2017 Hannah Kushner ’17 was a Lifer at Friends. On campus, Hannah ran on the cross country team and was involved with the FIRST Tech Challenge, Poetry Speaks, and Amnesty International clubs. After graduation, Hannah attended Lehigh University, where she studied environmental engineering and urban policy, with a focus on climate resilient cities. At Lehigh, Hannah was involved in political activities and stormwater management research. After graduating in January 2021, Hannah stayed on at Lehigh to pursue a master’s degree in environmental policy while serving as a Resilience Fellow with the City of Boston. Hannah intends to continue working in local government to develop climate resilient and socially equitable infrastructure. Connect with Hannah or learn more about her work on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hannahkushner
What inspired you to study Engineering? My teachers at Friends always went out of their way to get me involved in STEM. In the Lower School, Mrs. Ly pulled aside a small group of us to develop independent projects on Scratch and that started an interest in programming that carried me through to graduation in the FIRST robotics program. While I do much less coding in my specialty today, the same design thinking and problem-solving mindset that I used for STEM at Friends allows me to tackle a wide range of social and technical challenges in an effective and satisfying way. I knew that going through an engineering program would help me to continue developing these skills and equip me to go in a lot of different directions moving forward.
Tell us about your passion for the intersection of transportation infrastructure and climate change. This also started at Friends when I wrote my Extended Essay on ways to address my initial impression that the subway was one big pipe waiting to be filled with water from the next Superstorm Sandy. Transportation is critically involved with both climate mitigation and adaptation activities. The way we get around, the options available to us, and the way in which infrastructure is built and maintained all have impacts on greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, this infrastructure is essential to public health and the economy but is old, exposed, and vulnerable to damage from flooding and extreme heat. I knew I wanted to work in this space because policy and design can come together here to give people greater access to transit and climate-friendly active transportation alternatives in a way that is appealing, safe, and reliable. To actually achieve reduced emissions requires a combination of better design and well-thought-out public communications that must address the environment justice issues associated with climate change, land use, and mobility.
What are your expectations for vast improvements in America's report card on infrastructure during the Biden administration? I recently got involved with the advocacy wing of the civil engineering professional society and was tasked with (virtually) visiting Capitol Hill to present the 2021 Report Card on America’s Infrastructure to Delaware’s elected officials. The country received a C- average but was met with optimism by all these engineers who feel that the Biden administration is going to bring about major improvements to infrastructure. There are a few reasons for optimism: President Biden has been willing to spend trillions of dollars on infrastructure (which is especially impressive considering the joke “infrastructure week” has become in recent years), the administration has expressed interest in making every agency incorporate climate into their decision-making, and cabinet members like Secretary Buttigieg have made very progressive statements such as that our roads must be designed for multi-model transportation and not just cars. Talking to different engineers, we each feel that our niche is having a “moment” right now - be it water, resilience, electrification, walkability, transit, etc. – and there is tremendous energy and growth in the field. While the changes proposed by the Biden administration won’t bring about A’s or even B’s for some time, this is the scale of federal investment and change needed to set us on that trajectory.
What are your favorite WFS memories? I sometimes still get messages from the Poetry Speaks club about their upcoming meetings and events. Each time I am so happy to see that the club has lived on and is still spreading poetry in the community outside of English class. It’s incredible to think how much we all juggled on any given day at Friends, but I do miss how easy it was to get involved with so many different things before we started getting separated out into majors and careers in college. I miss having the time set aside for cross country, Meeting for Worship, and exploring my various other interests throughout the week.
A faculty member at the University of Arts in Philadelphia for the past eight years, Tom Spiker ’93 has taught many classes (and students) about music producing and engineering.
“My time as a WFS student built a foundation of curiosity, empathy, and determination that I will always carry with me, but the most important lesson I learned as a WFS student comes from the George Fox quote in the front entrance of school: ‘Let your life speak.’
2018 At Friends since Kindergarten, Cecilia ’18 has interspersed her Humanities studies in California with experiential learning in Germany. After a gap year in Berlin teaching children cooking on a kitchen bus, she entered an intensive program in Classics & Philosophy and designed costumes for the repertory Shakespeare Company during her freshman year at Stanford. When the pandemic moved classes online, she joined a Berlin social enterprise as a Marketing Manager.
1978 A big fan of the Stoic philosophers, David's mantra is: Strive, not arrive. Winner of both the Mendenhall and Bush awards, David played sports, sang in musicals, and acted at Friends. He finds the faculty to be the School's core asset. Harry Hammond and Rick Reynolds in particular influenced his development.
2017 Hannah Kushner ’17 was a Lifer at Friends. On campus, Hannah ran on the cross country team and was involved with the FIRST Tech Challenge, Poetry Speaks, and Amnesty International clubs. After graduation, Hannah attended Lehigh University, where she studied environmental engineering and urban policy, with a focus on climate resilient cities. At Lehigh, Hannah was involved in political activities and stormwater management research. After graduating in January 2021, Hannah stayed on at Lehigh to pursue a master’s degree in environmental policy while serving as a Resilience Fellow with the City of Boston. Hannah intends to continue working in local government to develop climate resilient and socially equitable infrastructure. Connect with Hannah or learn more about her work on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hannahkushner
After spending two decades as a private practice trial lawyer, Shirley shifted the focus of her career to public service. She credits WFS with instilling in her the many values needed to be an effective U.S. Magistrate Judge.
Joey Gutierrez '07 joined the WFS community in 3rd Grade. After graduation, he attended Bucknell University, where he majored in Comparative Humanities and founded a student group focused on philanthropy education. After college, Joey moved to the Bay Area where he has held various roles in education technology and impact investing. He most recently completed an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business and started working at an edtech startup in San Francisco.
Josh just completed his second year as the head coach at Johns Hopkins University. The Blue Jays were conference champions in 2018. He joined Friends in the sixth grade and had four other siblings who attended the school, including Chris ’00 and Cassandra ’05. At WFS, Josh played football, basketball and baseball, and was involved in The Whittier Miscellany, Student Discipline, and theater. He played basketball and football and was awarded the McCabe Scholarship. He has coached college basketball since graduation, acting as an assistant at Hamilton, St. Lawrence, Williams, Lafayette, Rutgers, and Loyola Maryland. He served as the head coach at Stevens Institute of Technology from 2006-08 where he helped take the Ducks to the Sweet 16. Josh and his wife Helen, live in Baltimore with two children.
After graduating from WFS, Kenji matriculated to Brown University and pursued animation and computer graphics. He interned at Pixar and had the chance to work on "Incredibles 2." Kenji is currently working as a technical director at Blue Sky Studios, whose next movie starring Will Smith is due out in the fall of 2019.
2015 Macon Sheppard ‘15 came to Friends in fall of 2006, along with his brothers, Owen Sheppard ‘17 and Grant Sheppard ‘19. At Friends, Macon was involved in the H. Fletcher Brown Boys and Girls Club after-school program, the World Affairs Club, the football team, and (briefly) the Model Organization of American States. After graduating from WFS, Macon studied at Georgetown University, where he majored in International Relations and minored in Arabic and Economics. At Georgetown, Macon was involved with the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, and he studied abroad in Amman, Jordan in the summer of 2017. In August of 2019, Macon moved to Dubai to join McKinsey and Company as a Business Analyst in their Middle East Office. When he has free time, he enjoys exploring the city with friends, traveling, and making a fool of himself in foreign languages.
After retiring from a successful 30 year career at Ikea, Marty has embarked on an exciting second career as a transition life coach in Wilmington. Working as a life coach helps Marty pursue her passion of helping people achieve their goals. She credits WFS with instilling in her the curiosity, self-confidence and enthusiasm to try new things.
For Mike Coleman ’88, giving back is part of his DNA. Following his graduation from Wilmington Friends, Mike has remained a fixture at the School as a coach, a mentor, a volunteer, and a financial supporter. Throughout his 23-year stint at the YMCA in Wilmington, running youth sports leagues and summer camps, he refined his skills in youth development, skills he’s brought to his work at Wilmington Friends. “I loved my time at the YMCA,” Mike explained. “It really helped me to understand a lot about youth development, and also helped me hone my relationship building skills.”
2018 “Throughout the years, I’ve been lucky enough to view WFS as being a family to me, throughout the tough times and the good. Quaker philosophy tells us that everyone has a light within them and I think this is exemplified by the incredibly caring nature of the school community.
Tyrie is a pioneer in eye care. She was the first person to perform LASIK in Hawaii, and more recently, was the first to perform laser assisted cataract surgery. She has fond memories of her experiences at WFS, and believes this school’s commitment to educational excellence has made her value life long learning.