Alumni Reunion Reflections Alumni from the Classes of 1960, 1975, 1990, 2005, and 2020 share their Shipley stories—highlighting the traditions, teachers, and experiences that shaped who they are today.

Geoff Flint ’90

35th Reunion

Shipley has always been loaded with impactful teachers who really get to know their students. The small class size and engaging discussions at Shipley made for a great learning experience.

Clockwise, from top left: Ms. Wagner, Mr. Stokes, Mr. Maas, Mr. Barrott

I think that the Class of 1990 will remember the sarcastic humor of Ms. Wagner in the art room, the mathematical genius of Dr. Stokes in Calculus, the friendly dogs of Mr. Barrott and Mrs. Graff, the Barringer Crater, the overhead projectors of Mr. Maas, the grammatical stickler, Mrs. Dorothy Kerr (who lived until the amazing age of 102 this year), the humorous and ever-engaging French/Spanish/Drama teacher Doc Morinelli, Earth Science with Tim Eckert, a wonderful Chemistry class with Mrs. Wampler, ever-engaging history classes with Mr. White, and MANY more!

Clockwise, from top left: Mrs. Kerr, Doc Morinelli, Mrs. Wampler, Mr. White

There were plenty of impactful teachers in Shipley's Middle School, too, including science/math with Ms. Noble and history with Mr. Richards. The quality of teachers at Shipley really was top-notch (and still is).

Mr. Richards

Shipley has always encouraged involvement beyond the classroom. I remember being involved in a Habitat for Humanity project in Philadelphia (organized by Shipley).

Shipley also hosted international exchange students, with our family hosting one student from Panama and another one from Spain. I was also involved in a school-sponsored trip to the U.S.S.R., Finland, and Hungary, along with a Model UN Conference. I was definitely encouraged to open my eyes to the world beyond Shipley!

I'm sure that current students would be surprised to learn that Chevy Chase was the 1989 Commencement speaker at Shipley and you could take classes in Russian (and there was even a trip to the communist U.S.S.R.).

We had no mascot until the Gator was selected; crew and golf were brand new sports at Shipley; Gregg Downer, who went on to coach Kobe Bryant, was the junior varsity soccer coach; and Shipley art teacher Jeff Hanna ’90 was a fellow classmate and friend taking art from the legendary Chris Wagner and Steve Baris.

I'm sure that our dress code was a bit different than today, too! In Middle School, all boys wore blue slacks and white-collared shirts while the girls wore green tunics over white shirts. In the Upper School, no shorts or jeans were allowed and shirts had to have a collar.

Class of 1990

The Shipley motto of "Courage for the Deed; Grace for the Doing" is something that rings true. Shipley has always provided a rigorous education with a personal touch. Shipley did a great job of instilling leadership qualities in its students. Shipley did a great job of preparing me for college and beyond.

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