The pandemic may have disrupted a great many things, but it won’t stop the Charger spirit! This week is Spirit and Homecoming week, with homecoming games/meets scheduled for Friday, December 18.
While we hate we can’t gather together in person, we invite you to join us for Virtual Homecoming fun! Every day there will be different online events for you to participate, prizes to be won, and friends to reconnect with. CA will celebrate our fall and winter Charger athletes during a virtual live Homecoming assembly on Wednesday, December 16, from 2:00-3:00pm. View the stream, live games in the FC gym, and review past games on CA’s NFHS video portal.
Be sure to follow our alumni Instagramand Facebook and use the #CAVirtualHomecoming hashtag to follow along for a week full of Charger Spirit! Click the links below for more information.
Schedule of Events:
Monday, 14th – “How it started. How it’s going” Social Challenge – You know how this one works, post a photo from your time at CA and a photo from what life looks like now. Tag us to be entered into a contest to win a $50 gift card to the Charger Corner.
Tuesday, 15th – Virtual Networking Event with Parents of Alum, 7:00pm – Join our panel of parents of alumni as they share with us their experience and expertise in various industries. While many things have had to pause this year, we know Chargers are still interested in growing professionally. Register today! Space is limited.
Wednesday, 16th – Instagram Lives with Faculty Favorites – Are you following us on Instagram? That’s where all the fun happens! Join us through the day as different teachers pop it to say hello and share some of their favorite memories.
Friday, 18th – Spirit Day Social Challenge & Homecoming Games – Pull out that blue and gold for you, your kids, or your pet! Show us your Charger Spirit on social media, tag us, and be entered to win a Homecoming Tailgate Swag Bag. Livestream all the games starting at 4:45pm!
Varsity girls’ basketball v. Thales Academy 5:30pm | Fitness Center gym
Varsity boys’ basketball v. Thales Academy 7:00pm | Fitness Center gym
Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager
CA’s largest-ever Model UN team makes strong showing at conference
Alumna named one of North Carolina’s “20 Under 20” Latinx leaders
October 8, 2020
LatinxEd, a North Carolina-based non-profit educational initiative has named Lara Crochik ’20 one of its “20 Under 20.”
Each year, LatinxEd — an organization dedicated to cultivating young Latinx leaders from the Southern U.S. with the aim of removing barriers to higher education and economic opportunities for North Carolina’s growing Latinx community — compiles a state-wide list of 20 outstanding Latinx students under the age of 20. To be honored as a member of the annual “20 Under 20” list, nominees must be lifelong learners, demonstrate a commitment to their communities, and embody inspiring leadership.
Crochik, now in her first year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, co-founded Cary Academy’s Delta Service Club, working with the Center for Community Engagement to elevate service opportunities for CA students on- and off-campus. Currently studying Global Studies and Political Science, Crochik — the child of Brazilian immigrants — tells LatinxEd that she hopes to apply her passion to the nonprofit sector or in the United States Department of State. Her dream is “to help others get access to the same opportunities as she has had, bring different people together, and to help improve the world.”
LatinxEd will honor Crochik and her fellow honorees during a virtual gala on Saturday, October 10.
Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager
It has been a challenging, painful, and scary week for our country and our community.
Amid such emotion, it can be hard to find the right words to give hope and comfort. Writing on behalf of Cary Academy, we must try – as now is not the time to sit in silence.
Recent events, including the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Atatiana Jefferson, and the unnerving incident with Amy Cooper—who made a false accusation against a black birdwatcher in Central Park—have laid bare not only the overt physical danger but also the insidious, systemic racism still facing people of color.
At Cary Academy, we are proud of our words and deeds regarding diversity, inclusion, and equity. We have held workshops on implicit bias. We have welcomed speakers such as Peggy McIntosh to campus to speak on white privilege. Regardless, we must recognize that the private act in the woods of Central Park by a self-proclaimed liberal white woman showed that racism transcends political parties and unearthed more than fault lines within our ability to build trust. It exposed a chasm.
We recognize that there is much work to be done by white people. Racism in the United States is no less a crisis, no less pressing, and presents no less a threat to our society and our community than the current coronavirus pandemic. And it must be met with the same sense of urgency and thoughtful, proactive response.
Many black people in our community are grieving, fearful, angry, and distrustful. Many do not feel safe. We recognize this fear, pain, and anger. We grieve with you. We are angry alongside you. And, representing Cary Academy’s Leadership Team and Board of Directors, we remain committed to listening, earning and building your trust, and ensuring your safety through ongoing community and anti-racism work.
We will not be silent or cave to hopelessness. Instead, Cary Academy reaffirms our longstanding commitment to the hard, at times uncomfortable, introspective work of diversity, equity, and inclusion that have been core CA values since we first opened our doors.
We pledge to be part of the solution—to prepare our faculty, staff, and students to combat racism and make the positive changes we all want to see in the world.
We pledge to listen—to lean into discomfort to grow and learn, and to create a safe space for difficult conversations.
We pledge to look hard within to ensure that every member of our community is empowered to participate fully in the CA experience—to be known, lend their voice, and be heard—and to feel safe and respected while doing so.
As with our COVID-19 response, this will be an ongoing, evolving effort—one that is taking shape now.
To our families of color: your voices and experiences are valuable and crucial. Yet, we recognize the psychological and emotional toll it can take to share your experiences and concerns. If you are in a place to share them, we want to hear them. We are here for you.
We look forward to inviting all our members into these conversations as we work together to combat racism and become a stronger community, together.
Creating Simple, Low-Cost Ventilator Solutions in Sydney
May 22, 2020
After completing her studies at Boston University, Claire Bridges ’11 found herself as a Faculty of Medicine and Health PhD candidate at the University of Sydney. These days, she works on a multidisciplinary team of students and faculty hoping to create a “simple, low cost ventilator solution to assist the COVID-19 effort.”
Working in partnership with other top Australian public health agencies and experts, this team has already created a prototype of the “CoVida”, a ventilator that is easy to manufacture and provides the same level of respiratory support. In fact, “university students and academics have helped to create the first prototype using modern design tools and 3-D printing in a matter of weeks.”
Suki Bristol ’19 recognized that individuals working on the frontlines too often don’t have the time or energy to refuel while on the job. Therefore, this innovative CA alumnae started a campaign on CustomInk where people can purchase t-shirts or sweatshirts with “give.” written simply across the chest. Each order would translate into donations for these “modern-day superheroes.”
As Suki shares: “While being overworked, some are also unable to return to their loved ones due to health concerns. By buying a t-shirt, sweatshirt, or simply donating money, you can do your part. 100% of the profits will go towards obtaining meals from locally-owned restaurants (in an effort to support those who are struggling financially), and the meals from these restaurants will be delivered to the front-line workers. Donations are warmly welcomed as well by Venmo to @sukibristol, please specify that you are donating to “Feed Our Front-Line” and 100% of your donation will be put towards these efforts! “
A sustainable energy advocate, Jared Carson (’08) is in the future-selling business—one major corporation, one bank of electric vehicle charging stations at a time.
Currently, Carson works for sustainable energy giant Enel, in their Enel X e-Mobility division. There, as an account executive, he helps corporations think broadly about their ecological footprint with an aim of helping them to future-proof their operations.
Carson’s commitment to environmental sustainability is a passion that he traces back to his time at Cary Academy. More specifically, he credits Upper School science teacher Heidi Maloy’s Advanced Environmental Studies class as inspiring his future career path.
“I didn’t fully realize it at the time, but that class connected the dots for me between the actions we take as individuals and the ecological world around us. It made me understand that small impacts matter—they add up. It made tangible the many impacts the built environment has on the world,” muses Carson. “It was definitely a launching point to my career.”
His CA launch would ultimately set him on a trajectory that would result, first, in a degree from North Carolina State University in Environmental Technology and Management, and later, a graduate certificate from the University of Boulder in Renewable Energy.
After graduation, Carson jumped into his job search, only to discover a remarkably volatile industry. “Clean energy was still in its early days; the industry was emerging and disruptive,” he explains. “Even with IPOs, companies’ corporate strategies weren’t baked. I had to change jobs multiple times. And after every leap I made, shortly thereafter, the team I had been on was dissolved.”
Leveraging primarily wind and solar power, Enel is one of the largest sources of renewable energy in the world and a major electric utility in Europe. Enel-X is their North American-based venture arm, focusing on retail sustainability solutions for consumers. “Enel-X is focused on distributed-energy solutions on the retail side of the electric meter,” explains Carson.
And just what are distributed-energy solutions? Carson says they are disruptive innovations—including solar arrays, battery storage, and electric vehicle charging stations—that have shifted how electricity is both generated and delivered. Together, they point to a more sustainable energy future.
“Energy was once mostly produced at large power plants, using unsustainable sources such as coal and nuclear,” explains Carson. “Electricity had to travel great distances across the grid before arriving at the point of consumption.” And that translated to unsustainable, polluting, inefficient, and expensive energy. Increasingly, however, more sustainable, green, distributed solutions are allowing for the decentralization of energy generation, spreading it across the grid. “Like, solar panels on a roof,” Carson offers as an example, “they generate electricity close to where it is consumed.”
And that proximity is important. It’s both greener and more efficient. Thanks to a reduction of electricity loss that would otherwise occur during long distance travel across the grid, as well as decreased infrastructure and upkeep costs, distributed solutions help to lower energy costs. The result? Smaller sustainable solutions that are increasingly scalable to new markets and affordable to new audiences.
Within Enel X’s e-Mobility division, Carson’s personal focus is on sustainable transportation. He’s responsible for lead generation and account management among Fortune 1,000 companies for Enel’s electric vehicle charging stations. It’s an exciting, future-oriented position that is not without its challenges.
“As much as vehicle charging stations are innovative—they aren’t always the most intuitive solution. People don’t get out of bed thinking about them, about why they might be important for the future,” he continues. “Where some of my clients are located, they may not even have electric vehicles on the road yet. Regardless, my role is to convince them that they need to plan for them, that they should take action now.”
He does so through a mix of storytelling, education, and salesmanship, crafting pitches that paint a compelling vision of the future, that offer connection to municipal programs to offset costs, and which relate green solutions to topics that are relevant to the target companies. That picture is getting a bit easier to paint thanks to some exciting new entrants to the electric automotive market.
“In the near future, there are innovative electric cars coming into the market from major automotive makers—from Ford, Chevy, Audi. It isn’t just Tesla anymore. And it isn’t just confined to California and the Northeast,” explains Carson. “Electric vehicles are on the cusp of turning mainstream.”
It’s an exciting time, with every pitch, every sale representing one of those small impacts that, together, add up to something transformative: a reframed conversation around energy use and the opportunity to carve out a better, more sustainable future. And that’s Carson’s true motivation.
“I don’t see a future scenario where we aren’t talking about electric vehicles. And that means we have to retrain people in thinking about how they get electricity and power” offers Carson. “We can’t continue to sustain conventional models of providing energy for the billions of people on the planet. We must become more innovative, more sustainable. Candidly? It’s just the right thing to do.”
Written by Mandy Dailey, Director of Communications
CA Alumnae in healthcare opens up, shares what she’s learned
April 16, 2020
Erin Carriker (’14) posted this message on Instagram: “Tomorrow, the family medicine clinic I have called home for the past nine months is becoming a respiratory care clinic.”
After graduating from Davidson in 2018 ( go Wildcats!), Erin earned her Masters of Science in Biomedical Science last May from Duke University.
In her Instagram post, Erin shared some of the challenges she’s been grappling with since this transition was first announced to her and the team. Fear, worry, and uncertainty were at the top of the list. But, gratitude rose to the top. As Erin writes: “I am grateful to the coworkers who have become family, to the mentors that nurture me, to the patients that are now an integral part of my life. Being forced out of ‘normal’ is difficult, yet I am so thankful for all the learning still to be done. I am thankful for this incredible opportunity to participate in healing. This is teaching me that fear and courage are not mutually exclusive, that though our voices may shake we are still able to shout ‘we are ready’.”
Thank you Erin for being of the countless frontline healthcare workers putting your own health and safety at risk to provide comfort and care to members of our community!
Trey Murphy III ’18, announced on Monday that he will transfer to play basketball at the University of Virginia. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound guard led Rice in scoring as a sophomore; Murphy will have two years of eligibility left after sitting out the 2020-21 season as a redshirt.
Murphy, from Durham, played varsity basketball at CA. His father, Kenneth, played at East Carolina University from 1986-88.
Over the course of his CA career, Murphy averaged 22 points while shooting 53% from the floor, 45% from three and 93% from the free-throw line. He is the school leader in field goals made, three-pointers made and free throws made. During his senior year at CA, Murphy the Chargers to a 14-8 record, averaged 24.7 points, and 7.4 rebounds while shooting on 49.4% from the floor, 43.6% from 3-point range and 85.8% from the free-throw line. He was named All-Metro by the News & Observer. As a junior, he averaged 22.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting on 54% from the floor, 47% from three and 93% from the free-throw line. He earned Triangle Independent School Athletic Conference (TISAC) All-Conference honors.
Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager
