FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN

Roscoe Lewis III ’56, Amherst ’60

Hailing from Washington, D.C., Roscoe Lewis III was the first African-American applicant to be accepted to Groton. He joined Groton’s Third Form in the fall of 1952. From there, he joined the Debating Society, was a part of the school band, played football, became president of the Missionary Society, and was a Senior Prefect. He went on to graduate from Amherst in 1960. Mr. Lewis passed away December 12, 2015.

FIRST ASIAN

Kimball Chen ’69, Harvard ’73

New Yorker Kimball Chen came in the fall of ’64 as a member of one the last First Forms. While at Groton he played tennis and varsity basketball, was a member of the Chess Club, and sang in the choir and the Glee Club. He attended Harvard and graduated in 1973.

FIRST WOMAN

Catherine Camp ’77

In 1975, Groton became coeducational. The first out of the fifteen women to receive a Groton diploma two years later was Catherine “Caty” Camp. At that time, diplomas without honors were awarded first, and Ms. Camp’s last name put her in the front of the line. During her two years at Groton, Caty danced and played on the lacrosse team. The 1977 yearbook mentions she and three friends held a grape eating context their senior year.

FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN

Alyce Jones ’77, Wellesley ’81

The first African-American woman to graduate from Groton was Alyce Jones, who also came in the fifth form in 1975. Her work chairing Village in Focus, which improves services in rural Uganda, earned her Groton’s Cui Servire Award in 2012. Now Alyce Jones Lee, she returned to the Circle to give a chapel talk on October 6, 2014.

FIRST ASIAN WOMAN

Nora Chang ’80

Nora Chang came to the Circle in the fall of 1977 as a new Fourth Former. By the time she graduated in 1980, she worked as the yearbook writing editor and photographer.

Sourced from the Groton School Archives.