Blythe de Oliveira Foster ’97 sits cross-legged atop a rehearsal cube onstage in the Actor’s Lab of the Goel Center for Theater and Dance, as a group of about 20 students face her in the rows of black-and-white patterned seats. All are members of the New Play Reading Ensemble, a brand-new theater opportunity that focuses on exploring contemporary plays by a diverse array of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women and intersectional playwrights.

De Oliveira Foster, a new instructor in the Theater and Dance Department with a background in acting, teaching and producing plays in New York and California, starts today’s rehearsal with a brief check in. One student is simply tired. One is anxious about a chemistry test. Another is “hungry but happy.”

However they were feeling before, the students bubble with energy and laughter as de Oliveira Foster sends them away for 15 minutes to work in pairs on today’s scene, a heated exchange between the two lead characters in L’intrico Del Lupo Mannaro by Nico Grelli.

The New Play Reading Ensemble grew out of a reading series led by instructor emerita Sarah Ream ’75 and Hadley Camilus, associate dean of Multicultural Student Affairs. “The department started to think of how to expand beyond that one reading,” de Oliveira Foster said in an interview. “As an actor with a new plays background, I was thrilled when I learned they were actively looking for someone who was excited about this.”

The group reads both published and unpublished pieces from living playwrights, most of them written within the last three years. De Oliveira Foster curated a selection of texts, and they’ve built on that list based on student input. In addition, ensemble members are pursuing independent projects inspired by their own interests. On Nov. 6, the New Play Reading Ensemble will welcome the larger Exeter community to share its process in an informal workshop presentation of scenes and monologues held in the Actor’s Lab.

Grelli, a trans/genderqueer Italo-Americano filmmaker, screenwriter, director, visual artist and performer, is one of four playwrights who will join the ensemble via Zoom to discuss their work. “I’m excited to connect the students with these specific playwrights as artists and human beings, and for them to engage in conversations about writing and new play development as a dynamic, collaborative process,” de Oliveira Foster said.

Back in the Actor’s Lab, three different pairs take the stage, each taking a markedly different approach to the same lines of dialogue. After each reading, the performers remain on stage for some discussion and feedback from the group.

“Talk to us about your physicality — physical choices, vocal choices,” de Oliveira Foster asks the first pair, Ava Zhao ’24 and Priya Nwakanma ’23.

“The staging said ‘Donnie. 30s. Very Cowboy Elvis. Sincere, romantical, mustachioed as all get out,’” says Nwakanma. “So, I imagined myself with a mustache and took it from there, basically.”

“I was constantly going away, coming back to confront him,” Zhao says of her performance as Alexa Mae, who — no spoilers — discovers something awful about Donnie on their wedding night. “Just trying to be really active, like the drama queen that she is.”

Avalon Marlin ’22 and Niall Bardorf ’24 take a different approach: more subdued and less humorous, with explosive outbursts at key points. “We saw a little more anger between them,” Marlin explains. “But then towards the end we were maybe starting to reconnect a little bit.”

De Oliveira Foster asks the group what they learned about the scene, based on this interpretation. “I really like the relationship between you two on stage,” offers Stellan Aalto ’23 to Marlin and Bardorf. “You [Avalon] were more tied down to reality, whereas Niall’s just like unraveling, spiraling down.”

After checking in with Zhao, the ensemble’s stage manager, de Oliveira Foster confirms there’s time for two solo readings: Nwakanma has prepared a monologue from Fairview by Jackie Sibblies Drury, while Sinna Oumer ’23 will read from work by Sahar Ullah, a playwright and new instructor in Exeter’s English department.

Nwakanma sits in a bright red chair placed center stage, but quickly hops up and begins moving around as she reads. Her monologue, which comes near the end of Drury’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, features a stunning moment where her character, Keisha, breaks the fourth wall and asks white audience members to switch places with the Black cast members.

“Could I say, ‘Hi, white people,’?” Nwakanma asks. “Let me and my family go out to where you always sit. Could I say that?” Amid slightly nervous laughter, Marlin and Bardorf join her onstage, along with Aidan Hanson ’23.

“This was really emotional for me…when I was first reading it, and I wanted to have that come across,” Nwakanma tells the group after she finishes. She thanks her classmates for coming up onstage with her.

“When this play has been performed and people do this monologue, often the white people stay in the audience,” de Oliveira Foster says. “It’s a testament to the earnestness and the quality of your asking that people joined you — and to the trust that we’re building in the group.”

Architects and design fans weigh in on the majesty of Louis Kahn's masterwork, the Class of 1945 Library.

Timeless. Elemental. Accessible. Grounded in Exeter, both school and town. These are just a handful of ways in which architecture and building professionals wax lyrical about the Academy’s Louis Kahn-designed Class of 1945 Library.

The intellectual and cultural heart of campus, the library is also a celebrity to those who treasure design. Architecture lovers worldwide trek to Exeter to see Kahn’s creation, which turns 50 years old this year. As part of our celebration, we reached out to those who see the iconic building through the designer’s lens. Whether it’s the library’s inviting-yet-functional aspects, its widespread recognition as a campus linchpin, how it showcases Kahn’s genius, or how it fires the imagination of both students and professionals, these Kahn fans were more than happy to share their ardor.

According to William Richards ’00, who holds a PhD in art and architectural history and runs editorial and design consultancy Team Three, Kahn deftly creates something that stands apart yet is distinctively steeped in Exeter. “If you look at the context of where the library is, Louis Kahn doesn’t incorporate classical details in the way that Dunbar or the Academy Building do,” Richards says. “But he does use classical proportions. And he does use clinker bricks, irregular bricks from the Exeter brickyard, made from local clay.” The building’s materials and the way they’re used reveal an approach that’s both practical and personable. “Kahn used concrete and brick and glass in a really muscular way,” notes Richards. “But he was capable of creating a sense of intimacy too. You go into the atrium and look up and you see a giant X in the ceiling, lots of concrete floating above your head. But then you go to the periphery of the interior and you’ve got these side spaces that are incredible small and intimate, corner conferences spaces that are human-scaled. Kahn’s capable of the entire range, from big to small, from imposing to very approachable. He uses hard materials, but the brick, for example, is visually very warm, in a dozen shades from bright red to chocolate-brown; in the summer, the bricks are literally warm to the touch, which helps insulate the building. He’s using these hard materials, but he’s also giving them personality.” There’s also the narrative of the building, adds Richards. “The idea that you ascend the stairs, move through the atrium, go to the card catalogue, find the book you need, and you take that book and make your way to the periphery where the light is, and you sit in the carrel and study by the light. I think that’s a nice poetic sentiment. That’s what a library is all about.”

On a pleasant autumn morning in between A and D formats, Exeter took another small step toward becoming an anti-racist school.

The “Core Values Project: Conversations about Anti-oppression, Community Values, and Justice” is the evolution of the work that began in 2020. Last winter, students co-designed and co-taught a dozen month long classes covering a broad range of intersectional topics, from the racialization of scientific thought to racial health care disparities and anti-oppression in athletics.

The Core Values Project — or CVP — picks up on that work and puts into action the Academy’s 2018 vision statement for equity and inclusion. Dean of Students Russell Weatherspoon called the CVP “an invitation for further conversation,” with student “facilitators” launching projects for the student body and every faculty member. Those facilitators made their pitches Tuesday morning to a thousand students spread across the Academy Building lawn.

Lucy Meyer-Braun ’23 is co-leading a project they’ve named “Flip the Script,” which intends to build a Harkness class for PEA teachers. “We want to convey what conversations, norms and topics we still think are missing from our classrooms,” she told her fellow students and would-be partners. “If you have any ideas about what is still missing (from our curriculum) and what you want to see improved, please join.”

Seniors Georgie Venci, Niko Matheos and Juliet Ortiz, in collaboration with English Instructor Alex Myers and Bonnie-Jeanne Casey, the Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, have started
“Youth from Every Quarter, but Are There Quarters for Every Youth?” “We are looking at the Academy’s history of inclusivity with ethnic and religious minorities, and how have they really been supported here at the Academy,” Venci said.

Uppers Priya Nwakanma, Ki Odums and Sanisha Mahendra-Rajah pitched “Supporting Students of Color One-on-One.” “It’s a project designed as a how-to guide for faculty about interactions with students of color ranging from mental health, cultural stigmas, reaching out and the effects on academic and athletic performance,” Odums said. “It is open to any and all faculty who want to be a part of it.”

“If you want to learn more, we will be over by the giant tree.”

The projects will be honed throughout fall term and take shape in winter and spring.

Director of Equity and Inclusion Stephanie Bramlett told the assembled community before they dispersed, “These projects may branch off into many different other areas. Don’t be afraid to join a group and then think about a branch or think about a new project idea that stems from that a little bit later.”

 

There are sure to be some sore arms in Wentworth Hall this week.

The 77 residents spent most of Monday morning whizzing dodgeballs at each other from close range during a fierce double-elimination tournament in Thompson Gym. The last men standing were the boys on the black-clad team calling itself “Dark White,” which rode the right arm and quick feet of Beau Keough ’22 in the final to the title.

The rest of Academy Life Day wasn’t nearly as tense. Nor as sweaty. 

For the better part of 30 years, Exeter has pressed pause on classwork on an autumn day to gather by dorm and house and connect as neighbors. Last year, the tradition was a casualty of health and safety protocols. On Monday it returned, with more than a thousand students fanning out across campus and at stops around the Seacoast region for informal bonding sessions. Several dorms took advantage of the gorgeous late September weather and hit the beach. Others raced go-karts, went apple picking or stayed put to paint pottery. Working up a sweat was not a prerequisite.

Still, some did. Across Hill Bridge from Wentworth’s dodgeball bonanza, the echoes of “Two coming up on your right!” could be heard as the boys of Main Street Dormitory renewed a tradition with their annual game of capture the flag. This year’s installment stretched from Hatch Field through Phelps Stadium to the adjacent soccer field with no clear out of bounds. Cyrus Braden ’22 tested the limits of the boundaries and emerged from a marshy area by the river with mud up to his knees and his reconnaissance mission foiled. Ben Martin ’23 left his post as a flag guard to chase off one of the two attackers identified by his teammates shouting from elevated posts. After a couple of rounds, the separated combatants reformed as one united dorm and made their way back across campus for a cookout.

Meanwhile, most dorms spent the morning more peacefully. The girls of Amen Hall were armed only with sunscreen and cell phones to capture their apple- and pumpkin-picking session at sunsplashed Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Dunbar painted mugs to give away as gifts. Webster and Cilley were among the dorms which spent part of the day seaside.

There was at least one more competition on Academy Life Day, however: A faculty go-kart race at Hilltop Fun Center in Somersworth.

For the record, Modern Languages Instructor Diego Ardura steered his sky-blue racer to the checkered flag.

Rodney Armstrong ’68 (Hon.) served as the Academy’s librarian for 25 years, shepherding the school through the long and careful process of building a new library. This article, originally published in The Exeter Bulletin in 2004, is adapted from a talk he gave at a symposium at Yale University on Kahn’s life and work. Armstrong passed away in April 2021 at 98.

 

When I arrived at Exeter in 1950, it was with the promise that I was to lead the effort of designing a new library for the Academy.

The Exeter I encountered was definitely not a St. Grottlesex school. It was vaguely Congregational, but its god was academic achievement. The faculty was formidable, with an exceptionally strong history department determined to get a library appropriate to support their efforts. It would replace the charming but small Davis Library, which had been designed by Ralph Adams Cram and built in 1912 for a school of just 500 students. The history department’s representative on the library committee was Albert Ganley, who heroically stuck with us to dedication day.

Eventually, after a number of years and strenuous collaborative efforts, our Trustees appointed an architect, one who was responsible for the libraries at Barnard, Amherst and West Point. The Trustees’ instructions were as follows: to anticipate the Academy’s needs for the next 25 years and to design and exterior that would “blend in with our beautiful Georgian buildings.” The architect was nice, capable, attentive.

As we became involved with final drawings, Exeter got a new principal: Richard Ward Day, an ex-Marine captain as well as an educator. By chance, Dick Day and I met one day on a school path in front of a newly constructed dormitory, which looked like a Howard Johnson motel that had lost its way. Our new principal was dismayed by what he saw and asked me for an explanation, the gist of which was that it was a faculty committee effort with the aid of the second-largest architectural firm north of Portland. When Dick Day learned that this same firm was involved with a renovation of the gymnasium, he fired the architect and eventually Exeter got a sports palace designed by Kallman & McKinnell, the same firm that designed Boston’s Government Center. (I was always grateful for the sports palace, as no matter how palatial our plan for the new library became, it appeared modest by contrast.)

When Principal Day learned that I was way down the road with plans for the new library, he spent an afternoon reviewing the plans. When he finished, he asked my opinion. I responded that the plans met the program requirements and the Trustees’ request that the building blend in with the adjacent structures. Dick Day looked me in the eye and asked me if I liked it. I had to respond that it was not to my taste. He replied that he was firing the architect and appointing me chairman of the faculty committee, whose members were to be suggested by me, to rewrite the program to propose “the outstanding contemporary architect in the world” to design Exeter’s new library. We were to receive and consider suggestions from trustees, colleagues, alumni and friends, and to travel anywhere, here and abroad, as we thought best, to look at buildings. Principal Day was no piker, but a hero. I had also blown about eight years of planning.

At the first meeting of our small committee, Elliot Fish of the modern languages department startled us by saying he didn’t know why we were going through such a lengthy procedure when he could tell us right then and there who our choice would be. Silence was followed by dubious murmurs and calls of “Who?”

“Why, Lou Kahn, of course,” he replied.

“Lou who?” we chorused.

Among the many concerned letters, visits and telephone calls our committee received were too calls to me from Dr. Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine and the father of Peter Salk ’61, who had been a student in the dormitory where I lived. Jonas Salk insisted I visit the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, which had been designed by Louis Kahn. When I arrived, Jonas spent hours showing me around. His love for the building was palpable. “No other architect could have done this, Rodney,” he told me. I didn’t have to convinced; I thought the Salk Institute was glorious.

There followed many other trips. Our committee compiled a list of architects to be interviewed at their offices after they had considered our written program and other materials about Exeter. All wanted the commission.

With months flying by, the time came when our list of final choices had to be submitted to the Trustees. It was a time of great anxiety: Our committee was unanimous in their recommendation of Kahn above all others, yet Kahn had so few buildings constructed compared to the other architects on our list. But we were sure, so sure.

Enter another hero. Our Trustees, having placed such trust in a faculty committee, had also appointed an adviser on building and grounds: Nelson W. Aldrich of Boston, an architect of considerable practice, and a friend of many of the trustees and of myself. Nelly came down firmly for our recommendation. We were home free. Louis Kahn received his commission from the Trustees in November 1965 and made his first visit to Exeter in January 1966. Groundbreaking began in April 1969, and the building was completed two years later.

In conclusion, I wish to express my gratitude to Lou Kahn: for the education he so generously gave me over the course of the library’s design and construction, and for what he did for Exeter, is students and faculty. His library fulfilled our dreams and hope and did indeed shift the center of our school world. Immodestly, I add that it is the greatest secondary school library, here or abroad.

Another hero is Jacquelyn Thomas ’45, ’62, ’69 (Hon.); P’78, ’79, ’81, who succeeded me as Exeter’s librarian in 1975 and who has fiercely and successfully maintained the integrity of Kahn’s library through the necessary replacements and refreshments of the ensuing years. My only regret? That the Academy’s coffers did not permit the landscaping outside which would have completed Kahn’s dream for Exeter.

The enduring custom of Opening Assembly formally ushered in the 241^st year of Phillips Exeter Academy on Friday morning, highlighted by the simple but powerful sight of the full school community gathered together as one.

Principal Bill Rawson ’71; P’08 commemorated the occasion with an address to an audience of students and current and emeriti faculty in Love Gymnasium, noting how a year ago he stood before just 10 students on a campus quad and delivered his remarks virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“What a difference a year makes,” Rawson said. “How wonderful it is to see all of you gathered together, even if we are not able to be in the Assembly Hall, as is our tradition, and even if we must wear masks indoors, at least for now.”

>> Read Principal Rawson’s full remarks

The challenges of the pandemic linger, but with the Exeter community vaccinated and other safety precautions in place, Friday’s event was a warmer, more familiar version of the time-honored rite. The student body welcomed their faculty with a rousing cheer as the instructors made their way into the gym, two by two. Music Instructor Radmila Repczynski played Gaudeamus Igitur on piano as the faculty took their places near the dais. In the front rows, traditionally reserved for Exeter seniors, sat the members of the class of 2022. Behind them came the uppers, then the lowers and finally the ninth-graders — the preps.

Phillips Exeter Academy · The Future is Now

The Exeter Department of Physical Education and Athletics has announced the addition of Kerry McBrearty to the department. In her role, McBrearty will coach with our girls soccer, girls basketball, and girls lacrosse programs while teaching in the physical education curriculum.

“We are so fortunate to add such an experienced teacher, coach, and mentor to our esteemed group,” said Director of Physical Education and Athletics Jason Baseden. “Kerry has a contagious enthusiasm for working with young students and has proven throughout her career a deep dedication to student development and community involvement.”

McBrearty has experience teaching physical education at both The Dalton School and the Rodeoph Sholom School in New York City. Most recently, McBrearty has served as the Director of the STARS Club Lacrosse program in Alexandria, Virginia. Prior to STARS, McBrearty was the head women’s lacrosse coach at NCAA Division II Bentley University for five years while also serving as an assistant for the women’s soccer program. McBrearty also had head coaching stops at Roger Williams University and Queens College.

“I am honored to have been selected as a physical education instructor for PEA,” said McBrearty. “I would like to thank Jason Baseden, as well as the entire administration for this opportunity. It is a privilege to be part of an institution with such longstanding academic and athletic traditions. I am most excited about joining a community that values every voice and is committed to the growth, well-being, and success of all students.” 

McBrearty earned both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in physical education from Springfield College, where she was a captain of the girls lacrosse program.

In the waning days of August, Exeter’s newest faculty members gather on campus for three days of orientation. Day 1’s agenda is jampacked and highlighted by a Harkness workshop with an interesting reversal of roles.

Filling seats around oval tables in Phillips Hall and the Academy Building, the new faculty become the students as Instructor in Mathematics Laura Marshall and Instructor in English Tyler Caldwell lead demonstration classes in their respective subjects. An introduction to the Harkness method for some and a refresher for others, the main tenants of pedagogy — exploration, collaboration and problem-solving — are on display as the exhibitions play out. 

A 16-year veteran of Exeter, Marshall begins her class with brief introductions followed by a mathematical puzzle of sorts, and before long the room fills with conversation and the faint smell of dry-erase markers. Teams of two or three fan out across the room, fervently filling up whiteboard space.

New Instructor in Math Jess Emory, and Associate Director of College Counseling Jameel Moore, hired in the spring, start by focusing on what they know to be true about the given problem. The two quickly deduce the answer “has something to do with factors.”

Marshall works the room, making herself available as the groups push forward. She looks on as the team of Instructor in Theater Blythe de Oliveira Foster ’97, Phillips Fellow in English Sherard Harrington and Instructor in Science Christina Zeigler talk through their collective thought process. Sensing the opportunity for reinforcement, Marshall asks the group, “Are you convinced dividing the square into four is possible?”  

“I was,” Zeigler responds with a laugh.

In asking questions, Marshall is encouraging the group to be confident in what they know to be true and reassess what they cannot prove. Her visit motivates the group to refocus and take a new line of thinking.

Back on the other side of the room, Emory steps back from the board and says to Moore, “I feel good about it.” The two bump fists and part to freelance their support to other groups still in progress.

Across the quad in Phillips Hall, 14 new faces quietly surround the Harkness table in Room 202. A stuffed jackalope — a mythical jackrabbit with antelope horns — mounted above the chalkboard peers over the pupils. A clock that stopped yesterday or in early June suspends time at 4:32.

Phillips 202 is the domain of the English Department, and Instructor Tyler Caldwell sits at one end of the Harkness table as his class settles in. He asks his students — and newest colleagues — to make introductions and then answer three questions about themselves on a piece of paper. The smothering silence of the task implodes when they turn to a neighbor to share the answers.

With the ice thawing, Caldwell gives them their real assignment: Read and discuss Aimee Nezhukumatahil’s poem, “Mosquitoes.” The piece is from a collection all new students have been assigned to read over the summer. It follows the evolution of a daughter’s relationship with her father.

The teachers read the poem to themselves three times, first without taking notes, then marking up the passage. Finally, they read aloud, seven new instructors taking a stanza each:

When my father wanted to point out galaxies

or Andromeda or the Seven Sisters, I’d complain

of the huzz of mosquitoes, or of the yawning,

moon-quiet in that slow, summer air.

When the read-aloud ends, the conversation begins. Karen Latham, an instructor in mathematics, observes the passage of time through the poem. Lina Wang, an intern in classical languages, agrees, noting that as time passes and the poem progresses, the poet’s language takes on a wonder and awe the early stanzas lack.

Nicole Fowler, a strength and conditioning coach, points out the disdain and “minutiae” of Nezhukumatahil’s word choices in the beginning give way to appreciation — how the moons of Jupiter dance if you catch them on a clear night.

Marcus Rabb, an instructor in music, notes how the father is the one searching the skies in the beginning, but that pursuit shifts to the daughter’s longing for lost moments from her childhood. “Now she’s the one searching,” he says. The piece resonates with him. His father passed away two years ago, he tells the group, and at this time of year they would talk on the phone for hours about the coming football season.

“Wow, this has put me in a whole different mood,” he adds. “Someone tell some jokes!”

Rabb’s personal story throws wide open the spigot. The examination of the poem is peppered with personal reflections, and everyone offers a perspective. Caldwell is pleased with the exercise — not just his colleague’s astute analysis of the poem, but their willingness to dive into the assignment and share their points of view. This is Harkness.

“It’s important for us to experience what our student’s experience five times a day,” he tells them.

“There was a nervousness at first, but I like how we got to know each other as we listened to each other,” notes Sahar Ullah, an instructor in English. “That’s always amazing.”

“I know the poem was about the passage of time, but the time went very quickly here,” adds Latham. “I felt heard and valued.”

You have your charming personality, your brilliant mind and your boundless curiosity. But did you remember to pack your shower shoes?

As summer break winds down and Move-In Day nears, we’ve compiled a packing list to ensure the “boarding” part of your boarding-school experience is a hit.

Electric fans: Until New Hampshire gets really cold, New Hampshire can be really hot. Exeter’s dorms are hallowed but they don’t have air conditioning.

Bedding: Each boarder is issued sheets, pillow cases and towels, and woolen blankets and pillows are available on request. Your own pillow, a mattress pad and a cozy comforter or quilt can make a big difference in a good night’s sleep.

Chargers: Bring two for every device: One for the room, one for the backpack.

Eye mask and ear plugs: Roommates won’t always be in sync, so well-positioned masks and ear plugs can keep the peace.

Shower shoes and caddy: Every good day starts with a well-organized bathing experience.

Alarm clock: Smart for when the smartphone dies.

Clothes hangers: Hang ’em up and beat wrinkles.

Under-the-bed storage bins: A safer, more practical use for milk crates.

Area rug: Just be sure not to block the door.

Air freshener: Laundry pick-up is only once a week.

Raincoats and rain boots: Exeter gets 48 inches of rain a year, on average (that’s not counting the 55 inches of snow annually).

Bike lock and helmet: Secure your bike, secure your brain. New Hampshire state law requires those under the age of 16 to wear a bicycle helmet while riding on a public way.

And here are some things to leave home (because they’re not allowed):

• Upholstered furniture
• Monitors or TV screens larger than 32 inches
• Refrigerators
• Microwaves
• Portable space heaters and all heat-producing items, including flat irons, coffee pots, corn poppers, hot plates, toasters and halogen lamps
• Candles and incense

The Exeter Athletics Department has announced the return of Samantha Fahey as head coach of the Big Red field hockey program as well as an instructor in the Academy’s Department of Physical Education.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming Samantha back to Exeter in our physical education department and to lead our field hockey program,” said Director of Physical Education and Athletics Jason Baseden. “Samantha has proven to be an impactful mentor and leader. Her knowledge and passion will undoubtedly have a positive influence our entire community and the total student experience.”  

Fahey served as Big Red’s head field hockey coach in 2013 before leaving Exeter to join the coaching staff at Columbia University. In addition to her time on the field at PEA, Fahey was also the director of the Seacoast United Field Hockey Club.

“I am thrilled to rejoin the Exeter community and the field hockey program as head coach,” said Fahey. “Having previously been a part of the Phillips Exeter tradition, I have longed to return and continue to build on the team’s foundation of excellence and commitment.”

Fahey has spent the last five years as the first assistant at Columbia, where she was heavily involved with on-field preparation and training and served as the program’s recruiting coordinator.

Fahey enjoyed a decorated playing career at the University of New Hampshire, where she was an America East first team all-conference selection in 2003 and was a National Field Hockey Coaches Association second team all-region honoree. That same season, she was named to the America East All-Tournament Team and America East Academic Honor Roll. She helped the Wildcats reach the America East Championship final and NCAA tournament in 2000 and the America East semifinals in 2002 and 2003.

After her playing career, Fahey had coaching stops at Michigan State University, UNH, Harvard University and also served as an assistant coach for the USA Field Hockey Junior High Performance Program before arriving in Exeter in 2013.

Fahey earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UNH and later completed a master’s degree in Kinesiology and Sports Administration at Michigan State. Samantha and her husband, Tom, have two boys, Liam and Landon.