The Late Start Show

In Episode 15 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sit down with Mr. Bill Conway ’45, University School alum, Yale football captain, mining entrepreneur, golf-course founder, and cornerstone of Cleveland philanthropy. He takes us back to a Cleveland childhood as the seventh of thirteen children, growing up in the shadow of the Great Depression and World War II while his father rose through Fisher Foods and moved the family to a house just behind US so “all those boys” could attend. We trace his days sprinting across the Shaker campus fields to chapel, marching in wartime drills under Teacher Major Gunn, and learning from demanding, formative teachers and coaches, all while absorbing family mottos like “be a giver, not a taker.” From there, Mr. Conway walks us through Yale in the final days of WWII, a pivot from chemical to industrial engineering, and a hard-hitting Ivy League football career that led to a brief stint as an assistant coach before he headed north to the iron-ore pits of Minnesota and then halfway across the world to open a mine in Australia.

Mr. Conway reflects on five decades of building people-centered companies, from buying a sand quarry in Chardon and treating miners as true partners, to joining forces with Chuck Fowler to create Fairmount Minerals, an industrial sand powerhouse grounded in the mantra “do good, do well.” Along the way, we talk about what it meant to see Fairmount listed on the New York Stock Exchange, him making a golf course, and his deep support for institutions like University School. At 98, his advice is simple: listen more than you talk, look for the positive, be grateful, and use each day to make things a little better for your family, your community, and the wider world, because his “why” is, and always has been, to honor the gifts he was given by giving generously in return.

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.

In Episode 14 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sit down with Z Cimoroni, senior, hockey and lacrosse player, award-winning percussionist, and Sherman Price Speaking Contest finalist. He takes us back to growing up in Shaker Heights, finding his way to US when Shaker dropped its honors classes, and walking the track during ILT with the friends who became his core group. Z opens up about what it was like to start here in the middle of COVID, how the brotherhood and incredible teachers pulled him into the community, and why having his younger brother John at US has made his own experience feel even more meaningful.

From packed student sections at “the Bart” to the noise of the locker room, Z reflects on the culture behind US hockey’s success, navigating injury and time away from the game, and how sports have sharpened his leadership and mental approach. In the classroom and beyond, he shares how Anderson Scholars in Entrepreneurship, Spanish Honor Society, and jazz ensemble helped him find a passion for business and economics, and what it took to deliver his Sherman “Demons in Our Pockets” speech on phones and social media without freezing on stage. Looking ahead to a high-spirit, high-academic college where he can study business or economics, Z talks about family-led college tours, being remembered as someone who worked hard and was kind, and his “why”: a genuine love for hockey, drums, and lacrosse, a willingness to “embrace the suck” in the hard moments, and a daily drive to make “tomorrow you better than today.”

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.

In Episode 13 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sit down with Mr. Kevin O’Brien, English teacher, coach, and mindfulness advocate at University School. He takes us from a Cleveland childhood fueled by library stacks and elementary-school talent shows to a life-changing scholarship at Phillips Academy Andover, where mentors and coaches sharpened his love of literature, leadership, and team culture. We trace his journey from multi-sport athlete to Division I lacrosse at Penn (and a position switch that taught him humility), and the winding early-career path through New York film sets, the wake of 9/11, and head-coaching stints that ultimately led him home to US after impactful chapters in Potomac, Western Reserve Academy, Episcopal Academy, and The Hill School.

Mr. O’Brien reflects on building classroom and team trust, why boys thrive when they can be their full selves, and how journaling, breath, and “discernment” turn hot takes into thoughtful choices. We get into attention in the age of AI, the battle for focus in an attention economy, and why he has students write to “figure it out”, because, as he reminds them, “paper is more patient than people.” He unpacks what real preparation looks like at US, the mentors who shaped him, and the quote he keeps close about our finite time, attention, and energy. His “why”? Simple: to be kind, to help students do hard things, and to honor the teachers, coaches, and family who made that possible.

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.

In Episode 12 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sit down with Will Allen, senior, head varsity debate captain, and US baseball player. He takes us from transferring in from Chagrin Falls and finding his footing to the upperclassman mentors who brought him in and why microeconomics with Mr. Heath became a turning point. On the baseball field, Will relives last year’s historic run to the state finals and relentless summer work that forged US Baseball’s culture. In the classroom and beyond, he shares why he jumped into orchestra and how he manages a schedule that swings from practice to tournaments to late-night homework.

From captaining one of Ohio’s top Public Forum squads to serving as treasurer on the Student Investment, Will opens up about leadership, goal setting, and what’s next, an economics track in college, a possible finance or data angle, and a dream of bringing home a debate state title while chasing another deep baseball playoff run. What does US mean to him now? Waking up excited to come to school, and to the work after the bell. His “why”? To be “a little bit better at everything you do every day”, to keep showing up, keep improving, and keep building something bigger with the people around him.

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.

In Episode 11 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sit down with Ben Malbasa, head varsity football coach, English teacher, and US ’96 alum. He takes us from the Lower School’s early days of theme learning (and the teachers who shaped him) to being “cut” from basketball and welcomed onto the bench as an assistant, his doorway into coaching. We trace his path from Ohio State to John Carroll, why he sees law as a true liberal art, and the years building programs at Elyria Catholic, Benedictine, and NDCL before returning home to US in 2015 with the encouragement of Jim Stephens and Bill O’Neill. Coach Malbasa reflects on US’s identity as an early spread-offense adopter, the brotherhood born from 6:30 a.m. summer lifts, and the “flow” that happens when leaders lead leaders. He relives a rough Week 5 loss, the best week of practice he’s ever seen, and a rivalry win that reset the season, plus the electric Friday-night game under the lights at the Shaker campus that pulled the whole community together this year.

From goals to what legacy really means, Coach shares the message he keeps close to him: “This will not be the best thing you do; it will be a sign.” We talk about the humor and humility that define US, his pitch to student-athletes and what it’s meant to share the school with his own family. He breaks down why English class matters, why Shakespeare’s St. Crispin’s Day speech is the blueprint for nearly every pregame talk, and why great literature, from Macbeth to Gatsby, survives. His “why”? An “irrational belief in the importance” of teaching, coaching, and helping young people pursue big goals together, and the conviction that there’s always a next big thing.

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.

In Episode 10 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sit down with senior Chase Takaoka, pep rally mastermind, Prep Squad spirit leader, and award-winning street photographer. Chase talks about his family (including trips to visit his grandparents in Japan), how travel turned into a love for immersive food hunts and candid street shots, and the classroom spark that pushed him from “landscapes” to storytelling with strangers. He contrasts the quietness of Tokyo with Cleveland game-day chaos, remembers the neon-out under the lights at Shaker, and explains why real school spirit means showing up loud and together.

From freshman-year to becoming senior, Chase opens up about growth, a tough leg surgery and recovery, and the moments that made this year feel different. He shares the story behind his national Silver Medal in the 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a striking shot outside a public smoking box in Ikebukuro, and introduces his new nonprofit, the Backstage Pass Project, bringing instruments, lessons, and music therapy access to kids who need it. We talk whiteouts with baby powder, packing the stands for hockey, and what it means to leave a legacy that makes US feel big: civil, rowdy, and proud. Chase sums up his “why” simply, friends, family, and the drive to show up, be better, and help the community do the same.

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.

In Episode 9 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sit down with Mr. Bo Montanye, middle school science teacher, head of the House system at the Shaker Campus, and longtime soccer coach. Growing up where New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont meet, Mr. Montanye recalls life at a tiny boarding school, captaining three sports, and as the “weird kid who wanted to know everything.” He traces his path to Colgate, where a Geology class rerouted him from astrophysics to rocks and isotopes where along the way he double majored in Classical Studies, discovered intramural sports, and via ballroom dance and Dancefest, met his future wife. He shares beloved Colgate traditions like “Geo Pizza,”.

From lake muds to middle school labs, Mr. Montanye walks us through grad work at the University of Akron (reconstructing 400 years of ecological change in Lake Tanganyika, a three-week ocean research cruise off Costa Rica, and the infamous acid-hood mishap that took away his sense of smell), then opens the door to his classroom: the splashy Archimedes density lab, film-can rocket investigations, and geologic time projects that turn billion-year scales into baseball fields and world-spanning strings. We talk coaching A-team soccer, why House Cup traditions build real brotherhood, how student leaders learn by carving pumpkins and planning assemblies, and what it means to enroll his own son at US. A huge Pokémon fan who still chases tournaments, Montanye dreams of visiting every active lava lake on Earth, from Hawai‘i to Antarctica to the Congo, and sums up his “why” with a line from a certain 90s theme song: to be a little better every day, helping kids stay curious, hands-on, and excited to learn.

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.

In Episode 8 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sit down with Joe Brown ’85, lifelong flyer, community-builder, and former president/chairman of Hartzell Propeller. Growing up in Shaker Heights and arriving at US in seventh grade, Joe talks about middle and high school and its fake courts, and shop teachers who mentored him, and teachers who kept him going even when classes were challenging. He shares his favorite US memories and then traces his path to Middlebury College, where his professor’s response to his first paper reframed his thinking of what school was, and set the tone for a career built on curiosity and craft.

From the plant floor to the corner office, Joe talks about discipline, his love of flight, and a family mantra, “Let’s go be somebody”, that shaped decades at Hartzell and later Tailwind Technologies. He talks about the company’s slogan, “Built on Honor,” its Wright Brothers roots, flying 500 hours a year to meet customers, and hard calls like selling Hartzell Aviation in 2023. We dive into Yellow House, the residential community he co-founded in Vermont for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and what he’s learned from his daughter’s joyful empathy. Joe reflects on US brotherhood that became a lifelong network, and why our generation must be the “restoration generation”. He closes with his “why”: to pay it back and pay it forward, showing up for his kids and new grandchild, and pouring gratitude into purposeful work every day.

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news

In Episode 7 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sat down with Griff Koch, a Sanders House prefect, varsity football captain, and Columbia Football commit. A US lifer who grew up minutes from the Shaker campus, Griff reminisces about castle-marshmallow launches, eighth-grade current-events classes that sparked a love of history, and the lower-school coaches who first showed him what great teams feel like. He traces his path from multi-sport kid to the varsity O-line, through an ACL setback and back again, and credits his older captains and teachers for pulling him in and showing him how to lead.

The conversation spans recruiting highs and hard lessons like gaining 50 pounds the right way, turning “I’m nervous” into “I’m excited,” dimmer-switch game-day prep, and why Twitter and persistence finally put his film in front of the right coaches. Griff opens up about choosing Columbia, loving the staff’s intensity, and a program on the rise, plus his academic curiosity that ranges from biology to economics. He reflects on prefect duties, house culture, and what he’ll miss most about US. He closes with his “why”: to honor the sacrifices of family, classmates, and teachers by chasing excellence every day, so that his effort matches what others have poured into him.

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.

In Episode 6 of Season Two of The Late Start Show, we sat down with Nico and Matteo Morelli, University School brothers, varsity football standouts, and proud members of McKinley House. From first days at US and finding their footing in the weight room to a great moment when Nico’s first varsity touchdown sprung loose behind Matteo’s block, the Morelli brothers unpack how sibling synergy, locker-room culture, and mentors shaped their grit and leadership.

The conversation spans recruiting highs and lows, including Matteo’s summer hamstring setback and the resilience that followed, Nico’s early camp reps and film-first mindset, and the daily discipline that comes from planners, late-night film, and teachers who change your trajectory. They salute past coaches, celebrate their mom’s cooking business at home, and talk house pride, and paying it forward to younger teammates. The brothers close with their “why”: to be great, leave a legacy of effort, and honor their family’s work ethic, so that when people hear “Morelli,” they think of a standard to live up to.

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.