Latin School of Chicago

championships: girls soccer in 2006, boys soccer in 2016, and girls ice hockey in 2001 and 2015. In addition, we've had teams finish in the top four in state and a number of athletes win state championships in individual sports. LM: Have you had any students who went on to play in college or professionally? TB: Many Latin athletes have played college sports; yearly there are approximately 30 to 35 Latin alumni playing in college. A few notables are Laura Granville '99, who won a state championship in tennis at Latin. She played for Stanford, winning two singles championships — she still holds the NCAA record for most consecutive singles victories at 58 — and then played professionally for nine years. She's now the head tennis coach at Princeton. Johanes Maliza '99 played soccer for Stanford and went on to play for the San Jose Earthquakes. Santia Jackson '99 played basketball at Georgetown and professionally in Europe and Latin America. Alexi Giannoulias '94 played basketball at Boston University and professionally in Greece. Mitch Glasser '08 played at Macalester College, was drafted by the White Sox and currently plays professionally for the SouthShore Railcats in Gary, Indiana. Conor Allen '08 played ice hockey at the University of Massachusetts and currently plays professionally in Germany. MT: Erik Hall '00 played percussion and went on to play at the University of Michigan. He now has a number of projects, including playing guitar and keyboards for the band Wild Belle. A few years ago he visited me and casually mentioned that his band was on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." I said to him, "Erik, you have to tell me these things!" Shortly after that he told me he was on Conan O'Brien's show. LM: How do you coordinate band and athletics so that students who want to do both can do so? MT: Working with Tom has been great, because we both wanted students involved with both activities. We talk a lot, especially at the beginning of the school year. Tom takes my band dates and goes out of his way to avoid major conflicts with our performances. We also support athletics in our own way by having the full band play at the annual Latin/Parker basketball rivalry. This has become a tradition. TB: I think band and sports are a perfect match. I always hated the idea that you were either a band person or a sports person, that there were camps with no crossover. It's been fun working with Mike. We don't argue about anything; we just try to work out any conflicts. LM: Both of you have taken students on trips during Project Week. Tell us a little about that. MT: Since 2000, we've done a band trip every four years. We have been to England, Ireland, Finland and Estonia, Germany and France. We usually take about 100 kids and typically do three concerts. The best part is the relationships the students make because we partner with European schools. Some of my students are still in contact with the students they met. TB: I have done 37 outdoor experiential projects. We have been rafting out west, sea kayaking in Florida and even trekking in the Sahara Dessert with camels carrying our gear. The students even love the adventure of getting to some of these places. Just getting to Utah, we had to take a train to Denver, another train through the Rocky Mountains to Grand Junction, then get on small four-seater planes. We were dropped on an escarpment and then had to hike down to the river where we met our guides. LM: Any particularly funny stories that stick out in your mind? TB: The kids were always trying to douse me with the water coolers after we won a big game or meet. I would always outfox them, though. I would empty the coolers when no one was looking. But in 2006, when we won the girls soccer state championships, they got me when I was wasn't paying attention. It was so hot that day, but that iced water down my back was so cold I thought I would die. MT: I was approached about providing some trumpeters for a Michael Jackson/Michael Jordan music video. I had about four days to prepare these sixth graders. I worked with them from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m. the night before the filming until they could play the riff. And in the end, they didn't use their playing. The students are in the video, but they dubbed in professional trumpet players. After all that work! LM: Last question: To what do you attribute your long tenure at Latin? TB: As AD, there was always something more to do, ideas that sounded fun and were worth exploring. I never felt like I was going to work. MT: It was easy to stay. I had incredible support, and great students. I feel blessed. The interviews were conducted separately and edited for length and clarity. LATIN MAGAZINE » SUMMER 2018 31

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