Alumni Highlights
Alumni Board of Governors
The Newark Academy Alumni Board of Governors plays a pivotal role in maintaining strong ties within our alumni community. These dedicated leaders host events, create networking opportunities, and engage fellow alumni to foster a lifelong connection to the school.
Beyond events, the Alumni Board of Governors emphasizes the importance of giving back to Newark Academy. They encourage alumni to contribute their time, expertise, and resources to support current students and the school's initiatives. Their efforts ensure that the legacy of excellence continues, benefiting future generations of Newark Academy students.
2023-2024 Alumni Board of Governors
Rebecca Moll Freed ’94, President
Nicole Andrzejewski ’13
Asha Talwar Coco ’99
Matt Cowen ’13
Daniel D. Cronheim ’72
Justin Garrod ’93
Kumar Ghafoor ’10
Susan Goldberg ’79
Pete Gruenberg ’81
Jade-Addon Hall ’98
Shannon Hedvat ’03
Sydney Hershman ’11
Lauren Jacobs-Lazer ’98
Jordan Jett ’11
Lauren Kaplan ’09
Steve Lozowick ’63
Kathleen Mangunay Pergament ’95
Nicholas Murray ’15
Nnadilim Okafor ’09
Ed Pursell ’02
Jed Rosenthal ’93
Lena Hill Ryals ’94
Seema Sangani ’95
Recognizing Distinguished Alumni
One of the highlights of Newark Academy's Reunion is the conferring of the Alumni Association's top honors for distinguished alumni during the annual Alumni Awards Ceremony.
2024 Alumni Award Recipients:
Newark Academy Fund Award Recipients:
The 1903 Cup
Congratulations to the Class of 1981!
Newark Academy first appealed to its alumni for financial support in 1903. Alumni gifts made in that first year enabled the school to purchase property on First Street, where NA would reside for nearly 35 years. The 1903 Cup is awarded to the Newark Academy class from the last 50 years whose giving embodies alumni generosity as measured by the percentage of the class that contributes to the Newark Academy Fund. This year, the Cup was awarded to the Class of 1981, with 48% of the class represented.
The Ad Lumen Award
Congratulations to the Class of 1995!
“Ad lumen,” the motto of Newark Academy, expresses the school’s maxim “toward enlightenment.” Because strong participation in the Newark Academy Fund is essential to furthering NA’s mission and supporting the pursuit of enlightenment, the Ad Lumen Award is presented in recognition of the NA class that posts the largest percentage increase in contributions to the Newark Academy Fund in a given year. The Class of 1995 increased their participation 18% in a single year.
Dr. Salamishah Tillet ’92 kicks off Convocation and our 250th Year
Newark Academy students, faculty, staff and representatives from our Alumni Board of Governors gathered together to kick off the Academy’s historic 250th school year with the annual Convocation ceremony on Wednesday, September 6 in the Coraci Performance Hall.
The event included a keynote address by Pulitzer Prize-winning alumna Dr. Salamishah Tillet ’92, the debut of a 250th anniversary celebration video and the recognition of long-serving faculty and staff.
During her keynote speech, Salamishah asked that students spend this historic year celebrating investigation, diving into inquiry, embracing life’s messiness, trying to repair what has been lost and being excited about what there is to discover.
“You have more access to information than any generation before you, which means that you understand how the past lives on today and also how we might learn from it to be kinder to each other, to look out for one another and to actually change the inequalities that we’ve inherited that benefit some of us while still hurting many of us today,” she said.
Concluding her remarks, Salamishah looked 250 years into the future with hope that another generation of Newark Academy students will look back on this generation with pride.
ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman '96 Speaks to Students
Matt Gutman '96 spoke about his experience as a war zone reporter to NA students on May 8, 2024 as part of the school’s Signature Speaker Series.
Matt has reported for ABC from 40 countries across the globe and has been on the scene for major global and national events including the protests following the death of George Floyd, the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand, and most recently, the Israel-Hamas war. He is the author of No Time to Panic: How I Curbed My Anxiety and Conquered a Lifetime of Panic Attacks and The Boys in the Cave.
Throughout his talk, Gutman detailed some of his most poignant experiences as a war reporter. He encouraged students to take risks in order to pursue their passions and to not be afraid of failure, because that’s how to learn and grow.
“One of the things that I hope that you allow yourself to do at some point in your lives is to allow yourself to fail a little bit. Make mistakes. I hope that you can afford yourself the opportunity to do that,” he said.
During his visit, Gutman reconnected with several faculty and staff from his time as a student at NA recalling that, “NA provided a fantastic education … It was an unbelievable base that enabled me to go on … I ended up in college in a really good place.”
Newark Academy’s Signature Speaker Series brings distinguished individuals from around the world to address the NA community, enriching students’ understanding and broadening their intellectual horizons.
NA News
Second Annual Women’s Summit
Newark Academy alumni, parents, students, faculty and staff attended the second annual Women’s Summit in Kaltenbacher Hall on March 9, 2024.
During this event, Newark Academy women of many generations came together to discuss the evolution of women at NA during a faculty panel in honor of NA’s 250th anniversary year. The event also included a choice of two breakout sessions centered on preparing women for a healthy financial future or being an advocate for important causes.
The event concluded with a workshop on personal branding by Beth Nydick ’91.
