Alumni Spotlight: Piper Bond

For this month’s Alumni Spotlight, the News checked in with James Piper Bond Jr. ‘18, a two-time Ivy League lacrosse champion at the University of Pennsylvania and a two-time champion in the Premier Lacrosse League. Bond graduated from Gilman in 2018 and then from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023. He’s now in a financial rotational program with SoFi and plays in the Premier Lacrosse League during the summer. Mr. Jack Bowmaster ‘18, current chemistry teacher and classmate of Bond, said, “When he was president, he made every effort to go to every sporting game he could. He would come straight from football practice, still in his pads, to our volleyball games. He did everything he could to support and rally others.” 

When reflecting on his time at Gilman, Bond cited the camaraderie within the community as what he missed most. He admired the bonds that Gilman builds both between students and faculty and mentioned that just a few days before our interview he had been able to see some of his old favorite teachers, such as Mr. Heubeck, Mr. Smyth, and Mr. Baum, at an alumni event in New York. Bond said, “And that’s the reason why guys like myself and others want to stay involved with the community…the relationships and friendships have carried on.” 

At Gilman, Bond played both football and lacrosse, and he ran indoor track as well. He recalled that his favorite memory from his time here was the Gilman vs. McDonogh game his senior year. Not only did Gilman, the underdogs, defeat McDonogh 24-17 at McDonogh, but volleyball won the MIAA championship that very same night. On the lacrosse field, Bond played as a two-way midfielder. While Gilman never made the playoffs during Bond’s time on the team, a few games stuck out to him as historic. He first cited a game against St. Paul’s on Chandlee his senior year. In a double overtime thriller, Will Demuth ‘18 scored the game-winner. Bond claimed, “That was pretty special to see him do that. The Crusies were pretty good that year, so to get the win was exciting.” Another moment he thought to be even better than Demuth’s game-winner was a game vs. Boys’ Latin in his junior year. Once again, Gilman was on Chandlee and the big underdogs. They ended up winning 6-5 in a defensive battle, with Wade Oursler ‘17, a mentor to Bond, scoring the winning goal. After his time at Gilman, Bond went on to the University of Pennsylvania, playing for the lacrosse team there. 

Bond asserted, “Penn was awesome.”. He mentioned that many of the values taught to him at Gilman were also prevalent at Penn, saying, “A lot of the baseline (values) in terms of work ethic, attention to detail, and accountability that I learned at Gilman carried over directly to Penn.” Bond’s Penn lacrosse experience was much more successful than his Gilman one. While he was there, the team won two Ivy League Championships, and Bond is still close with many of his teammates today. He stated, “Those are some of my best friends, who I still live with in New York now, and the coaches there helped guide me towards post-collegiate work and other things.” Bond also mentioned that Philadelphia was an awesome city. 

However, Bond’s lacrosse career did not end after he graduated from Penn. He currently plays in the Premier Lacrosse League for the Utah Archers. It is Bond’s second year in the league, and the team has won the championship back-to-back years. When reflecting on his experience in the PLL, Bond said, “It’s a really great group of guys who I get to play with from all over the country, all over the world.” While Bond loves playing with the best of the best, he finds it equally enjoyable to meet new people that he would not have met otherwise. Some great players that Bond mentioned he likes to play with or against are Rob Panell, Marcus Holman ‘09, Paul Rabil, the face of lacrosse and one of the founders of the league, and Tom Schreiber, a teammate of his who is also one of the league’s best. Bond said, “Being able to play with guys like that and learn from them, to see their passion and how they work, it’s just inspiring for me. It’s been a lot of fun.” When asked about the difference between the high school, collegiate, and professional levels of lacrosse, Bond noted that the pace of play was the biggest distinction. He said, “I remember my first practice at Penn, after being at Gilman, and how fast it felt.” He also mentioned that the talent level makes big jumps at each higher level. 

Currently, Bond works for SoFi, a financial service company, in New York. SoFi is flexible with Bond playing lacrosse, and since the PLL season only lasts for a few weeks during the summer, the league does not really interfere. Bond does not have an exact plan for the future, but he has loved learning the ins and outs of the finance industry. One of Bond’s favorite parts about working at SoFi is the leaders of the company. He said, “We have a CEO and CFO who are driven and have similar ideals to what I have, in terms of trying to help people.” Over the next couple of years, Bond hopes to continue learning new things and to get exposure to different parts of the business. He is hopeful he will widen his knowledge and become more flexible in different situations and different industries. 

The News had an excellent time speaking with Piper Bond and learning what he’s been up to. Stay tuned for the next issue for another alumni spotlight, and in the meantime start taking guesses at who it might be.