Tandem Friends School News

Alumni Coaches Lead the Badgers

10/23/2024

Let’s face it, Tandem alums make great Badger coaches.

Kalina "Kiwii" Zizulka '18 has led the Girls Varsity Volleyball program to great heights this season, from an epic 20-set winning streak to a top ten ranking in the state, and the season isn’t over yet. Former teammates are right there with her - Ke'alani Sison '18 has lent her coaching skills to the program and Tori Carter-Johnston '18 stopped by for a visit to the Badger Den.

Lauren Shotwell ‘20 serves as head coach for Boys and Girls Middle School Soccer, teaching them the skills of the sport she played while a student at Tandem.

Sampson Dale went to Tandem in Middle School and now teaches Middle School P.E. and coaches our formidable Varsity Boys Basketball team. Sam’s already leading the team through early morning workouts. We can’t wait to see what they’ll bring to the court this season!

Alumni Spotlight: Eric Stumpf '08

10/23/2024

Eric Stumpf '08 is the founder and creative director at Nite4Nite, a film production company based in Charlottesville. Nite4Nite's latest project is a short film called 'Keepers,' which is currently touring at film festivals, including an Academy Award qualifying festival. Eric was awarded Best Cinematography at the Richmond International Film Festival. He credits Tandem with fostering his interest in art from a young age, a passion he carried with him to college and beyond.

'Keepers' stars Luke Slattery from 'The Boys in the Boat' and follows a lobster fisherman who makes a mysterious discovery while on the water. This modern nautical folktale is full of suspense and was entirely shot off the coast of Cape Cod. Seth Glennie-Smith '06 composed the music score!

See the full list of festivals where 'Keepers' is showing below:

Nantucket Film Festival

Atlanta Shortsfest

Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival

Richmond International Film Festival

Sidewalk Film Festival

Crested Butte Film Festival

New Hampshire Film Festival (Oscar qualifying)

ScreamFest Horror Festival

HP Lovecraft Film Festival

New York City Short Film Festival

New York Indie Awards

Reykjavic International Film Festival

Reunion Recaps: Class of '19

10/23/2024

A new informal alumni tradition has emerged in recent years. Five years after they graduate, Tandem invites alums for a small get-together in Charlottesville. This August, members of the Class of 2019 came together at Random Row Brewing Co. to catch up and do a bit of reminiscing with some of their former teachers and classmates.

Reunion Recaps: Class of '74

10/23/2024

Last April, the Class of 1974 arrived on campus to share time together for their 50th Reunion Weekend. They came from as far away as Hawaii and London and spoke in Speaker Series to current students enthusiastically and openly about their own time at Tandem.

It was an emotional return for some, as they shared wisdom and stories of volleyball, classes and teachers they loved, and a brief mention of streaking. Our students loved hearing from them and learning that Tandem still seems very much the same.

The alums strolled around campus and visited with members of the classes of 1973, 1975, and 1976 who joined them for a reception in the Blue Room. They returned to campus the next day to enjoy a tour and some time with Head of School, Whitney Thompson, and Assistant Head of School for Mission and Values, Peter Gaines.

Senior Project Highlights

10/23/2024

For her Senior Project, recent Tandem alumna Mattea Gaines ‘24 designed labs to foster interest and confidence in STEM among young girls. ‘Geeky Girls’ hosted labs ranging from marshmallow spaghetti towers to teach principles of physics to a hands-on exploration of forensic science.

Mattea learned about leading science programming for kids from her technical advisor, former Middle School Science teacher Christine Hirsh Putnam, and through volunteering with Charlottesville Women in Tech (CWIT).

She also formed a STEM club at Tandem to carry on the work she began. The Geeky Girls club has already begun planning new labs for this year. Upperclassmen Mary, Maggie, and Esme describe how important it is to them to make sure that young girls have confidence in STEM and to create a space where learning is accessible to everyone.

Alumni mentorship was another highlight from the class of 2024’s Senior Projects. Abigayle Harris '24 explored Soul Music and Songwriting and her technical advisor was none other than Ti Ames ‘13!

Senior Projects can change perspectives and even career paths. Leave us a class note telling us how your Senior Project has stayed with you.

Two Class of 2018 Alums Share with Senior Class

10/18/2024

Two Tandem Friends alums from the Class of 2018, Julia Calland and Noah Tinsley, came to campus recently to meet with this year's seniors. They talked about what they've been up to: both graduated from UVA, now Julia is in her first year of law school at UVA and Noah is working at the history museum in Richmond. They shared how much Tandem impacted them by nurturing emotional maturity and intelligence as well as confidence and a strong sense of self that gave them the freedom to explore their interests. They also talked about what it's like to be Tandem alums now and how strong Tandem connections are and remain. It was a great give and take between current and past students. Many thanks to Julia and Noah for taking the time to talk to our seniors.

Alumni Panel Talks to Upper School

1/5/2024

We were grateful for the generosity of young Tandem alumni willing to share their time and wisdom with our current juniors and seniors on January 5. The Young Alumni College Panel is an annual event of almost 20 years that brings current alumni college students in to share wisdom and answer questions about their college experience with Upper Schoolers. Sometimes they share what it's like to go to college far from home. Some talk about college-level sports. Some chose small schools and some are attending large universities. From what it's like to live in a dorm to how they made the leap from high school classes to college lectures, they have stories to tell about life after Tandem and plenty of great advice to give. Thanks to our wonderful alumni panel members: Tori Carter-Johnston (TFS '18), Nathan Stevenson (TFS '20), Phiala Deal (TFS '20), Ford Scott (TFS '21), and Anya Bullock (TFS '22) for sharing their insight and wisdom. We love having them return to campus to tell their stories.