Elena M
Connecting after graduation: Noah Ehrlich '05, Alex Early '05, Meghan Tahari '05 connect eith their former classmates.
Noah Ehrlich ’15, philanthropy chair and alumni board mem-ber, first walked onto Campbell Hall’s campus as a ninth-grader, following in his brothers’ footsteps. One afternoon in his ninth-grade biology class, that all changed. What began as a lesson on ecosystems turned into a deep interest as Ehrlich became captivated by how life forms interact. That spark led him to pursue an independent study in epidemiology, advised by his biology teacher. Long hours in the lab and a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan followed. Now, as a member of Campbell Hall’s alumni board, Ehrlich still credits his teachers’ care and curiosity with shaping not just his studies but his sense of belonging. At Campbell Hall, he created a connection that keeps bringing him back.
The alumni board has 28 members who graduated between 1994 and 2011. The goals are to develop a sense of community among the 4,200 alumni from Campbell Hall.
Ehrlich joined the Alumni Board be-cause of his strong interest in fund-raising and scholarships. He want-ed to give back to the community through his work with the philanthropy committee. Ehrlich co-ordinates fundraising efforts among alumni. He launched initiatives to contact alumni through postcards and a re-cent “Text-a-thon” that reached more than 680 alumni, encouraging them to support the Campbell Hall Annual Fund. Ehrlich plans to continue his work as Philanthropy Chair because his colleagues share his passion for the community that his former teachers had for him.
“[Campbell Hall] was just a very formative place for me,” Ehrlich said. “Without Camp-bell Hall, I might not have the career that I currently have, and I want to give back to the [community] that helped me get here. [The alumni board members] all have so much pas-sion for Campbell Hall and the impact they have on the community. They all want to make a difference and it inspires me to work harder and give others the same experience we had.”
Like Ehrlich, alumna Talar Papazian ’95 believes that Campbell Hall made her who she is today. Papazian started at Campbell Hall in ninth grade and now sends her daughter Lilly Papazian ’28 to the same school. Papazian re-members her experiences and the friendships she made on the experiential trips, which are some of her favorite memories. She believes that the community has impacted her life her continued involvement with the school.
“I think Campbell Hall is the place to be part of. It’s just the longevity of the relationships here and there’s a sense of comfort,” Papazian said. “It creates continuity and then even more of it proves that Campbell Hall has a strong community.”
Kristy Gabriel ’89, Campbell Hall alumna and mother of Caroline Liebig ’27, also experienced this strong sense of community during her time at Campbell Hall. As a 13-year student, Gabriel made lifelong friends. Gabriel’s fondest memories with her class were on experiential education trips to Joshua Tree and Yo-semite. She always felt safe at school, as if her classmates were a second family to her.
Gabriel kept her formative experience at Campbell Hall in mind when she toured elementary schools for her daughter. She saw how her daughter began to fall in love with the school as she had, and believes that her daugh-ter has thrived since enrolling. Gabriel’s familiarity with the school administration impacted her decision to send her daughter to Campbell Hall.
“The incredible knowledge of the teachers and staff, as well as the kindness that they exhibited and the vast array of opportunities at Campbell Hall made me want to enroll my daughter,” Gabriel said. “There was a sense of automatic trust when I enrolled Caroline because the elementary school principal at the time was my high school principal, so I felt like giving my baby to a friend to take care of throughout the day.”
Alumni believe they return to Campbell Hall to feel the familiarity of the community they had when they were students. Aubrey Rakos-ki, the associate director of alumni relations, has created ways for Campbell Hall alumni to stay connected to the school. Events are held throughout the year to ensure the community remains strong.
“It’s been such a nice, beautiful thing to see alumni wanting to get involved,” Rakoski said. “I think it builds tradition. The upperclass-men get to see that alumni stay involved. Hav-ing an opportunity to come back to their alma mater after they leave is really valuable.”