Alumni

CHS alumni Jacob M (’22) and Archer B (’22) came by to help with the Calculus classes. Jacob has declared himself a Math major after completing his first semester in college. Archer currently attends the University of Virginia.

Alum Alastair Storm (’22) was a last minute guest performer for an ill actor in the Fall 2022 Theater Production performance of “100 Dresses“.  Alastair recently worked as a dresser for the “Play that Goes Wrong” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the University of Mary Washington and was happy to be able to help their old theater group at the last minute.

Heely’s Worldwide asked the instagram group managed by four CHS alumni (@heelyscollegereps) to apply for the Heely’s College Rep program.

Heely’s chooses 30 students from around the world to represent their brand.  Congratulations to Jacob M (’22), Archer B (’22), Ella B (’21), and Grayson H (’21) for each being selected as 2023 representatives.

Alum Henry Stevens (’22) was so happy to be back at CHS helping the Theater Department with lighting for their production of “100 Dresses.” Henry is currently attending VCU in Richmond, where he is studying Theatrical Lighting Design.

Alum Audrey Rowe (’19) shares her Fall 2022 experience with us from VT:

This fall I had the pleasure of being on Virginia Tech Homecoming Court. Homecoming at Virginia Tech involves court candidates to choose platforms to spread awareness about. My platform was “Advocating for Alliance with Audrey” and aimed to bring awareness to gender-based violence and survivorship. I chose this platform because gender-based violence is a prevalent issue on Virginia Tech’s campus. I wanted to foster a safe and welcoming community for students. Throughout homecoming week I was able to have my own booth on campus and share information and resources with students at Virginia Tech. This was an amazing experience and it was great to spread awareness about this issue.

Tony Ziegler graduated from Community High School in 2006. During his time at the school, he was pivotal in beginning our film program, eventually directing an entire feature film he also wrote. Tony went on to study film at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and has spent over a decade in the industry. He is now a Leadman and Assistant Set Decorator working in the film and television industry, managing all installation, prop inventory, and labor for the set decoration department. He has traveled across the United States and Asia to collaborate on projects such as Get On Up, Murder Mystery 2 and, most recently, Martin Scorsese’s up-coming Killers of the Flower Moon. In 2020, Tony was nominated by the Set Decorators Society of America for Best Achievement in Decor/Design for his contributions to the film Da 5 Bloods.

Below is the text of his personal, impactful keynote speech he delivered at our 2022 graduation to the students, faculty, and guests present for the commencement of the end of our 20th year in the history of CHS.

Thank you Josh, faculty and staff, parents, family, friends, and most of all – the class of 2022! I’m so grateful to be with everyone here today for this joyous event, to celebrate these extraordinary individuals, their achievements, and their future. My name is Tony Ziegler. I graduated from Community High School 16 years ago. The class of 2006 was the first to graduate with 4 full years of a Community High education. We were there at its inception.

Being back here in the Jefferson Center fills me with nostalgia. The facilities available during my time were quite rudimentary when compared to the Bunsen burners in your science lab, or the beautiful June M. McBroom theater. It’s obvious that Community High School has grown and flourished in ways that seemed unattainable during my tenure here. Nevertheless, I’m not envious, because I see before me a spirit that remains the same. The spirit of Community High School that gave me the foundation to be who I am today. How to think critically, to communicate, and above all — to collaborate.

I’ve been agonizing over giving this address for weeks. The commencement speaker for my graduation was none other than playwright and professor, Tom Ziegler, my own father. Needless to say, he set expectations that are hard to match.

Deciding what wisdom I’ve gained that would be worth sharing has been a challenge. What could I possibly impart that would be meaningful enough for you to listen, let alone take anything away from my words. While I have been successful in my endeavors, what makes them pertinent to a graduating class? I decided that where my relevance lies, is that I am one of you. I was there when this crazy school began, and I would like to share that story, how it has shaped and aided me, and express my hopes that it will for you as well.

In 2016 I was in Fairfield, Virginia, helping my mother clean out my old bedroom. My parents had finally sold their house and were off-loading all the things that hadn’t made the cut to migrate with them to their new home after retirement. I didn’t have too difficult of a task — almost all of my childhood possessions had been assessed and allocated before I left for college in North Carolina, or moved with me to New Orleans after graduation. This was the final culling, digging through the dregs of my youth.

I enjoyed a leisurely day finding small treasures, dredging up half-forgotten memories. An old letter caught my attention, something I’d never seen before. It was a letter from my 3rd grade public school teacher, informing my parents of my multiple learning disabilities, the decision to hold me back a grade, and her opinion that I may require special needs to continue my education.

I brought this up to my mom, having no specific memory of difficulties in my early education. Luckily, she was able to illuminate. “That’s why we began looking at alternatives to public school, and how we eventually found Community School.”

Community School was an environment in which I thrived. Being congratulated, instead of reprimanded, for being pretty weird, with teachers who had time for each student, even those of us with “multiple learning disabilities.” We role-played as pioneering settlers, braving the frontiers of the vast, American west. We hatched baby chicks in our classroom. And a personal favorite, we built forts in the woods during recess, buying and selling sticks and branches with an inflated economy based on pine cones.

But all good things seemed to have an end. As my middle school years drew to a close, I began to grow anxious about the idea of returning to public high school. I don’t mean to disparage these institutions that have remarkably served so many of my friends and family. I knew that the incompatibility resided on my end. My parents and I entertained alternatives — private schools in Roanoke, Stanton, and Charlottesville, but nothing seemed suitable. I braced myself for reentry, before my dad took matters into his own hands.

Community School had attempted secondary school in the past, with mixed success. But this time Tom Ziegler, Peter Coogan, and Linda Thornton spearheaded a brand new attempt, and in September of 2002 I found myself on the first floor of this here Jefferson Center with eight other misfits, led by Josh Chapman, and Brian Counihan. The experiment had begun. We were all figuring it out together in that moment. “What are you going to teach us?” we seemed to ask. “What do you want to learn?” always the implied response.

That first year was quite the experience. Without official premises, we occasionally had classes outside on the lawn, because “all rooms in the Jefferson Center were reserved” that day. We were treated like adults — classes 9 to 5 with a one-hour lunch. There seemed at first to be a revolving door of students for whom the freedoms granted by Community High School were too tempting to not take advantage. It was organic, and if not for the incredible perseverance of Linda, Brian, Josh, and many, many others, it may not have lasted.

In this environment I first picked up a video camera. After making a silly movie with friends, Josh decided to take a more involved role. Due to my interest overlapping with his expertise, he began teaching film courses — genre surveys differing semester to semester. As my interest developed into a passion, Community High School connected me to Hollins University where I was able to audit, and eventually receive credit for multiple film courses each year.

As a Junior, I pitched Josh a film production course. A Russian short story had stuck with me since an assigned reading, and I proposed adapting it into a feature film. It still baffles me how it was accomplished, but we set to the task. For three hours a week, over two semesters, the entire school participated in creating the first Community High Production — a 60-minute featurette, titled “French Lessons,” which premiered at the Buchanan Theater, and received an honorable mention at the Roanoke Film Festival.

By this time the school had found its legs. With a student body of more than 40, we had outgrown our accommodations. So, in 2005 the high school was transplanted from the first floor of the Jefferson Center to the heart of downtown Roanoke, into a vacant bank building, complete with teller stations, and an impenetrable vault. That year, Josh was taking time to finish his master’s degree, which left the film class without an instructor. In his absence, I was asked to substitute in the post. I led students in writing, directing and producing each others’ projects. Perhaps nothing in my education was more foundational for my life than that year, learning to be a leader. We collectively learned other lessons as well. One student production involved a chase scene, culminating atop a parking garage with a fist fight, turning into a sword fight, escalating to a gun fight. We were rewarded with an unforgettable lesson in the importance of securing location permits, by several officers of the Roanoke Police Department.

After four unforgettable years, I began to feel again the pressure of an era ending, but the scope had changed. I faced the immensity of leaving everything I knew behind, just as you all are now. But unlike the trepidatious thoughts of moving on from middle school, I was prepared. I now felt eagerness, optimism, and curiosity.

Since leaving Community High School, including my time in college, I have been a professional film maker. I travel across the country, and occasionally, the world, performing my vocation. Film making is so compelling to me, because of all the arts, it is the most collaborative. With more than a hundred different departments, each employing scores of craftsmen, even a small film may have as many contributors as the biggest Broadway musical. And every professional working on a movie benefits from the same three skills: critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. Many of my associates did not begin building these abilities at the age of fourteen.

It’s right in the name of our alma-mater — Community. Your competency of relationships developed here between your peers and preceptors can be your greatest asset for the rest of your life. On top of your math and science, humanities and social studies, you’ve learned something quite invaluable — to be kind, considerate, and creative. Individuals such as yourselves are in demand, and in short supply. Instead of being taught to cut throats, and eat other dogs, we learned principles of compassion. The most powerful part of this skill set is that it is infectious to your surroundings. You will become known to your colleagues as individuals both capable and empathetic. Not only will this make you stand out, it will shape your environment around you.

I must remind myself regularly that most children do not have parents in a position to create a school based around their own needs. It will be your responsibility to remember that others did not have the privilege of attending an institution such as this. Whenever you find yourself confronted with obstinance or aggression, take the opportunity to be thankful for your education, and be gracious in response.

It will be an adjustment, as you move forward and engage the many injustices alive in society. The burden of being conscientious weighs on the mind like a malediction, and will tax your fortitude. The one rule I learned at a young age, many of you may remember as well: Treat yourself, others, and your environment with care. Each segment holds equal importance. It is easy to take yourself for granted. Be aware of your limits, so you can maintain the strength required to care for others, and our world.

Lastly, I want to return to Community. The best friends in my life are still those that I met here in high school. Relationships have waned and waxed over time, but we are always at hand to confront life’s injustices together. You are bonded to each other by your shared experiences and affection, and with the strength of your community behind you, be confident as you move forward into the unknown. I wish you the very best in everything you do. Stay creative, and stay compassionate.

Please welcome our new Intro to Engineering instructor, Becca (Miklaus) Allred. After Becca graduated from our very own high school of CHS in 2006, she went off to earn a B.S. in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary and then a master’s degree from Yale University in physical chemistry.

Becca competed at the varsity level in Track and Field in college, and she now enjoys taking in quiet hiking trails and living so close to the Virginia Triple Crown.

CHS alumnus Lane Kinsley (’17) has designed the video, projections, and music for Roanoke College’s winter production of An Enemy of the People by Hendrik Ibsen. The production’s plot was about an environmental issue that tied in and created parallels to current environmental events.

We’re so proud of CHS alumnus Da’Quan Saunders (CHS ’16), currently the President of Student Government at Randolph College. Here he is speaking at Randolph’s convocation in early September! Read more here.