Horace Mann - Winter 2012 - (Page 12)

celebrating 125 years: preparing great and giving lives Dr. Dick Traum ’58: Helping wounded veterans triumph after his accident Traum went on to complete a ph.D. at nyU’s Stern School of Management, and founded a computer applications company. about a decade later, he was shaken again by a colleague’s fatal heart attack—and decided to act. Traum joined a local yMca and attempted running. His runs evolved from struggling minutes to conquered miles. Within 18 months Dr. Traum became the first-ever amputee to complete a marathon. an article about him in Runners World inspired other disabled athletes, and interest grew. in 1983 Traum founded the achilles Track club. That year, six members competed in the ny Marathon. a year later an achilles chapter opened in vermont, and, in 1985, with a new Zealand chapter, achilles international was born. Dr. Traum attributes his success on behalf of achilles international, in part, to his educational experience at Horace Mann, where he learned “about differences and about leadership,” he recalled. “Horace Mann had a fantastic selection of teachers. They gave the students an opportunity to learn beyond the course work. There were conservatives, liberals, obsessive compulsives, authoritarians… Teachers bonded with and motivated the students. The faculty was family. Some of the great value of Horace Mann was found outside the classroom. almost every student had an opportunity to lead. They could become the captain of a team or the head of a club, or a part of student government, the newspaper or the theater. i have found no place in my fifty years following HM where people had so much room to grow.” GrowinG Achilles for veterAns, youth And reseArch Dr. Traum has applied his HM experience to growing achilles international. in 1995 he added achilles Kids to the organization’s work, to involve children with disabilities in athletics. in 2003 he started the Hope and possibility run. Today achilles international has branched out to include research and exercise experiences for diabetics and people dr. dick Traum ’58 (center) with achilles international athletes ight Golden Glove winners were at yankee Stadium on June 24, 2011, when the ny yankees played the colorado rockies. but the catch that won “play of the Day” sports news status was made by a fan, who nabbed a foul ball inside his cap. The fan was Sgt. Michael Kacer. The retired U.S. army staff sergeant used his hat to assist his rightarmed catch, because he’d lost his left arm in a rocket attack in afghanistan. The 46,000 fans at the stadium who gave Sgt. Kacer a standing ovation and the millions who viewed the catch on Tv saw him dressed in an achilles international freedom Team of Wounded veterans T-shirt, surrounded by 20 other achilles freedom Team vets. The Team members were in new york to take part in the ninth-annual achilles Hope and possibility race, a five-mile event in which hundreds of disabled athletes mainstream among 5,000 runners. The race is a signature event for achilles international, and achilles is the signature organization providing athletic opportunities to people with disabilities around the world. achilles international was founded by Dr. richard Traum ’58, whose organization demonstrates how one Horace Mann alumnus translated his school’s mission of educating students to lead “great and giving lives.” E “A victory for humAnity” achilles international engages over 10,000 people in 70 countries in athletic training and events. The organization and Traum, its founder and president, have been widely honored. on august 3, 2011 he was profiled online as “Huffpost Greatest person of the Day.” To understand the history of achilles international, one must go back to the 1950s, when Dick Traum was a student at Horace Mann. HM alumni from generations past often recall a quote on the school’s library wall attributed to 19th century american education reformer Horace Mann: “be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” Traum was among the students who read the quote nearly a century later. The words came back to him at a critical point in his life. Dick Traum was an athlete at Horace Mann and at nyU, who focused on wrestling and track and field. in 1965, at age 24, a car collided into him as he stood at a gas station. His right leg was amputated above the knee. lying in the hospital, in a life-threatening situation, Traum recalled the quote and thought he had yet to leave a mark on society. With this idea constantly in mind, Traum eventually put those words to work—for himself, and for the millions of people with disabilities he has inspired. 12 Horace mann magazine Winter 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Winter 2012

Horace Mann - Winter 2012
Contents
Letters
Greetings from Dr. Tom Kelly
Greetings from Melissa Parento ’90
Horace Mann School’s 125th Anniversary Observances Begin
Strategic Thinking
New Initiatives in Institutional Research and Admissions
HM's New Director of College Counseling
Timothy HO and Monica Merlo are 2011 Tina and Dave Bellet Teaching Excellence Award Winners
Langfan Oratorical Contest, 2011
Horace Mann School Graduates 178 in June, 2011
Alumni Council Corner
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials
Philanthropy and You

Horace Mann - Winter 2012