October 24, 2018
Four MPA alumni were featured in the news this week for a variety of accomplishments! From athletics to community engagement, and arts to cooking, we are so proud of these individuals for representing MPA!
This past Saturday, MPA alum Amber Washington ’12 won the International Tennis Federation’s Sharm El Sheikh Pro Circuit Doubles Championship alongside her partner Chelsea Vanhoutte of Belgium. At MPA, Amber set a state record for most tennis championships in a career with four in doubles and two in singles. She competed collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh.
Christian Holmen ’90, Teaching Head of School at Liberty School, speaks on how Liberty is shaping the way students who are dyslexic, gifted, or both, are taught. “The first goal for the teachers and administrators at Liberty is to break down the social and emotional barriers that many of the kids have because of similar experiences,” he said. Read the full article here!
Andrea Goldberg ’09 was one of the artists that contributed to the 5,000 carved Halloween pumpkins light up the Minnesota Zoo! Andrea was heavily involved in the arts at MPA, having work selected for the Best 100 Art Exhibition and the Tri-Metro Conference Art Exhibition while in high school. She graduated from MCAD and is now a professional artist. Read the full article here!
Matt Bander ‘11 was in the Mississippi Market’s magazine, “The Medley.” Matt is the Market’s Meat and Seafood manager and is featured on page 5 of the Fall 2018 edition in an interview called “Get To Know Your Co-Op family!” Matt is also currently back at MPA as an assistant boys’ basketball coach! Read the full article here!
From top to bottom; photo courtesy of Amber Washington; photo by Stephen Eginoire, “The Durango Telegraph”; photo by Jeff Wheeler, “The Star Tribune”; photo by “The Medley” magazine.
This article is the second in a series called “The Fall Campaign Stories of Impact: Five Weeks, Five Stories, Five Reasons to Give.”
Kelly Turpin is an art producer in Minneapolis. She is an advocate of opera and art as a social movement and strives to produce work that is accessible, inclusive, and challenging, in ways that engage and educate communities. She received opera performance degrees from Ithaca College (BM) and Arizona State University (MM) and continues to perform locally. At MPA Talks, Kelly will be discussing her journey as an opera singer to artistic activist, which is how Arbeit Opera Theatre came to be. She has always wanted to make a difference, be at the forefront of change and societal progress, but only recently discovered how she could do that with her background in opera.
Gabby Law and Julia Portis are both seniors at Mounds Park Academy who worked as teaching fellows with Breakthrough Twin Cities this past summer. At MPA, Gabby captains the tennis, Nordic skiing, and track teams, and has earned several awards in speech and debate. She is a student ambassador, peer leader, and co-leads Social Consciousness Club. When not being a concertmaster to the school’s orchestras, All-State Choir member, and licensed beekeeper, Gabby is busy applying to colleges. Julia is is heavily involved in speech, music, theater, student council (co-president), peer leaders, ambassadors, and debate—interacting with different people and mentors. She also enjoys attending events that allow her to advocate for her beliefs. She also loves traveling and spending time with friends and family.
This article is the first in a series called “The Fall Campaign Stories of Impact: Five Weeks, Five Stories, Five Reasons to Give.”
What do you love about MPA?
Despite frigid, soaking conditions, MPA Sailing is excelling on the water this fall. With a team of three seniors, one sophomore, one freshmen, and one 8th grader, the team has constantly performed at or near the top in every regatta they have competed in, including the Great Oaks Qualifier at Hoover Sailing Center in Ohio. Because of their first place finish there, four members of the team are headed to the Great Oaks Invitational at Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans in early November.
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
More than 1.6 million high school students from about 22,000 schools nationwide take the PSAT in October of their junior year. Those with the highest PSAT Selection Index scores are recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for their exceptional performance–and this year, that includes three of our own MPA students! Seniors Ajay Manicka, Henry Peterson, and Lindsey Baldwin were honored this fall by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, based on their scores on last fall’s PSAT.