Alumni News: May 2025
Hello friends –
We kicked off the month of May with Alumni Weekend 2025, welcoming hundreds of alumni and guests back to campus! It was nice to see the 0’s and 5’s after many years and hope you are all looking forward to your next Reunion in 2030. Classes ending with 1’s and 6’s: please mark your calendars for next year’s Alumni Weekend on May 1-2, 2026!
There is so much happening at Friends this time of year. Twelfth (12th) graders have started their Senior Work Projects, as they inch closer to their graduation on June 8. Lower School students are looking forward to their final field trips of the year including visits to DC and the Baltimore Zoo. Middle Schoolers have their Advisory Olympics at the end of the month where they earn points as a team, competing against other Advisories.
This school year, we invited the Friends School community to support The Fund for Friends for 118 exceptional reasons – each and every one of our dedicated teachers. Our 118 faculty members go beyond the profession, treating teaching as both a calling and an art. Thanks to many alumni and other donors, we have reached 80% of our $850,000 goal for the year! We need your help to get us to the finish line! All gifts received by June 30, 2025 will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000 and count towards this year’s Annual Fund. Gifts can be made online here. Instructions on how to give via check, securities, or wire transfer can be found here. Your support impacts today’s students and faculty each day in countless ways and makes all that we do possible.
If you have already made your gift to The Fund for Friends this year, THANK YOU!
If you have any questions, please feel free to send us a note.
Sophia Springer '13
Director of Alumni & Parent Engagement
Alumni Weekend
Alumni Weekend 2025 was such fun! Thank you to all of our alumni who travelled back to campus to celebrate the Reunion classes ending in 0’s and 5’s. We honored athletes and alumni award recipients, toured campus, gathered for a Memorial Meeting for Worship, and mingled at both the on-campus reception and class parties. Memories were shared and new ones were created.
Photos from the weekend can be found on the Friends School Flickr account by clicking here.
Save the date for Alumni weekend 2026, May 1-2, 2026! Classes ending in 1’s and 6’s will celebrate their Reunions.
Development News
Special Gift Program for Reunion Alumni
Reunion alumni of 0's and 5's: We are excited to invite you to take part in a special opportunity at the cornerstone of the Friends School Campus – The James L. Zamoiski '68 Alumni Center (ZAC), which in Spring 2023 received the addition of a hardscaped patio.
This enhancement offers you the opportunity to participate in creating a legacy moment through the Alumni Brick Program. Your name and class year will be engraved on a brick and installed in the patio when you make a gift of $250 or more to The Fund for Friends. Over the next few years, classes will be offered this opportunity each reunion cycle, allowing us to celebrate decades of graduates.
For more information or to order your engraved brick please visit alumni.friendsbalt.org/alumnibrick or email legacybrick@friendsbalt.org.
Double Your Impact! All gifts made to The Fund for Friends will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $50K
We are looking for alumni to help us reach our goal for The Fund for Friends!
You can join us in recognizing our amazing faculty members and coaches by making your annual contribution in honor of one or more of your favorite teachers.
From now through the end of the school year, your gift towards The Fund for Friends Annual Fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000. Please consider the opportunity to double the impact of your support by making a gift today!
Your gift to The Fund for Friends supports our teachers in a variety of ways, from enhancing academic, athletic, and arts department budgets to supporting student experiences and excursions beyond campus, as well as increasing professional development opportunities. Please consider making a gift today!
NOTE: When making your gift, name the teacher(s) in the "In honor of" field, and we will send them a note that a gift has been given on their behalf!
Alumni Happenings and News
The Honorable George L. Russell III ’84 to Speak at Graduation
Friends School is honored to welcome The Honorable George L. Russell III ’84, Chief District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, as the keynote commencement speaker on June 8, 2025.
Judge Russell’s career of distinction and wide-reaching impact is noteworthy in the history of 301 African Americans who have served on U.S. federal benches since 1949.
Appointed to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in 2007 by Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., Judge Russell was elected to a 15-year term in 2008. In 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Russell to be a district judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Throughout his presidency, Obama appointed 53 African American justices to State District Courts. Thirteen years later, Judge Russell became the Chief District Judge on May 1, 2024.
We look forward to Judge Russell’s keynote address and having him back on campus. We invite all families, friends, and alumni to celebrate the Class of 2025’s Commencement on June 8 at 5:30 p.m. on the Middle School lawn. Tickets are not required.
More about The Honorable George L. Russell III '84
Alumni Class Notes
Class Secretaries need your news – send them your stories by June 30!
Do you have news to share? Have you gathered with classmates? Have you traveled? Have you written a book or an article? Run a marathon? Gotten married or had a baby? We know that you’re up to exciting things. Tell us your news and we’ll share it in the Friends Magazine. Send news to your class secretary or to the Alumni Office today!
If you’re interested in becoming your class secretary, please email alumni@friendsbalt.org.
Join the FSB Alumni Association Board
When you graduated Friends, you became part of the greater Alumni Association – a group of over 5,500 people! The Alumni Association Board is a small group hoping to provide a place of community for all alumni. If you are interested in being involved in the Friends School community, would like to become an Alumni Association Board Member, or have an idea for an alumni event, the Board would love to hear from you! You can find a list of current Board members and their bios on the Alumni website. Feel free to reach out to any of them directly, or email alumni@friendsbalt.org to get in touch with the Alumni Board.
A big shout out to Alumni Board Co-Chairs, Hilary Baldwin Ruley ’95 and Ted Kasper ’15! They have served as the leaders of the Alumni Board for four years, dedicating their time and energy to supporting Friends in numerous ways—volunteering, championing The Fund for Friends, and strengthening the alumni community. Hilary and Ted are excited to welcome Holden Marshall ’15 as the Board’s Chair beginning next year.
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For additional information, ongoing volunteer opportunities or to get involved, please contact the Alumni Office: alumni@friendsbalt.org or 410-649-3205.
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