Sheep, a king’s palace, and the friendliness of Moroccans are among the topics Mika Chmielewski has been discussing on Mosaic, the official blog of AMIDEAST Education Abroad. Ms. Chmielewski, who is studying physics and Arabic at Carleton College, will be the Morocco Blog Abroad Correspondent for AMIDEAST’s fall program in Rabat and will be sharing bi-weekly posts and photos about her experiences. Find the full blog here.  Williston’s Sue Michalski, one of Ms. Chmielewski’s former teachers, said the alumna was “doing great things with languages!  She was one of my all time best AP French students, so not surprising!”

What were Williston alumni doing this weekend? Well, in New Orleans, Sebastien Bonnot ’08 and Christina McBride ’92 were helping to coordinate and put on the star-studded Katrina 10 Tribute. The invite-only “New Orleans Honors” featured Harry Connick Jr., Branford Marsalis, mayor Mitch Landrieu, Trombone Shorty, Kermit Ruffins, Allen Toussaint, Michael Cerveris, Irma Thomas and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, James Carville,  Mary Matalin, Cokie Roberts, Bryan Batt, Archie Manning, Walter Isaacson, Cerveris, and Cokie Roberts. The evening was a tribute to all of the volunteers and organizations that assisted the city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

“Christine was the project manager and I was the assistant to Gary Solomon Jr., who produced the event,” Mr. Bonnot noted in an email. “We both work for his company, Solomon Group, an entertainment design and production firm.”

Recent graduate Elie Small ’15 will be opening for The Accidentals, a new young group with a sound they describe as  “alternative acoustic indie folkish rock with a twist.” The group of Michigan natives includes Katie Larson, Savannah Buist, and Michael Dause.  The three dates include August 16 at Northport Brewing Company, August 19 at The Workshop Brewing Company, and August 222 at Almira Township Music in the Park, all in Michigan. According to Mr. Small’s family, he will be playing solo on part of the set, with The Accidentals joining him on some of his songs. 

Mark Timm ’76 will be inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame at a ceremony at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA on August 8, 2015.  According to a press release from the Hall of Fame, the dinner is one of the largest in the United States and includes over 1,900 people, with honorees ranging from high school age to those over 65.  

“Mark was the first male basketball player in Williston history to have scored over 1000 points in his career,” the press release notes. “A four year starter on the varsity basketball team, Mark earned 12 varsity letters across four sports in his four years at Williston—also a school record at the time.  In 2013, Mark was inducted posthumously into the inaugural class for the Williston Northampton Athletic Hall of Fame.”

Read more about his induction to the Williston Northampton Athletic Hall of Fame here.

While a student at Williston, Mr. Timm earned 12 varsity letters and was named captain for three sports. He was starting quarterback on the varsity football team; was scouted by major leagues as a baseball player; and was an All-New England, All-American, and MVP on the soccer team. Coaches and teammates described him as “dominant” and “perhaps the best all-around athlete I’ve ever seen.”

For more on the New England Basketball Hall of Fame see www.nebasketballhalloffame.com

Kinda Hibrawi ’96, who received the Ward Medal in 2014 for her work in art and international activism, has been featured on BBC Arabic.  (Keep in mind that the interview, although interesting, is also exclusively in Arabic.)

Ms. Hibrawi, who is of Syrian descent, has worked extensively with refugees on the Syrian-Turkish border. She is the co-founder and executive director of the Zeitouna, a Karam Foundation project that strives to bring education and art to refugee children.