The Lowell Whiteman School

Alumni News

Staying connected

The Winter 2010 LWS Experience Journal was sent by USPS mail in March.   Please call us (970-879-1350) or email connect@lws.edu if you didn’t receive a copy.   Please note that in an effort to make efficient use of resources we are shifting to increased use of electronic communications.  Help LWS stay green while staying connected.  Send you full name and email address to connect@lws.edu.   LWS does not share, sell or spam constituent email addresses.  You will receive periodic and substantive communications only from LWS.Alumni Notes are included in the journal and if we have more to share, they will appear here.

Alumni Notes are included in the journal and if we have more to share, they will appear here.

We know you love news and we’d like to keep it coming to you in all formats.   Many of you have shared your “Stories of Success” with us and we are spreading the word about you and the little school in the mountains which gave you your start.  We have an easy way to do this if you missed out on the last opportunity.  Check out Share your Story - we've made it easy to do!

What you can do for us….

LWS has always done well with “Word of Mouth.”  We know alums are one of the best ways to bring in the students who will benefit the most from our programs.  We ask that you continue to send us such students this way.  Please talk about our little school in the mountains which did so much for you.  Share how you were inspired by Mr. Roberts or boosted ahead in your college career by Mrs.  Morse.  Tell your friends about the way Doc teaches Shakespeare.  You know there is no other teacher like her.  Boast of your ski careers or the way you learned to climb mountains.   If you know of a family whose son or daughter would benefit from a high school career at LWS, we hope to hear from you.  Please let us know at Admissions@lws.edu.

Three Alums attended Olympic Games in 2010!  Johnny Spillane brought home 3 silver medals in Nordic Combined!

Johnny Spillane, Michelle Gorgone and Ryan St. Onge represented LWS at the Games.   Three other LWS alums came close, Matt Ladley (Snowboading) ‘07, Eliza Outtrim ‘03, Freestyle Moguls, and Emiko Torito ‘99, Freestyle Moguls.  Check out our Olympic page for more information.

1989 Alumni

Dave Jarrett, (at left) who went to the 1994 and 1998 Olympics served as the U.S. Nordic Combined Coachfor the 2010 Olympic Nordic Team.  He accompanied fellow alum and Olympian, Johnny Spillane and the team to Vancouver.  Expectations were running high for the 2010 U.S. Nordic Team with Steamboat native and World Champion Todd Lodwick also Olympic-bound.  Dave took the Nordic Combined Head Coach position following one of the program’s most successful seasons in 2008.   An ex-Alpine skier, Dave made the switch to Nordic sports in his teenage years and was a member of the U.S. Ski Team from 1992 – 1998.  He enrolled in the University of Colorado after retiring and graduated with a degree in exercise physiology in 2000. Following graduation, he began coaching, working with the juniors at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic cross country venue, and joined the U.S. Ski Team in 2002 as the World Cup B coach.  Jarrett married his wife Kelly following the ‘97 season. Today they live in Heber City, Utah, with their children, Jack and Angela.  With the outstanding success of the U.S. Nordic Team at the 2010 Olympic (3 medals for Johnny, one each for the team, a gold for Billy Demong) things are pretty exciting for Dave.

Michael Kennedy, who attended LWS in 1989-90, is currently the CEO of the Australian National Ski and Snowboarding Organization.  He announced for Australia offering expert analysis and commentary on the 2010 Olympic Games’ freestyle events.  According to his broadcasting site, http://www.foxtel.com.au/vancouver2010/our-broadcast/our-broadcast-team/michael-kennedy/default.htm, Michael retired as a moguls competitor following the 1992 World Cup season and became Australia’s first freestyle skiing Development Coach.  He was also the Australian moguls coach for the Nagano 1998 Games and moguls and aerials coach at Salt Lake City in 2002, responsible for guiding Alisa Camplin to Australia's first winter Olympic gold medal.

1999 Alumni

Johnny Spillane (at left) brought home three silver medals in Nordic Combined from the 2010 Olympic Games on the Nordic Combined Team.  He and a team of Steamboat grown Olympians, including Todd Lodwick, husband of alumna Sunny Lodwick, put the U.S. on the Nordic map for the whole world and Steamboat Springs, as well.  Johnny’s Parents, Jim and Nancy Spillane were honored in February 2010 as Marshals of the Winter Carnival Parade and they were there to see Johnny win 3 medals!  Nancy said she got short of breath but when the EMT tried to help her, she told him to pipe down, she was busy watching her son win a medal.  Johnny has the honor of winning the first medal EVER for an American at the Olympics in Nordic Combined.   On top of that, he is expecting a baby with wife

Hilary.  Visa produced a video of Johnny and the whole town watched it over and over on Youtube.  When Morgan Freeman says your name, you've gotten somewhere!  What a year for Johnny!  Check out Johnny's page.

2001 Alumni

Ryan St. Onge attended  his 2nd Olympic Games in 2010 in Freestyle Aerials and produced a respectable 4th.   The New York Times recently published a training video of Ryan breaking down one of his more difficult tricks so viewers are better able to understand the complexities of the moves that make up the aerial events.  Check Out Ryan St. Onge Aerials Step by Step.  Ryan also was honored in a Visa moment.  Check it out on Ryan's page.

Michelle Gorgone attended her third Olympic Games in 2010 in Alpine Snowboarding.  She did well and is rumored to be ready to compete next year. In her spare time, she likes to sing and she has auditioned for American Idolprior to her first Olympic appearance in Torino.

2003 Alumni

Alum Eliza Outtrim - Wins World Cup in Spain.  USSkiteam.com announced recently - SIERRA NEVADA, Spain (March 18) - Eliza Outtrim (Steamboat Springs, CO) closed out the World Cup season in a big way Thursday as she took the win to mark the first podium performance of her career during the moguls competition in Spain. She was joined on the podium by teammate Heather McPhie (Bozeman, MT) who was third. "It's pretty incredible. I honestly couldn't believe it. It was so surreal for so long," Outtrim said. "I really did not expect this at all. I was really just hoping to get a top five, so this win is unbelievable."

2008 Alumni

Isabella (Izzy) Cedercreutz announced the Olympics for Norway this year. She continues her own freestyle career and visited LWS this summer with fellow alumna Natay Storie.   Natay has joined a Scottish Marching Band at the University of Alaska!

2008 Alumni

Brady Findellvisited campus in March of 2010 to watch the LWS Winter Olympics, below with Doc and Margi.  He said it was just too much fun to miss. He found things much the same as when he left.  Student Council had arranged a giant tug-of-war between Day and Residential Students.  Residential won but it was a pretty even match in terms of numbers except for the fact that Mitch Globe, Cameron McVey and teacher/fellow James Bleshman were on the residential side so perhaps things were a bit uneven.  The Day students were also on a pretty slick and muddy surface and said they "slipped."   Joe Roberts was on hand along with Jim Linville to make sure the rules (were there any?) were obeyed.  See photos below.

2006 Alumni

Stephanie Woody- "Well let's see, after graduation I moved to Flagstaff, Az.  I became a Licensed Massage Therapist my first year down here, but I have since been so busy in school that I have let my license lapse.   After that I went to Northern Arizona University where I am currently working on a degree in Business Management and Accounting. I  still have a while to go, but it has all gone by fast.  I look back on LWS and the teachers there often and fondly!"

2009 Alumni

Kevan Beall-Kevan reports, "Life has been pretty amazing for me this year.  I am attending Humboldt State University in northern California. Its absolutely beautiful here! Campus is sandwiched between the redwood forest and the ocean, so the scenery is unbelievable. I am currently majoring in Outdoor Youth Adventure Education, a part of the Recreation Administration department, and the classes Im taking are exciting, enjoyable, and extremely educational. This semester I got to take a Winter Adventure Leadership class that involved several weekend camping adventures in the Shasta/Trinity area building snow shelters, practicing avalanche safety and testing, and working on safe winter travel skills. The rest of my major related classes sing a similar note, and there are a few more that involve camping, ropes courses, and even kayaking! The classroom curriculum covers leisure in society, interpersonal leadership skills, and environmental education. To put it simply, I AM LOVING COLLEGE AND THE SUBJECT I GET TO STUDY!!!!!  It looks like I'll be back this summer running the Rifle Range or the Wilderness Exploration program. How is the boat? I really miss Colorado and the mountains, so I cant wait to get home and have some of that fresh air!!!!!

1987 Alumni

Matt Touchette wrote to tell us that he's putting his knowledge of rock climbing, a skill he learned at LWS, to work!  Check out this New York Times article, "Rise of Wind Turbines is a Boon for Rope Workers." See the video on the page!  He wanted to send a hello to Doc Lasko and Joe Roberts.

Send us your news and update your contact information - we've made an easy way to do it.  Check out our Update page or write us at Connect@lws.edu!