Los Angeles Area Wayland Gathering a Major Success!

The Los Angeles Area Wayland Gathering was a major success that featured Interim President, Joseph Lennertz H`86 and President Elect, Brian Cheek. It was a record turnout for a Wayland Los Angeles Area Gathering as 31 alumni and guests attended. The evening consisted of a reception and a formal dinner. Just before dinner, Lennertz gave a "State of the Academy" update and formally introduced Cheek. Vice President of Development, Trent Jackson also represented the Academy.

A special thanks to Hugh Dinsmore `73 for helping to sponsor the event. The Gathering was held on Saturday, March 26, 2011, at Ca' Del Sol Ristorante, in Toluca Lake, California.

Click here to photos of the event. 

May 5, 2011 - Washington, D.C. Gathering POSTPONED until the Fall of 2011

At this event, attendees will have the opportunity to meet Wayland's new President, Brian Cheek, who will assume this role on July 1, 2011. This event will be hosted by Trustees Susan Peterson `63 (Chair of the Board) and Richard Kimberly `54 (past Chair of the the Board) at RBC Wealth Management, Washington, D.C. (More information coming soon.)

On April 11, 2011, Wayland Academy launched its new

website www.wayland.org.

It is much easier to navigate and far more contemporary. Although the new website is still a work in progress, we strongly encourage students, parents, alums and prospective students to check back to see what is new at the Academy.

Wayland Academy is very sad to report that the Academy's oldest alumna, Josephine (Badger) Fife, Class of 1927, passed away February 17, 2011.

Josephine attended a Washington, D.C. Gathering in 2004, where she delighted everyone with her optimism and bright personality. Mrs. Fife was 103 years old when she passed away.

On the right, Josephine is shown dancing a jig with Kevin Diaz (husband of former Alumni Board President Judy Glunz Diaz `81) at the Washington, D.C. Gathering.

Kana Idetsu `06 recently wrote to Wayland regarding the earthquake in Japan. She is from Yokohama, Japan, and was a boarding student at Wayland from 2004 to 2006. Fortunately, she now lives in Naperville, Illinois, and all her family and friends are safe.

Kana wanted to give us a personal perspective of the devastation:

"As you all know, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Northern part of Japan on March 11. Along with the earthquake, there was widespread devastation from a tsunami wiping out the entire village of Sendai and crippling the nuclear power plants located along the coast. The loss of life climbs every day and the people of Japan will be suffering from this disaster for a very long time. I am very thankful that my family and friends all survived the disaster of the earthquake and tsunami, however, they, along with all those living in Japan, still live in fear of the numerous aftershocks and the increasing radiation concerns. The people of Japan need your prayers. The people of Japan need your help. Thank you and God Bless You - Kana"

Kana gave us a list of four websites if you would like to make a donation to help the people of Japan, click here if you would like to access these sites.

After graduating from Wayland, I studied art and photography at the University of Illinois - Chicago and Columbia College. I began my career as a freelance photographer shooting for area newspapers such as the Chicago Sun-Times and the Pioneer Press.

After leaving the newspaper industry, I developed my freelance editorial photography business and over the years my assignments have taken me throughout the United States and the world. My clients include corporations, magazines, architectural and design firms along with private schools and universities.

Along with corporate clients I also work with several non-profit organizations. The most notable is Causes for Change International where over the past twelve years, as a volunteer I have traveled to Ecuador to photograph and assist with projects such as free medical, dental and hearing exams given to remote village people. I was also a member of the Visiting Alumni Program at Wayland Academy, where I helped teach a yearlong documentary video class for the schools Sesquicentennial Celebration. Another Wayland project was the six-month photo documentation of the $3.6 million renovation of Wayland Hall for the Wayland archives.

My daughter Eva graduated from Wayland with the class of 2007 and will graduate from St. Norbert College this May. My son Karl is currently attending Northeastern University in Chicago as a freshman and my wife Sally works for Comcast. We live in the Chicago area.

Jan Hansen `14

Backstroker Jan Hansen `14 went to the state swim meet sectionals and swam a 57.03 100 backstroke, breaking a long-standing school record (almost 40 years old), which qualified him for State.

Phil McDade, a writer for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association had this to say about Jan, "Jan Hansen, a freshman day student at Wayland, has turned out to be a pretty good swimmer. Earlier [in the swim season], he became the first Wayland swimmer in many years to win an individual event at a multi-team meet when he took first place in the 100 backstroke at the Cudahy Invite. At a later meet, he tied the school record in the 100 backstroke with a solid 58.70, which puts him in the mix of Division 2 backstrokers vying for one of the 16 spots at the state meet."

Coach Martha Kesler H`08 had this to say, "Jan...is certainly the most professional swimmer I have worked with. It was different for me to think about a swimmer from my team going to state, a bit daunting and very exciting. Overall, having Jan on the team was exhilarating."