Alumni Archives

We’re Using Robots to Build Kids—With Your Help

December 15, 2023

It’s been 35 years since I graduated from Mounds Park Academy. Had you asked me then, I would never in a million years have predicted my eventual return as both a parent of a senior and, equally incredibly, as a mentor for the school’s FIRST® robotics competition (FRC) Team 3926, the MPArors.

How I came to mentor robotics is a long story. But it’s so much fun, full of energy, intensity, and camaraderie. I’ve watched in real-time as students grow in confidence and leadership. “We’re using robots to build kids” is how FIRST founder Dean Kamen once described it. While the team wisely keeps me away from actually building the robot, I mentor a lot of the other team’s activities: community outreach, public engagement through social media, preparing for regional competitions, fostering inclusivity in STEM, and raising funds to pay for it all.

It turns out that running an FRC team isn’t cheap! Last year’s expenses included $16,000 in robot supplies, $8,000 in registration fees for two competitions, and $14,000 in travel-related costs. The team also has to regularly update aging tools and equipment.

This is our busiest time of the year for fundraising, and I’m touched by all the generous alumni who have supported robotics at MPA. Did you know that roughly half of the team’s funds come from individual donors? We are so grateful that you have helped us start the season strong.

However, there is still a ways to go before we meet our financial goal. So, this giving season, I’m reaching out to my fellow alumni to ask for your help. Perhaps you yourself were part of the robotics team, or (like me) wished the team had existed when you were a student at MPA. Or maybe you simply appreciate the profound impact that FIRST® Robotics has on our kids.

We’d love to hear from anyone interested in supporting the team – or is able to introduce us to potential new business or corporate sponsors (who make up more than 40% of our funding). Learn more at www.team3926.org or the QR code below, or call (651) 777-2555 x462.

Thank you! Go MPArors!

Sirid Kellerman ’88

A History-Making Performance For Debate

December 3, 2023

Congratulations to the MPA Debate Team on a history-making performance at the Classic State Debate Festival. Forty-six students represented the school, and for the first time in its history, Mounds Park Academy won the team sweepstakes award. This award is based on the top two performances across each of the three divisions of competition—novice, junior varsity, and varsity. This win is a testament to the countless hours of research, thinking, and practice these students contributed throughout the season.

We call the tournament the Classic Debate Championships in novice and junior varsity. In the novice division, the teams of Sidd Sastry and Kelvyn Boddipalli, Amila Avdic and Ayub Barre, and Myah Hoeschen and Nicole Kim advanced to the octafinal round. The teams of Josh Murr and Hannabella Li and Carter Short and Nico Bergh advanced to the quarterfinal round. And in a commanding performance, the team of Ash Klann and Victoria Lin won the entire division. In the junior varsity division, the teams of Mari Minear and Navreen Biring and Paul Fertig and Zainab Lodhi advanced to the quarterfinal round, while the team of Truman Wilgocki and Soren Winikoff advanced to the semifinal round. And the team of Greta Hanson and Rowan Mulrooney finished second in an extremely competitive final round.
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Meet International Student Alum Peter Wu ’19

December 1, 2023

What are you currently doing professionally and personally?
I am working as an art teacher at an elementary art institute. At the same time, I am a freelance animator, film director, and production designer.

Where did you attend college, and what experiences or relationships have inspired you along the way?
School of Visual Arts, New York City. Observations, stories, and people from different backgrounds have inspired me to create different film ideas to speak for minorities in society. My connections with famous artists and producers such as Bob Camp and Mario Menjivar have led me deeper into the filmmaking industry.

How was your experience at MPA different than other schools?
Since I transferred from another American high school to MPA, I have seen that MPA is more accepting of students with diverse backgrounds. Not only the education, but the faculty and students are more supportive. Read More

A Spotlight On MPA Athletics

November 27, 2023

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the November 27, 2023 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

What factors contribute to a student athlete’s success, both on and off the field? How does a small-by-design school like MPA foster athletes who go on to do incredible things?

A balance between athletics, academics, and the arts is not found at every school. Often students’ priorities conflict and they must choose one passion area over another. MPA students are encouraged to dive deep into many passion areas and the supportive environment makes doing so possible.

When Nate Bander ’09, coach, saw potential in basketball player Yahya Madar ’19 and inspired him to join the track team as a high jumper, a transformation began, and history was made. What might seem like a sports story is so much more.

Through our no-cut policy, low student-teacher ratio, and committed and passionate community, student athletes are known, understood, and seen by their teachers, coaches, and mentors. They receive help when they ask for it. They are fiercely cared for. They are encouraged to take risks and dream big. Click here to hear their story.

A Message From Tim Koerner ’03

November 27, 2023

Dear MPA Alumni,

At our house, the Halloween decorations have been put away, the Thanksgiving Turkey yard blow-ups are standing proudly in the fading grass (to the delight of our sons), and I am reflecting on the concurrent themes of this month of November: money and gratitude.

Money has been a topic du jour of this month for our family, as we took the leap to take our 5 year old (MPA Kindergartener, Lewis) and 3 year old, Arlo, to Disney World and Legoland for the first time.

“Is this worth it? What will spending all this money do for them?” These questions swirled in our minds as we overpacked for the journey, walked tens of miles through 5 theme parks in 6 days, and as we laced up our shoes for Legoland on November 16th, these same questions arose as Give to the Max stories, appeals and requests began filling our inboxes, a bread crumb trail of all the causes we have ever invested our faith in over the last 15 years.

“Do you still believe in us?” is how I interpreted the core question of each Give to the Max email I received. In the case of MPA, as a Class of 2003 alumns and MPA ‘Lifer’ (K-12 attendee), myself, and current parents of an MPA student, our answer was and is a resounding ‘Yes!’

My wife and I chose to give to MPA on Give to the Max Day, because they have created access to an environment for our son, Lewis, that nurtures him so well, he stated after the first week of school this fall that “I wish I could move my bed there and stay there!” I graduated 20 years ago from the same halls that my son now walks, and I am reminded of the lyrics to ‘The Thanksgiving Song’ by Ben Rector in this month of November:

“Funny how it all looks different
But it feels the same
Like how life never stops changing
But some things never change”

In this month of November, on such a day as Give to the Max Day, we give our money to the places, people and ideas that give us gratitude.

‘Your Gift, Their Future’ celebrates the countless connections MPA students make each day on campus, across academic innovation, athletic prowess and flourishing arts programs. When I was a high school student at MPA in the early 2000s, gifts such as yours enabled the launching of the laptop program.

During the fall campaign stretch alone in 2023, you see the fruits of such gifts as cross country runners and The Blue Wave make their way to State, middle school students put on a stellar ‘Puss N’ Boots’ production with incredible set design and a NYT bestselling author and poet, Jacqueline West, visits campus.

“Is this worth it? What will spending this money do for them?” Whether it’s a family trip, a campaign gift or a Give to the Max Day infusion at the level you are able to contribute, you perpetuate the spirit, energy and ideals of a place that gives you and your children gratitude.

I can think of no better worth for money, myself, and I am grateful to have experienced MPA firsthand, 20-30 years ago, now seeing my son revere MPA as a second home, as I once did.

Apparently, a few of you out there share similar sentiments, as the challenges seen below were met during the MPA Give to the Max Day and Fall Campaign: $529,156 raised overall throughout the Fall Campaign and $356,491 raised on Give to the Max Day.

Because of your generosity and gifts, students will continue to thrive and joyfully experience opportunities at MPA that will shape and enhance their future(s), in the years to come.

On behalf of the current MPA parent community, the Alumni Association and all our beloved MPA teachers and staff, we are thankful for you this season!

See why others gave by reading the comments here.

Relationships Matter

October 27, 2023

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the October 28, 2023 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

At MPA, relationships matter, and every child is known. We pride ourselves in being a community that connects with one another. We collaborate with one another, we lift each other up, we provide a support system when needed, and we celebrate each and every one of our accomplishments. As a small-by-design school, every day we witness how relationships have the power to transform lives.

Through our 7:1 student-teacher ratio and dedicated faculty and staff, students receive help when need it, they are fiercely cared for, and they are encouraged to dream big. This is, and always has been, an integral part of who we are as a school.

So when Upper School history teacher Katie Murr and Salmah Elmasry ’21 were met with an opportunity of a lifetime–an opportunity that would require close collaboration and partnership between a teacher and student–they did not hesitate to work together and do right by their community.

When teachers see, hear, and believe in their students, remarkable things happen. Hear their story here.

October Alumni Updates

October 23, 2023

We are looking for more Alumni Stories to feature. We would love to hear what you have been up to since graduating from MPA. Please email us to provide updates to alumni@moundsparkacademy.org.

Ben Ullery ‘00: “I’ve played viola in the LA Philharmonic since 2011, and I recently was named Associate Principal Viola by Music Director Gustavo Dudamel after a national audition for the spot. In the past few years, I’ve also appeared as Guest Principal Viola with the Chicago Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Australian Chamber Orchestra. I also enjoy teaching talented viola students at the Colburn School in downtown LA, and at the Aspen Music Festival in the summer. In addition, I play a lot of solo and chamber music around LA and at various festivals across the US and abroad. In my personal life, I live with my girlfriend (a cellist also in the LA Phil) in the Fairfax District of LA, and in my free time I enjoy studying and playing chess, hiking, cooking vegan and vegetarian food, and snowboarding (which I learned during my MPA years in Mr. Edmundson’s snowboard club). As for my thoughts about MPA…my classes there inspired a lifelong interest and curiosity about literature, science, and language (I still try to study and speak Spanish when I get the opportunity), and I have many lasting friendships from my time there.”

For more on Ben, check out his website at benullery.com and follow him at @bullerbot!

Sofia Walker ‘19 wins first ITA Midwest Regional Doubles title for St. Catherine University Tennis.

We would love to hear what you have been up to since graduating MPA. Please reach out to alumni@moundsparkacademy.org to provide your update.

Help Organize Your Reunion! A Message from Nick Henry ’93

October 23, 2023

Earlier this year, one of my classmates from MPA’s class of 1993 texted me asking if I had heard if anything was happening for our 30-year reunion. I said no, but I’d contact the alumni team at MPA to see. When I did that, Ashley Goetzke, assistant director of development, got back to me and said, “No, but congratulations, you’re the reunion chair for your class’s reunion!” So, I texted my buddy and said, “Congratulations! You’re the reunion chair for our reunion.” It’s not that we didn’t want to do it. Well, that’s not true. We weren’t relishing the idea per se, but we quickly realized that the benefit (reconnecting with our classmates) outweighed the drawbacks (herding cats and doing so from afar as neither of us live in Minnesota). We decided the challenge was worth pursuing and forged ahead.

I have two primary takeaways from this experience:

The first is that we found our classmates were more than eager to help crowd source spreading the word, tracking down—and, once tracked down, cajoling—classmates. Whatever the reason, be it a YOLO attitude post-COVID, or (more likely) the value of the connections forged at MPA filtered through the gravity of 30 years in our case this year, each classmate we connected with in trying to ascertain who would be interested and then when they would be available, was gung ho and made that part of the process immeasurably easier for their willingness to amplify the cause. Honestly, tracking people down and then herding them toward consensus was the thing that gave me the most trepidation, and it ended up being very light lifting on our part due to the commitment of our classmates.

The second is that the outcome—we had 21 of 42 (living) classmates, 11 plus-1s, four former teachers, and one former Upper School director attend—was beyond worth it. No, not everyone in our class wanted to participate. Those who didn’t had their reasons, and they were respectable reasons. Several more would have attended but for immovable conflicts. But the desire to re-connect was far stronger than I had anticipated. We had classmates come in from New York, Florida, Idaho, Oregon, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, and *Mexico* for the event. The interest from former teachers/administrators was also extremely gratifying, and the chance to connect with them—this time as adults—was really fun, too.

If you’re considering stepping up and spearheading the organization efforts of your class’s reunion, but are concerned that it won’t be worth it, I would encourage you to go for it. The sum total of my experience doing so was a massively positive, fulfilling, and enjoyable experience both in the preparation and the event itself. Think about what MPA and your experience there as a student means to you all these years later and ask yourself whether or not you’d like to re-connect with the primary drivers of that experience—your classmates. If the answer is yes, then the cost of your time and energy in putting it together will pale in comparison to the benefits you will receive from the manifestation of your efforts.

Sincerely,

Nick Henry
MPA Class of 1993

Your Gift, Their Future, Bethany Branan ‘98

October 23, 2023

Dear MPA Alumni,

School is in full swing, and it’s the perfect time to reflect on the lasting impact of our alumni community and the incredible potential we have to make a difference. Mounds Park Academy has always been a place where students are nurtured, dreams are dreamt and realized, and leaders for positive change are encouraged. As MPA alumni, we’ve experienced firsthand the power of education, the joy of a diverse and inclusive community, and what it means to dream big and do right.

It’s in that spirit of nostalgia and giving that you are invited to join us in the 2023 “Your Gift, Their Future” Fall Campaign. With your support, we can ensure MPA students, faculty, and staff have the tools, resources, and support they need for a bright future.

Please Save The Date
The Fall Campaign will be November 11-November 18, culminating with Give to the Max Day on November 16. This one week is a pivotal time when we can all come together to help achieve MPA’s fundraising goal of $500,000 to support teachers, students, and the entire community. Your gift, regardless of its size, holds the potential to make a profound impact and will play a vital role in shaping the future of our school.

Why I Give
As an alumna and MPA parent of two, I’m continually amazed and inspired by the passion my daughters have for school and education. They are not just students; they are young learners who are constructively challenged every day. Whether it’s the rigors of Singapore math, the imaginative wonders of Makers Space STEM projects, the character-building assemblies, or even the thrill of authoring their first book with vibrant illustrations, MPA is all about fostering curiosity and understanding.

MPA students are taught to seek the “whys” and the “hows,” to embrace their mistakes as stepping stones to improvement, to practice kindness and thoughtfulness, and to appreciate the sheer joy of learning for learning’s sake. It’s a truly unique and special environment.

What is also extraordinary is the community that flourishes here. When I reunite with fellow MPA alumni, there’s an immediate camaraderie, an unspoken understanding that transcends the years. We all share a common bond, an acknowledgment that we’ve been gifted a treasure chest of tools and the skills to use those tools to make the world a better place.

My donation to MPA is not just an investment in the school but also in future leaders, thinkers, and dreamers. To support exceptional education that empowers students to explore, grow, and impact the world.

Choose Your Impact & and Make A Gift
This year, I encourage you to choose your impact and direct your gift in one or all of the following ways: Academic Innovation, Access, Arts, Athletics. Contribute to the areas that resonate with your heart and experiences.

Please visit moundsparkacademy.org/support or reach out via email at giving@moundsparkacademy.org to learn about different giving options.

Thank you for your support of Mounds Park Academy. Together, we can make an impact and ensure the legacy of our alma mater continues to thrive.

What Makes a Global Citizen?

September 21, 2023

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the September 21, 2023 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

At MPA, we are nurturing dreamers, doers, and right-makers. We are equipping students with academic knowledge to be change agents and world-shakers. In fact, in MPA’s Code of Ethics, our community acknowledges the responsibility of being a global citizen by advocating for social justice, caring for the welfare of others, and promoting human equality, among other pillars rooted in respect.

“Right-making is a seed that is planted in each student and cultivated as they journey through MPA. Not only do we teach character traits like inclusiveness and integrity, we promote a do-right attitude through our actions and words while we learn and grow together. This inspires us to dream big and impact others positively at home and in the world,” Kristine Petersen, MPA Kindergarten teacher says of global citizenship at MPA.

Through rigorous curriculum with meaning and purpose, and an educational blueprint with character education at its heart, MPA pushes students to realize that their identities are measured by the depth and decency of their impact on the world–our world. Perhaps Ms. Murr and Salmah ’21 could illustrate what this means.

Global citizenship at MPA is all about students discovering how to make a positive difference in our world, helping one another, and feeling connected. We emphasize character education. We require service projects prior to graduation. We support student-led clubs with cause-based initiatives. We partner with global organizations–The Red Cross and Seeds of Change, for example–for our students as young as first grade to realize their responsibility to positively impact our world. This is what makes a global citizen–and cultivating a service-based mindset in students is key to unlocking a larger worldview, while also preparing them for all that lies ahead.

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