News Makers

Peter Trovato '01 has had quite a year. The senior at the University of Massachusetts Commonwealth College Honors Program and Division 1 Hockey player was one of five finalists for this year's Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented annually by a private foundation to "college hockey's finest citizen." In March he signed with the ECHL to play for the Johnstown Chiefs and ended his thirteen game season there with one goal and nine assists. In April the Boston Celtics presented him with the "Heros Among Us Award," for his outstanding commitment to community service. Also in April, just a month before his college graduation, he was called by the AHL to play for the Rochester Americas.

Although he talks about hockey with obvious dedication, his real love and the reason for the awards is the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund, which he founded to provide college scholarship money to the children of Massachusetts soldiers who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan. In slightly less than a year he has filed as a non-profit corporation, appointed a Board of Trustees, and raised nearly $70,000. He spoke at School Meeting at Deerfield on April 19 and told students, "I kept reading about these Massachusetts soldiers who had given their lives in either Iraq or Afghanistan, leaving behind wives and children, and I thought, 'What can I do?"' Acknowledging that the war has been a divisive issue, he saw that helping innocent children cut through politics and different beliefs. He said, "It is very sad. These people are young and their children are young. Some soldiers die without ever seeing their babies." His goal for the fund is to make it the largest Fallen Soldiers Fund in the nation. "I never plan for failure," he says, "I only plan for success." He hopes to presently endow the find by raising one to two million dollars over the next ten years.

At School Meeting he urged Deerfield students to say yes to service opportunities. "I know there are plenty of distractions; there are always too many reasons to say no, but you should overcome them and do it," he said, aiming his message at boys in particular, noting that 70 percent of the people working and volunteering at non-profit organizations are women.

For more information on the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund, go to www.mslfund.ore.

Deerfield and Harvard hockey great Jamie Hagerman '99 recently made her debut as a member of Team USA at the International Ice Hockey Federation, where she helped her team secure its first-ever gold medal and IIHF Women's World Championship. According to usahockey.com, the U.S. and Canada skated through 80 scoreless minutes and the tournament's top goaltender, Chanda Gunn, turned away 26 shots before the U.S. won the decision by shootout. The win broke a string of eight Canadian gold medals at the event.

Previously Jamie played in the 2004 Women's Four Nations Cup and was a member of the U.S. Women's Select Team that captured the gold medal at the 2003 Women's Four Nations Cup. Most recently she was playing for the Brampton Thunder in the National Women's Hockey League, registering 30 points in 31 games.

At Harvard, Jamie played in all but one game during her Crimson career, finishing with 80 points in 127 contests. Among other successes there, Jamie was presented with Harvard's Jack Fadden Award, honorable mention All-Ivy honors, and Harvard hockey's John Dooley Award in 2002, presented to the member of the Harvard women's hockey team who best combines the qualities of sportsmanship, enthusiasm and devotion to her team and to the game of ice hockey.