“Boldly ESJ” Campaign for Science and Student Life Center Kicks Off

Episcopal celebrated the public kickoff of Boldly ESJ, the largest capital campaign in the school’s history, with an elegant but fun and exciting event on Thursday evening, March 2. 

Guests at the event were treated to heavy hors d’oeuvres from Biscotti’s, along with music from ESJ violin instructor Corina Donica and the Heart of Music string trio. Renderings of the new building and the surrounding changes to the landscape were on display in the Berg Gallery of the Munnerlyn Center for Worship and Fine Arts.

Guests also heard from The Rev. Adam Greene, Head of School, about the importance of this new building, and how once it has been completed, the school can then move on to renovate the Buck Center and at least six current science classrooms, turning them into additional English or history classrooms.

“One of the best parts of this project – not to mention the upgrades to the Science Department – is that after we have finished, every full time teacher will have his or her own classroom, and not have to share with someone else.  This will help both students and teachers alike,” said Greene.

Members of both the science department and the computer science/robotics department were on hand to demonstrate scientific concepts in an entertaining way.  Marion Zeiner and Megan Wickenden ’06, both longtime science teachers at Episcopal, set up laboratory experiments that on the surface seemed to be more magic than science. One experiment involved different liquids in different beakers that appeared to change colors several times, and then return to perfectly clear at the end. Zeiner and Wickenden also displayed a small sailboat with solar panels, a radio transmitter, and other scientific instruments which the Marine Biology students had constructed. They are going to launch the ship later this spring in the Gulf Stream to study the currents, ocean temperatures, and wind speeds.  

Chris Slack and Scott Giovenetti brought four robotics students to the event, and they demonstrated how to build and program robots for competition across the region. 

“I loved talking to the robotics kids,” said former Board of Trustees member Scott Westerman. “They are incredibly knowledgeable about their subject, especially regarding Java programming.”  

The Boldly ESJ campaign, which has already raised $14.7 million in the early phase, focuses on four main goals: 1) the Science and Student Life Center, 2) the renovation of the current Buck Student Center, 3) the renovation of current science classrooms, and 4) an endowment to promote the advancement of science on campus. Groundbreaking is scheduled for June, with completion of the building in the Fall of 2024.  

For more information on the campaign, or to find out more about how you can help, please contact Ryan Riggs, Director of Major Gifts, at [email protected]