"I love tech and I knew I wanted it to be a part of my Yale experience. But, having done photography and filmmaking at Pingry, I also love the visual arts. I really felt like I'd be missing a liberal arts experience if I didn't get my hands on some of that, too" he explains. 

In addition to his immersion in visual arts through his major, TanTan just finished his third and final year with the Yale Spizzwinks(?), the world’s oldest underclassman a cappella group, entirely student-run and self-funded. He recalls feeling somewhat star-struck when, during his sophomore year at Pingry, he watched Spizzwink Ryan Campbell '12 return to campus to perform for students (getting to perform on all six inhabited continents as well as in your own hometown/school during your tenure is one of the group's heralded traditions). "I didn't know a cappella was a thing in college until then," he says. "I didn't realize you could see the world and sing professionally in college!" 

Then, he was accepted to Yale and "rushed" the university's a cappella scene, trying out for a whopping eight different groups. After a two-week long audition process, he earned a spot with the vaulted Spizzwinks(?). His freshman year, he redesigned their website; the following two years he served as a "rush manager" as well as the group's associate business manager. In the last three years, among many memorable road trips with the group, he has performed for John Kerry's final State Department lunch, bungee jumped in New Zealand, and introduced his fellow singers to the city where he spent many summers as a child, Beijing. It was the first time his grandparents heard him sing.

"A lot of what I did at Pingry really shaped what I did at Yale," he says. "You have a camp of people who go into college trying to reinvent themselves. For me, I didn't feel like I was doing anything different. The path I took at Pingry really helped to pave the way for me in college." 

Many may also not know that, between graduating from Pingry in 1964 and returning to his alma mater in 2003, he's had some pretty unforgettable photography experiences: observing wales in the Gulf of Alaska, capturing grizzlies in Katmai National Park, and savoring the epic view of half a million migrating sandhill cranes passing over the cornfields of central Nebraska, to name but a few.

Nature photography is Mr. Morrison’s first love, as he will tell you. Shortly after earning a degree in Business Administration from Monmouth College, and as an antidote to city living during the two decades he worked on Wall Street, he turned to birdwatching. He began taking his camera with him, and before long, he found he was spending more time photographing than observing. Landscapes, mammals, birds, flowers, trees—they all captured his interest. When he moved out West in 1990 to earn a master's degree in Environmental Science at the University of Montana, he was perfectly positioned to hone his craft. A self-taught artist, he visited as many national parks as he could, including Glacier, Yellowstone, Banff, Jasper, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the Grand Tetons, which remain his all-time favorite.

Family called Mr. Morrison back East a few years later, but not before he saw his work in print in the National Geographic Traveler and The National Geographic Guide to Birdwatching Sites, Western U.S. (a two-page spread!), to name but a few publications. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition and other non-profits have also published his work. His departure from big sky country was Pingry's gain. A chance meeting with Head Coach of the Boys' Varsity Soccer Team, Miller Bugliari, who happened to be Mr. Morrison's old biology teacher, landed him what would end up being a long-term gig as Pingry's very own sports photographer. Completing his return as a treasured Pingry alumnus, his photography has been on display at two group exhibits and one solo show in recent years at the Hostetter Art Center Gallery (the latter coincided, appropriately, with his 50th reunion). What does Mr. Morrison enjoy most about working for his alma mater? "The best thing is getting to know the kids," he says. Sentiments from "the kids" are mutual: In 2016, they dedicated the yearbook to him. Mr. Morrison smiles as he recalls it. "I was quite honored to receive the dedication and will always cherish the award."

Recipient of the 2011 Award for Outstanding Achievement in 3D Media-Sculpture and the 2012 Brendan J. Donahue ’79 Memorial Prize for Pottery, he was pretty sure sculpture was his thing. But then he realized, thanks to another class with Mr. Freiwald, that he really liked making jewelry as well, and the idea of making sculpture on the body. After many long days in Pingry’s studio and numerous conversations with his mentor, he was on a path to becoming a fashion designer.

“I didn’t think I could pursue art as a career, but Mr. Freiwald really helped to show me the ways in which I could,” says Ned. “He suggested I try a precollege design program at RISD [the Rhode Island School of Design] the summer of my junior year. That’s what ultimately led me to fashion. He was so supportive and a major part of my design school applications, helping me with the creation of my portfolio. Mrs. Markenson [former Upper School Dean of Students] also helped me get an interview with the women's design team at Rugby Ralph Lauren, which is ultimately what I was able to do for my senior year ISP at Pingry. That experience definitely helped kick start my career. "

After four intense years at Parsons School of Design, and coveted internships with many high-end, ready-to-wear labels, including Proenza Schouler, Cole Haan, and continued work at Ralph Lauren, Ned is now a women’s assistant designer at Lands’ End.

In what ways did Pingry challenge him to get there? “All of my literature classes in high school greatly influenced my work at Parsons, and almost all of the collections I designed had some sort of literary reference point,” he remarks. “For my senior thesis at Parsons, Heart of Darkness was a major influence. But fashion is an amalgamation of so many different disciplines, so all of my classes informed the way in which I work now. I do a lot of pattern-making, so even my Pingry geometry class with Mr. Hedengren became relevant."

For the next three years, she threw herself into the arts at Pingry, performing in all the Upper School plays and musicals (in her final Pingry musical, Curtains, her senior year, she had her biggest role yet, as Lucille Shapiro), taking studio art classes with Mr. Delman, and loving art history with Mr. Paton. Her junior year, she even became a Balladeer. Juggling all her artistic pursuits was a balancing act, she admits. But it was a balancing act that she feels was well worth the effort.

She speaks fondly about Mr. Delman, who, she says, gave her the freedom to develop as an artist (during free periods, she stole away to a quiet art studio to work, with his permission). Mr. Romano and Mrs. Romankow, who guided her in each Pingry production, are also beloved. “When I was in rehearsal with them both I just kept thinking, wow, I am so lucky to be working with these two people. They are so brilliant and loving, a joy to be with and work with,” she says.

For Emma Claire, all her artistic interests share a single, common denominator. “Whether I’m drawing in a sketchbook, painting, practicing a scene on stage, or rehearsing an a cappella song—it’s all about telling a story,” she reflects. “Art at Pingry is all about collaboration; it’s this balance between collaboration and individualism. In many ways, you can’t be successful in one without the other.”

In particular, Drama Department Chair, Mr. Al Romano, was an influential figure in her development, and not simply on the stage. “He was like a dad to me throughout high school,” said Jazmin. “He emphasized the role that drama skills play in life overall. As a result, my acting self and my school self always felt very integrated.” She recalled a particularly tough day early in high school, when she had a lot on her plate. She sought him out for comfort. “He sat down with me and helped me map out a schedule for the rest of the week to get organized. That’s the kind of teacher he is.”

Jazmin’s other memorable roles while at Pingry: In eighth grade, she stretched herself as an actor to play the crooked old miser Fagin in Oliver Twist. She surprised her mom with a solo show-opener, singing All That Jazz in an end-of-summer concert for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Young Artist Summer Intensive, a prestigious program to which she was twice accepted. And, her senior year, she played Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret, a show that will forever stand out in her mind.

“Realizing that that was the last time I would perform on Pingry’s stage was hard,” she recalls. “Macrae Theater had been my home since sixth grade. All my memories—fall plays, musicals, drama classes, set work—were in that space. That was home for me.”