Reunion Weekend: May 17 - 19

Featured Alumnus: Brendan McKernan '89

Dec 17 2018

The enchanting school spirit during a game.

The smell of the Chapel during Sunday night Vespers.

The architecture.

The family-style meals in the Refectory.

A Hawk’s Nest milkshake.

 

When reflecting on his favorite memories of his time at Avon Old Farms School, these are the details that spring forth for Brendan McKernan ’89.

The first element that most young men notice when visiting Avon for the first time is the physical beauty of the campus, and McKernan agrees.

“My parents actually recommended that I look at Avon Old Farms, and we eventually paid a visit. Theodate Pope Riddle created an authentic environment that promoted a commitment to community while emphasizing the importance of physicality and close contact with nature,” shared McKernan. “The design of the Village Green created a warm and inviting feeling.”

Beside the physical beauty of the campus drawing him in, McKernan remembers his interaction with Frank Leavitt as something that heavily influenced his decision to attend Avon.

“I can honestly say, that after my discussion with Frank, I knew I found my new home at Avon Old Farms. It was clear that Frank was warm, friendly and passionate about helping boys discover their full potential. Frank certainly played a major role in my decision to attend AOF.”

From the very beginning, the sense of brotherhood at Avon was very special and apparent, and life-long friendships were forged.

“I lived in eagle dorm my first few years,” explained McKernan. “It was a great experience to learn, live, and experience life with new friends. We did everything together from learning how to manage our time, trying new classes and playing new sports, to just being boys.”

The opportunity to learn as a dorm monitor in Eagle Dormitory was an important milestone in McKernan’s development.  

“It helped me understand how to manage and lead my friends and peers in the Avon brotherhood—a critical skill that helped shaped my understanding of managing people.”

For McKernan, the brotherhood expanded beyond the limits of the student body.

“I also loved the great atmosphere that the teachers and administration fostered,” he explained. “I developed strong bonds with and tremendous respect for my teachers. They were role models, friends, educators, and coaches. They were very engaging and had high expectations for performance and behavior.”

McKernan also noted that his advisor Peter Evans played an important role in his years at Avon as a great mentor, saying, “Peter always had good advice and a unique ability to connect and encourage boys.”

“Bill Kron also had a unique ability to connect with me and make a difficult subject enjoyable...He made science interesting and certainly influenced my passion working in the genomics and life science sector.”

After graduating in 1989, McKernan attended Muhlenberg College for a BS in management science and then Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for a MBA in management and technology.

“I actually started out as a safari manager in the outback of Australia,” he explained. “Avon gave me the confidence to travel overseas to one of the most remote parts of the world to bring students through the outback. I eventually returned to the states and joined the family-built company Packard Bioscience as a manufacturing engineer. My passion for nature and science was driven in part by my experience at Avon.”

Packard Bioscience was a leader in scientific instrumentation and laboratory robotics for life science research and clinical diagnostics. It was acquired by PerkinElmer Corp. in 1999.

“Using science to help people is a core family value and a fundamental driver of our success,” shared McKernan. “Learning how to build companies from our father, we’ve not only survived but thrived in the turbulent world of biotech start-ups. Our patented genetic sequencing and diagnostic technology continues to help thousands of patients by identifying proper treatment paths more quickly while enhancing their quality of life.”

But the story doesn’t end there. The next family business Agencourt Bioscience grew to become the largest commercial genomic services company in the United States before acquisition by Beckman Coulter in 2005. Following that, Agencourt Personal Genomics developed the innovative SOLiD Next Generation Sequencing Platform that reduced the cost of sequencing by a factor of 100,000; acquired by Applied Biosystems in 2006.

The strong family and personal commitment to helping patients and advancing genetic science eventually led them to the world of cannabis in 2010 when family friends shared their experiences of losing siblings to cancer at a relatively young age. This work took on an unexpected personal urgency for the brothers when their father was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in 2015.

“With limited treatment options available beyond chemotherapy, my brother Kevin spearheaded continued research drawing on the studies he’d uncovered years prior to formulate a radical new treatment plan,” explained McKernan. “By sequencing our father’s genome and cancer tissue, we uncovered a specific gene mutation that scientific cannabis experts had shown to have significant promise in slowing cancer cell proliferation and accelerating cell death.”

Drawing on significant research recognizing cannabis as a viable treatment regimen, they convinced their father to use cannabis as an integrative approach to treatment. The brothers realized the critical importance of making the latest cannabis science and studies available to everyone in order to advance the industry, but it also became obvious that the industry lacked quality standards and consistencies to ensure patient safety.  

Around 2015, the cannabis market really started to take shape with increased legalization. The McKernans started making microbial testing kits to test for the presence of harmful microbes and also started working with breeders to improve breeding programs using genetics. This was the genesis of the company’s Pathoseek product, the cleanest and most accurate microbial testing method on the market, designed specifically for microbial detection across cannabis matrices of flower, extracts and infused products.

As a result, the CannMed Conference Series was founded with a mission to bring together the world’s leading medicinal cannabis experts to share their clinical findings and latest research. The conference now gathers the brightest minds in the cannabis industry worldwide to help further medical cannabis research, treatment, and product development.

“Three years on, our father has outlived his diagnosis and continues to battle the disease that should have shortened his life long ago,” McKernan shared. “And in the process, our work has played a beneficial role in the ongoing treatment of not just his cancer, but that of countless others.”

Despite the roller-coaster ride of his successful career and the worry for his father’s health, McKernan has remained involved with his alma mater, Avon Old Farms, and currently serves as the Co Vice-Chairman and Treasurer of the Board of Directors.

In 2016 and 2017, the McKernans opened their workspace to Avon Old Farms students enrolled in a Genomics intersession course. This year, Kevin McKernan has offered to come to AOF to speak with the genomics group about Medicinal Genomics, their new company.

“I visit the school every quarter for our board meetings along with other events such as Grandparents Day and even graduation,” shared McKernan. “While the physical infrastructure continues to evolve, the core values have a sense of permanence.”

Depending on how the business continues to evolve, McKernan might be able to make it back this spring for his 30th reunion. This year, Avon’s Alumni Reunion Weekend will take place May 17 - 19, 2019.

Moises Esquenazi '89 (written in 2013)

Moises Esquenazi '89 has always been passionate about art, in some form or another. A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Moises claims that he got his start in design when his mother let him design his own bedroom at age nine. And as a student at Avon, he was already keenly aware of the beauty in the world around him.

“Even at that early age, my primary objective in finding a school was beauty,” he recalls. “Of the six or seven I saw, no other school came close. I had never seen such amazing architecture; the refectory was enthralling, the post office, the headmaster's house, the quad. The only parallel that I can think of that can exemplify what I felt is when Harry Potter arrives at Hogwarts...magic!

“I could tell that Avon would be the home away from home I was looking for.”

Moises’s many mentors during his Avon years, such as Mr. and Mrs. Narsipur, Mr. LaRocque, Mr. Haile, and Mrs. Laferriere, “were all so powerful in their impact,” he says. “They allowed me to explore the arts in a very constructive and integrative way.”

He recalls being fascinated by the size and design of the rooms in the dormitories, save for one minor flaw: “Everything was so well thought out, except for having to get out of bed to open the door when someone knocked; the doors would not stay shut unless you slid the wooden bar through the slot. But I devised a pulley system with strings and hooks so when I pulled the string from the bed, it would pull the wood bar out of the slot and open the door,” he explains. “Closing it from the bed was harder; by the end of the year I think I figured it out, but it was not very elegant in execution!” He was equally enthralled with his room during his senior year in Brown House, which faced the back of the building and acres of trees. “It was the best place to be when it snowed!”

The Avon influence was so strong that it has extended into some of his professional work and in his own homes, as well – such as his primary residence overlooking Central Park. “Seeing or being surrounded by nature has always been important to me, and Avon was a beautiful place to experience that,” he notes.

After graduating from Cornell University, having studied architecture and psychology perception, Moises moved to Los Angeles to work in animation on projects such as games, motion rides, and architectural walkthroughs, in addition to the content for the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas.

“After a few years of working with directors, architects, and designers, I realized I wanted to be the one creating the ideas for the content, and not the one executing someone else's vision,” Moises explains. He enrolled in the Peter Stark Producing Program, a master of fine arts program created and endowed by George Lucas at the University of Southern California, after which he spent a few years in different positions within the film industry at Universal Pictures and DreamWorks.

“The experience of working in the big studios of Hollywood was unparalleled, and led me to focus on working in small creative groups and being more creatively hands on,” he comments. While working in the film industry, he was simultaneously buying houses, remodeling them, and flipping them in Palm Springs and Los Angeles, projects which often resulted in potential clients hoping to hire him to design their own homes.

“I pursued one particularly interesting project, and left the film industry for interior design,” he recalls. After living and working in Los Angeles for 14 years, Moises and his partner moved to New York to continue their businesses, where they remain today.

“I have been very successful in the industry by always creating beautiful and chic environments where people can relax and feel happy,” he observes. He often tailors his clients' homes with furnishings or wall coverings he designs himself. Rather than concentrating on a specific style, he seeks to integrate the client's background with local architecture and surroundings, allowing function to guide the process. The result is a more creative use of elements such as the "daybed," which has become a signature touch.

“In the end, beauty is function,” he says. “Design should be functional, simple, and beautiful. A home should be a place you don't want to leave. It should provide a sense of comfort, safety, peace, and harmony.”

Moises finds inspiration “from everything I see and experience in my life,” he says. “Authenticity, fashion, travel, and the city streets. Anything can be a source of inspiration.”

Moises’s work has been recognized by the leading shelter magazines in South America, Europe, China, and the United States. His Palm Springs home was featured as one of the "Best Homes in America" in the 25th Anniversary edition of Metropolitan Home, and his Hamptons home was the feature story for the magazine in a recent issue. Additional work has been published in House Beautiful, The Los Angeles Times, SPACE Magazine, The London Telegraph, Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, and Homes and Gardens.

With what little free time he does have, Moises enjoys photography – he is an accomplished photographer with numerous successful exhibitions – in addition to exercise, spending time with his family, and tinkering with technology.

He is currently working on a number of different projects in Colombia, France, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, and is also creating a furniture, lighting, fabric, and wallpaper line. Moises is also in the midst of starting up a non-profit company for simple-assembly, sustainable eco-housing for the homeless or those in need of temporary shelter. He has a photography exhibit coming up next summer in St. Tropez.

He may be busy, but Moises wouldn’t have it any other way: “These are all things I am passionate about and I have a hard time giving up any of them! I become impatient when things don't move as fast as I would like them to, but having so many avenues for creative expression means there is always something to do.

“It's exciting and inspiring to think that every day I can get up and create something new for someone that may change the way they live or change the way they experience a home.”

Andrew Cordova '89 (written in 2013)

Andrew Cordova ’89 wasn’t always a squash player.

“As it was explained to me in the kindest of ways, eight years of travel hockey in New Jersey was just not enough to even land me a place on thirds!” he recalls. “So Drew Miller, JV squash coach at the time, suggested that I take up squash as my winter sport. Little did I know that it would be the beginning of my professional career!”

Now the Head Squash Professional at the Maryland Club, Andrew cites his overwhelmingly supportive and positive Avon experience as instrumental in his rise to prominence in the professional squash world, in which he has played, coached, and managed for the last 20 years.

As a member of the varsity squash team at Avon, under coaches Stu Ward and Jerry McGinley and alongside classmates and friends Alex Fisher ’89 and John Roglieri ’89, Andrew enjoyed a solid season as the #3 player on the ladder. During Andrew’s four years on varsity squash, the team was highly ranked among New England prep schools, including Choate, Westminster, Deerfield, and Hotchkiss. He matriculated to Fordham University, where he played squash – also at #3 – with a talented group of teammates who eventually became his best friends. He was named captain his senior year and achieved a record of 20 or more wins in three of his four years. He also laid the groundwork for what would become a noteworthy professional career.

In 1993, after graduating from Fordham, Andrew lived in Florida and was head squash professional at the Bonaventure Racquet Club. He then joined the Baltimore Country Club as the youngest racquets director in the club’s history.

“I had a great experience there for six years, and then was fortunate to receive the head squash professional position at the Maryland Club,” he notes. “This is where my personal squash career took off, as I was able to play squash year round. Wielding one racquet and being able to train in the one sport I loved most was a tremendous asset to me and gave me the best place to thrive professionally.”

Andrew joined and traveled on the former International Squash Doubles Association Tour. His best ranking was #18 in the world and at one point, with partner Tim Porter, he was ranked on the #9 team in the world.

Following his professional career, which spanned 2002-2008, Andrew continued to stay involved in the sport he loves so much. He currently serves as director of development of the Squash Doubles Association Pro Tour, in addition to his role at the Maryland Club, where he is tasked with supervising all squash-related activity, including the complete tournament schedule.

Andrew’s total immersion in the game of squash has allowed him not only to continue to explore his passion for the sport, but also to observe its evolution.

“The game has changed over the past 20 years,” he notes, citing the new, softer ball used in singles. “Hardball singles is dying out,” he says. “The U.S. created the hardball as a faster version of the game in the 1900s, and also because in the dead of winter, the ball was more fun, with more bounce. Without the hardball training I had for so many years I would not have been able to compete professionally,” he explains. “The different angles, speed, and aggressive nature of the hardball became a natural fit for me as an athlete and squash player.

“People do not realize that the game changed to softball not long ago, with the collegiate men being the last to adopt the ball in 1995,” he continues. “So all of my high school and college years I competed in hardball, while during college in the summers, I would play softball to train, knowing the ball of the singles game in the U.S. was changing.”

Andrew also notes racquet weight as particularly interesting. “I think of how heavy the racquets were when I played at Avon,” he recalls. “I started on wooden racquets in the really old days, but high modulus graphite has come a long way and now racquets are literally half as heavy as they were in high school. They also hold up better.

“On the professional doubles tour, we hit the ball at more than 175 miles per hour, and the equipment holds up,” he comments. “There is no doubt that the equipment has evolved positively in squash to match the current physics involved with the sport.”

And though the game may have changed in many ways, in some aspects, it stays the same. “Squash has remained and always will be one of the last sports of honor,” Andrew observes. “Like golf, squash is also supposed to be played and taught in such a way that all competitors fight their hardest, but respect each other and always end in a handshake. The game of squash may change its equipment over the years, but the sport and its honor will remain consistent forever.”

In 2011, Andrew was inducted into the Maryland State Squash Hall of Fame based on his achievements in the professional game.

“My speech was about Avon and Fordham,” he recalls. “I credit both schools for giving me the opportunity to professionally pursue the sport that has given so much to me.”

He has connected with many Avon alumni at the Maryland Club, including Sandy Martin ’65, Grafflin Cook ’58, Dwight Platt ’64, and Arnold Stifel ’83. “We represent many generations that continue to discuss how much we enjoyed our experiences at school,” he comments. “Whenever Avon is brought up at the lunch table, in the pro shop, or at cocktail parties, it always brings a smile to everybody’s faces. An immense pride develops along with the normal defensive spirit towards other boarding schools!

“Every academic and athletic experience I had at Avon is treasured and talked about all the time,” he notes. “It is something that never leaves you as a man. It only grows stronger within your soul.”

The 2012-13 varsity squash team currently has a record of four wins and five losses. The top two players, #1 Seif Attia ’14 and #2 Abdelrahman Mahmoud ’14, both from Cairo, Egypt, are each currently undefeated.