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Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Names 2025-26 Wall of Honor Inductees

As a part of our community’s 2025-26 Homecoming celebrations, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District (UCFSD) proudly announced its Class of Wall of Honor Inductees. 

The UCFSD Wall of Honor Program recognizes the District’s alumni for their extraordinary success and contributions to society. 

Nominations for the UCFSD Wall of Honor are accepted on a bi-annual basis and are brought forward by the nominating committee to a selection committee of representatives from across the UCFSD community. 

“This year, there was an especially competitive pool of nominees,” reflected UCFSD Superintendent Tim Hoffman. “We are grateful to those who submitted a nomination and to our alumni who continue to live the District’s mission by making a difference. These Nominees connect our past with our present, highlighting a longevity of excellence in our school community.” 

Inductees will receive year-round recognition, including at a special celebration slated for later this year. 

The celebrants join more than forty others who have been honored since the program’s inception in 2008. They include: 

Larry Hood, Class of 1976. Lawrence "Larry" Pusey Hood Jr., got his start on a local poultry farm and grew up barbecuing chicken dinners for the Unionville Community Fair. Following his graduation from Unionville High School in 1976, “Hoodie” worked at Longwood Gardens as an arborist for 35 years. He and his family opened their own business in 2006. Today, Hood’s BBQ is a Unionville staple, serving up locally-sourced ingredients. Larry’s commitment to the UCFSD community extends beyond Hood’s Dine & Donate program. He also served as a volunteer firefighter with the Longwood Fire Company for 25 years, rising to the rank of Assistant Chief. 

Erin Matson, Class of 2018. Erin Matson was first selected to compete on the U.S. National Field Hockey Team as a Junior at Unionville High School. Following her graduation from UHS in 2018, Erin became widely known as the best Field Hockey player in University of North Carolina History. During her time with the Tar Heels, the team won five ACC championships and four NCAA championships. As a player, Erin is the all-time scoring leader in ACC and NCAA history. She is a three-time recipient of the Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey– and the ACC Network has recognized her remarkable influence by naming her a five-time ACC Player of the Year and one of the top 10 female athletes in conference history. In 2023, Erin became the youngest head coach in NCAA D1 history. During her inaugural year, she led UNC Field Hockey to another ACC and NCAA championship win. Erin has continued to give back to the UCFSD community through professional development for our coaches and staff. 

Karen TenEyck, Class of 1976. Named “Most Creative” in the Unionville High School Class of 1976, Karen TenEyck went on to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design at Kutztown University, and her Master of Fine Arts in set design at the Yale School of Drama. She moved to New York in 1992, and subsequently designed over 60 sets for many of the nation’s top regional theatres and opera companies including Manhattan Theatre Club, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Denver Center Theatre, Austin Lyric Opera, Alabama Shakespeare Festival and South Coast Rep. However, it was her work with Los Angeles Opera that convinced her to move to Los Angeles in 2000. Since then, she has designed graphics for over 60 movies including "Water for Elephants", "The Aviator", "Divergent", "Get On Up", "Zodiac", "The Master", “Lincoln”, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” and "Killers of the Flower Moon". She is widely known as one of the top graphic designers in Hollywood. She was on the Academy Award winning design teams for Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" and Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln", and has three other nominations. She was also on the Emmy winning design team for Steven Soderbergh's "Behind the Candelabra". She is currently working on rebuilding her home after it was lost in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, CA in January.

For more information on the UCFSD Wall of Honor Program, visit the District’s website. UCFSD will open nominations for the 2027-28 Class in Spring 2027. 

About the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District 

The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District is a high-performing public school system serving approximately 4,000 students in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The District consists of four elementary schools, one middle school and Unionville High School, consistently ranked among the top public schools in Pennsylvania.

Business & Computer Applications Department Prepares Students for Success Beyond UHS

Unionville High School (UHS) students are poised to excel in college and career thanks to a powerhouse Business & Computer Applications Department. That foundation will grow even stronger after team members Joe Kilpatrick, Zach Lawrence, Pat Sheehan, and Jack Starkey completed their 2025-26 curriculum review. 

If you ask UHS Teacher Jack Starkey what he’s most passionate about, it’s the chance for students to gain hands-on experience in the school’s new Cooperative Education Program. “This is a great opportunity for our students, especially those who will go on to higher education,” he began. “It’s tough to ask a 17- or 18-year-old to choose what they want to get training for and, if you know what tuition costs, you understand the stakes. It’s important for them to make the right decision and they won’t know until they try.” 

Beginning next year, students who work 10 or more hours per week in a paid or unpaid internship can earn two credits. Starkey says he now welcomes partnership from local organizations as he looks to pair Longhorns with the widest range of opportunities possible. 

Pennsylvania is also preparing to make personal finance a graduation requirement. Here, UHS is already ahead of the curve. “Introduction to Personal Finance is an extremely popular optional course,” reflected Starkey. The school will continue to offer the semesterlong course for 9th-12th graders who wish to learn the fundamentals, including income, spending, saving, investing, risk, insurance, and credit. 

For those who seek a deeper dive, 10th-12th graders can choose to enroll in the new AP Business with Personal Finance. A part of AP Career Kickstart program, this yearlong course will allow students to fulfill their graduation requirement, too, and gain a competitive advantage in the most popular college major in the U.S. A new AP Cybersecurity course will also be added to the catalog. 

In addition to the specialized knowledge students gain, UHS has a track record of preparing students for success in their AP tests. In 2024-25, 92% of UHS students scored a 3 or higher, many earning critical college credits. 

The Unionville High School 2026-27 Course Selection Guide will be available next month and Cooperative Education, Introduction to Personal Finance, AP Business with Personal Finance and AP Cybersecurity will all be available for students to select. 

While these updates mark a significant milestone, they represent just one piece of a broader district commitment to college and career readiness. The UCFSD community can expect to see more that bridges the gap between superior school experience and professional success. 

"As a district we are committed to making sure all our students have a career path once they leave Unionville High School,” said UCFSD Director of Curriculum & Instruction Amy Jenkins. “We view our students as future leaders; by investing in their professional readiness today, we are ensuring a vibrant and prosperous future for everyone."

About the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District

The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District is a high-performing public school system serving approximately 4,000 students in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The District consists of four elementary schools, one middle school and Unionville High School, consistently ranked among the top public schools in Pennsylvania.

Unionville High School’s Silver Wolves Take Home Trophy at Inaugural FIRST Event

From Chester County to the U.S. Capitol, Unionville High School’s Silver Wolves traveled to Washington, D.C. in February, 2026 as the only team to represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PA) in the Inaugural FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) United States Governors Cup. They came home national champions.

Selected from among 164 PA FTC teams, the students participated in the state-vs-state competition hosted by Experiential Robotics and The White House Office of Innovation from February 20-21 at Constitution Hall. The competition celebrated the next generation of STEM leaders and showcased how FIRST inspires them to dream big, think boldly and build a better future. 

Making the Team

The Silver Wolves were started by UHS alumni triplets Brendan, Katherine and Robin Connolly and their parents in the 2nd grade. Over the years, their roster expanded to include fellow teammates William Du, Sophie Li, Lincoln Farkas, and Madelynn Rose Van Aken. 

“As we’ve grown up, each of us has found a balance in filling a role that the team needs and that aligns with what our own passions are,” said Sophie Li. That synergy earned the team the top spot at the 2024-25 Pennsylvania FTC Championship, where they were both Captains of the Winning Alliance and recipients of the coveted Inspire Award. 

Mastering the Robot 

To prepare for the 2025-26 FIRST Design Challenge, Decode, the Silver Wolves focused on rigorous brainstorming of everything their robot needed to do and every possible way to do it. “It’s tempting to start dreaming up a robot in your head,” reflected Katherine Connolly. “But, at this stage, it's important not to rule out any ideas.” 

The team then developed prototypes to test their theories before working together to design, code, and build their robot by hand. It must operate on its own for the first thirty seconds of the match before a student driver takes the controls for the final two minutes. 

For the Silver Wolves, it wasn't just about performing well. “It’s cool that we’re competing with teams from across the country,” added Robin Connolly of the Governors Cup. “We also really like getting a lot of opportunities to compete because every time we compete we learn new things.” 

Meeting the Moment

Between Qualifiers and Worlds, the evolution of the team was constant. The students do everything from making small changes to their driving strategy to total mechanical rebuilds. The Silver Wolves debuted the second edition of their robot at the Governors Cup. 

In FIRST’s signature “Coopertition” model, the team competed in a preliminary round on Friday, February 20 and earned a place in a playoff alliance on Saturday, February 21. The Silver Wolves took home the trophy alongside the team from Mississippi. 

Regardless of whether they walked away Champions of the Governors Cup, Brendan Connolly says that the team had already won. “When we started, I saw other teams’ robots and thought they were so mechanically above us. I wanted to get to that level. So, I sat down, watched tutorials and taught myself,” he remembered. “One of the biggest things I’ve taken away from this is the value of hard work. Robotics has shown me I can do anything if I just dedicate myself.” 

"To see the Silver Wolves represent the Commonwealth at the Inaugural Governors Cup was a thrill for all of us at UHS,” said UHS Principal Pat Crater. “These students have spent years dreaming big and thinking boldly, and it was an honor to watch their hard work and dedication culminate in their win at the U.S. Capitol. We are incredibly proud of Brendan, Katherine, Robin, William, Sophie, Lincoln, and Madelynn."

About the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District

The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District is a high-performing public school system serving approximately 4,000 students in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The District consists of four elementary schools, one middle school and Unionville High School, consistently ranked among the top public schools in Pennsylvania.

About FIRST

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international non-profit organization that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18.