Inside the Gates: Spring 2024

5 questions for  Zachary Pyskaty ’24, who reveals what’s great about the House system, who inspires him, and what fictional British spy he’d most like to meet. Yeah, baby!

What advice do you have for incoming Lawrentians?
Make a schedule. Lawrenceville is an excellent place to construct strong personal skills, such as studying and time management. These two qualities enable a Lawrentian to succeed at Lawrenceville and in the future.

What do you feel is the best part of the House system?
The best part of the House system is how it allows you to bond closely with your Housemates, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Additionally, it allows you to create strong relationships with faculty members. The House system creates relationships that will last a lifetime.

What person, living or dead, inspires you?
My father [Jesse Pyskaty ’91 P’24] inspires me. Throughout my life, my father has provided for my family and been an outstanding role model to me. I strive to be like my father every day.

What song can you listen to on repeat?
“Stay” by Rihanna. It is a great song for when you are on the road and want to sing as loud as possible.

Which fictional character from a book or movie would you most like to meet?
Austin Powers, because he has that “mojo.”

Forces That Shaped the Modern World | HI301

In “Forces That Shaped the Modern World,” Lawrentians examine economic developments, ideas, and cultural patterns that have helped shape the world since 1400. Using the disciplinary skills and modes of inquiry of historians, students consider how the economic world order changed, as well as the consequences.

History teacher Hazel Baldwin-Kress guides students as they connect the modern “fast-fashion” industry and the historical context of forced labor during the Industrial Revolution. Fast fashion, a business model that rushes trendy runway styles to retail outlets through low-cost, mass-produced items brought to retail as cheaply and quickly as possible, has drawn criticism for its exploitation of human capital.

“Before this project, I had no idea how high the percentage of companies that use forced labor is,” said Louis Park ’26, who teamed with classmate Robert Giuffra ’26 on “The Fast-Fashion Forces: Unraveling the Threads of Forced Labor.”

Dry Surfing

Fads come and go. Among the most recent: the skate board, a sort of dry-land surf board. It’s about three feet long, and five inches wide and a roller skate is mounted underneath, one part forward and one part aft. The rider finds a paved slope somewhere on campus (the hill on the road past Lower going toward the Field House is popular), puts one foot on the board and shoves off with the other, the rides the board like a surf board, steering by leaning.
From an “Echoes of the Campus” news roundup in the spring 1964 Lawrentian.

Record Collection: Sofia Swindell ’25

Just more than halfway through her time at Lawrenceville, Sofia already owns a significant collection of Big Red indoor and outdoor track and field records, the list of which will surely be longer by the time you read this.

In one day at the N.J.I.S.A.A. Prep state meet last May, she set school records in the 100-meter hurdles (14.64 seconds), triple jump (38 feet-5.75 inches), and the 200 meters (25.22). 

Sofia is off to just as fast a start this year, breaking the school indoor record in the 300 meters with a time of 39.97 – the second-fastest time in the country as of mid-December, when she was also ranked No. 14 in the nation in the 55-meter hurdles.

Looking ahead to this spring’s outdoor season, Sofia will try to top her own Lawrenceville track standards in the 100 and 200 meters, 100-meter high hurdles, 400-meter intermediate hurdles, and the triple jump, and help establish new relay marks in the 4×100 and 4×400 meters. 

More than just a splendid solo competitor, Sofia is part of Big Red’s 4×400 relay team, along with Rhianna Scott ’25, Lexie Koch ’25, and Jael Gaines ’26, which is ranked first in New Jersey and No. 2 nationally. 

Math Club | Founded 2015

A place where students of all Forms and experiences can bond, through competition and collaboration, over their collective passion – math.

If there were one place where you might find a plurality of teenagers who really do enjoy mathematics, it would be Lawrenceville. They’re the Math Club, and they’ve figured out how to make it joyful. “Our goal is to find a fun application of a concept and then structure the evening around that,” explains co-president Arya Vishwakarma ’25 of weekly meetings. “We did a poker night, but then we calculated the probabilities of each poker hand, and then we went from there in order to build the rules of poker from the ground up. And then we just played!” Math Club participates in a number of regional competitions, but the real fun is in spending time with kindred spirits.
From an L10 report by Anthony Woo ’26

3 Things we learned producing this issue of The Lawrentian

1. Lawrenceville has alumni on the coaching staffs of the current NCAA champions in football and men’s basketball: Grant Newsome ’15 at Michigan and Mathew Johnson ’13 at the University of Connecticut.
2. Retiring English teacher and longtime baseball coach Champ Atlee’s nickname is not a reference to his athletic success. No, he is named for Benjamin Champneys, a direct ancestor, who was the surgeon on the U.S.S. Philadelphia under the command of Capt. Stephen Decatur Sr.
3. For a time prior to the construction of Kirby Arts Center, Lawrenceville’s performing arts productions made their home at McCarter Theatre in Princeton.

Kaaaaale Yeah!

“When the Big Red Farm started growing kale, we developed this recipe unsure if anyone would eat it,” says Gary Giberson H’11 ’18 P’10, the founder and president of Sustainable Fare, which makes sure Lawrenceville students get three square meals a day. “Little did we know it would become one of our most asked for recipes. I think it was popular because of the appearance – it has a bright, fresh color and really good flavors.”

Kale Salad

Yields about eight 4-ounce portions

• 3 bunches of chopped green kale or black Tuscan kale
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic (about one large clove)
• 1/2 cup of julienned reconstituted sundried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese (for vegan option, omit)
• 1/2 cup of thinly sliced red onion
• 1/2 cup of julienned dried apricots
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Wash kale very well, and dry. In a large mixing bowl, add kale, salt, and lemon juice; toss well. Kale will turn dark green in reaction to salt and lemon juice. Add all other ingredients, and mix well. Serve immediately or refrigerate until time of service. Can be prepared up to three days in advance and stored under refrigeration.

Who is the unsung hero of your house? Why?