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Celebrating the 2024 Recipients of the School’s Major Alumni Awards

Celebrating the 2024 Recipients of the School’s Major Alumni Awards

On the Saturday morning of Homecoming Weekend, a record-breaking crowd gathered for the annual alumni breakfast in the school’s Dining Terrace to welcome the Class of 1974 into the Virtue in Action Society and to celebrate the 2024 recipients of the school’s major alumni awards.

William H. Hopple III `71 received the Virtue in Action Award for his commitment to service, and Maya Amoils `08 (posthumously) and the Honorable Scott L. Kafker `77 received the Distinguished Alumni Award for their outstanding achievements.

“If asked what constitutes the enduring identity of Country Day over the years, one could hardly do better than to point to the remarkable example of our three honorees today,” said Rob Zimmerman `98, head of school, during the alumni breakfast. “Though their graduating classes span nearly 40 years, our honorees’ stories constitute important contributions to the ineffable yet indelible culture of Country Day.”

The celebration highlighted the extraordinary nature of Cincinnati Country Day School and its alumni community.

“Country Day is still Country Day because of the shared stories and memories that bind us together, strong in our devotion to our shared alma mater,” continued Zimmerman. “Because while the people, programs, and places of Country Day will continue to change in the years to come, the culture and tradition of excellence will endure thanks to our shared stewardship.”


Exemplifying Virtue in Action
The Virtue in Action Award recognizes a member of the Virtue in Action Society – those alumni who are celebrating their fiftieth reunion year or more – for their dedication, attitude, and motivation expressed through volunteer service to the community. Recipients of this award demonstrate the school’s motto “Virtue in Action.”  

William “Bill” H. Hopple III `71 has devoted most of his life to service, leading many organizations in Cincinnati and beyond. He has been an integral part of the Country Day community for over 65 years. From his first day as a student in the nursery program in 1957, Bill has worn many Country Day hats: student, alumnus, teacher, coach, staff member, parent, and volunteer.

“Bill has devoted his entire life to improving the world by leading wherever he stands,” said Zimmerman. “He is a sterling exemplar of our motto, and we hope his, ‘Virtue in Action.’”

A graduate of Cornell University with a master’s degree in biology from the University of Cincinnati, Bill returned to Country Day as a science teacher in 1981. Bill soon added coaching to his responsibilities, becoming head coach of the school’s new rowing team in 1982. In 1987, Bill joined the school’s development office; in 1988, he became the school’s director of development and for the next eight years led Country Day’s fundraising and alumni engagement efforts.

In 1996, Bill returned to his science roots and devoted the rest of his career to his love of the natural world at the Cincinnati Nature Center, serving as the executive director for 23 years. Since retiring in 2019, Bill has continued to share his leadership and passions with the community and currently serves as board president of the Cardinal Land Conservancy in southwestern Ohio and as development and communications chair on the board of the Roger Tory Institute in New York.

“I cannot thank or applaud the school enough for understanding the importance of connecting us to the natural world,” said Hopple, after referencing the school’s long-time commitment to outdoor education. “It’s so important for children to have frequent experiences in the natural world and Country Day made that happen for me, as it does for so many others to this day. Country Day played a critical role in my life and that continues today.”


Honoring Distinguished Alumni
Distinguished Alumni are honored in recognition of their contributions to the school, their contributions to the community, or their professional achievement.

The Honorable Scott L. Kafker `77 has been an associate justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court since 2017. Before his appointment to the state’s highest court, Scott served for 15 years on the Massachusetts Appeals Court, holding the important role of chief justice during his last two years.

“Justice Kafker has achieved nearly everything possible in his field,” said Zimmerman. “And in many respects, this was a mere extension of his outstanding Country Day career…. We congratulate Scott on his outstanding achievements in life and law, and we are grateful to be able to tell his story in service of our enduring legacy of excellence.”

Scott graduated from Amherst College in 1981 and from the University of Chicago Law School in 1985, where he was on the Law Review. After law school, he served as a law clerk to Justice Charles L. Levin of the Michigan Supreme Court, then as a law clerk to Judge Mark L. Wolf of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. In 1987, he joined the Boston law firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot. From 1991 to 1993, Scott was deputy chief legal counsel to Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld. In 1993, he was named chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Port Authority.

In 2001, Scott ascended to the bench with his appointment to the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Scott taught state constitutional law at Boston College Law School from 2009 to 2015. He has also served on the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School. He is the author of book reviews, comments, and articles appearing in many law reviews and journals. He is the president and dean of the Flaschner Judicial Institute, which seeks to advance the administration of justice in Massachusetts by promoting the highest possible standards of judicial professionalism. He is also a member of the American Law Institute, a group devoted to producing scholarly works clarifying and modernizing the law.

“Country Day is a place that really shaped us – me and my brother Roger – tremendously,” said Kafker. “We carry Country Day values with us to this day. It’s hard to find anything like Country Day out there; you can’t help but appreciate how special this place is.”

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Maya Amoils `08 lived her life to the fullest, with grace and poise, until she succumbed to ovarian cancer in 2022 at the age of 32. Maya’s award was given posthumously and accepted by her parents, Drs. Sandra and Steve Amoils.

“We are enormously gratefully to have had Maya in our world, to say nothing of the Country Day community that could scarcely contain her,” said Zimmerman. “So it is with profound gratitude, and certainly some sadness for the early passing of such a dynamic force, that we name Maya Amoils a Distinguished Alumna for 2024.”

With the help of several friends, Maya founded an organization in 7th grade called H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Endure) to help impoverished orphaned children in a remote, rural area in South Africa, where she had witnessed the poverty firsthand.

“She dreamed she could change the world, and she made us believe that we could do,” said Ellyn Guttman `08, one of three close friends who honored Maya at the alumni breakfast. “H.O.P.E. was just the beginning of a life dedicated to service and leadership…. Maya truly exemplified Country Day’s core values and made impactful change.”

Over their high school years and beyond, Maya and her friends raised over $3 million through H.O.P.E. and repeatedly traveled to South Africa, where they helped transform the lives of the people in the village of Langkloof. These funds helped to bring water and electricity and ablution facilities, build a preschool and community center, a kitchen and dining hall, a playground, and vegetable tunnels with an irrigation system, add computers and a library to the high school, and make other improvements that gave the community the tools and knowledge to be self-sustaining, including the ability to feed up to 200 children twice daily for over 20 years and counting. President Bill Clinton was so impressed by the work of Maya and her friends that he highlighted H.O.P.E. in his 2007 book on philanthropy, Giving, as “a model for young people in every community’ who are interested in helping others around the world.”

Maya earned her bachelor’s degree in science, technology, and society from Stanford University in 2012 and began her professional life at Google Philanthropy, where she worked to inspire girls and young women to embrace computer programming. From Google, Maya moved to YouTube, where she created productions with David Blaine, Will Smith, Madonna, and Elton John (to name just a few!). During the Covid pandemic and while on chemotherapy, Maya was instrumental in creating the health partnerships team at YouTube. During her career, Maya was known as an inspirational powerhouse, always goading her colleagues to greater heights.

“Maya had such clarity in her purpose,” said Amanda Cohen Zessin `08. “No matter her role, she led humbly with grace and vision, constantly inspiring those around her.”

Maya’s commitment to helping others defined her short life and continues today in Maya’s Way, an organization formed at Maya’s request by her family to help young people struggling with cancer.

“Maya’s impact on us all is immeasurable,” said Jordan Baird `08. “While we miss her dearly, we take comfort in knowing that her spirit lives on in every act of kindness, every moment of joy, and every life she touched.”


Pictured (from left to right): William H. Hopple III `71, Scott L. Kafker `7, Dr. Sandra Amoils, Dr. Steve Amoils, Head of School Rob Zimmerman `98