Features

In March 2018, to celebrate of Women's History Month, we shared the the stories of some of our school's most influential female leaders.

From its beginnings as a religious service affiliated with the Episcopal church to its current form as an opportunity for mindfulness, celebration, and cross-cultural learning, Rowland Hall's chapel program continues to evolve.

In the 35 years since its founding, 16 Rowmark alumni have been named to the U.S. Ski Team, and most of those have competed in the Olympics. Self-coaching techniques and efficient training schedules ultimately help our ski racers succeed at the highest level.

Ask older alumnae of Rowland Hall what their favorite tradition is, and many will name Candle and Carol. Modeled after the English Lessons and Carols services of the late 19th century, the Rowland Hall evening program began in 1917 as a celebration of the holiday season. Traditionally held in St. Margaret's Chapel, and later at St. Mark's Cathedral, the service includes music, scripture readings, and dances performed by students.

Rowland Hall has observed a handful of different anniversaries during the past 50 years, which has left some in the community confused about the math behind our sesquicentennial celebration. They might remember celebrating 125 years not too long ago, and wonder: how and when did 1867 become the date we cite as the school's founding?

For Eric Oehlerich, Aspen Sulte, and Terri Kindness, service is a way of life. It's not hard to understand how their intense schedules, along with acute knowledge of the risks they face keep them focused on living each moment to its fullest.

Train daily for a month. Focus on even the smallest details to shave milliseconds off your time. Travel across the country to a race. Crash right out of the gate. Your weekend's over.

It's a seemingly discouraging chain of events for ski racers. But it primed Hank Shipman '13 for perseverance after a near-fatal Rowmark Ski Academy car accident April 9, 2011.

Bonnie Phillips '60 and husband Denis founded the Phillips Gallery in 1965, and now it holds the title of the oldest-running commercial art gallery in the Intermountain West. Mature shade trees form a canopy over their tidy historic storefront that for 50 years has held its own against newer, bigger commercial buildings on the block. Much like its owners, it's comfortably elegant and teeming with fascinating stories.

Spontaneously breaking out into a 1955 school song on the old Avenues Campus. Hearing Rowmark Ski Academy co-founder Olle Larsson's distinctive guffaw. Dancing the night away on the McCarthey Campus. A record-breaking 1,200 community members attended Rowland Hall's Sesquicentennial Kickoff Weekend September 8-9 to celebrate—and make—school history through a series of unforgettable, hilarious, and heartwarming moments spread over six events.

Mariya Rabovsky-Herrera '06 graduated from the University of San Francisco with a nursing degree. She found her passion in public health and works for the Nurse Home Visiting Program of San Joaquin County, California. The program is crucial to improving maternal and child health outcomes, especially for those living in poverty.

What do biomedical engineering and service have in common? We asked Rowland Hall graduate Joseph (Joe) Illingworth '11, whose warm smile and engaging personality made the connection between his desire to help people and his complex biomedical engineering projects a little easier to grasp.

As Rowland Hall prepares to commemorate its 150th anniversary, we honor our longest-serving teacher, French Teacher and Department Chair, Doug Wortham. We celebrate his 40 years of service at the Upper School and the legendary contributions he has made to our school, students, and community.

Katharine Coles, Utah's Poet Laureate from 2006 to 2012, Guggenheim Fellow, and a University of Utah 2017 Distinguished Professor, returned to Rowland Hall for the first time since graduating in 1977 to share her fifth published collection of poems, "The Earth Is Not Flat," written under the auspices of the U.S. National Science Foundation's Antarctic Artists and Writers Program.

Meet the Borgenichts, one of Rowland Hall's celebrated four-generation families, proudly representing our legacy of academic and personal excellence in Utah. During the 2017-2018 academic year, Rowland Hall will honor its 150th anniversary with a year-long celebration. Leading the charge is Sesquicentennial Committee Chair Nancy Borgenicht '60. Serving as co-chairs are Nancy's son Joe and his wife, Melanie, whose sons Eli (seventh grade) and Jonah (a junior) proudly represent the fourth generation Borgenichts. They invite you to connect, reflect, and kick up your heels with fellow Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School alumni.