As a first step in updating you on our alums, here is some news on graduates who are the children of GBRSS faculty and staff.

Alexander Zay (Class of 1982, with class teachers Jill Johnson and Torin Finser) currently is a project manager at an environmental company. He received a BS in geology from the University of Massachusetts in 1990 after attending Hawthorne Valley and Monument Mountain high schools. Alexander is married to Anna Blau Zay, who teaches at the Kimberton Waldorf High School. They live near Philadelphia with their four children.

Melissa (Kuzia) Martocchio (Class of 1983, Joseph Savage) attended Monument Mountain Valley High School, and then went on to Roanoke College, where she received a BA in English literature. Until recently she worked in corporate communications for Fidelity Investments and currently cares full-time for her two young children. Rebekah (Carr) Crouch (Class of 1984, Jean Zay), formerly Walsh/Knox, attended the former Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner High School and Mount Everett Regional High School, and graduated from the University of Hartford in 1992 with a major in politics, government and international relations and a minor in German. She worked for 10 years at non-profits in Philadelphia, Boston and Kent, CT, and is currently parenting her toddler son. She is a volunteer with the United Nations Association of Northwest Connecticut on a scholarship fundraiser.

Peter Zay (Class of 1985, Pamela Giles/ Richard Giles) is a professional cellist, a member of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and performs with other groups in Boston and throughout New England. He earned a bachelor’s in cello performance from Hartt School of Music  in 1993 and a master’s from the Manhattan School of Music in 1995. Peter attended the GBRSS High School and Monument Mountain High School, graduating in 1989. He lives in Natick with his wife Anastasia and their toddler daughter Sofia.

Brooke Redpath (Class of 1986, Christopher Belski/Sblendorio) attended Monument Mountain Valley High School and Clark University, where she earned BAs in music performance and philosophy. In 2007 Brooke purchased the Waldorf toy store, Matrushka, in Great Barrington. She lives in Great Barrington with her husband Bob and children Cecilia, Madeleine and Quinn, who attend GBRSS.

Gwendolyn (Carr) Grace (Class of 1987, Peter Elliston) graduated from the Berkshire School in 1991 and from Wheaton College in 1995. Gwendolyn and her husband Christopher live in Sheffield, MA, with their children, Charles, Lillie and Sophia, who all currently attend GBRSS and James, who will soon join our nursery.

Zephyr Belski (Class of 1990, Torin Finser) graduated from Hawthorne Valley High School in 1994 and then went on to Adelphi University in New York where he received a BA in graphic arts. He is an engineer/troubleshooter for Humanscale Corporation in New Jersey, which manufactures ergonomic office furniture. He is passionate about sports car racing and is a driver and instructor.

Leo Sblendorio (Class of 1992, Carol Kelly) graduated from Hawthorne Valley High School in 1996. He attended the San Francisco School of Circus Arts and was a trapeze artist and instructor from 2000 to 2008. He currently works at a spa in Santa Cruz, California, and is a bicycle mechanic. Leo and his partner Hannah Ahren have a son Indio, born in 2008.

Melissa Belski (Class of 1994, Erna Faulkner) graduated from Monument Mountain Valley High School in 1998. She earned both a BA and MA in education at Hofstra University in New York, and is a fifth-grade teacher at Clearstream Public School in Valley Stream, New York. She is engaged to be married in September 2009 to lawyer Matt Rodriquez.

Gabriel Giles (Class of 1995, Christopher Belski/Sblendorio) graduated from Hawthorne Valley High School in 1999 and is currently a waste water engineer and project manager for Aecom Water, NYC. He received a BS and an MS in civil engineering from Columbia University after receiving a BA from Oberlin College.

Michaela Kuzia (Class of 1996, Craig Giddens) graduated from Hawthorne Valley High School in 2000 and attended Tallahassee Community College where she received her associate degree in liberal arts. She then attended Berklee College of Music where she received a BA in music. She is currently pursuing a career as a singer and songwriter.

Claire Eurich (Class of 1998, Bob Norris) resides during the winter in Melaque, Jalisco, Mexico and summers in Egremont, Massachusetts. She and her sister are co-owners of Stepping Lightly in Your Garden, a gardening and landscaping business. Claire attended Hawthorne Valley High School where she participated in Nicaragua service trips and in a Spanish language immersion program in Costa Rica.

Susanna Giles is a candidate for a master’s degree in music from Indiana State University, spring 2010. She received a master’s in cello performance from Arizona State University in 2009, an artist’s diploma from SUNY Purchase in 2006, and a bachelor’s in music from Oberlin College in 2005. She was a 2002 graduate of Hawthorne Valley High School.

Ben Palmer graduated from Northeastern University in 2007 with a BA in communications. He has joined the Peace Corps and is stationed in Equador, where he will work on community sustainability.

Abigail Kuzia (Class of 2000, Rick Shrum) graduated from Regis College in May 2008 with a BA in communications and is a product writer for Retail Convergence in Boston. Abigail graduated from Monument Mountain Valley High School in 2004.

Jonah Thomas graduated from Julliard School of Music in May 2008 with a bachelor’s in cello performance. He is currently studying composition with Dr. Laurence Lasser at Julliard School and pursing studies locally in both cello and piano. He is looking forward to studying composition in Paris for the month of July, as well as attending Apple Hill Chamber Session in New Hampshire this June.

Warren Palmer graduated from Eckerd College in 2008 with a BA degree in international relations. He is the proud father of Colten Watanabi Palmer, born July 2008.

Davin Eurich (Class of 2001, Pamela Giles) earned a BA, magna cum laude, in international and global studies from University of the Pacific after attending Berkshire Community College. She attended high school at Berkshire Country Day School and Monument Mountain, spending a semester abroad in Costa Rica in a Spanish language immersion program. She co-owns Stepping Lightly in Your Garden with her sister Claire.

Amelia Giles is currently waiting to hear about her graduate acceptances. She is a 2009 candidate for a bachelor of music from Manhattan School of Music. She attended Hawthorne Valley High School and Simon’s Rock College.

Emma Franco-Toner (Class of 2002, Jean Zay/Stephen Sagarin) is studying cultural anthropology and art history at UMASS Boston. This summer she plans to go on an archeological dig in Balise and will return to UMASS in the fall as a class mentor in anthropology. In January 2010 she plans to attend the University of Arizona in Flagstaff to become better acquainted with the Mexican and Pueblo southwest cultures.

John Palmer is a junior at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina, majoring in Wilderness Leadership. Recently he has climbed some 18,000 peaks in Mexico and plans to work for a second summer at Deerhill Expeditions in Colorado where is will lead groups in hiking and paddling. John graduated in 2006 from Hawthorne Valley High School.

Mat Inglis (Class of 2003, Tracey Brennan) attended the Great Barrington Waldorf High School and Okemo Mountain School concurrently while training in competitive snowboarding. Mat moved to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, for his senior year of high school to compete in snowboarding, and completed his high school with Oak Meadow in 2007. He is currently working in the travel industry; snowboarding and filming; designing websites; and is on the dean’s list at Penn Foster College where he is earning a degree in graphic design.

Andrew Sagarin is attending Syracuse University, Newhouse School of Journalism. He is studying newspaper and magazine journalism and writing for the “Daily Orange” newspaper and other campus publications. Andrew graduated from the Great Barrington Waldorf High School in 2007.

Katie Sagarin (Class of 2004, Christopher Sblendorio) graduated from Miss Hall’s School, Pittsfield, MA, in May 2008. She attends McGill University, Faculty of Science, is studying biology, and loves living in Montreal.

Amy Inglis (Class of 2004, Christopher Sblendorio) graduated maxima cum laude in 2008 from Miss Hall’s School, where she received numerous awards, including The Berkshire Scholarship; Purchase Prize in Photography; National Latin Exam Silver Medal; the Sylvia “Rusty” Shethar Everdell Athletic Prize for her achievements in volleyball and soccer; and the Lee Auchincloss Link Art Scholar Award, among other honors. She is currently a freshman at Florida Southern College.

Luca Piccin (Class of 2006, Mark Eurich) attends Monument Mountain Regional High School, where he is a member of the National Honor Society and Student Government. He is a Student Advisor to the Principal and plays viola with the Western District Orchestra. Luca was named to the National Society of High School Scholars and was nominated for the National Youth Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. He is also involved with Project Sprout.

Leah Pitman attended Hawthorne Valley High School and is currently a freshman at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington.

Joshua Weinstein (Class of 2007, Nancy Franco) is in his second year at Salisbury School, CT, where he is a member of the Salisbury Gospel Choir. On the varsity crew team, Josh rows in the first boat and participated in world indoor rowing championships in Boston in February, ranking number 7 in his category. He was nominated by Salisbury School and attended the National Youth Leadership Conference (NYLC) in Washington, D.C., this spring.

Alexander Pitman (Class of 2008, Erika Jensen/Rick Shrum) is currently a ninth grade student at the Great Barrington Waldorf High School.

The seed of our school was lovingly planted more than 30 years ago, long enough for deep roots to have taken a firm hold in the earth, and long enough for our very first graduates to begin beaming with pride as their own children complete eighth grade. Iolani Sommer de-Ris, class of 2009 with teacher Andrew Sansone, holds the distinct honor of being the very first second-generation Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School graduate. In the first generation is her mom, Fiona Sommer de-Ris (class of 1987, with teacher Peter Elliston), who also has a daughter, Mareika, in the class of 2012. To highlight this important milestone, we asked Iolani and Fiona to share some thoughts on their Waldorf school experience.

Fiona began at GBRSS in 1978, when we were still known as The Pumpkin Hollow School, and her family’s association with a Rudolf Steiner education dates back even further, since Fiona’s parents and grandparents were active in Eurythmy and Waldorf Education in Germany and the United States. As Fiona’s life took her to Europe for high school, back ‘home’ to the Berkshires to start a family, and then through an anthroposophical training in social therapy, she met the many challenges along the way with courage, enthusiasm and a sense of purpose borne from those formative years. It was clear to her that she wanted to provide this same solid life foundation for her own children.

Iolani is a remarkable athlete, and shares her mother’s appreciation for Waldorf education. She enjoys the relationship with her teacher because, as she says, “it grows from first grade to eighth grade.” When asked if she will go on to a Waldorf high school, she is leaning on her mother and father (Hartmuth Sommer-de Ris) to guide her. Like her mother, she believes that wherever she lands she will thrive, because her education thus far has given her “a deeper level of understanding of myself.”

Fiona acknowledges that much has changed since she graduated from GBRSS twenty-two years ago, in those pioneering days when the school was just 16 years young. Much more was demanded of the parent body, she says. Fiona’s fondest memories are of sunlit classrooms, happy, hardworking teachers, parents car-pooling in rusty cars and, of course, volunteer “elves” preparing for the Annual Handcraft Fair months in advance (some things never change). Fiona views the school as a “living, breathing entity” that has grown and evolved to meet the needs of our time and today’s students. “I believe it is deeply important that parents continue to work in support of, and have faith in, this education and its curriculum, which provides such stability and nourishment for children,” she says.

Today 26 children of alumni are currently enrolled in GBRSS, and the “second generation” continues to grow. It seems that their parents, having once found a home in Waldorf education, know that they want to give this same gift to their child. Thank you, Fiona, for your deep commitment to GBRSS and Waldorf education. And congratulations, Iolani, on all of your accomplishments; we wish you continued success wherever you may go!