOR

Heather Howard’s words of wisdom beneath her senior picture in Bandersnatch contain the famous Ronald Reagan Question, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”
She has devoted her professional life to secure the answer “yes” from both politicians and the citizenry they serve.

AUTHOR

In the 1951 Bandersnatch, the class of 1951 pronounced Linda Goetz, the wittiest in her class and beneath her senior photo was the phrase “Lady of the Press.” Holmes continued her interest in writing while attending Wellesley College and later working for CBS Television.

SCIENTIST

Not everyone gets an asteroid named in his honor (99905 Jeffgrossman). But then again not everyone is on a career path in which each stage is success followed by a new stage with even greater successes. Perhaps the explanation lies in his family. Grossman’s parents, Eddie and Selma, were brilliant teachers. His love of learning may have been born in his home on Black Birch Late. His sister reports that as a boy he memorized the northern hemisphere of stars in the sky by putting them on a series of index cards.

PHYSICIAN

Charles Blair lives by the principle pay it forward. According to Blair, his twin dreams were “to get out of the South,” and, at the same time, to return to the South as a doctor with a free clinic for the rural poor.

He took his first major step in achieving his dreams when he was selected as one of Scarsdale’s two STEP students in 1974. In Scarsdale, Blair lived with Hugh and Billie Jones. Their friendship continues to this day.