Stating the obvious, this is an interesting time to work for 3M. The company is constantly in the news for its efforts to ramp up the production of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Christ School alumnus Grant Cleavenger ’05 has been a Senior Mechanical Engineer with 3M’s Scott Fire & Safety division out of Monroe, N.C., since September.

Rick Toomey ‘73 came out of retirement to become Director of South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control in February 2019.

Toomey was called to serve the people of his home state then. The same is true now, even through a personal health scare.

Charles McCarthy ’09 can see a future where buying groceries, filling up with gas, or withdrawing money from an ATM are carefree endeavors again. In the meantime, the Christ School alumnus believes a device born out of his metal fabrication shop in Sanford, Fla., will allay fears during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Fortune smiled on Mason Plumlee ’09 when he found that a neighbor in Indiana had a private indoor gym suitable for all his basketball needs. That’s right, arguably the greatest athlete in Christ School history is looking for silver linings during the COVID-19 pandemic the same as the rest of us.

Restaurants are being hit about as hard as any industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially restaurants that benefit from the tourism just across the street at Asheville’s Biltmore Estate, which is presently closed to the public for the first time since World War II.

Christ School alumnus Anthony Coggiola '81 and his wife, Sherrye, are stepping up to "provide comfort in an uncomfortable time."

Seth Leonard ’01 may have attended Christ School for only one year, but that year – his senior year – was impactful for both the school and his future. Leonard received the Phil Tilghman Award, given to the student who has had the greatest positive impact on the school in his first year, and he was a key member of the Greenie varsity basketball squad. Today, as Leonard looks back on that year at Christ School, he recognizes the ways it paved his path to a career as a successful mayor and community advocate.

Many people say they want to see the world. Chase Mason ’02 has done it. The Christ School alumnus traveled to 49 states, 36 different countries, and every continent except Antarctica during a decade and a half with the U.S. Marine Corps and with the U.S. Secret Service.

Mason recently left his government job to focus more on his growing family and the three businesses he owns. 

Patrick Cunningham ‘17 will always bleed green. And maroon and burnt orange, too. The Virginia Tech junior and aspiring TV producer found his niche after graduating from Christ School two years ago.

Charles Allen ’86 proudly says he has been a Class Agent for Christ School since graduation. The New Orleans resident has kept his hands full in plenty of other ways, too. Strategic business development, technology, and philanthropy are Allen’s areas of expertise.

Starting up something new can be daunting and does not suit everyone. Andrew King ’94 not only thinks the concept is appealing, he is excited to practice some of the same entrepreneurial methods he teaches in the classroom. The Christ School alumnus was hired in April to be the inaugural director of the Flemming Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Virginia’s Hampden-Sydney College.

According to Rick Toomey ’73, one of the reasons he became a candidate for the executive director position of DEHEC was that he failed at retirement, which began in 2016, when he stepped down from being CEO of Beaufort (S.C.) Memorial Hospital.

"Red Dead Redemption 2" was nothing short of a cultural phenomenon when it was released in October 2018. The western-themed video game generated $725 million in worldwide sales the first three days it was out. As of May, more than 24 million copies have been shipped, and along with commercial success, critics have showered the game with praise for its story, characters such as gun-toting outlaws Arthur Morgan and John Marston, its open world, and detail. Look closely in the credits for "Red Dead Redemption 2" and you will find a Greenie. Christ School alumnus Judson Eley '06 has been an Environment Artist for Rockstar Games for the past five years. 

The brotherhood that sets Christ School apart was on full display May 3-5. Greenies turned out in record numbers to make this year's Alumni Weekend one of the best yet.

Headmaster Paul Krieger said assuredly that Christ School "will not be the same without them." Pingree Auditorium was full of appreciative Greenies who could not have agreed more. Tributes to Leigh Harris and Mary Jane Morrison highlighted Saturday's Alumni Awards and Hall of Fame Induction, part of Alumni Weekend at Christ School.

Back in the 1980s when Richard Haake '87 was a Greenie, in addition to all the other festivities held during Alumni Weekend, he remembers a special tradition that took place throughout the night. "There were certain alumni who would come back every year and there was a little covered pavilion that was set up back behind the old Frat House, and they would do a Carolina Pig Roast with cinderblocks and a fire," said Haake, who is Christ School's Alumni Council President. While pork has remained on the Alumni Weekend menu ever since, the pig roast tradition had disappeared. Haake aims to change that this year.

"We are excited to have Coach Cioce take the reigns of a program that he has been a part of not only as a player, but also as a coach this past season," Thorp said. "Matt understands the expectations on the student-athletes as members of the Christ School community and his emphasis on discipline and skill development blends very well with his player-focused approach.

Before the days of GPS navigation, Tom Curtis '81 was just another pizza delivery driver in search of tips.

Like the world at large, much has changed at Christ School in 50 years. Everyone listened with rapt attention Wednesday as Kit White '69 described his experience as a Greenie. White is a New York artist and a retired college professor who taught for 21 years in Brooklyn.

Liam Pulsifer '15 has been so engrossed with the offerings and opportunities at Duke University that he couldn't bear to be away for the traditional junior year abroad; instead, he has opted to spend next summer in Berlin, Germany.

Matt Seely '14 learned the value of connecting with others on a personal and professional level at Christ School. Combine that with book smarts, and it is no wonder that the Class of 2014's valedictorian is already finding his share of career success.