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Lexi Anastos '87
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Belle
Burden Davis '87 first glimpsed Lexi Anastos '87
as Lexi and her mother were struggling to maneuver
a large, cumbersome trunk up a narrow staircase
in Hoyt Hall. Davis remembers, "Every few steps,
in the midst of giving her mom directions about
how to back up the stairs, Lexi would drop her
end of the trunk and erupt into gales of laughter.
We all knew, upon hearing that incredible, joyous
laugh echoing through the hallways, that someone
extraordinary had entered our world."
Such
was the first impression Lexi Anastos made on
those she encountered. As lowers in Hoyt, Belle
and Lexi became fast friends and members of a
close-knit social circle that included Maya Forbes
'86, Ali Kim Lee '86, Lara (Alshabkhoun) Alden
'88 and Laurisa Shappell Schutt '88. Belle notes
that despite coming from very different places
and each having their own interests, the girls
connected and developed a deep bond living in
their small dormitory. At the center of the camaraderie
was Lexi.
"Lexi
was an outrageously funny person," says Belle.
It wasn't unusual for her to create skits and
make-up songs or impersonate people for the sheer
pleasure of her Exeter friends. Though Lexi's
joie de vivre was palpable, Belle emphasizes that
there was much more to her personality than her
humor. Besides being a stellar academic student,
Lexi was a gifted athlete who captained the girls'
lacrosse, squash and soccer teams and served as
president of the Business Club while at the Academy.
As a friend, notes Belle, Lexi was "resolutely
kind, fair and loyal; she shared her vulnerabilities,
sadness and her love without hesitation."
After
graduating from the Academy in 1987, Lexi earned
an undergraduate degree in history and several
athletic accolades from Princeton. Upon her college
graduation, she traveled the world for a year,
eventually settling in New York City, where she
worked in private banking services for Morgan
Stanley. Lexi was later accepted to the J.L. Kellogg
Graduate School of Management at Northwestern,
and it was at the beginning of her second year
at Northwestern that she was diagnosed with brain
cancer. As testament to her incredible spirit
and perseverance, Lexi went on to complete her
graduate degree while undergoing aggressive treatment
for her cancer. After a three- and-a-half-year-battle,
Lexi died on February 14, 2000, at age 31.
It
was over the weekend of Lexi's funeral that Belle
and Lara Alden began thinking about how they might
honor Lexi and their friendship with her. "We
knew we wanted to do a living tribute, something
that would last forever," says Belle. The idea
to do something at Exeter came naturally. "She
loved Exeter; we loved Exeter. It's where we met
her and became close friends." The resulting tribute
is the Alexandra Rose Anastos '87 Scholarship
Fund, established in May of 2000. The scholarship,
created with a core amount donated by Belle, will
be awarded to a rising senior who excels in both
athletics and academics and who embodies the same
spirit of friendship and joy that was emblematic
of Lexi. Thanks to the participation of dozens
of Lexi's classmates, the fund has grown to $100,000
in one year. Explains Belle, "With the Anastos
fund, we hope to create an ongoing tribute that
will assist students who possess some of the talents
and characteristics that made Lexi unique."
She
never judged friends by their covers; if she liked
you, she liked you, whether you were an athlete,
the class clown or, in my case when we met, a
shy girl with two left feet. She had a gift for
seeing the good in people, for liking that part
of you that you liked best in yourself."
-Belle Burden Davis '87
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