Award-winning journalist and poet TyLisa C. Johnson ’13 was recently recognized with the 2025 Wilmington Friends School Distinguished Alumni Award for her exceptional contributions to journalism, community storytelling, and social impact.
A proud Wilmington native, TyLisa currently serves as the audience engagement producer at the Poynter Institute, helping to shape the future of media through connection, clarity, and purpose.
Over the past decade, TyLisa’s bylines have appeared in Carnegie Magazine, the Tampa Bay Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Dallas Morning News, The Points Guy, and PublicSource. Her work explores powerful stories about education, equity, and everyday life—and her voice has reached listeners through guest appearances on WHYY, WESA 90.5, and CityCast Pittsburgh.
During the 2025 Alumni Awards celebration, TyLisa accepted her honor with deep gratitude and reflection, sharing how WFS shaped her path. "One of the most powerful lessons I learned here as a girl is that you must let your life speak," she said. "It empowers me to walk in my truth and to stand firm on my values."
She encouraged students and alumni alike to "be bold with grace," to live their values every day, and to keep showing up for their communities. "When you let your life speak," she said, "there is no dream too big. You are limitless."
Bruno Yeh '22 and Mia Mueller, both 5th-year architecture students at Syracuse University, spent the day critiquing IBHL and Art Major students in the upper school art room.
Madeline Rowland ’23 (far left) and Sawyer Rowland (far right) caught up with Sara Clothier ’26 (middle) after their NESCAC field hockey matchup on Sunday afternoon. The Bowdoin College Polar Bears defeated the Williams College Ephs 1-0.
When Kristin Foss ’04 began teaching Social Justice at an international school in Taipei, Taiwan, she found herself thinking back to one of her most formative classes at WFS: Rick Grier-Reynolds’ Peace, Justice & Social Change course.
With no cross country team at Wilmington Friends School to speak of, members from the Class of 1976 took matters into their own hands. Determined to form a team and compete interscholastically, these students brought the WFS XC program to life by working with school leaders and the Delaware Association of Secondary Administrators (DASA).
Congratulations to Ava Steinberger ’23 (right) on being elected student body Co-President at Bates College!
Ava, a senior Philosophy major with a concentration in Film and Media Studies, has been involved in student government since her first year and is also a member of the Bates women’s tennis team.
Isabelle "Izzy" Miller '23 competed in Triathlon Nationals (Olympic distance) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this summer and finished 6th place in her category for Team USA, qualifying for Triathlon World Championships in Hamburg, Germany in September 2027!
Today’s throwback features four members from the Class of 2016, who helped make school history as they led the Wilmington Friends School Mock Trial team to its first State Championship!
Phil Crock ’23 (far left), along with two other Alvernia University mechanical engineering students, secured a provisional patent and first place in the collegiate division of the 24th Annual tecBridge Business Plan Competition. The team members earned $10,000 and $100,000 in in-kind services to continue growing their business, Learn2Inject.
Wilmington Friends School honored Lesley Dennis Tryon ’71 at Homecoming 2025 with the Outstanding Service Award in recognition of her more than three decades of dedicated service to the school community, her commitment to service as President of the Board for Survivors of Abuse in Recovery (SOAR), and as Treasurer for Friends of Bellevue State Park. She currently serves as Endowment and Finance Administrator at the Jewish Federation of Delaware.
Nathaniel Huxtable ‘22 (far right) and Eddie Micheletti Jr ‘20 reconnected after Eddie’s AA game in Reading, PA on July 5. Eddie’s New Hampshire Fisher Cats won 5-3 with Eddie going 1-2 with a single, two walks, and run scored from the cleanup position and played RF. In the July 4 weekend series, Eddie went 8-20 with two doubles, a triple, and a HR.
Congratulations to Grace Terrell ’24 on receiving the Kathryn George Tyree Innovation Fellow Award—recognizing an outstanding second-year student at Trinity College who demonstrates innovation, creativity, problem-solving, and forward-thinking entrepreneurship.
Statement of Nondiscrimination as to Student Enrollment
Wilmington Friends School admits students of any race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students of these schools. Wilmington Friends School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin in administration of their educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.