As a student, trustee and — for the last eight years — principal, Bill Rawson ’71 has lived and led by the Academy’s most fundamental values

On move-in day in September 2018, Bill Rawson ’71; ’65, ’70 (Hon.); P’08 greeted arriving students and families while wearing a distinctive red Exeter T-shirt with “I’m new here, too!” emblazoned in white on its front.

Rawson wasn’t exactly a new face on campus. He had spent three years as a student at the Academy and worked as an admissions officer for two years after college, before embarking on an accomplished career practicing environmental law and litigation. He also served in a multitude of alumni volunteer roles, including Exeter Alumni Association director, class officer and longtime trustee. What the shirt’s message captured was his compassion and excitement about becoming the interim principal of the school he loved.

Addressing students and faculty in his first Opening Assembly, Rawson said he had wondered three things when he arrived as a new lower: Would I be able to do the work? Would I make friends? Did I really belong at Exeter? “Yes,” he told those gathered. “You can do the work. You will make lifelong friends. Absolutely, you belong here.”

Just six months later, the Trustees announced Rawson’s appointment as Exeter’s 16th principal.

Over the next eight years, he repeated those questions and their affirmative answers in every Opening Assembly. These words would become familiar to everyone on Exeter’s campus, and to many others in the global community of faculty, staff and alumni. To Rawson, these words are the foundation for his most important work as principal: fostering a strong sense of belonging in every student, faculty and staff member, and member of the alumni community.

“He distilled into these simple phrases a really important and complex idea about what the Academy is, and who the Academy is for, which is absolutely all of us,” Assistant Principal Eimer Page says.

Kobi Ajene ’27 recalls the impact of Rawson’s welcoming remarks at his first Opening Assembly. “That was a speech that I needed to hear,” he says. “It really reassured me that Exeter was the right place for me.”

Rawson, who will retire in June, built his leadership around a set of guiding principles grounded deeply in the Academy’s founding mission and core values. From the outset, he became an ever-present, ever-supportive figure for students in all their endeavors while building bonds with everyone in the Exeter community. Through significant challenges, Rawson led the school with a steady hand, a commitment to listening and learning, and a clear-eyed focus on what makes Exeter what it is, while remaining open to imagining what Exeter could be.

“While the buildings and the people at Exeter have changed over time, the founding values have not — they have informed the school for the 245 years of its history,” former trustee Tony Downer ’75 says. “Bill has been a scholar of and champion of those values in every decision that he made.”

Principal Rawson stands on Assembly Hall stage in the Academy Building, looking out at student body.

Bill Rawson ’71 delivering his first Opening Assembly address as interim principal in September 2018.

When Lisa MacFarlane announced in early 2018 that she would be stepping down as Exeter’s 15th principal, the Trustees set out to find someone within the Academy community to serve as interim principal for two years while they conducted a search for her permanent replacement.

Rawson, who had recently retired as partner in the international law firm Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C., remembers his reaction when faculty members who had known him as a trustee asked him to consider the interim role. “That really surprised me,” he says, “and made me think maybe this would be a way that I could serve the school.”

Downer, who led the Trustees during the search, can’t remember who first suggested Rawson as a potential candidate but calls it “a very interesting and out of-the-box thought” that also made a lot of sense. On one hand, Rawson lacked the academic background traditionally associated with Exeter’s “principal instructor.” On the other, Downer says, “He was somebody who knew the community at all sorts of levels and in many ways embodied the mission and values of the school.”

When the search committee reached out to community members for their views, consensus quickly built in Rawson’s favor. With the enthusiastic support of his wife, Mary, a history teacher and former Exeter Summer instructor, he decided to take the leap. “Exeter changed my life,” Rawson says. “When Exeter has called, I have never said no.”

Rawson is the fourth former Academy student to become principal, after Gideon Lane Soule (class of 1813), Harlan P. Amen (class of 1875) and William G. Saltonstall (class of 1924). “Bill shared the students’ experience, but his law career gave him real-world perspectives that he could use in his leadership position with faculty and fellow administrators,” former trustee Rob Shapiro ’68 says.

“Looking back at past principals, including myself, I think everyone has had their job to do, and those have been different jobs,” says Kendra Stearns O’Donnell, who led Exeter from 198797. “Bill really took on the work of his time with integrity, imagination and real sensitivity to both the history of the Academy and the needs of the people and programs in the present.”

Director of Institutional Advancement Morgan Dudley ’77 says Rawson brought “transparency, integrity and a sense of calm” as the school was addressing challenges, including fallout from the handling of past sexual misconduct on campus. “He dedicated himself to repairing relationships, making hard decisions, and doing all that was in the best interest of the school,” Dudley recalls.

With the support of faculty, staff and alumni, the Trustees realized that they had found Exeter’s next principal. “It was clear what the community wanted,” Downer says.

After Rawson’s appointment, his classmate (and former lacrosse teammate) Roberto Garcia ’71 wrote to offer his congratulations and well wishes. “He was the right person at the right time and the right place,” Garcia says.

(from top) Rawson as a student (second from the bottom) in 1971; Rawson’s 2004 trustee portrait; Rawson at his 5th year reunion; Rawson played, and later coached, lacrosse at Exeter

Rawson’s tenure as principal has coincided with turbulent and challenging times for all school leaders, including the effect of unsettling global events like the wars in the Middle East and the bitter partisan divides and polarizing nature of the U.S. political landscape. In both his messages to the community and his actions, Rawson has consistently responded with an emphasis on the values that are vital to the Harkness philosophy: listening to and learning from one another, being open to different ideas and perspectives, and nurturing a supportive environment for all students and adults on campus.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, with students scattered far and wide, faculty members forced to adopt the Harkness pedagogy for remote learning, and concern for the health and safety of all community members, Rawson relied even more heavily on this human-centered, mission-driven, inclusive approach to leadership.

“‘Exeter’ is not bounded by its geography,” he said to an empty Assembly Hall during the first virtual assembly in May 2020. “‘Exeter’ lives within each of us and forms around us, no matter the distance between us.”

Director of Equity and Inclusion Stephanie Bramlett recalls the challenge of continuing to provide all students with equitable support, given the vast differences in their off-campus circumstances and experiences. “Suddenly we had to think about — how do we continue to be a safe place for them and also give them what they need so they can be successful?” she says. “Bill was a fantastic partner in those efforts.”

A modern mission statement

“Unite goodness and knowledge and inspire youth from every quarter to lead purposeful lives.”

At the end of his first year as principal, Rawson worked with a small group of faculty and trustees to produce a modern expression of the Academy’s mission statement and an articulation of five core values: knowledge and goodness, academic excellence, youth from every quarter, youth is the important period and non sibi.

Every key word in the updated mission statement, which Rawson introduced at Opening Assembly in 2020, can be traced to the Deed of Gift signed by John and Elizabeth Phillips in 1781.

“I read quite a number of histories of the Academy when I arrived,” Rawson says, “and I learned a lot about the founding and history of the school, especially the democratic spirit that was there from the very beginning.”

He says he looked to Harlan P. Amen, William G. Saltonstall and Kendra Stearns O’Donnell, the school’s first female principal, among others, as examples of leaders who remained true to Exeter’s founding spirit while confronting difficult challenges and moving the school forward.

“We are blessed with a Deed of Gift that provides a foundation and articulates a compelling mission,” Rawson says, “but we have also always been open to evolving and living into our founders’ words in ways that make us not just a stronger school, but more true to our values and our mission.”

President of the Trustees Kristyn Van Ostern ’96 sees Rawson as an effective messenger for this philosophy. “Almost every time he spoke,” she says, “Bill reminded everyone that change is part of what makes us great as an institution.”

Rawson’s consideration extended not only to students and faculty, but also to all of Exeter’s employees. “He put a lot of work and thought into how do we make sure that we are keeping all our people safe and whole?” says Page, who worked alongside the principal to help manage the school’s pandemic response. “How do we make sure that we’re giving people meaningful work?”

Students began returning to campus for fall term in 2020, but COVID-19 protocols and restrictions remained in place months longer. With his unwavering focus on fostering community on campus, Rawson did his best to ensure that the most important aspects of the Exeter experience endured. He also made efforts to maintain a personal connection with students, including by doing regular dorm duty in Wentworth Hall.

Zara Ahmed ’22 remembers eating outside on Soule Hill with friends in the spring of 2021, when dining was still limited to grab-and-go options. Rawson walked around and spoke with her and other students. “He was making sure that his presence was known, and he was checking in on us,” Ahmed says. “It felt like even though things were different, we were still all in it together.”

Bill Rawson ’71 (right) catches up with students on the path in 2021 as COVID-19 limitations were
still in effect inside campus buildings.

Perhaps no single accomplishment represents Rawson’s legacy better than the Academy’s commitment to admit students regardless of their families’ ability to pay tuition. Rawson speaks often of his Exeter experience as a recipient of financial aid, and the jobs he worked on campus — including waiting on faculty tables and washing dishes in the dining hall — to supplement his scholarship. For him, need-blind admissions and meeting the full demonstrated need of every student are fundamental to living up to John and Elizabeth Phillips’ intention to establish the Academy as a free school, and Exeter’s longstanding tradition of accessibility to students of all backgrounds and financial circumstances.

While Exeter donors had committed more than $90 million in new endowment funds for financial aid from 201921, further support was needed to sustain a need-blind admissions policy through the school’s 250th anniversary in 2031. Kristyn Van Ostern ’96, the current president of the Trustees, recalls how Rawson persuaded them to announce need-blind admissions even before full funding had been secured. “He argued that making that bold, audacious commitment would attract more support — and he was absolutely right,” she says.

After unanimously voting to adopt need-blind admissions in October 2021, the Trustees rose to their feet and applauded, acknowledging the moment; the generosity of Exeter’s alumni, parents and friends; and the principal’s leadership. “Bringing this to the Trustees for a vote required the confidence that we would be able, forevermore, to continue to secure support for future students with financial need,” Dudley says. “It was a courageous and significant decision.”

Principal Rawson is going to be there. He’s going to invite you into his home.

Without the cost, structure or travel associated with a capital campaign, the Academy has raised more than $400 million during Rawson’s tenure, including nearly $150 million to sustain the needblind commitment. Dudley credits this in no small part to the clarity of the Academy’s mission and priorities, the time Rawson has devoted to communicating those priorities to alumni and families, and the confidence these audiences have in Rawson’s leadership.

Rawson has also advanced ambitious new construction projects and campus improvements, some supported by fundraising and others made possible through the Trustees’ careful stewardship of the school’s resources. All have been aimed at enhancing the student and faculty experience for present and future Exonians.

Building on the strategic vision set forth in a comprehensive Campus Master Plan completed in January 2021, the Academy opened its first new dormitory in more than 50 years in the fall of 2022. Adjacent to Dow House and Guptill House, the new dorm anchors a vibrant campus neighborhood on Front Street housing 60 girls as well as four Harkness classrooms and offices for the Health and Human Development Department. A year later, a neighborhood with 12 new faculty residences opened on High Street near Grainger Observatory, part of efforts to bolster community among adults on campus as well as students.

In late 2024, the Hahn Center, with its expansive main dining hall and stateof-the-art kitchen, opened on the site of Wetherell Dining Hall, instantly becoming a bustling community hub on the north side of campus.

Perhaps most personally for Rawson, the former Davis Library, for so long a relatively forgotten space, has been revitalized during his tenure. “That was my library,” he says. “The building was something we just walked by for a long time, and to see it brought back to life is quite meaningful.” Now home to the Classical Languages Department, the stately Davis Hall also houses a large reading room on the second floor. It is named for Rawson’s wife, Mary Homeier Rawson, who died just before he became principal. “She was such an important figure in his life,” Page says, “and her pathway through education also influenced him.”

Rawson has helped to shepherd a comprehensive renovation of the central academic building on campus — the Academy Building, including an overhaul and expansion of Assembly Hall and the construction of a new Design Lab, which is scheduled for completion in the 2026–27 school year. Like all the recent construction and renovations on campus, the building’s renewal is designed to help meet the reduced carbon emission goals and other objectives in Exeter’s first sustainability and climate action plan, which Rawson announced in 2023.

In his last year, Rawson has advanced two final capital projects at Love Gymnasium: an extension of the Downer Fitness Center and the construction of a four-lane auxiliary swimming pool with a shallow end. The new pool will provide better swimming opportunities and safer instruction for faculty and staff families year-round and enable the school to once again host New England swimming championships. Both projects are fully funded and are expected to be completed by 2027.

Rawson leads students in the traditional “Sweep!” chant during the E/A pep rally in 2025.

At the heart of all these initiatives are Rawson’s trademark ethos of “building on strength” and his dedication to ensuring that all students and adults on campus have rich and meaningful experiences — and that they truly feel they belong at Exeter.

This dedication is evident in the ways the school community celebrates the diverse traditions of its members — including Passover, Lunar New Year, Holi, Ramadan and Christian holidays. Rawson hosts many events at his home, Saltonstall House: frequent dinners with assembly speakers; meals with wide-ranging groups including the Democratic and Republican clubs and Black Students of Excellence; and an annual hot wings eating contest. He has also tried to foster a sense of belonging among Exeter’s alumni through events like the 55th anniversary of the AfroLatinx Exonian Society in 2024.

Rawson’s accomplishments aside, students, faculty, staff and alumni point to his thoughtful, warm and supportive presence as perhaps the most outstanding feature of his time as principal. “Our students know that the principal is going to show up to their events,” Bramlett says. “Concerts, theater, athletic competitions, Jummah prayer, Shabbat — Principal Rawson is going to be there. He’s going to invite you into his home. He’s going to know your name.”

A Campus Revitalized

Rawson oversaw an ambitious slate of new constructions and improvements to existing facilities, aimed at integrating sustainability principles and enhancing the student and faculty experience on campus.

New Hall: Dormitory and new home to the Health
and Human Development Department
Academy Building: Expanded Assembly Hall, renovated classrooms
and common spaces, new Design Lab
Hahn Center: New dining hall and community hub with
modern kitchen and servery
Davis Hall: Renovated building, new home for the Classical
Languages Department, revitalized student
reading rooms
Love Gymnasium: New auxiliary swimming pool,
expanded Downer Family Fitness Center
High Street Neighborhood: Twelve new faculty residences

In one memorable instance, Rawson watched Exeter’s girls varsity swimming team win their second straight New England title at Andover in March 2024. Jinmin Lee ’26 recalls being in the stands when the victorious swimmers began calling for the principal to join them in the pool. “We never thought he’d actually do it,” Lee says.

But amid the students’ frenzied cheers, a fully clothed Rawson executed a front flip into the pool. After borrowing dry clothes from an Exeter coach, he promptly hopped in his car and headed to Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, to watch the boys basketball team capture its fifth NEPSAC Class A title.

Director of Athletics Jason Baseden says that day was just one outstanding example of Rawson’s showing up to support Exeter students. “It’s not often that you get a head of school who finds the time to come to games, and even practices,” Baseden says. “He’s been a special presence in person at many memorable games and events.”

Rawson has supported students in the arts equally by regularly attending performances at The David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Theater and Dance and the Forrestal-Bowld Music Center. “I think if he’s missed a show, it’s maybe one or two in his time here,” Instructor in Theater and Dance Lauren Josef says. During one rehearsal he attended, she adds, Rawson even took on the role of a Munchkin to help students block out a scene in The Wizard of Oz. “He was out of his element,” Josef says, “ but he went with it.”

As Rawson’s eight-year tenure draws to a close, he feels he is leaving the Academy in a strong position, though — as always — important work lies ahead for the school to continue to grow and change along with its students and the world.

“I feel fortunate to have been part of this community and to have been able to serve the school in this way,” Rawson says. “You never really understand how meaningful it is going to be until you’re here and you start doing the work, making the friendships, and feeling the sense of purpose that comes with being part of this community. It is always more than you could have imagined.”

Toby Kiers ’94 reveals the hidden fungal networks shaping ecosystems beneath our feet – and perhaps a powerful ally in the fight against climate change

Evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers ’94 arrived at the forested base of Africa’s Mount Kenya in 2011 to collect soil samples — with her husband and two children, ages 1 and 3 at the time, beside her. “I wanted to have this career in science and be out in the field,” Kiers says. “I also had young children and a very supportive husband. I was determined to be with them.”

Toby Kiers ’94 in her lab at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, where she is University Research Chair and a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution.

Like trailblazer Jane Goodall — who raised her only son in the 1960s and ’70s while studying chimpanzees in the jungles of Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania — Kiers chose to bring her full self into the wild as a scientist, a mother and a wife. She believes that taking her family on research trips has positively shaped the way she engages with the landscape.

“Sometimes my kids would taste the soil, and so I started tasting it too, to gauge things like the pH level and acidity,” Kiers says. “It’s not something that you can broadly recommend because local soils are very different. One time, in Chile, I tasted the soil and it was so spicy that I immediately thought I’d done something wrong. But as a scientist, you have to be open to that, to following childlike curiosity to success — or to failure — and learning from it.”

What Kiers didn’t know was just how far these leaps of faith would take her. Over the past decade she has traveled across deserts and into cloud forests. In 2025, she was named one of 22 MacArthur Fellows who received $800,000 no-strings-attached awards, popularly known as “genius grants.” They are given annually to creative and innovative individuals across a wide range of fields. The fellowship is a testament to the years Kiers has spent in the field and the lab, tracking the invisible lives of a vast, misunderstood community: fungi.

To many, fungi might register as a culinary delicacy or an infectious agent. A bowl of sauteed mushrooms, perhaps, or the ravenous organism that transforms people into berserker zombies in The Last of Us. But Kiers’ groundbreaking research into the true extent of fungal activity has brought to light how fungi silently sustain our world.

Finding the Fungi

For as long as Kiers can remember, the natural world has been a place of comfort and wonder. She grew up in Cornwall, Connecticut (population 1,567, as of the 2020 Census), where the great outdoors was her backyard.

“We had a tractor, we harvested our own wood, and my sister, Haven, and I were good at collecting morels, which is a wonderful type of edible mushroom,” Kiers says. Sometimes, when the sisters felt agitated or stressed, their mother would simply tell them to go and spend some time outside. Whether yanking weeds from the garden or mushroom hunting near the bases of apple trees that had grown in abandoned farmland, the sisters embraced the healing power of nature earlier than most.

“During our morel foraging adventures,” Haven Kiers ’92 remembers, “Toby and I kept coming back to this one swampy area in the woods that we started calling Candyland. We played there, let our imaginations run wild. And I think going to Exeter was a natural progression for us both.”

The proximity of the woodlands surrounding Exeter’s campus was comforting to Kiers. What surprised her was how much the inquisitive culture of the outdoors applied to the classroom experience as well.

“The thing that really struck me was the Harkness system,” Kiers says. “The idea of sitting down together and having the freedom to talk about ideas and debate them, as opposed to just being taught how to regurgitate them. It just made such a big difference, especially in sciences. I think these discussions are more common in the humanities, but to learn science around a table rather than being lectured was a game changer.”

Kiers soon took these conversations beyond the table. Most semesters since 1984, Exeter has sent a handful of nature-curious students to The Mountain School, a 416-acre farm in the forested hills south of Montpelier, Vermont. The classroom on any given day might be a pen of chickens that need wrangling or a greenhouse rustling with spinach plants. The school, which Kiers attended in 1992, also organizes backpacking voyages into more rugged locales like the White Mountains. Spending so much quality time with spruce trees, seasonal crops and livestock was, as Kiers puts it, “the gateway” to biology.

One exam that Kiers remembers especially well from her Mountain School semester began with the entire class heading into the woods, where the teacher had placed a blackboard among the trees. “Our whole test was on plant communities, trees, succession and everything we saw around us,” Kiers says. “We had to write down our theories of ecological succession, right out there in the wilderness.” When Kiers returned from the mountains, she says, the path in front of her was clearer: “I felt certain that I wanted to be a field biologist.”

This sense of purpose led her to Bowdoin College in 1994 to earn a degree in plant sciences. But in her junior year, feeling confined to labs, Kiers took a leave of absence to start an internship on Barro Colorado, a small island in the middle of SPUN, Seth CarNill, tomáS mUNita the Panama Canal with rich red soil and a research station run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. “Being on Barro Colorado with all these incredible scientists who were taking the time to bring me out and show me things was hugely impactful,” Kiers says. “We all saw ourselves in the chaos of this massive rainforest.”

While most of the scientists there were studying the trees, bats, primates and everything you could see. Kiers was considering what was happening beneath the ground. “I did this experiment, digging up samples of dirt from underneath old tropical trees, and using that dirt to inoculate seedlings of the same tree species and different ones,” Kiers recalls. “The idea was trying to figure out whether the same species of trees need the same kind of soil, and whether the trees can condition what’s happening below them.”

If trees flourish through a symbiotic relationship with something hidden in the ground, she asked, what is the other partner and what does it receive in return? Kiers’ answer: millions of fungal organisms, which form a series of networks and are the driving force behind a great underground economy. It was a landmark moment for her — an introduction to the fungal kingdom of millions of yeasts, mushrooms, lichens and mildew. Within this subterranean world, she found that a special class of microbes called mycorrhizal fungi perform a world-sustaining transaction: receiving carbon from plants and trees, and offering nutrients in return.

We’ve often associated fungi with disease, rot and decay, when it’s actually this massive kingdom.

A Hidden Marketplace

“When people see dirt or roots, they’ll think, Oh, that’s something I recognize,” Kiers says. “But if you dig up roots and stain them with blue dye, you’ll start to see these intricate and beautiful fungal structures that penetrate the roots. The first time I saw this, it was like having a blinder taken off.”

Kiers kept looking closer, even as her own environment took her to new locales like the University of California, Davis, where she earned her Ph.D. in 2005. When her soon-to-be husband, Cralan Kelder, moved to the Netherlands to pursue a career opportunity, Kiers went with him and became an assistant professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. By 2010, she was a university research chair focused on mycology, the study of fungi. With each experiment and field foray, the transactional nature of the world’s overlooked fungal structures became clearer.

“Fungi and plants have been beneficial partners going as far back as 450 million years ago, when the earliest plants were colonizing land,” Kiers explains. “Let’s say you’ve got a plant that’s photosynthesizing with carbon from the atmosphere. The plant transforms that carbon dioxide into a kind of sugary fat that it feeds to the fungi penetrating its roots. And in return, the fungi will keep foraging the ground for plant-sustaining nitrogen and phosphorus, which they’ll give back.”

Kiers wondered if she and her colleagues could devise a mechanism for monitoring the underground economy of fungi and plant roots, the way the S&P 500 tracks the performance of stocks. “We set up precise experiments in the lab where we would change the plants’ exposure to nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and shade,” Kiers says. “At the same time, we changed the number of fungal ‘trade partners’ and competitors for the plants, to better understand how their respective resources are exchanged. And in the end we were able to track these resources across fungal networks, so that we could study them more predictively, as we do with our economic system.”

Understanding the futures and vulnerabilities of the vast hidden economy of fungi and plants has climatological implications. As Kiers’ colleague Michael Van Nuland, also an evolutionary biologist, says: “The trade relationship between plants and fungi means that carbon removed from the atmosphere by plants is being stored deeper underground, beyond plant biomass like roots. When we think about climate-change solutions, we often think of engineering technologies like tanks that can extract and store carbon. But the natural ecosystem has been doing this for a long time. Underground networks are a potential form of biological infrastructure.”

The substantial carbon-capture labor performed by fungal structures inspired Kiers to co-found the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) in 2021. When she’s not in the classroom or labs at the university, Kiers serves as SPUN’s executive director, with Van Nuland leading the data science. Their mission, to “map, protect and harness the mycorrhizal networks that regulate the Earth’s climate and ecosystems,” speaks to the importance of making the fungal economy more broadly visible.

“We recently did a study which demonstrated how plants and fungi are playing a massive role in the climate cycle,” Kiers says. “The plants allocate 13 billion tons of CO₂ to mycorrhizal fungi each year. That’s like about one-third of the annual emissions from fossil fuels. And the plants are feeding all that carbon dioxide to the fungal networks. That’s one of the things we’re now trying to understand: how the fungi are controlling the underground flow of carbon.”

Kiers studies samples imaged with confocal microscopy and fluorescent dye (pictured) to better understand the fungi’s mycelial network systems. Bright circles represent reproductive spores that store plant-derived carbon underground.

The underdog of life

Undaunted by the scale of these elemental questions, Kiers has pursued clues and answers far beyond the Amsterdam campus. Some harsh environments, like the Gobi Desert, might seem incapable of supporting fungi. But as Kiers found in the desert and in the mountains of Lesotho — where scientists often collect data or samples by horseback — deciphering the hidden lives of local fungi is a practice with many roots. “There are incredibly talented local scientists and communities that have been thinking about the workings of soil systems for decades, if not centuries,” Kiers says.

In October — as Kiers and her SPUN colleagues brainstormed ways to translate their collaborative research into blueprints for incorporating fungi into climate protection policies — the unexpected call from the MacArthur Foundation gave Kiers a longer runway and a major infusion of resources. “I sort of fell to the floor, on my knees, when they told me that I had been chosen for one of the grants,” Kiers remembers. “Because really, this is an award that honors all of these scientists around the world that care deeply about the underdog of life, which is fungi.”

Close friends and family were unsurprised by her MacArthur honor. “When it happened, I was like, but of course,” Haven Kiers recalls. Colleagues felt a sense of possibility for where research like Kiers’ could soon lead.

Van Nuland says: “Right now there are some broad biodiversity protection policies in place, but frameworks for how to incorporate fungi more specifically, alongside plants and animals, have been missing. What we now know about underground networks will make it possible to create those frameworks and to take bigger steps toward influencing policy; like building predictive maps of fungal biodiversity hot spots around the world, so we know which areas to work toward protecting in the first place.”

Why are fungi so important?

Mycorrhizal fungi are found in every soil system on Earth and have symbiotic relationships with the plants whose roots they live on and in. The fungi provide nutrients to the plants, from which they draw carbon dioxide and lock it into the soil, making it hard to release back into the atmosphere. This makes fungi major carbon repositories and an important tool for carbon sequestration.

Kiers and Van Nuland agree that a key ingredient in SPUN’s research and advocacy is decentralizing the scientific landscape by collaborating with field biologists across the world and honoring their localized insights and work. “This couldn’t be more important today, especially given recent federal funding cuts for science in the U.S.,” Kiers says. “You can work with researchers in communities to co-create datasets, which can inform a range of biodiversity protection policies that work for different communities and regions, instead of a top-down model.”

This collaborative spirit helped SPUN create the Underground Atlas, an evolving map of fungal patterns across the world’s underground ecosystems. Kiers was recognized for this work, and more, with the 2026 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. Goodall received the 1997 award, which the scientific community sometimes refers to as the Nobel Prize for the environment. Kiers holds the distinction of being the youngest woman to win it.

Inspired and supported by this recognition, Kiers remains deeply immersed in the ground work of tracking the fungal economy. Early this year, she was gearing up for a field-sampling trip to the high-altitude forests and grasslands of Bhutan. This time Kiers traveled alone because of the country’s complex travel permitting system. But she set off with the same curiosity and wonder that she cultivated in the Panama Canal and in the shadow of Mount Kenya with her children.

“We’ve often associated fungi with disease, rot and decay, when it’s actually this massive kingdom,” Kiers says. “And I think people are starting to realize that there are so many ways of interacting with fungi. Not just directly, like eating yeast-raised bread or taking penicillin for an infection, but more passively, whenever we walk among trees and wildflowers.

“It’s all around us, overhead and underfoot.”

#iamExeter: Cindy ’26

An Exeter internship brings students beyond the classroom and into real-world experiences.

From a business development internship with an oyster farm to studying orthopedic surgery, Exeter’s Internship & Fellowship programs are top-notch. Each summer, a group of rising seniors takes what they’ve learned at the table and brings it with them to their field of interest. Cindy Mumbo ’26 spent her summer as a Disability Rights International Intern.

What was your internship program?

I was a student intern with Disability Rights International. My time as an intern involved working with the founding and executive director of Disability Rights International (DRI), Mr. Eric Rosenthal ‘81 and his colleagues in New York City for a week and virtually for the rest of the internship.

During my time, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the 18th session at the United Nation for Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. During this weeklong conference, I got the chance to connect with many different activists from all over the world, in addition to interviewing and documenting the different work of activists into social media content for DRI.

What did your day-to-day look like during your program? Was it fast-paced meetings? Research-based? Give us a glimpse into a typical day.

During the internship, every day was a new day. Some days were packed with conferences at the United Nations and multiple more serious, larger meetings with activists. Some days were more laid back with online conferences and late-night meetings with associates in DRI.

How did you find your way to this program? What pulled you to this industry?

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to help people, but I didn’t exactly know how to make this happen, specifically as a career pathway. My mother works with adults with disabilities within our community, so I would consistently volunteer during summers and weekends when I was home. Additionally, I was an active member and now co-head of Exonians with Disabilities (EDA), our school’s disability affinity and awareness club. So, when I saw this internship offered for that summer, I applied, expecting nothing to come of it, but surprisingly, I was offered an interview and then the position. This internship felt like the natural next step in my journey towards making a career out of advocacy and my desire to make the world a kinder and more accessible space for all people!

I truly would not have been able to conceptualize a career path similar to this without this internship.

Cindy '26

In what ways did Exeter prepare you for this internship? Was there a specific course or mentor that helped you get ready for your experience?

Before the internship, during the spring, we were able to meet with Mr. Rosenthal ‘81 and his colleagues. During these meetings, I became familiar with DRI’s mission, people within the organization, and the type of tasks that we would be doing in NYC. I quickly picked up on the vital work that many people, even outside of the organization, were doing to make a change for people with disabilities.

Mr. Rosenthal ‘81 shared with us a plethora of helpful resources before the internship. I became familiar with the history of people with disabilities in the United States, accurate and professional jargon on the topic, and key figures who I would soon meet in the U.N who continue to devote themselves to the cause.

Lastly, my coursework within the Health and Human Development Department (HHD) and positions within the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) contributed greatly to my understanding and appreciation for this movement.

What was your biggest takeaway from your experience or from the industry you were a part of?

Anyone and everyone has the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Throughout the internship, I met so many people beyond a single organization who wanted to fight for change. This industry is driven by the people and their passion and commitment are what make real progress possible. Even as a high schooler, I am constantly able to make tangible changes in my community at Exeter, which is what makes this internship so special, the real-world application!

How has this experience shaped your perspective on your future career path? Did it help you understand whether this is an industry you’d want to pursue long term?

I am extremely grateful for the experiences this internship offered me and all those who made this experience possible. Looking forward, I definitely want to pursue a path within advocacy and health sciences. I truly would not have been able to conceptualize a career path similar to this without this internship. With any meaningful journey, there were challenges along the way, but through them, I have grown closer to the person I dream of becoming one day. From the first Zoom call to the final meeting with Mr. Rosenthal ’81, non sibi was reflected in everything we did. A reminder to me that the most meaningful work is always rooted in something bigger than yourself.

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#iamExeter: Jonny ’26

An Exeter internship brings students beyond the classroom and into real-world experiences.

From a business development internship with an oyster farm to studying orthopedic surgery, Exeter’s Internship & Fellowship programs are top-notch. Each summer, a group of rising seniors takes what they’ve learned at the table and brings it with them to their field of interest. Hear from Jonny Civitarese ’26 as he shares his experience studying genetics at the University of New Hampshire’s Hubbard Center for Genome Studies.

What was your internship program?

I was a research intern at UNH’s Hubbard Center for Genome Studies.

What did your day-to-day look like during your program? Was it fast-paced meetings? Research-based? Give us a glimpse into a typical day.

We had meetings every Monday morning. In each meeting, we would present each of the projects and their progress for that week. The meetings were often fast-paced, and you had to be prepared to share specifics of your progress from the week prior. Afterwards, my days would vary. While I was working on my own project, I would spend a lot of time independently working on my code or a population genetics report. I would also help out with the lab portions of other projects.

Going from collaborating with my classmates in Harkness to collaborating with my colleagues in meetings felt like an almost seamless transition.

Jonny '26

How did you find your way to this program? What pulled you to this industry?

At the time of applying, I was taking BIO586: Molecular Genetics and was hoping to take one of the 600-level research courses in the spring. I had a bit of prior research experience in a professional chemistry lab the summer prior, and I really enjoyed that experience and was hoping to build on it. Ms. Rankin, the internship coordinator and my genetics teacher, encouraged me to apply since it was close to home and would build on my interest in genetics and genomics! I knew I wanted to go into research because I’ve seen firsthand how impactful novel research, biological and otherwise, can be.

In what ways did Exeter prepare you for this internship? Was there a specific course or mentor that helped you get ready for your experience?

I think Exeter prepared me for my internship in many different ways, so many that I couldn’t name them all in a five-page essay.

One of the main ways was collaboration. Going from collaborating with my classmates in Harkness to collaborating with my colleagues in meetings felt like an almost seamless transition. Just as your colleagues rely on you to finish your specific assignments so that they can get their work done, your classmates rely on you to do your assignments and participate so that they can learn from you.

I think BIO650: Malaria best prepared me for this experience. You have to apply for the class and only a select few students are accepted. It’s not a requirement to apply for the internship, but it taught me many of the bioinformatic and lab skills that I found very helpful in my internship. We even toured the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies in my Malaria class, so I got to meet my future colleagues months before starting my internship!

What was your biggest takeaway from your experience or from the industry you were a part of?

Problem-solving is EXTREMELY important. I can’t stress that enough. I learned that firstly, you will run into a lot of problems, and secondly, you often may not know how to solve them.

When I was working on my own project, I must have run into problems with my code at least 100 times over the course of my internship, which would sometimes take me hours to fix (even if it was adding an extra space, which actually has the capability of messing up numerous lines of code). I remember one time we were trying to extract DNA from a protist, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much research about specific extraction methods for protists, and so we spent multiple days trying extraction techniques for plants, bacteria, and numerous different kinds of eukaryotes until we found one that worked. You definitely have to lean on your colleagues.

How has this experience shaped your perspective on your future career path? Did it help you understand whether this is an industry you’d want to pursue long term?

It showed me that I absolutely want to work in labs while I’m in college. Additionally, I learned about working in academia and the biotechnology industry, as HCGS was, in my view, a mix of both. They have their own projects, publish papers, and work under a university, however, another major way of accumulating revenue is sequencing for other lab projects outside of the university. I learned that academic research can often be slow-paced and methodical, whereas having assignments from other labs (some of which are at major research universities such as Johns Hopkins) can speed things up quite a bit. I think I’m more suited for a faster-paced environment.

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Anna '26 shares how her four years at Exeter have shaped her into who she is today.

#iamExeter: Anika ’26

An Exeter internship brings students beyond the classroom and into real-world experiences.

From a business development internship with an oyster farm to exploring genome studies at the Hubbard Center, Exeter’s Internship & Fellowship programs are top-notch. Each summer, a group of rising seniors takes what they’ve learned at the table and brings it with them to their field of interest. Hear from Anika Sivarasa ’26 as she shares highlights from her bioengineering internship in Scottsdale, Arizona.

What was your internship program?

I participated in the Patient-Inspired Bioengineering Internship at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, where I got the opportunity to intern in a lab developing a drug-delivering millirobot. My project focused on optimizing the magnet system that controls the millirobot, helping to make it viable for clinical use.

What did your day-to-day look like during your program? Was it fast-paced meetings? Research-based? Give us a glimpse into a typical day.

My first two weeks were spent exploring the lab’s ongoing research projects, studying the theory behind magnetic microrobots, and learning how to use simulation software. In the mornings, I decided which configurations I wanted to simulate, created setup diagrams, and derived expressions for the values I wanted to measure. My mentor encouraged me to manually compute values for simpler test cases to “sanity check” my results; it was tedious, but eventually came in handy!

How did you find your way to this program? What pulled you to this industry?

I first became interested in medical robotics when I saw a YouTube video of a soft robot navigating through a human’s colon to perform a surgical procedure. I didn’t know Mayo Clinic would have any medical robotics labs, though, and applied to this summer program because I was amazed by Mayo Clinic’s research impact, from injectable liquids that could seal off blood vessels to a wound-healing patch. After I got the internship, the coordinator on the Mayo Clinic side connected me with the director of the medical microrobots lab, whose projects perfectly matched my interests.

Overall, I think having foundational experiences in robotics, math and physics allowed me to take on a larger role during my internship.

Anika '26

In what ways did Exeter prepare you for this internship? Was there a specific course or mentor that helped you get ready for your experience?

Understanding the 3D magnetic forces and torques on the magnetic millirobot required concepts from the multivariable calculus class I’d taken and built on concepts I’d learned in physics. In fact, my current physics class is covering these topics applied to other components, like motors or generators. My computer-aided design skills from robotics also helped when modifying millirobot models and creating a simplified human body model to display my results. Overall, I think having foundational experiences in robotics, math, and physics allowed me to take on a larger role during my internship.

What was your biggest takeaway from your experience or from the industry you were a part of?

The most important thing I learned was how to self-guide my research instead of relying on my mentor for tasks. I initially had no clue how to map a real-life millirobot’s operating conditions to a simulation environment, but I ended up trying out so many original ideas, including a completely different actuation system that I later realized would overheat extremely quickly.

How has this experience shaped your perspective on your future career path? Did it help you understand whether this is an industry you’d want to pursue long term?

This internship definitely made me want to pursue something related to medical devices in the future. I was already pretty sure from robotics that I wanted to go into engineering, but in this internship, I enjoyed being able to apply engineering to something that could reduce medical complications caused by standard tools like catheters. It was also valuable to hear my mentor’s thoughts on working in this interdisciplinary field while having a background in a “core” engineering field, since he had studied electrical engineering before specializing in biomedical engineering, which is what I’m thinking of doing.

Anna '26 shares how her four years at Exeter have shaped her into who she is today.

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April 13, 2026

Memorial Minute: Jacquelyn Harvey Thomas

Jacquelyn Harvey Thomas

Academy Librarian; Rupert Radford ’15 Faculty Fellowship (1989); James H. Ottaway, Jr. ’55 Professor Emerita and Chair (1990); George S. Heyer, Jr. Class of 1948 Teacher Award (2010); Founders Day Award (2021).

Jacquelyn Thomas. Just to say the name evokes an age—a bygone age in the life of the Academy—but also an inheritance that we, its present denizens, enjoy in ways that perhaps we don’t realize or that we take for granted. Nothing that Jacquelyn Thomas did was not thorough, executed to her exacting standards; this Memorial Minute will seek to do service—and tribute—to her accomplishments and to her abiding spirit and legacy. Settle in: It will last longer than a minute

Jackie (as she was known to us) was born in Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania, and spent her early life in nearby Camp Hill. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Gettysburg College, earning her B.A., and married David Thomas in 1954. In 1957, the couple moved to Exeter, where David had been hired to teach Classics at The Phillips Exeter Academy (as it was called then). Their three daughters were raised on campus and all graduated from PEA—those details will acquire greater significance as we proceed. While raising those daughters—in the fourth-floor apartment of Wheelwright with a hot plate (no kitchen), where dishes were done in the bathtub—and later in Ewald and in haunted Gillman House (more on that 3 in the endnote)*—Jackie pursued, and achieved, her M.Ed. in Library Science from the University of New Hampshire.

She began her long and illustrious career at the Academy in 1971, first working as a staff person in the Davis Library before being appointed the first female Academy Librarian in 1975. During her tenure, Jackie transformed the newly constructed Class of 1945 Library (which many referred to as her library) into “the intellectual and cultural center of the Exeter campus” and indeed of the surrounding town (Jim Ottaway, Jr., remarks to Exeter faculty, May 2, 1990). Early on, Jackie began computerization of the Library’s collection and accelerated the presence of technology by accommodating the Library’s Telecommunication Center. She welcomed thousands of visitors from all over the world, who’d made the pilgrimage to view Louis Kahn’s iconic building. Upon Jackie’s appointment as James H. Ottaway, Jr. Professor and Academy Librarian in 1990, Principal Tom Hassan remarked, “Under her leadership, the Library has been not only a haven for scholars [conducting independent research, panel discussions, lectures, symposia], but also a venue for an array of events that broadened and deepened our [cultural] awareness.” These events ranged from musical concerts and theatrical productions to authors’ readings and scholarly lectures; they included the Lamont Poets Series (which Jackie co-founded with Corliss Lamont, and which continues to bring to campus a virtual pantheon of poets, whose first, at Jackie’s invitation, was Jorge Luis Borges). Under Jackie’s supervision, events even extended to the construction of a sand mandala in the center of Rockefeller Hall by a group of visiting Tibetan monks. Each and every event, every detail—down to the fall faculty party’s enormous shrimp bowl—bore the singular “Jackie stamp” of excellence, meticulous organization, class and style. Her response to those with ideas about enhancing the Academy’s cultural life with the use of the Library’s space or funds was ever and always her signature gruff “Just ask!”

Jackie joined the faculty in the initial days of co-education, and one of her most influential roles in the 1970s through the 1990s was as a member of the Committee to Enhance the Status of Women. That committee—which advocated for the inclusion of women faculty and staff and, beyond that, worked to support women faculty in the early years—hosted mentoring programs, professional development opportunities and even a national conference for women educators in boarding schools. Co-committee member and former Dean of Students Susan Herney recollects,

[Jackie] was instrumental in designing the various workshops we thought vital to having our voices heard and becoming a visible presence. One workshop was teaching Listening Skills, and another [called] “In a Different Voice” ([addressed] how women make decisions differently than men. [It was] led by Carol Gilligan, a psychologist at Harvard). Afterward Jackie said, “Did you notice how uncomfortable the men were in both settings? . . . Did you notice they were dropping pencils, shifting in their seats?” . . . These workshops were working [Herney went on]. Men were learning, perhaps in some cases for the first time, what listening could be and how women came at decision making differently than they did. [Jackie’s] persistence, dedication to her values, intellectual honesty and courage were key to much of what the committee accomplished in its early years. (Remarks made at Jackie’s memorial service, March 25, 2023)

Jackie was also a founding member and chair of the Child Care Governing Board which supported young families at the school, helping them to balance home life and professional responsibilities. (This at a time before the existence of Academy childcare.) Susan Herney again recalls,

[Jackie’s] doggedness in pushing forward childcare for faculty was crucial to the recruitment and retention not only of women faculty but men as well. From the very beginning, she shepherded the founding of the Harris Family Child Care Center. Unlike many women faculty at the time, Jackie had been a faculty wife, raising three daughters, living in a dorm and supporting Dave in those early years in the ’50s when they arrived at Exeter. This gave her a much broader and keener perspective on the needs of both women faculty and staff. (Ibid.)

Under her leadership, the library has been not only a haven for scholars, … but also a venue for an array of events that broadened and deepened our [cultural] awareness.”

Jackie served on a host of other faculty committees that touched virtually every aspect of academy life: Department Heads, Funds Committee, Lamont Poets Committee, IT Governance Web, Academic Technology Committee, Admissions, Alumni Affairs and Development, Appointments and Leaves, the Blackboard Implementation Team, Bookstore Advisory Committee, Calendar Committee, CDAP Governing Board (Chair), Child Care Study Group, Co-education Committee, Curriculum Committee, Faculty Life and Responsibility Committee (Co-Chair), IT Governance Instructional Technology, Junior Studies Working Committee, Lowenstein Committee (Chair), PEA History Project and the Technology Steering Committee. Add to this her roles as adviser to Library Proctors, Day Student Adviser and coach of club tennis. To say that Jackie was contiguous to the school’s beating heart would not be an overstatement. On the occasion of her having to travel off 6 campus for a school evaluation, she wrote to Dean of Faculty, Andy Hertig, “Don’t make any far-reaching decisions without me.”

Later in her career, Jackie oversaw the production of a number of publications including pieces on the Bennett Fellowship, a volume of Memorial Minutes and Collected Letters from the Friends of the Academy Library; she produced an informational pamphlet on the Library, as well as a booklet on its architecture and history. Upon her retirement in 2010, the academy established the Jacquelyn H. Thomas Fund for the Class of 1945 Library, which continues to benefit academy life through the acquisition of books and other materials and support of Library programs. In 2021, she received one of the Academy’s highest honors, the Founders Day Award, for “exceptional service to the academy.” It was a fitting conclusion to and culmination of her sixty-four-year association with the school.

Jackie died peacefully on January 21, 2023, at Riverwoods in Exeter. She was predeceased by her husband, David, and is survived by her daughters and their families. She survives in the legacy she left us. We feel her presence when we enjoy what’s good about this place; when we aspire to make what’s good, better; in those moments when we achieve (or hope to achieve) that rare quality she embodied: excellence.

I move that this Memorial Minute be submitted to Jackie’s family and be spread upon the minutes of the faculty.

Respectfully submitted,

Todd Hearon

*Jackie enjoyed telling of the ghost of Gillman House, where she and Dave lived when the house was a boarder residence: The inexplicable sound of a ball bouncing in the basement that would stop when they opened the door; the invisible force that grabbed an electrician’s hand as he reached into a wall—and that sent him fleeing across campus, vowing never to return.

Community Engagement

David Lim '88; P'27 on his role as an Exeter Alumni Association director and his experience as an Exonian

About the Board

Members of the EAA’s board are nominated. What inspired you to accept the call?

Exeter was instrumental in shaping my personality, my outlook on life and a curiosity to understand our world and relate to others in a meaningful, caring way. Having the ability to be a contributor to the Academy motivated me to accept the role.

What do you do as an EAA director?

We listen to understand today’s near-term and long-term goals of the Academy’s mission, explore how to effectively message these goals and communicate this to the alumni community. We also hear from alumni about their experiences and discuss what they think would benefit the Academy. It’s this two-way channel or bridge that is super important.

What have the directors focused on this year?

We openly discussed the hard issues the Academy has encountered over the years, the alumni sentiments and how the school is addressing them. In addition, when Principal Rawson announced that this would be his last year, we actively sought the feedback, opinions and guidance of alumni on what attributes and qualities the new principal should have. This was all synthesized and shared with the Principal Search Committee.

Have there been any unexpected benefits to this role?

There’s the privilege of meeting a lot of different alumni. Normally, I would not pick up the phone and talk to somebody who graduated in the ’70s just to say, “Hey, how was your Exeter experience?” or “What things have really stuck in your mind that could be changed for the better?”

You have a student at the Academy presently. What do you hope that they understand about the alumni community?

I tell my daughter that graduating from Exeter is just the beginning of your Exeter experience. There are many, many more years after Exeter than there are at Exeter. The friendships and the connections are very deep and meaningful. Your Exonian friends will just show up in the best of times and the worst times for you. I remember when I was a student here, Principal Steven Kurtz always said: “Make sure you say hello to everybody on the path. Acknowledge that they’re there. It’s an important gesture of kindness.” That really carried me forth beyond Exeter. I tell my daughter, “Don’t forget that you will always belong, but you should also make sure you put the effort in to make others feel they belong.”

What is the Exeter Alumni Association?

The purpose of the Exeter Alumni Association (EAA), formerly the General Alumni Association, is to foster communication and engagement between the Academy and its alumni and within the alumni community to support the Academy’s mission. Its board acts as the guiding body of the EAA and “shall engage, to the extent possible, with a broad array of alumni, through on-campus, regional and virtual activities.”

As an Exonian

What is Exeter to you?

Exeter was the pinnacle of knowledge and opportunity in a community to cultivate excellence purposely in youth from every quarter.

What’s your favorite place on campus?

The boathouse and rowing on the Squamscott with my crew.

Where was your favorite place to study?

The Lamont room at the top of the library with the rare books collection.

Weth or Elm?

Weth all the way.

If you could invite three people to join you at the Harkness table, who would they be?

Abraham Lincoln, Donald Trump and my mom. All of them have or are currently living through tumultuous times. Harkness, for me, was and continues to be a rare place and time for open, respectful, nonreactionary dialogue. It is designed never to stop exploring facts, assumptions, ideologies, justice and empathy. Students at the Harkness table hear perspectives and experiences from one another, allow space for opinions to be reshaped, and learn how to change and grow in the most informed and effective ways. I included my mom as she is one of the most fearless, strongest individuals I know. She witnessed the destruction of Seoul, rescued her brother from North Korean soldiers and fought for her education amidst extreme gender bias — all as a teenager. We are a country divided with lives literally in the balance. In these challenging times, we need more Harkness and I would love to enter a dialogue with these individuals at the table.

David Lim ’88; P’27 attended Harvard and earned his M.D. and Ph.D. at Columbia . A health care technology entrepreneur, Lim is currently chief clinical officer at Evolent Health.

The Long Game

For hockey standout Thomas Larkin '09, the Olympics are a full-circle moment

Thomas Larkin ’09 arrived at the Academy as a 14-year-old who had tasted some success. As one of the better hockey players growing up in a small town north of Milan, Italy, he was scoring goals and coasting along at school.

Exeter proved to be a bit of an adjustment. “The competition was different right away,” Larkin says. “The pace, the academics, everything felt bigger. I realized quickly that this was an opportunity to grow not just as a hockey player, but as a student and as a person.”

He dug in and worked hard. “Thomas Larkin is one of the most special students to come through the hockey program,” says former Big Red hockey coach Dana Barbin, who called the 6-foot-4-inch Larkin Big T. “For as talented as he was, he was that much more of a hard worker.”

He played junior varsity as a prep and set a goal to make varsity his lower year. He made the team and felt on top of the world, only to realize that the varsity required much faster play and attention to detail. He played sparingly as a forward, still searching for his role.

He found it after a conversation with his coach. “I told him, ‘I think you are a defenseman,’” Barbin recalls. “‘Let’s try to move you back to the blue line.’ He just looked at me and said, ‘Let’s roll, Coach.’” The move required humility and trust. And Larkin had to adapt to skating backward, defending under pressure and embracing a role built on discipline. He accepted the challenge.

“He was big and tough, and his compete level was off the charts,” Barbin says. “I think the young man trained 364 days a year and took Christmas Day off.” Larkin acknowledges: “I’m not the most skilled guy — far from it. But I learned how to compete, how to work and how to want it more. That started at Exeter. I’m still so passionate about the place. It really came at a pivotal time in my life and helped shape who I am.”

Two years after switching positions, Larkin caught the attention of college coaches and professional scouts. He was drafted by the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets after graduating from Exeter but went on to play at Colgate University, where he was a captain for two years.

“I thought I was ready,” he says of the NHL. “Then you get to the next level and realize, this is bigger than I thought. You have to prove yourself again and again.”

Eventually his career carried him overseas. He spent two seasons in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League before settling in the top professional league in Germany, where he has played for nearly a decade. For more than 15 years, Larkin has pursued a parallel career with Italy’s national team. It began on the junior national circuit while he was a student at Exeter. International play, Larkin says, strips the game down to its essence.

“With the national team, it’s pure,” he says. “It gives me a chance to play with guys that I have known for 20 years. We play for the love of our country and Italian hockey.”

In 2019, when Italy was selected to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, Larkin faced a decision. His injuries were mounting, and stepping away from the game was a possibility. “I remember thinking, Well, I guess I have to keep playing,” he says. “There was just no way I was missing this opportunity to represent my country in my hometown. In a sense, it gave me a new lease on my career.”

Larkin, now 35 and Italy’s captain for the past four years, will make his Olympic debut and lead his team onto the ice when the Milano Cortina Games begin in February.

“I don’t just play hockey for me, or to put food on my kids’ plates,” he says. “It’s purely for love and passion, and for my family, for my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters. Playing in the Olympics will be something for everyone that’s helped me get to this point. I couldn’t be more excited or more proud to be a part of it.”

Exeter’s newest hub for community and connection

At Exeter, the Harkness philosophy extends beyond the classroom to all aspects of life on campus — including the essential act of eating. Sitting together at meals each day not only provides nourishment for students, faculty, staff and visitors; it also fosters engagement and builds a stronger sense of community for the school as a whole.

To support this core principle, the Academy devoted more than a year to the construction of a multifunctional dining hall on the north side of campus. Opened in December 2024 and officially named at a gala event this November, the Hahn Center creates myriad opportunities for connection, collaboration and learning.

Flanked by the newly refurbished Merrill and Langdell Halls, the Hahn Center replaced the well-loved but outdated Wetherell Dining Hall, which had served the Academy for 90 years. With its state-of-the-art kitchen, in-house bakery and expansive servery, the new building showcases the efforts of Exeter’s dining services team to meet the school’s diverse needs.

“Food is about community,” says Melinda Leonard, Exeter’s director of dining services. “The Hahn Center prioritizes that sense of community, while allowing us to operate more efficiently today, and evolve in the future.”

In addition to meeting daily dining needs, the Hahn Center has quickly become a vital space for programming and events on campus. Students have used the center for special occasions including the Hindu Society’s Diwali Celebration, a dumpling making session to celebrate Lunar New Year and the Senior Class Dinner. While the second-floor meeting rooms have seamlessly transitioned to classrooms during the Academy Building renovation, Harkness discussions often take place along the long tables in the main dining room.

Students gather inside the Hahn Center which features high ceilings, natural light and large, modern chandeliers.

Main Dining Room

The centerpiece of the Hahn Center is a light-filled, two-level dining room with soaring ceilings and chandeliers. Outfitted with wooden tables in different sizes and shapes, the ground and mezzanine levels buzz with activity and conversation during peak meal hours.

Dining Al Fresco

When the sun is out, students are too. The welcoming front terrace comfortably seats up to 80 diners. It’s also a great spot for impromptu performances, outdoor study sessions and casual meetups with friends.

Hahn Center by the Numbers

31,370

total square feet of building and terrace

408

indoor seats

second-floor meeting rooms

computerized walk-in coolers/freezers

200

average pounds of desserts, breads, rolls and granola made from scratch each week

Special Events

With a flexible layout and furnishings to seat more than 400, the Hahn Center provides the perfect backdrop for larger events such as class dinners, Exeter Leadership Weekend or Family Weekend gatherings and graduation celebrations.

Making Memories

In May, when members of the class of 2020 returned for their fifth reunion, they gathered in the Hahn Center for one of the most anticipated events of the weekend: the opening of their prep-year time capsules, which they missed (along with the rest of their on-campus graduation activities) because of the pandemic.

It’s a beautiful place to eat, and I love the light. The way the tables are set up you’re really close with your friends. I feel comfortable here.

Hazel Jacobs ’26

Diverse Menu

The kitchen’s ample preparation and cooking areas allow the dining staff to effectively and efficiently respond to culinary needs, including dietary choices and allergies, and to celebrate the many cultures, ethnicities and religions of the Academy community. Grill and saute stations serve a wide variety of dishes, including palak paneer, coconut sticky rice, hamburgers and fries. Other options are the pasta and salad bars, freshly baked desserts and made-toorder items like grilled chicken breast and tofu.

Self-service

The large multifunctional table in the center of the servery was custom-built for the space. “Students love their panini grills; they love making their waffles in the morning,” Leonard says. “Our students are very appreciative, and enjoy preparing and customizing their food options.”

Girl wearing an Exeter sweatshirt stands at white board, writing math equation while a fellow student stands across the room writing a math equation on another board.

Flexible Learning

Two private dining rooms on the second floor double as classrooms and meeting rooms. During the ongoing renovation of the Academy Building, several instructors are holding regular classes in these rooms. “We needed every room possible, and the dining team stepped up,’” Math Instructor Jarad Schofer says. “Students love going right to lunch. If class ends at 12:40, they can beat the lines — they really like that.”

Commitment to Sustainability

Geothermal wells buried beneath the Academy Building lawn power the Hahn Center, which is outfitted with high-efficiency features including lowflow plumbing, LED lighting and stateof- the-art kitchen technology aimed at minimizing the use of fossil fuels.

With Gratitude

The Hahn Center was made possible by the generosity of Scott Sang-Won Hahn ’90; P’22, P’25, a former trustee who was the lead donor. The Bonnie McElveen Dining Hall was gifted by trustee Gil Kemp ’68 and named in honor of Bonnie McElveen, a former U.S. ambassador to Finland. The secondfloor dining rooms were given to the Academy by Suphachai and Busadee Chearavanont P’22, in honor of Zander Chearavanont ’22; and Monica L. and Alexander C. Robinson ’92; P’27, in honor of Edward Robinson ’63; P’92; GP’27.

How Exeter’s mock trial teams prepare for the courtroom – and find camaraderie and confidence along the way

It’s 7:30 on a Monday night in October and Lauren Lee ’26 is examining a witness in a small classroom on the third floor of the Elizabeth Phillips Academy Center.

“When approached by the defendant, Ms. Grant wasn’t holding a weapon, was she?” Lee asks Jillian Cheng ’27. Except Cheng is not exactly Cheng at the moment — she’s playing the role of Cameron Rodriguez, a military veteran and retired police officer with more than 30 years of experience.

“No, she wasn’t,” Cheng says. “However, her appearance matched that of the dispatch report. … He had a reasonable suspicion, and so he approached her.” Lee continues, her tone sharpening. “And did she cooperate when Officer Smith asked for consent to search her person?”

“Initially she cooperated, but she quickly became violent,” Cheng says without hesitation.

Sensing an opening, Lee presses further: “That’s a yes to my question, She cooperated when he asked for consent to search?”

“Initially, yes,” Cheng concedes.

Lee and Cheng — acting as lead attorney and expert witness — are working through Addison Grant v. Sam Smith, a realistic (but fictional) civil case in which a police officer stands accused of using excessive force when arresting a homeless woman with seizure condition.

Along with two other A Team members of Exeter’s Mock Trial Association, they are practicing direct and cross-examinations for a mock trial invitational competition in early December. Over the next several weeks —encompassing fall term finals, Thanksgiving break and the start of winter term — club members will devote significant practice time, individually and together, to prepare. The invitational is an opportunity for all three Mock Trial teams to hone their material before the 2026 state competition.

When Lee wraps up her cross-examination, it’s time for feedback. Zoe Miller ’26, a witness leader for A Team, says Lee should consider splitting many of her long questions into two parts, to make them clearer and more straightforward.

“Jillian, for your cross responses, one habit you have is saying ‘Yes, and,’” Miller continues. “I think rather than saying that, you should say, ‘Well, not entirely’ or ‘Not quite.’ Saying ‘yes’ gives them too much.”

Lee chimes in from the lawyer’s perspective, as Cheng takes the note. “Yeah, when I hear a ‘Yes, and,’ then I’m like, hmm, I’m just going to ask, ‘Was that a yes?’ and move on,” she says breezily. “But if I hear ‘Not quite,’ I kind of have to listen.”

On a campus with students hailing from 45 states and 39 countries, many living several time zones from home, clubs are one of the important ways Exonians find community and connection. The Academy has 190 student clubs, says Kelly McGahie, Exeter’s assistant director of student activities.

Joining a club is “a way for students to explore their passions, develop new passions and new curiosities,” McGahie says. “It’s also a way for them to maintain and develop friendships and meet new people that they might not have met before.”

Among student clubs, the Mock Trial Association stands out as one of the strongest and most active. Mock trialers at Exeter range from experienced debaters and aspiring lawyers to self-described “theater kids,” all seeking to sharpen their public speaking skills and legal acumen in a competitive, intellectually stimulating and enjoyable team environment. Each year, nearly 100 students audition for the club. About 30 are selected, then separated into A, B and C teams and assigned attorney or witness roles.

Other perennially popular clubs like the Daniel Webster Debate Society and Model United Nations emphasize similar skills — public speaking, logical reasoning and persuasion — and tend to attract some of the same students. But the clubs have important differences.

In parliamentary debate, the style practiced by debaters at Exeter, students face off against each other in teams of two to argue opposing sides of a given proposition (affirmative and negative). Mock trial simulates a legal proceeding, with students performing as attorneys and witnesses in front of a panel of judges. To succeed, lawyers and witnesses alike must combine superior preparation, confident public speaking and legal acumen with flexibility and improvisational skills, not to mention a considerable flair for the dramatic.

“Debate’s a very solitary activity — you’re speaking, and then you’re done,” says Lee, who is a co-head of the Mock Trial Association as well as a co-president of the debate team. “Whereas mock trial is a very collective activity. It calls upon everyone to be capable of contributing through independent work, but also be open to suggestions.”

In Model UN, a simulation of the United Nations, students act as delegates from different countries, placing even more emphasis on collaboration. “You have to interact with your competitors; you have to build relationships,” says Ethan Benenson ’26, a co-head of both Exeter’s Model UN and Mock Trial Association. “The best person at Model UN is the one who can work with everyone and put themselves out there and talk a lot without making other people hate them. In mock trial, you’re performing for the judge, and it’s all about total domination of the other team. But what’s common in both is that you need a lot of charisma and you need a lot of swagger.”

Mock trial has a strong presence on Exeter’s campus but a relatively short history — especially when compared with debate, which traces its roots to the founding of the Golden Branch Society in 1818. Before the renovation of Phillips Hall in 2012, generations of Exeter debaters met in a dedicated room on the building’s fifth floor, which was outfitted with a wooden stage, a large throne-like judge’s chair and wall-to-wall bookshelves. The renovation replaced that room with three classrooms.

Although mock trials most likely took place on campus earlier, as part of the Golden Branch Society’s activities, the first official interscholastic competition was held in 2008. According to an article published in The Exonian that spring, Exeter’s team defeated a more experienced Andover squad by one point. That initial success led to the growth of a dedicated mock trial club and a consistent record of achievement. Exeter teams have won six of the last eight state titles and have finished as high as ninth in the national championship.

This year, Exeter achieved another milestone, capturing first place at the Yale Mock Trial Bulldog Invitational, which brings together some of the nation’s best high school teams each year.

“Exeter mock trial is just so storied,” says Lee, citing the inspiration of older Exonians who inspired her to try out for the club when she was a prep. “It’s amazing to see just how quickly the club has grown and come together.”

(left) Anderson Lynch ’23 competing for the University of Chicago mock trial team; (right) Exeter Mock Trial Association adviser Lori Novell

All of Exeter’s clubs are student-led, but faculty advisers play an important role. Lori Novell, a disbursement manager in the Finance Department, has been the adviser to the Mock Trial Association since 2016.

Before coming to Exeter, Novell developed an interest in the legal system while working as an advocate for A Safe Place, a nonprofit organization serving victims of domestic and sexual violence. Over the years, she has appreciated watching Exeter students grow in confidence and public speaking ability through their participation in mock trials.

“It’s great discipline because they spend so many hours doing this,” Novell says. “I’d like to see it become a credited class because of the amount of time they have to take to prepare for competition.”

She says Exeter Mock Trial teams are experienced at competing against each other — and supporting each other even when the result doesn’t go their way. “It’s a very cohesive team,” she says. “Even though we have three teams, one of the things I really stress to these kids is: We are one team.”

Novell’s office is lined with trophies from past mock trial competitions, and she enjoys keeping in touch with some of the many graduates who have gone on to compete in college. Anderson Lynch ’23, a member of the Exeter squad that finished ninth at nationals his senior year, now competes for the University of Chicago, where his mock trial team is coached by another Exeter alumnus, Sam Farnsworth ’20.

Lynch says that mock trial “really changed the way I’ve been able to look at problems, see two sides to a story, and craft an argument that is persuasive but embraces aspects of the other side.” He adds: “I think it really went hand in hand with Harkness, in the sense that it taught you … how to listen to others and understand what they’re saying. That’s a very crucial aspect that separates great mock trialers from good mock trialers.”

Being part of the club at Exeter also had a more practical effect on Lynch. “I went into Exeter not knowing exactly what I wanted to do, and I came out of Exeter really wanting to be a lawyer,” he says. “That was almost entirely because of mock trial.”

Mock trial is a very collective activity. It calls upon everyone to be capable of contributing through independent work but also be open to suggestions.

It’s Sunday afternoon, the day before finals begin. The entire A Team — nine students, including five attorneys and four witnesses — is practicing for the last time before Thanksgiving break. The students gather in the small classroom adjoining the Library Commons area in the Class of 1945 Library. The day is chilly, and everyone is wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts, a far cry from the pantsuits, blazers and ties in which they will compete.

Despite the cozy vibe, the mood is high as they toss ideas back and forth, mulling over the exact wording of the opening statement one of the lawyers will deliver. It’s like a turbocharged Harkness discussion, with far more interruptions and bursts of laughter.

Tamar Moskovich ’26, a club co-head and witness leader for the team, stands at the whiteboard. “A badge is not a pass to __,” she writes, drawing a line representing the unfinished sentence.

“A badge is not a pass to ignore the facts!” someone cries out.

“I think there’s too many rhymes in there,” Cheng says. On a similar note, they decide the words “regret” and “threat” don’t work together.

“He wore the badge, and ignored the facts,” someone suggests.

The raucous back-and-forth continues until they decide that “he betrayed the badge” is the right wording and move on. Over the next hour, Theo Stien ’28 cross-examines an eyewitness, Bailey Wilson (played by Miller), and conducts a direct and cross-examination of a seasoned police officer and expert witness, played by Alex Eggers ’28.

The lawyers and witnesses have prepared their own questions and responses, and the group follows along in a shared document, giving both oral and written feedback. Moskovich watches each witness closely, sometimes gesturing to make sure they look up at the other team members rather than down at their material. “Louder, more spark,” she advises.

As practice wraps up, a few team members promise to send drafts of their material so others can review it over the break. Most of them are heading to Elm Street Dining Hall to eat dinner and continue discussing their case.

Before leaving, Moskovich adds a last piece of advice for Eggers, the expert witness. “When you’re picking and choosing what to really respond to, those are the moments that we’re going to remember,” she says. “You can’t fight everything. What’s really the important fact?”

A Team attorneys Theo Stien’28 and Kalina Marinov ’27

At each mock trial competition, a team must prepare to argue both sides of the case, prosecution and defense. In addition to a presiding judge, who will sustain or overrule lawyers’ objections, a panel of judges sits in the jury box and scores each trial. Lawyers and witnesses are scored individually on aspects of their performance, adding up to total team scores that determine the trial’s outcome.

“Being a witness is very fun, and I enjoy the improv aspects of it, and putting on a character,” says mock trial co-head Benenson. “It allows more creativity and freedom than being a lawyer, where you kind of have to stick to a very serious, more rigid personality.”

Lee, who has taken on both roles in competition, views them a bit differently. “As a witness, you’re constrained by time, you’re constrained by your crossing attorney,” she says. “As an attorney, though, I have a lot of freedom to move about the well. I can ask whatever questions I want. Witnesses have their affidavits, but lawyers don’t really have a foundational text that grounds us, so it requires a lot of imagination.”

In both roles, they agree, preparation is key. “When you get in a courtroom, it’s very nerve-racking,” Benenson says. “At every moment, someone’s watching you and giving you a score for everything you do. But when I feel extremely prepared, I have the confidence to know that I can perform at my highest level, no matter the scrutiny or the pressure of the spotlight that’s on me.”

Although other high school mock trial teams typically are guided by experienced attorneys, Novell emphasizes that Exeter’s teams are largely self-taught. “They like it that way,” she says.

In recent years, the club has begun a tradition of choosing seniors to captain the C Team, so they can guide and mentor newer club members. “It’s helped to strengthen the program going forward,” Novell says.

Benenson was on the A and B teams during his first three years at Exeter and went to nationals twice. In the spring of his upper year, he applied to be a co-captain of C Team.

“I thought about how I could make the biggest impact on the club and do work that feels most important to me,” he says. Leading C Team has helped Benenson improve his mock trial performance. It also has been rewarding, he says, watching his teammates “connect with each other and grow as people and into more confident lawyers and witnesses.”

With their material (presumably) memorized, the members of A Team return from Thanksgiving break for winter term classes and an intense week of practice. Before competitions, they meet every night, including a planned three-hour session the night before they depart for the invitational.

“We’re very committed to practicing, especially in the week leading up to a tournament,” Moskovich says. “It’s also important that we’re very comfortable with each other, so we know that when we’re in trial we trust each other and our abilities.”

Eggers, for one, plans to run through her witness material one last time in front of a mirror on the morning of the competition. “Just so I really get it in my brain, and I’m fully into my character before I go on the stand,” she says.

On a bright Saturday morning in December, Novell joins the members of the Mock Trial Association on the bus for the 50-minute drive to Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, New Hampshire. Over the next two days, they emerge with a clean sweep of the Peter Champagne Memorial Tournament, with A Team taking first place, C Team second and B Team third. In the individual categories, Moskovich is honored with an Outstanding Witness Award, while Forrest Zeng ’26, Benenson’s C Team co-captain, is named an Outstanding Attorney.

The club can now look ahead to the state competition in February and, perhaps, the 2026 national championship in May in Des Moines, Iowa. “It’s a confidence booster to win our first trial together as a team,” says Rhys Cunningham ’27, an attorney on A Team. “Now that we have that under our belt, we can go into states confident in ourselves.”

For Benenson, the most memorable moments in mock trial happen on the eve of big competitions. “You’ll pretty much be with your team from dinner to check-in, getting final work in,” he says. “You’re under pressure, but that’s when everyone really comes together, and it feels like you’re truly part of a group, and you’re really building something together.

“Thirty years from now, when I look back on the feeling of doing mock trial at Exeter, I think those are the nights I’m going to remember the most.”

Exeter

Exeter

to the core

As a student, trustee and — for the last eight years — principal, Bill Rawson ’71 has lived and led by the Academy’s most fundamental values

(from top) Rawson as a student (second from the bottom) in 1971; Rawson’s 2004 trustee portrait; Rawson at his 5th year reunion; Rawson played, and later coached, lacrosse at Exeter

A modern mission statement

“Unite goodness and knowledge and inspire youth from every quarter to lead purposeful lives.”

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Discovery

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An Exeter internship brings students beyond the classroom and into real-world experiences.

What was your internship program?

What did your day-to-day look like during your program? Was it fast-paced meetings? Research-based? Give us a glimpse into a typical day.

How did you find your way to this program? What pulled you to this industry?

In what ways did Exeter prepare you for this internship? Was there a specific course or mentor that helped you get ready for your experience?

What was your biggest takeaway from your experience or from the industry you were a part of?

How has this experience shaped your perspective on your future career path? Did it help you understand whether this is an industry you’d want to pursue long term?

An Exeter internship brings students beyond the classroom and into real-world experiences.

What was your internship program?

What did your day-to-day look like during your program? Was it fast-paced meetings? Research-based? Give us a glimpse into a typical day.

How did you find your way to this program? What pulled you to this industry?

In what ways did Exeter prepare you for this internship? Was there a specific course or mentor that helped you get ready for your experience?

What was your biggest takeaway from your experience or from the industry you were a part of?

How has this experience shaped your perspective on your future career path? Did it help you understand whether this is an industry you’d want to pursue long term?

David Lim '88; P'27 on his role as an Exeter Alumni Association director and his experience as an Exonian

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For hockey standout Thomas Larkin '09, the Olympics are a full-circle moment

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How Exeter’s mock trial teams prepare for the courtroom – and find camaraderie and confidence along the way