ALUMNI ROUNDTABLE
pathway to success :
an alumni roundtable On the threshold of college graduation, four young alumni reflect on their Brimmer foundation As school was wrapping up for winter break, we had the opportunity to sit down with some members of the Class of 2015 including Keenan Iuliano (Colby College ’19), David Labossiere (Connecticut College ’19), Susanna Calhoun (Santa Clara University ’19), and Chardon Brooks (Bates College ’19), and to hear how life has been going for them. Now seniors in college, they each brought their own unique perspective on how Brimmer has prepared them – both for life at college and the years ahead. Fresh from the Alumni Holiday Party held the night before at the Brae Burn Country Club (see pages 42-43), the group was excited to be back on campus (some of them for the first time since graduation), reconnecting with faculty and friends and touring the Hastings Center. To give them a taste of Brimmer’s newest building, we chose the Innovation Space for our roundtable discussion.
What is it like to be back on campus today?
to replicate since I graduated actually. It was really special.
DAVID: It is quite the experience. I love the
DAVID: Yes! Definitely Winterim as well. I went to Paris and Barcelona, and it was my first time being introduced to a new country. I was very thankful for that opportunity.
new building and it is great to be here catching up with these friends I graduated with.
CHARDON: It’s surreal seeing my old
teachers, faculty, and friends in this new space— it’s my first time back since the renovation.
SUSANNA: The campus looks so different! It has been nice to see people that we learned with and learned from—and classmates that I haven’t seen in what feels like forever.
Can you share one of your fondest memories of your time here at Brimmer? DAVID: I’d have to say it was participating in the Upper School musical, Seussical, my senior year. That’s the beauty of coming to a school like Brimmer—trying something new. Being in the play really got me out of my comfort zone. I only had one line, sadly, but it was an experience! KEENAN: Visiting two countries through
the Winterim Program was a really unique experience for me—one I haven’t had the chance
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Spring 2019
Brimmer Magazine
CHARDON: I would have to say Brimmer
Athletics because it was such a huge part of my high school life—and my middle school life as well!
SUSANNA: For me, it was being involved
with all the musicals and plays. That’s really close to home for me. And because I was so actively involved in the arts in high school, I really wanted to pursue theater in college. Honestly, it’s really cool how theater brings people together—David, we might never have gotten to know each other if it weren’t for that play.
Do you remember performing together that year? DAVID: I do! [laughs] She had the much bigger role! But it was great because she’s so passionate about it. And with me being an athlete and seeing people who are so involved in the arts—that camaraderie of meeting new
people—it just wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been in the play.
Because Chardon, Keenan, and Susanna all started at Brimmer in PK or K, they have a unique perspective on what it means to be a “lifer.” We asked them about their earliest memories of each other and what they remember about joining Brimmer’s school community. CHARDON: I remember playing with Keenan in Kindergarten!
