Awards

Rachel Zimmerman ’85 

Introduction by Jillian Frank ’85

Rachel is the Founding Artistic and Executive Director of InLiquid, a nonprofit visual arts organization with over 24 years of experience managing and curating art and design projects for the public and private sectors. Through her leadership, InLiquid continues to support the careers and creative practices of over 300 working artists each year. InLiquid produces more than 40 public exhibitions annually in its flagship gallery at the Crane Arts Building in Northern Liberties, where InLiquid made its home 18 years ago, and satellite locations throughout Philadelphia.

As an artist and curator, Rachel was named one of the region’s “Top 101 Emerging Connectors” and a Creative Connector by Leadership Philadelphia. She is a Leadership Philadelphia and Designing Leadership alumna and has served on numerous committees, from Design Philadelphia to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund executive board. She is on the art advisory committees of the Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA) and the Main Line Art Center, a co-chair of ArtTable (Philadelphia), a board member of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, and on the art advisory committee for the Fishtown Business Improvement District.

Rachel’s photography is in many private collections in Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Permanent collections include the George Eastman House Museum in Rochester, NY, Temple University in Philadelphia, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.     

During her time at Friends Select, Rachel started a student organization, POWER, and traveled to Harrisburg to lobby for equal rights with the group. Additionally, she received a Scholastic Achievement Award for photography during her senior year, and her image is in the collection at Kodak. Rachel is an alumna of New York University, where she studied photography. She was the only student in her senior thesis exhibit who landed a show in a Soho gallery: Evolving Abstraction in Photography, at The Anita Shapolosky Gallery.

Athletic Hall of Fame

The Athletic Hall of Fame honors alumni and coaches who have exemplified outstanding athletics as well as good sportsmanship while representing Friends Select School. For alumni, the nominee’s class year must be at least five years from the time of nomination. The nominee may also have served the school as a coach or administrator for a minimum of five years.

Ben Holl ’13 (soccer, baseball, basketball)  

Introduction by Jake Kleinman Phillips ’13 

Ben was a three-season athlete and four-year starter for the varsity soccer, basketball, and baseball teams. He was a versatile athlete, playing multiple positions, and was known for his leadership and dedication to the sports he played as well as his teammates. Ben is the second all-time leading scorer for the boys’ varsity basketball team with over 1,000 points.

Ben is an alumnus of Johnson State College, where he continued his basketball career at the D3 level. Ben served as co-captain in his senior season and scored 1,000 points.

He coached basketball at the collegiate level at Chestnut Hill College and Rutgers University-Camden before returning to Friends Select this past season to serve as assistant coach for the Falcons varsity team. Under his leadership, the team was seeded third in the Friends Schools League playoffs and eighth in the state playoffs. Ben is at present a Financial Analyst for Project HOME.

Jim Wong ’73 (wrestling, soccer) 

Introduction by Keith Wapner ’71

Jim was an extraordinary athlete known for his combination of skill, determination, and good sportsmanship. He served as president of the school’s Varsity Club, and was a member of the soccer and wrestling teams; he was a four-year varsity member and co-captain in his final year on the wrestling team.
    
Jim was the first freshman in Friends Select history to win a medal on the wrestling team, placing third in the Episcopal Academy tournament, and he won his weight class during three seasons at the Quaker City wrestling tournament. He also received the “High Point” award during three wrestling seasons for collectively providing the most points for the team, which typically meant pinning the most opponents. Jim represented FSS at the National Prep School Wrestling Championships hosted by Lehigh University, where he made it to the “Elite Eight” and missed the semifinal by only one point. He was named team MVP for the 1971 and 1972 seasons.

At Friends Select, Jim served on Student Council, was inducted into the cum laude society as a junior, and also received the Harvard Club Book Award and Creative Writing Award. He is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania, to which he was admitted early.

Jim lives in Honolulu, HI, and retired as an attorney in December 2016, after 37 years of practice. During his litigation career, his firm, the Law Offices of James T. Wong, was once designated by AIG International Insurance Company as one of its Top Ten national firms. He previously served as president of the Penn Club of Hawaii and is at present Hawaii Regional Chair for the Penn Alumni Interview Program. In 2013, Jim and his wife, Pat—with whom he has four children and four grandchildren—were presented with the Alumni Award by the Penn Club of Hawaii.  

Distinguished Teaching Award

The Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes faculty and staff who have contributed significantly to the life of the school through their teaching and mentoring over a minimum of five years. Criteria include a commitment to the school community; a record of outstanding teaching effectiveness; an ability to inspire, promote, and sustain the intellectual and developmental needs of students; a pedagogical approach that is innovative, intellectually rigorous, creative, and engaging; and a commitment to Quaker values, practice, and service.
 

Linda Patterson 

Introduction by Luc Santilli ’19

Linda retired from her role as a first-grade teacher in 2020, after 32 years at Friends Select. She began her three-decade teaching career at FSS as one of the school’s first “intern teachers” in 1989, thanks to her friend and former Friends Select teacher, Jeanne Bustard. Together they helped establish Friends Select’s acclaimed pre-kindergarten program.

In honor of Linda, Friends Select has created the DEI Book Awards in the lower school, an annual selection of the children’s books that best address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which will be shared both within the Friends Select community and beyond.  

Friends Select School’s Alumni Awards took place on Saturday, April 29, 2023.