Church Farm School in Exton recently welcomed back more than 100 alumni from the 1960s through 2020s for its annual Alumni Weekend.

Highlights from the weekend included a Career Conversations event, where current students were able to rotate by grade level among four different panels (STEM, Business, Education & Activism, and Creatives). They learned how 20 alumni transitioned from CFS to college and their varied careers as musicians, filmmakers, actors, nurses, attorneys, educators, engineers, and more.

Christian Raab, who graduated in 1999 and transitioned his success from the popular MTV show and films Jackass to a career in filmmaking and nonprofit advocacy, returned to the school for the first time in years. Maceo Whatley, who graduated in 2018, shared how quickly you can turn your passion for music and activism into a career with the right network.

Alumni also honored three longtime supporters of Church Farm School.

Head of School The Rev. Ned Sherrill celebrated Priscilla Gabosch, a widow of Class of 1948 alumnus Karl, who attended every CFS event with her husband until his passing in 2011. She continues to support CFS through its Annual Fund, special fundraising campaigns, and attendance at annual luncheons that support student scholarships.

Major General Eric G. Weller, from the Class of 1974, received the first of Church Farm School’s Alumni Achievement Awards. Weller’s long career with the U.S. Air Force earned him 29 major awards and decorations. In 2013, he was promoted to Major General, and in 2016, he retired and assumed duties as the Deputy Adjutant General for Veterans Affairs, supervising the administration of assistance programs for more than 894,000 veterans and their dependents, as well as the operation of six state-owned veterans homes. After a long career of service, he retired in 2021. Weller co-founded the school’s Military Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to students whose family members have served or are actively serving.

Capt. Paul Spear, from the Class of 1981, also received an Alumni Achievement Award for his long tenure with the U.S. Navy and his unflagging support of Church Farm School, which he has included in his estate plans. Spear enlisted in the Navy in 1982, eventually rising to the rank of Captain. He served on seven submarines, with NATO in Afghanistan, was Commanding Officer of the USS Tucson in Pearl Harbor for three years, and then served in the Pentagon for the Chief of Naval Operations Undersea Warfare Directorate as the Director of the SSBN Security Technology and SSN/SSGN Survivability Program for nine years. Since retiring in 2018, he has worked as a government civilian for the Navy. He is currently the Director of the Full Spectrum Undersea Warfare Innovative Naval Prototype at the Office of Naval Research.

“It is always a joy to have our campus bustling with activity during Alumni Weekend and being able to facilitate brotherhood between not only our alumni network, but between our alumni and our students,” said Sherrill.

Learn more about Church Farm School.