THE ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE OF EMMA WILLARD SCHOOL FALL 2018
WORDS AREN’T ENOUGH Visual artist Courtney Garvin ’12 responds to injustice
M AKIN G THEIR MARK
Jennifer Irwin ’80
Describe Emma in two words: Eclectic tradition. Emma is steeped in tradition, yet the women are diverse, eclectic, intelligent, and open minded. Favorite spot on Emma’s campus: The first floor of the library. I loved sitting in the swivel chairs with a stack of books feeling like I had the world in my hands. One thing you would change about the world: End human trafficking Female leader/activist/changemaker inspiring you: Ava DuVernay, American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Women who break barriers using their voices and talents are incredibly inspiring to me.
Barbara Nabrit-Stephens ’68
(page 20) Describe Emma in two words: Girls’ sanctuary Favorite spot on Emma’s campus? Slocum Library (Editor’s note: The library used to be in Lyon-Remington in Slocum Hall.) One thing you would change about the world: Equality for all Female leader/activist/changemaker inspiring you: There isn’t one now.
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MI SS I ON Honoring our founder’s vision, Emma Willard School proudly fosters in each young woman a love of learning, the habits of an intellectual life, and the character, moral strength, and qualities of leadership to serve and shape her world.
FA LL 2 018 Jenny Rao
Head of School headofschool@emmawillard.org Head of Communications epihlaja@emmawillard.org Ann Dejnozka
Head of Advancement adejnozka@emmawillard.org Amoreena O’Bryon
<< Photographer Ellen Friedlander ’78 took a portrait of Ruth Ziony ’61 at Emma’s 2017 Tea hosted at the Tag Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.
T H E AD MI SS I O N S MAGA ZIN E O F E MMA W I L L A R D SC H O O L
Erin Pihlaja
Assistant Director of Communications for Creative Services aobryon@emmawillard.org Katie Coakley
Assistant Director of Communications for News and Social Media kcoakley@emmawillard.org Kelly F. Cartwright
Director of Alumnae Relations kcartwright@emmawillard.org Robin Prout
F E AT U R E S
16 Found in Translation
Advanced Latin class translates an ancient medical text
20 Change Was in the Air
In 1967, four students campaigned for Cleveland’s first black mayor
26 Being the Best
Helping teenage girls navigate new pressures to succeed
Director of Donor Relations rprout@emmawillard.org Megan Tady
Managing Editor www.word-lift.com
D E PA R T M E N T S
Lilly Pereira
Designer www.aldeia.design
Please forward address changes to: Emma Willard School 285 Pawling Avenue Troy, NY 12180 518.833.1787 alumnae@emmawillard.org or emmawillard.org/alumnae Signature, the magazine of Emma Willard School is published by the Communications Office two times each year for alumnae, parents, grandparents, and friends of Emma Willard School. The mission of this magazine is to capture the school’s values and culture through accurate and objective stories about members of the Emma community, past and present, as they put Emma Willard’s mark on the world.
O N T H E COV ER This “signature” is brought to you by Emma Latin Instructor Diane McCorkle (page 16). Photo of Courtney Garvin ’12 by Sean D. Henry-Smith (page 14).
02 From the Triangle
14 Click
Honoring the Class of 2018 at Baccalaureate and Commencement, serving and shaping with 3D printing, making connections in Middlebury, and more.
Courtney Garvin ’12 documents family members as they grapple with violence and racism in her hometown.
10 The Classroom Emma’s Educational Technology Task Force seeks to develop innovative learning environments.
12 Faculty Voices Jennifer Ulicnik describes how girls learn and are supported by Emma’s unique residential program.
32 Campus Traditions 34 Admissions 36 Signing Off Head of School Jenny Rao enters her sophomore year at Emma Willard.
From the Triangle
Congratulations, Class of 2018! “Class of 2018, the light of your 90 stars has illuminated the Emma experience for all of us…Your kindness, camaraderie, and activism have enriched our journey,” began Head of School Jenny Rao at Emma Willard School’s 204th Commencement on June 3, 2018. Ms. Rao described how each student made her mark on Emma before introducing Commencement speaker Dr. Susan Scrimshaw, former president of The Sage Colleges. Dr. Scrimshaw spoke of the women shared by Emma Willard School and The Russell Sage College, the former campus of the Troy Female Seminary: Madame Willard, Olivia Slocum Sage, and Eliza Kellas. “These remarkable women understood the importance of girls’ and women’s education and were pioneers in making it possible,” she noted. Susan Hunter ’68, chair of the Emma Willard School Board of Trustees, presented the Jameson Adkins Baxter Award to Katherine “Kat” Fousek. She was followed by Heather Wells ’88, president of the Alumnae Association Council, who presented the Clementine Miller Tangeman Award to Lillian “Lily” Pickett. Next, senior speaker Nanase “Nana” Hayami addressed her classmates. “I am an only child, and I always wanted a sibling. In coming to Emma, that dream came true because now I have the kindest, smartest, and most talented 89 siblings who I love so much.” Academic Dean Dr. Meredith Legg shared words of farewell, telling graduates that they could always look to their Emma Willard School story in both times of joy and challenge. “Find in your time at Emma Willard the strength, perseverance, friendship, and revelry to carry you forward. Find in yourself—Emma Willard graduates—the courage to begin the first sentence of the next book of your life.”
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FROM THE TR IA NGLE
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Commencement weekend began with a thoughtful Baccalaureate service, where Gemma Halfi, residential faculty for Cluett House and coordinator of service learning, implored the Class of 2018 to really see others as they move through their lives. “Seeing is about acknowledging that we are a part of something bigger, the interconnected fabric of humanity, and the understanding that harm to another human is harm to the whole fabric,” she explained. Gemma emphasized that each girl was seen during her time at Emma, and she asked the class to do the same for others in an effort to make the world a better, more empathetic place. “My wish for you as you travel on your paths away from Mount Ida is that you are seen by the humans you meet every step of the way,” she said. “If they see you as we all see you, their lives will be more wonderful, as ours have been with you.”
FROM THE TR IA NGLE
BACCALAUREATE
“ Seeing is about acknowledging that we are a part of something bigger, the interconnected fabric of humanity, and the understanding that harm to another human is harm to the whole fabric.” G EM M A HA L F I
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FROM THE TR IA NGLE
SERVING AND SHAPING EN-ABLING THE FUTURE THROUGH 3D PRINTING
Visitors enjoyed beautiful weather and time spent together on Mount Ida.
Emma EN-able, a new club modeled after the larger e-NABLE movement that uses 3D printing to serve others, manufactured two prosthetic arms in Emma’s Maker Space for Karissa, an 11-year-old girl from Stillwater, NY. Club members Julia Felton ’20, Sarah Holston ’20, Gabby Hunter ’20, Emily Almgren ’20, and Jess Flynn ’20 presented the arms to Karissa Learn more at the Tech Valley Center of Gravity (TVCOG) in about e-NABLE at enabling downtown Troy in late April. thefuture.org. Girls were inspired to start the club after attending TVCOG’s workshop on 3D printing’s potential to help others. The girls also met with Karissa to determine how to customize the arms for her body. Club members reported that it was an incredibly impactful experience to help a child gain mobility in her arm. “I hope Emma EN-able will open a world of possibilities for kids like Karissa to pursue their dreams,” said Sarah, co-head of the club. Club members hope to pursue one major hand/arm-making project each year and continue their partnership with TVCOG. Emma EN-able co-head Julia says she also wants to use their work to demonstrate the technology available in the school’s library and Maker Space, while highlighting the humanitarian aspect of helping others outside of the school community.
Welcoming Grandparents and Friends On May 25, over 175 guests celebrated Signature students and Emma artists at Grandparents & Special Friends Day. Along with viewing students’ research projects and performances, guests toured the campus, experienced our academic program, and met faculty. The day concluded with the senior class gift dedication near the Kellas porte-cochère. With meditation and relaxation as their priority, the Class of 2018 commissioned a meditative fountain made from reclaimed campus bluestone to complete the Class of 1967 memorial garden, located between Kellas Hall and the athletic fields.
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Thanks to Emma students, Karissa has two new prosthetics.
“ I hope Emma EN-able will open a world of possibilities for kids like Karissa to pursue their dreams.” SARAH HOLSTON ’20
Connecting in Middlebury
Dr. Robert Naeher’s U.S. History Experiential classes take full advantage of local, history-rich sites in the Capital Region. One excursion, led by Troy’s first-appointed female Deputy Mayor Monica Kurzejeski, took students to tour a brownfield in Troy’s industrial district for a lesson on urban planning, economic development, and governance.
FROM THE TR IA NGLE
LESSONS FROM TROY’S PAST
Emma’s Signature program and the Emma Network brought together Sierra Crane-Murdock ’05, Megan Pontin ’19, Mae Burris-Wells ’18, and Maya London-Southern ’15 (pictured above) at Middlebury College in Vermont. Mae and Megan are both interested in writing, and Sierra is a journalist and essayist who is also a Middlebury Fellow in Environmental Journalism. The girls attended Sierra’s course, “Writing What You Don’t Know: The Ethics and Craft of Narrative Journalism,” and discussed investigative writing with other Middlebury students, including Maya. As they departed the Vermont campus, the group stopped by the admissions office, the original home of founder Emma Hart Willard, where she first began educating young women.
EMMA GREEN LEAVES A LEGACY On Arbor Day, Davey Tree, a local tree care and ground maintenance service company, selected Emma Willard School to receive a new oak tree. Director of Grounds Dan Miller found a perfect spot in the front of campus for the tree, and together the Davey Tree team and the Emma Green club planted it. Club co-heads Nadia Sabo ’19 and Megan Pontin ’19 scooped the first shovels of dirt onto the base of the tree, followed by the rest of the club members and club advisor Wendy Eld. We look forward to watching our new oak tree flourish over the next 100 years!
At the former location of the Rensselaer Iron Works, Monica described how Troy was once the third wealthiest city in the country thanks to the manufacturing of textiles and steel, among other industries. She also said careful planning of future cities is essential, as the Iron Works’ past business practices contaminated the land. Even with funding and remediation from the Environmental Protection Agency, the land is forever limited without significant investment. Students asked about current environmental practices and how the city contends with gentrification in its planning. Monica shared the city’s comprehensive plan for the site and how it fits into the larger future plan for Troy. “When we are thinking of what we want Troy to look like, we need to consider that what we are doing is for our children. It has a lasting impact on them,” she said.
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FROM THE TR IA NGLE
O N T H E F I EL D
BY AMANDA MCDOWELL
Playing and Giving Back Before varsity lacrosse players battle it out on the playing field, they must develop and hone their skills and agility. At Emma Willard School, they do so under the guidance of Assistant Coach Shelley Maher, who has influenced the sport of women’s lacrosse at the school and around the world. For her efforts, the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) awarded Shelley its most prestigious honor: the 2017 FIL Lifetime Achievement Award. Hailing from Australia, Shelley has been a fierce lacrosse competitor, first playing for the Williamstown Women’s Lacrosse Club in Melbourne before representing her state, Victoria, as a member of the senior women’s team. She hung up her stick to coach when she moved to the United States. As FIL’s women’s director from 2008 to 2017, Shelley most recently oversaw three Senior and two U19 FIL World Championships and directed lacrosse’s inaugural participation at the 2017 World Games in Wroclaw, Poland. Shelley is passionate about elevating the sport to the international stage, advocating for lacrosse to be included in the 2028 Olympics. “I had always seen my parents volunteer to either run sporting organizations or to take on roles of leadership,” Maher says. “I naturally thought that’s what you do. You play, and you also volunteer and give back.” Back on Mount Ida, Shelley is simply “Coach Maher.” She brings a sunny disposition and sage expertise to the team, who see her as both an inspiration and a role model.
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Lucia Winter ’18 says, “[Coach Maher] has an incredible way of switching the mood. She gives the best pep talks. Her influence on the team is just general upkeep of morale all of the time.” Head Varsity Lacrosse Coach Liz Parry says Shelley injects a sense of playfulness into practices, even while holding her players to high standards. “She’s a competitor, so she likes to bring challenges to our practices,” she says. “But at the same time she wants the girls to have fun.” Shelley, who is also Emma’s dean of students and wellbeing, says she enjoys teaching girls how to develop resiliency through competition. “Through lacrosse, I’ve had some phenomenally high times and I’ve had times where I had to work and only take one or two wins for the entire season,” Shelley says. “It builds resilience to be able to say, ‘I gave it my best shot.’” In the early ’80s when Shelley was just picking up lacrosse, she says she never envisioned its impact on her life—and the lives of others who play it. “The beauty of this sport is that I’ve traveled the world because of it,” she says. “I have friends around the globe. I come from a town of 29 houses—a really small community on the other side of the planet—so that’s incredible.” Along with her many international accomplishments, perhaps her best accolade comes from one of her own players. “She’s definitely one of my role models,” Lucia says. “I really want to be like her, and I know that if I work really hard, I can be.”
facebook.com/ emmawillardschool
FROM THE TR IA NGLE
SO C IA L ME D IA
@emmawillardschool
@emmawillard
That feeling when you see your friends at Reunion…
Head of School Jenny Rao joined Dr. Naeher’s USX class on an architecture tour of Albany.
Earth Day
Signature Project
@emmawillard #EmmaWillard students participated in the National School Walkout in protest of the prevalence and impact of gun violence. Read more: http://bit.ly/2Dr6C2l Wishing this group of seniors lots of luck as they begin Ragnar Cape Cod! The 200-ish mile relay race starts in Hull, MA, and ends in Provincetown, MA. We are so proud of their dedication.
We are feeling inspired by Courtney Garvin ’12, whose moving personal portrait series “In These Clasped Hands” was recently featured on Buzzfeed! Maker’s Space
The Girls’ School Advantage youtube.com/user/EmmaWillard Spirit Week
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The Classroom
BY ERIN PIHLAJA
Merging Old and New With the creation of an Educational Technology Task Force, Emma Willard School looks to use new technology to encourage innovative and engaging learning environments. Implementing technology in schools can be challenging. Teachers and students each have different levels of tech savviness, and until recently at Emma, technology in classrooms wasn’t always consistent, nor was the way that teachers accessed it. Enter Emma’s Educational Technology Task Force. Formed in August 2017, this group represents nearly every department in the school—an intentional move by the organizers. The task force is responsible for integrating technology into classrooms and for training faculty on proper usage. Caroline Buinicky, director of research at Emma, said the task force has been focused on helping the school transition to a new learning management system—software that allows all teachers to track, document, and plan courses and programs. “We wanted to move to thinking about the new system as a way to enhance our teaching and learning for students,” she says. With more interactive tools in the new system, as well as a dedicated team to keep the school abreast of changes in technology and learning, Caroline imagines countless opportunities. “We want to think about how we can enhance what we’re doing,” she says.“Take a class like art history, for example. A teacher might have beautiful slides of the Egyptian pyramids that she shows in class. Could we use virtual reality so that the students can actually take a tour of them?” Mathematics Instructor and task force member Raimie Utterback says it’s important for the school to respond to the rapid changes happening in technology—helping both faculty and students navigate a
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digital world that looks much different than it did 10 years ago, or even five. “We need a vision for educational technology in schools, and the task force is a great step toward that,” Raimie says. “Contrary to popular belief, not every kid is tech savvy, despite being a good tech consumer.” Raimie is pursuing a master’s degree in digital age learning and educational technology, which she hopes will help her blend technology with traditional teaching. Some of the end goals, she adds, are to produce creative, innovative teachers; to make grading meaningful; to create lifelong tech learners; and to institute a wellness component that gives young girls the tools to set boundaries with technology. “We need to be able to detach and fight against the constant connected mindset,” she says. In honor of their 50th Reunion, the Class of 1968, in partnership with trustee Ian MacCallum, created a technology fund which has enabled teachers to meet students in any classroom at Emma Willard and find it outfitted with a uniform, familiar suite of advanced
PH OTOS BY ERIN SC HAF F ’ 07
TH E CLASS RO O M
equipment and software. This summer, every academic classroom—with the exception of those in Hunter, which will be updated at a later date—includes these new improvements. Teachers will have the option to customize their lesson plans to the technology. They can use the interactive boards for straightforward handwritten work, and they can show multiple types of media from various screens or sources. Students can interact directly with the screens, and teachers can save and share lessons in a number of ways. With certain options, students will not need to take notes because teachers can email lecture slides directly to students. Additionally, multiple students can work together on the same screen. Emma Head of Operations Pete McCorkle, who oversaw the implementation of the new technology in the classrooms, is excited about the possibilities for teachers and students. “It focuses on engagement,” he says. “The goal is to use technology to engage further with the lesson or with the teacher.” English Instructor Marlo Daniels, who also serves on the task force, appreciates that teachers can continue to
“ We end up with a more dynamic classroom. There is no need to throw the pen and paper out of our tool box, but we are adding technology as another tool.”
The task force meets in the Innovative Melligeri Classroom in Dietel Library. The space was created thanks to a gift from Aravind and Mai Melligeri, parents of Megha Melligeri ’17.
M A RLO DA NI EL S
have their own autonomy without limiting creativity. “This offers a variety of mediums from which students can work and learn. We end up with a more dynamic classroom. There is no need to throw the pen and paper out of our tool box, but we are adding technology as another tool.” Raimie agrees. “A Google Doc, for instance, doesn’t simply eliminate handwriting, it also helps bridge distance. Sometimes people will add tech just to add tech, but we should really be looking at technology as a way to solve problems.”
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Faculty Voices
INTERVIEW BY KATIE COAKLEY
Jennifer Ulicnik
A Home Away from Home Jennifer Ulicnik felt most at home leading summer campers outdoors until the opportunity to live alongside teenage girls and mentor them in an immersive boarding environment came her way. She had been teaching elementary school in Massachusetts when Emma Instructor Maureen Harrison described an open houseparent position as “kind of like a year-round camp counselor.” She made her way to Mount Ida in the fall of 1998 and has been a mainstay of Emma’s residential program ever since. She now leads the school’s residential faculty as department chair. What was your first year like at Emma? I found the aspects of camp life I loved, but I quickly realized that there’s more responsibility to being resident faculty. Parents look to you to partner with them in raising their girls, which is more in line with my philosophy around education. I knew I had found my career. Why is it important to have a residential team solely dedicated to the wellbeing of girls? Parents send their kids here for the very intentional purpose of giving their children a different experience, and they want someone to dedicate time to their children outside of class—to help with homework and offer support and guidance. Emma made a commitment to having dedicated resident faculty, and increased staff from five people to 11. I hear from former resident faculty members
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who have gone to schools where they are now a triple threat [teacher, residential faculty, and a coach] that they don’t get a chance to know kids because they don’t have the time to fully engage. How would you describe your role as department chair? It’s helpful to have our perspective in the room when all departments meet. If we’re talking about scheduling, I can speak to the impact of how a girl who is taking a number of AP classes is playing out in the dorm. It’s useful for the academic faculty to hear the pieces we’re developing in the dorms and how those sometimes fit into their work in the classroom. Lessons on selfcompassion, for example, can be coupled with learning empathy in history or discussing how a character in a book they’re reading shows
self-compassion. Looking for those touch points has been my goal as department chair. Describe your team. I am really passionate about my team. I remind them that their skills are valuable to the girls, the school, and parents; and look for ways to train everyone on the latest research about girls’ brains and education. We keep bringing that right back to the group, just like a history teacher would after attending a conference. We not only work together, we live together. It brings another piece to the collegial table when you live where you work and work where you live. We have to be close-knit. How does teaching happen in the residence halls? Residence halls are the after-hours classrooms. There’s the big stuff, like how to balance
TH E CLASS RO O M
and prioritize, as well as the small stuff, like telling them how proud I am that they took time to be with friends and just be a kid. Role modeling is something we all do on some level.
PH OTO BY ERIN SCH AF F ’07
What is it like living with Emma students? I love it. They have energy and goofiness; they are studious, impressive, and awe-inspiring; they push and they challenge; and there is never a dull moment. I feel honored and privileged to be even a little part of their experience. How do you create a home away from home? I let girls know my home is always open to them. On Sunday nights I host “SnackChat,” and invite students in for a snack, but with structure. If we’re celebrating a birthday, I’ll ask them to tell me what they remember about birthdays as a kid to give them a chance to see their common experiences. We’ve also had serious conversations. When the Parkland shooting happened, we talked about what it feels like to go to a school where you feel safe, and if they felt safe at other schools, or in their home countries. Because it’s so diverse at Emma, we hear “nobody has guns where I come from” to “we have armed guards on our street.” This is their opportunity to share about themselves.
“ We not only work together, we live together. It brings another piece to the collegial table when you live where you work and work where you live.”
Jenn Ulicnik is inspired by students and her work as department chair of residential faculty.
JEN N IFER ULIC NI K
What kind of growth do you see from girls when they first arrive as freshmen to when they graduate? When girls first arrive at Emma, they look nervous and they put on this big, brave face. I see them stumble and fall, but then celebrate and rejoice. By senior year, I see this interesting arc of a person developing. It’s about building strong connections, so that when they come back for Reunion, they seek me out and want to tell me about their lives. I have a couple of girls from my first class of freshmen who now
have little girls and they say, “Just think, you could be her houseparent!” It’s a full-circle moment. Do you have any favorite memories from your time at Emma? Winning the Levitt-Toohey Award for faculty excellence in 2010 was a humbling moment, and it was so much more about what this place has given me. I would not be who I am without Emma. It has been so impactful, and I wasn’t even a student here. To be able to say that about a place where you work is pretty amazing.
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ClickThe Classroom
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TH E CLASS RO O M
IN THESE CLASPED HANDS Visual artist Courtney Garvin ’12 picked up her camera in response to police brutality against people of color and the massacre of nine black parishioners at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, by a white supremacist. Courtney, who is from Orangeburg County near Charleston, photographed her family members as they grappled with the violence and racism in their community and the nation, titling her series, “In These Clasped Hands.” “Oftentimes, words aren’t enough for me to express how I’m feeling, and I use visuals as that added layer or in place of words,” Courtney says. “During this time [after the shooting], photography allowed me to have conversations about racism and community across generations and in spaces I felt safe in.” The series includes a photo of Courtney’s then 9-year-old brother (seen here) in his superhero Halloween costume holding a green toy Nerf gun, and she’s hoping the photographs spark a dialogue. “At 12 years old, Tamir Rice was shot on sight for playing with a toy gun in a park,” she says. “Black children in this country don’t always get to be kids in the same way that white children do. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wondered if my black phone case would be ‘mistaken’ for a gun at night. I want people to talk about it, to acknowledge the roles, both fatal and non-fatal, that institutionalized racism has on the lives of people from the African diaspora, and to do the work to fix it.” Courtney, who lives in New York City, is a Magnum Foundation 2018 To view more of Photography & Social Justice Fellow. She received her bachelor’s degree in Courtney’s work, visit: cdgarvin.com. communications and rhetorical studies with a minor in art photography from Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. While attending Emma Willard, Courtney says she spent a lot of time developing photos in the dark room, and that her photography and video classes “gave me a chance to discover something I was passionate about even though at the time I didn’t realize where it would take me.” She was also a member of Emma’s Black & Hispanic Alliance. “I can’t stress how important it is to have a space to talk about current events, community, injustices, police brutality, et cetera—especially with other students and faculty who are actively and productively involved.”
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From the Triangle ij
found in translation emma students unlock an ancient medical text written in latin.
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H
istorian and physician Jacalyn Duffin sighed hopefully as she clicked “submit” to publish new content on her website. Would anyone answer her call to help translate a 17thcentury medical text, written in Latin, by Paolo Zacchia? Before her retirement in 2017, Jacalyn held the Hannah Chair of the History of Medicine at the medical school at Queens University, where she worked for 30 years and specialized in hematology and historical medical research. Jacalyn had long been interested in looking to the past to understand how medical practices and techniques developed, and how they might be applied today.
covered, but she hesitated to rely on her own Latin skills. To help her translate the text, Jacalyn reached out to colleagues and peers, but adoption of the project was slow. She turned, instead, to the internet, posting the case studies online, as well as sending emails to people who might know someone who would Paolo Zacchia be interested. A country away, Emma Willard’s Latin Instructor Diane McCorkle received an email forward from Dr. Robert Naeher in the history department. Was she interested in translating an old medical text? Maybe not her personally, but she knew just the group to take it on: students in her advanced Latin Literature Seminar.
AN EYE TO THE FUTURE
She hoped Zacchia’s book, Questiones Medicales, would offer her insight. Only, it was written in Latin. Before Jacalyn encountered Zacchia’s book, she had been researching the history of miracles as they related to the declaration of saints, and she was contracted to read samples of bone marrow belonging to a patient with debilitating leukemia who had relapsed. She was surprised to learn that the marrow belonged to a patient under consideration to be named Canada’s first saint, a woman named Marguerite d’Youville. Her research took her to Vatican City for six weeks, where she was granted rare access to the Vatican’s archives. It was there that she kept encountering references to Zacchia, dubbed the “spiritual
father of forensic medicine.” When she ordered his textbook, she realized that her own rudimentary Latin would only let her delve so far. The text was a thick, leatherbound volume featuring goldtooling on the spine and edges of each page—an impressive and daunting sight to behold. “This monumental book with tiny, tiny print all in Latin was sitting on the desk and I was just overwhelmed,” Jacalyn says. “It was this gigantic mystery box, and I personally could not figure out how to decipher it.” She soon discovered the back of the book contained a collection of case studies where Zacchia applied his thinking and examples from the chapters. The case studies gave Jacalyn a basic understanding of the book and the topics
It was the 2016–17 school year, and Diane’s advanced Latin Literature Seminar class included science-minded students and an artist who was interested in the medical nature of the project. Diane connected with Jacalyn, who told her to choose a case study from her website. Diane and her students browsed the list until they came across “consilium 45,” which read in Latin: “Puella duplici vulnusculo forcibus in oculo accepto ad Corneam penetrante, unde albugineus humor in totu effluxerat, ad invocationem B. Felicis Cantalicii, perfectiorem, quam ante haberet, visum recuperate.” “Eww! Girl with an eye poked out—let’s do that one,” Diane says, and laughs while recalling the girls’ glee over their selection. “There were all these topics on pregnancy and childbirth and witchcraft, but the girls wanted
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diane mccorkle , latin teacher :
latin teachers don’t often get to expose their students to a real application of
latin without traveling to the mediterranean.
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confidently together and work through the dense text by “chunking” it into small sections and piecing them together at the end. “It’s so much fun to do it this way because you have no idea what you’re going to come across,” Diane says. “It’s like walking towards something in the distance that’s fuzzy. With each step forward, it gets a little clearer until you finally understand what it says.” This year, the girls chose case study 44, which read in Latin: “Excluditur praesumptio & suspicio veneni propinati, vel strangulationis per vim externam cujusdam incarcerati, qui cum fabas semicoctas comedisset & prae frigore intenso soculum ex carbonibus excitasset, mortuus ibi repertus est.” In short, the study delved into Zacchia’s opinion of what caused certain afflictions, from biology to witchcraft and other supernatural forces. Christine Somerville ’18 translated a section about the causes and meanings of fevers and chills. The project has deepened her appreciation for the subtleties found in different styles of Latin. “The shift from Classical Latin to Medieval Latin goes to show how varied and long-lasting Latin is and has been,” Christine says. “With Medieval Latin, the syntax is more like English, so it’s more familiar but uses different words and a much different vocabulary. Reading a scholarly work like Zacchia’s versus what we normally read has made it challenging but interesting. It’s nice to put Latin to practical use, rather than theoretical.” Kayleen McGinnis ’18 agrees. “Latin is like a puzzle, and the words have different cases but there is no word order. You have to figure out the meaning based on the case of the words, rather than the word order,” she says. Their translation method also keeps students guessing, as each
PHOTO COURTESY OF QUEE N' S UNIVERSITY
ij
to translate the case study about the eye.” The class dove into translating ILLNESSES, DEMONS, the text. In Classical Latin, which AND WITCHCRAFT they had studied in Latin II and It’s early April, and Diane’s Latin AP Latin, verbs appear at the very Literature Seminar students work end of each word with nothing in intently at their laptops in the between. Zacchia’s writing, howlower dining hall, some with ever, was much more straightforplates of fruit and bagels, others ward and easier to read. The girls with mugs of coffee and cups of even found his work humorous juice. There is an easy banter and at times. a general ease among the group “He kept saying, ‘It is as they share updates on different much easier to empty projects—an adaption of the something that has play Amphitryon, which been filled than to fill they would perform something that has in their last days been emptied.’ We together; a translathought, ‘We have to tion of a poem about get that on T-shirts,’” the origins of Mexico Diane jokes. written in the style Once the case study of Virgil; and the next Jacalyn Duffin was complete, the group Zacchia case study. was thrilled to see it Some rest their chins posted on Jacalyn’s webon their hands, while site, credited with their names. others scroll and squint at their And Diane was elated to show screens, thinking deeply. Two the girls how an ancient langirls share eyebrow-raised glances guage like Latin can apply to as they discuss a piece of text. A today’s world. subtle nod ends the exchange. “Latin teachers don’t often Given the structure of Emma’s get to expose their students to a language classes, particularly real application of Latin without Latin and Chinese, which offer traveling to the Mediterranean,” one class at each level, these girls says Diane. have known Diane and each other for four years. They collaborate
PHOTO BY AMOREENA O’ BRYON
Diane McCorkle's Latin students enjoy working together to translate ancient texts.
girl works on an individual section without knowing what comes before or after her section, and there’s the complexity of identifying words versus names of people or illnesses. “I had a paragraph that talked about illnesses that were suddenly onset and then quickly went away,” Kayleen says.“[Zacchia] explained how that doesn’t happen in nature, so those are caused by demons and magic and sorcery. But when you’re translating, it’s hard to get the general idea because you’re so focused on the individual words.” The girls rely on Diane for support during the translation process. She listens thoughtfully while debating word choice and structure. Together, and then often separately “for fun” in their own time, Diane and her most curious students look up words in Latin and Old English dictionaries to learn all of the their meanings and find context clues to determine which translation is best.
“I’m a perfectionist, and I hate the idea that anything could ever end up with an error,” Diane says. “Linguistic research is so much fun because it doesn’t deal with big ideas. You learn so many words when you look up other words.”
LATIN IS A DANCE
When Diane’s class completed their rough translation of case study 44, the novelty of what they had done was profound. “In many ways, other than the amount of experience I have, my students are just as skilled as I am at analyzing texts because they know how to do it, and they are the kind of people who enjoy that sort of thing,” she says. The project has imparted two rare skills: reading Latin at a higher level and being wellpracticed in reasoning. While most of the texts they read in class have been discussed by scholars for hundreds of years and have
“answers,” the Zacchia project required the girls to discuss, explain, and ultimately decide how to translate the work. “Translating Latin is a dance between certainty and uncertainty; a word has a specific form, and you must respect that form. However, you also need to be open-minded,” Diane says. Once the translation is polished, Jacalyn will publish it on her website. At first unsure that anyone would take on the translations, Jacalyn expressed her gratitude for Diane and her class, saying, “This is way more than I ever thought when I set out with this project.” Diane says her next Latin Literature Seminar will translate another case study. “I want to be involved in it for as long as it is available, and if it were to end, I would seek out more opportunities to translate texts that have not ever been translated,” Diane says. “I think it is such a worthy undertaking.”
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i Know a lover of Latin? Spread the word about Zacchia! jacalynduffin.ca/ zacchia
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FALL 2018
From the Triangle FEATURE STORY
As four Emma alumnae celebrate their 50th Reunion, they reflect on a trip to Cleveland that emboldened their social activism. B Y
M E G A N
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CHANGE WAS IN THE AIR << A LOOK BACK, 1967: A BIG WIN IN CLEVELAND FOR CARL STOKES >> Left: Cleveland Mayor Carl B. Stokes Right: After returning from their trip to Cleveland, the girls excitedly shared stories of the campaign with their classmates.
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P H OTO WI K I ME D I A CO MMO N S / C LEVEL AN D M EM ORY PROJECT. CAM PAIGN PIN PH OTO COU RT ESY OF LYN N POL AN
P H OTO COURTESY OF EM M A WI L L AR D SC H O O L ARC H I V E S , O R I GI N AL LY P U B L I S H E D I N T H E AL BAN Y T IME S UNION
FROM THE TR IA NGLE
EMMA WILLARD SCHOOL
SPECIAL EDITION
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From Triangle t was 1967,the and the mood at the campaign
headquarters for Carl B. Stokes was tense, the room pin-drop silent. Stokes was running to become the first black mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, and as the returns trickled in it looked as if he wouldn’t make history. Improbably, four Emma girls—Lynn Polan ’68, Cassandra (Blake) Zarkades ’68, Ruth (Harper) Jacobs ’68, and Barbara Nabrit Stephens ’68—sat among staff and volunteers, hoping their campaigning efforts would pay off. Just a few weeks before election night, Cassandra had approached then-Principal William (Bill) Dietel about supporting Stokes’ campaign—in person. Stokes’ financial officer was Dr. Martin Sutler, father of Sheryl Sutler ’67, and the family had volunteered to host the girls in the city. “I went to [Mr. Dietel] with this hairbrained idea that we should go to Cleveland and help with voting rights,” Cassandra says. Before long, the girls were on a plane, excused from their classes for a real-world lesson in civic responsibility, politics, and racial equality. And for several hours on election night, that real-world lesson seemed grim. “It was a real roller-coaster ride,” Lynn recalls. “The returns were coming in and he was behind for a long time. We were concerned.” Lynn remembers joining Stokes and his family upstairs at the headquarters as they contemplated a loss. “He was sitting there, and I have this memory of him looking around the room and joking with people, saying, ‘Well, if I don’t get elected, I guess I’ll go teach at Emma Willard.’” That teaching post would never manifest. Close to 3:30 a.m., the tide shifted, and Stokes pulled ahead of his opponent, Seth C. Taft. “Then the mood became ecstatic,” Lynn says. “It was thrilling and groundbreaking.” The Albany Times Union reported on the Emma girls’ trip, saying: “The four didn’t go to bed until close to 6 a.m. Wednesday because of the late outcome, endless talk, and a close-to-dawn meal.” The paper also quoted Ruth, who said
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at the time, “We learned more than you could imagine.” So much so, that several of the alumnae, all now celebrating their 50th reunion, say the Cleveland trip was a defining event that sparked lifelong commitments to social consciousness and activism. “I feel like the Stokes campaign was a first step in a long life,” Lynn says.
KNOCKING ON DOORS
In the late ’60s, the mood at Emma Willard School matched the mood of the country, political angst mixed with the exhilaration of change in the air. The civil rights movement was in full force, and just a few months after Stokes was elected, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. “You’ve got to remember that this was a time when everything was in flux,” says Bill, who was principal from 1961 to 1970. “It makes me think about the atmosphere today, a sense that the center wasn’t going to hold. The structure was shaking. It was inspiring, exciting, stimulating, and a little frightening.” Long before schools were using the phrase “experiential learning,” Bill recognized that this Cleveland trip would teach students something they couldn’t learn on Mount Ida. “They got an understanding of a part of American political life that wasn’t real to them before,” Bill says. “They had read about it in textbooks and civics studies, but they’d never been in a campaign. They were caught up in the effort of the black community suddenly having some hope that they really might actually win this election. I think they found it a very energizing and exciting business to be part of—a community coming alive to a potential for its future that simply hadn’t been there before.” This excitement was “in the air,” Bill says. “Frankly, the whole school was excited about the girls going to Cleveland. They all wanted to know about it when they came back.” When the girls arrived in the city, they immediately joined the get-out-the-vote effort, canvassing neighborhoods and
FROM THE TR IA NGLE
“It was very empowering,” Lynn says, who still has her notes from the assembly. “It took it from the theoretical to the actual, and we were in the real world having an impact.”
DO SOMETHING
Fast forward 50 years, and Lynn is still having an impact. After being involved in the anti-Vietnam-War movement in college, her activism lay dormant. This year, however, her passion for change has been reignited, and she’s back on the campaign trail volunteering for Mikie Sherrill, who is running for Congress in New Jersey. Lynn, who retired from teaching in 2005 says, “Volunteering for this woman who is running for Congress is just my
All four Emma alumnae, joined by former Principal William Dietel, returned to campus in June to celebrate their 50th Reunion. From left: Ruth (Harper) Jacobs, Lynn Polan, Cassandra (Blake) Zarkades, Barbara Nabrit-Stephens, and William Dietel.
knocking on doors. The Times Union reported that the girls had “walkarounds into poorer neighborhoods, to ring doorbells and ask how a voter stood.” Cassandra says joining the campaign trail was an eye-opening experience. “The grassroots effort of reaching people doorto-door and encouraging them to get out and vote was mind-blowing—we were received warmly in the neighborhoods which were poised to help Stokes.” As for Ruth, she already had an early education in political activism thanks to her parents. Her father worked for the National Council of Churches and marched with Dr. King, and her mother taught Black history and other history courses at Emma Willard. Still, she says this was her “first experience going doorto-door to talk with people about a campaign, and I remember being surprised that a number of people were not even aware of the election, and some had no interest in it.” Barbara was also not a newcomer to social activism or the fight for racial equality. She attended Emma Willard
P H OTO BY JOE P UTROCK
as part of a program to integrate private schools, called the Independent Schools Talent Search Program. Barbara’s father, a Baptist minister and attorney, was active in the civil rights movement in Memphis, her hometown. Her uncle, James Nabrit, was a prominent civil rights attorney who won several important arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court along with Thurgood Marshall, including the Court’s decision declaring segregation unconstitutional. Still, Cleveland was unique for Barbara. “I hadn’t done anything like that before,” she says. “I got to see the backstage side of campaigning, and the dirty, ugly side of political campaigns, and how decisions have to be made. It was a wonderful experience.” The girls also saw themselves as reporters documenting their experiences for their fellow classmates, and they traversed the city with their notebooks and tape recorders. They slept little, worked tirelessly, and returned to campus wideeyed and exuberant, where they spoke about the trip at a school assembly.
Whatever is igniting you now, go for it. But you gotta keep it up. In two years or four years, you have to go and vote again. You gotta knock on doors, you gotta keep going. LY N N P O L A N ’ 6 8
way of doing something…I’m trying to have some kind of an impact that’s positive in my opinion, and that makes me feel like I’m doing something useful and helpful to change the things that I don’t like.” Barbara, who attended Harvard University, says she was extremely active in student demonstrations and was part of the Black Student Organization. After college and in her profession as a physician and medical director, she says she’s been “a vocal person around what needs
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From the Triangle
to be done. You can’t do everything, and you can’t be everywhere, but you can sure do something where you are. And I try to do something wherever I am.” For her, that’s even meant keeping a stack of voter registration cards to hand out to patients, many of whom were on Medicaid. “If a patient starts complaining to me about not being able to get something or not having a benefit, my first question to her is, ‘Are you a registered voter? Did you vote?’” Ruth’s activism also followed her to college at Washington University, where she was involved in the women’s movement and the anti-Vietnam-War movement. In St. Louis after graduation, she
I got to see the backstage side of campaigning, and the dirty, ugly side of political campaigns, and how decisions have to be made. It was a wonderful experience. B A R B A R A N A B R I T- S T E P H E N S ’ 6 8
helped start one of the first food co-ops in the country, and one of the first rape crisis centers. Ruth earned her law degree from Tulane University College of Law in New Orleans, and she worked as a law clerk for Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Now, she lives in Albany and works as a service coordinator for people with disabilities, and both she and her husband helped campaign for Bernie Sanders in the 2014 election. “I am extremely grateful to Emma Willard for the education I received there, and for giving me the chance to go to Cleveland and work on Mr. Stokes’
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campaign,” Ruth said. “I am grateful for the self-confidence Emma Willard gave me and for the many doors my education there opened for me.” In Oakland, CA, Cassandra also remained politically active at Mills College, where she supported the Black Power movement and rubbed shoulders with activists and leaders like Angela Davis. She taught elementary school in Seattle, having to retire in 1973 because of Parkinson’s disease. The disease, and several brain surgeries, have impaired her memory, and her husband Nick Zarkades sometimes speaks on her behalf. He said, “Cleveland was part of her continuing activism, if you will, toward things that were obviously well stacked against the black population at that time.” Looking at today’s impassioned youth who are leading the charge against gun violence and other inequities, Lynn doesn’t think they need much advice from her—though she does caution students to remember that working for social change requires years of commitment. “Know that you’re in this for the long haul,” she says. “We thought we were electing Carl Stokes in 1967 and that the dam would break, and everything would change. But guess what? It didn’t so much.” Both Lynn and Barbara urge their classmates to continue working to make the world a better place by speaking out and showing up. “Everybody can do something,” Barbara says. “You don’t have to be a senator. You don’t know what kind of influence you have until you have a conversation with somebody.” Lynn says, “Whatever is igniting you now, go for it. But you gotta keep it up. In two years or four years, you have to go and vote again. You gotta knock on doors, you gotta keep going. We’re not going to solve any of these problems, whether it’s gun violence or racial injustice, in one campaign. It’s one step after another.”
Top to bottom: (1) Anna Shupack ’18 and Lily Pickett ’18 speak at a demonstration in Albany as co-heads of Emma’s Democracy Matters Club. (2) Anna holds one of their signs. (3) Emma students attend “Arts Feast,” a fundraiser hosted by Anna Schupack ’18 to benefit the Refugee Immigrant Support Services of Emmaus (RISSE) Center in Albany, NY.
Students Work to Get Big Money Out of Politics ast year, Lillian (Lily) Pickett ’18 and Anna Schupack ’18 started a new club on campus—Democracy Matters—that has a powerful message: Every social issue that students care about, from women’s rights to prison reform to climate change, is hamstrung by too much corporate money poured into politics. The nonpartisan club, which is only the second high school chapter of the national organization, focuses on campaign finance reform—a topic the girls knew might sound wonky to their peers. They first embarked on a mission to educate other Emma girls, inviting guest speakers, showing films about the issue, and tying the progress—or lack thereof—of social issues to the amount of money corporations give to politicians. “The philosophy of the organization is that if powerful corporations and donors are able to donate the most to political campaigns, many of our representatives have to answer to them, and everyday voices are lost,” Lily says. “We lose the principle that our country’s political process was founded on, which is ‘one person, one vote.’” Emma girls responded to their message— about 15–25 students attend each meeting—and they soon turned their education into activism. In January, a cohort of students attended the Women’s March in Albany. “Campaign finance reform is connected to the oppression of women in politics right now,” Lily says. “We discussed the ways that women don’t receive as many donations and aren’t as successful in their campaigns, which is a reason why women’s rights aren’t at the top of a policy list.” On March 14, the club helped lead a walk-out at Emma Willard School in national solidarity with the shooting victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students. And on April 20, over 100 Emma students and members of the club joined other schools’ student groups at a rally in Albany to support the #neveragain movement against gun violence. Anna and Lily addressed the crowd, delivering powerful speeches. “Our message had a
P H OTOS COURTESY OF EM M A’S D E MO C R ACY MAT T E R S C LU B
lens of campaign finance reform, so we talked about how the NRA has an inordinate amount of influence on politicians today,” Anna says. “Reforms in the realm of gun control are harder because people in power aren’t listening to the majority of our voices. That’s not what democracy is about.” Both girls say they’ve gained their social consciousness at Emma. “I would not be this passionate and confident in my values without going to Emma Willard,” says Anna, who partially credits her participation in Cluett House, a residential experience that focuses on making a positive change in the world. Lily says she’s been impressed by the school’s support of the club’s actions, including the walk-out. Prior to the rally at the state’s capital, Emma’s Director of Student Life Emily Snyder contacted Lily and Anna to express her support and offer buses to help transport the students, an expense paid for by a parent. “We were given a lot of freedom in planning because she understood this was to be a student movement, but she also wanted to make sure that we would be able to do what we could do in a safe way,” Lily says. Emma Willard has a long history of social activism, and Emily says supporting the girls is in keeping with this tradition. “Historically, Emma Willard’s own support of girls’ education could be seen as a radical act, so I think
FROM THE TR IA NGLE
DEMOCRACY MATTERS L
Emma’s Democracy Matters club poses at a march for women’s rights in Albany, NY.
our community tends naturally towards the promotion of equity and justice,” she says. “We are educating our students to do more than just get good grades; we are teaching them to think critically about their world, propose solutions to the problems that they see, and find meaningful ways to promote change.” Emily pointed to other Emma groups who are working for social justice and equity, like Fair Trade, National Alliance on Mental Illness, and Black Hispanic Awareness, as well as students’ involvement with community organizations like Hope 7, the RISSE Center, and Emma’s growing service learning program. This fall, Lily will attend Brown University and Anna will study human rights at Bard College, and they’re leaving the club in the hands of new leadership under Sage Aronson ’20, Molly Jebson ’19, and Freya Haworth ’20. “It feels incredible to be involved in this at such a young age,” Lily says. “I think that young people are often discouraged, both by their superiors and adults in their lives, to ignore politics or just not be as politically active as they should be. We get a lot of criticism as a generation that we are too apathetic, and that we don’t take the opportunities that we have to influence the way that our government serves us as we should. Our group really tries to instill a civic responsibility in students.”—Megan Tady
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From the Triangle
Best Being the
STORY BY ERIN PIHLAJA I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S H A N N O N M AY
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We live in a competitive culture, but we can teach teenage girls that success looks different for everyone.
FROM THE TR IA NGLE
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life of a high school student is dramatically different from what many adults remember. With the advent of the internet and social media, and an increasingly competitive college admissions process, girls field many pressures today that their teachers and parents did not. Emma Willard School counters these pressures with support and programs that instill self-confidence, selfcompassion, and resiliency, and Mount Ida serves as a safe place for girls to safely take risks and truly be themselves.
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I [was] a proctor and even my freshmen [were] freaking out about college, and they were only 14 years old. MI CH AE L A B E NTO N ’1 8
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Rachel Simmons, an educator and leadership development specialist at Smith College, has studied the stressors for adolescent girls for years, and she’s written several books on the subject, including her recent work, Enough as She Is. One of the biggest stressors for driven high schoolers, Rachel says, is applying to college. “We have a cultural problem: the college admissions mania—the sense that one’s worthiness rides on their college acceptance,” she says. In the Emma Willard School College Counseling office, the mantra, courtesy of Frank Sachs, director of college counseling at the Blake School in Minneapolis, is: “College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.” Counselors Kent Jones and Alysia Majeran wage the never-ending battle that many counselors are
facing across the country—parents and students who want acceptance to what they perceive as the “best” school in a hyper-marketed, highly competitive, and exceedingly selective college admissions process. Much has changed in the last decade—including online applications, increased awareness of school branding, and specialized internet search capability. Despite declining numbers in 18-year-olds entering the college sphere, colleges have seen an uptick in the applications they receive. Students are applying to more schools, and students like those at Emma Willard are applying to a smaller group of highly selective colleges and universities. This has dramatically increased the levels of stress students feel. Michaela Benton ’18 knows this pressure well. She remembers being a junior and finding the process panic inducing. But once she finalized everything in her senior year, she felt completely at peace and was happy with the end result. She tried to share her experience with other girls at Emma. “I [was] a proctor and even my freshmen [were] freaking out about college, and they were only 14 years old.”
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Early decision has significantly impacted the entire admissions process, and approximately 80 percent of Emma students apply for early decision with the hopes that they will increase their chances of being accepted. Instead of applying to college mid-senior year, early decision applications are due by November 1—only weeks after students begin their last year at Emma. “They have to pick a school because, to them, it’s a strategy to help their chances of admission, and it adds the layer of stress when some of them don’t even know exactly what they’re looking for— they’re still evolving, changing, and growing,” says Alysia. “That often creates a loss of the love of learning, which is what colleges want. They want you to meet their standards, but they don’t want you to meet these standards at the loss of a love of learning.” Kent and Alysia work diligently to guide families to make the best decision for their daughters. “Part of what we do is provide information about the process, let them know that there are parts within their control as an applicant, and parts outside of their control. We have them focus on the parts that they can control, mainly the self-assessment of the student’s interests and capabilities. We want them to start within rather than starting outside,” she explains. Kent continues: “We want to shift the focus from names of schools to matching the right school for each girl. We start the conversation about what is a good fit and let them see that a good fit is not necessarily the most selective school. It
Y j=
It’s important that we show girls that failure is okay—it actually strengthens and bolsters leaders. Encouraging them to try new and challenging things, and allowing them to struggle and to keep trying teaches self-confidence. RACH EL SIMMONS , AU T HOR OF E NO UG H AS SHE IS
could be a school they had not even thought about.” Both counselors say that Michaela’s experience—feeling stress her junior year to get into a particular college, to finding true peace in her senior year despite choosing a different school—is very common. Kent describes a student who did not get accepted into Stanford University, which devastated her and her parents. “If you had been there you would have seen tears streaming down her face. It was a tragedy for them.” The student ended up choosing between Brown University and Columbia University, ultimately selecting Columbia, and Jones touched base with her right after graduation. She was thrilled with her new path and excited to embark on her college career.
Lifelong Learners Take RISKS Researchers, Rachel says, report that self-compassion is the lowest in adolescence, especially in teen girls. Programs that promote mindful self-compassion specifically for teens have shown that participants
showed less stress, lower anxiety and depression, and elevated “resilience and healthy risk taking.” She recently wrote an article in The New York Times: “To teach their children how to show themselves grace in the face of a challenge, I coach parents to model selfcompassion in the face of everyday setbacks. When describing a disappointment at work, demonstrate what self-kindness sounds like: ‘I did my best, and I’ll make sure not to make that mistake next time.’” In Enough as She Is, Rachel describes skills as muscles that need to be repeatedly flexed to keep “strong and agile.” Risk taking, she says, is such a muscle. It’s important that we show girls that failure is okay—it actually strengthens and bolsters leaders. Encouraging them to try new and challenging things,
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Michaela Benton ’18 (center) and friends embrace and rejoice together at Baccalaureate 2018.
We want to shift the focus from names of schools to matching the right school for each girl. We start the conversation about what is a good fit and let them see that a good fit is not necessarily the most selective school.
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K E NT J ONE S , CO L L EG E CO UN SELIN G OFFICE @ E MMA W I L L ARD SC HO O L
and allowing them to struggle and to keep trying teaches self-confidence. She says that students with a growth mindset, or those who believe that they can improve with “effort, strategy, and mentoring” are actually drawn to challenges and thrive despite setbacks—an important trait to have in the world beyond high school. “I was a very driven young woman who won a Rhodes Scholarship, went to Oxford, and then ended up becoming very depressed and dropping out, which at the time was a huge and embarrassing failure for me,” says Rachel. “Finally, I realized what had taken me to Oxford was not a genuine desire to study in England, but to be a Rhodes Scholar and get attention and recognition. I had become really habituated to being rewarded and being the best, and so I kind of got addicted to feedback.” Carol Bendall, AP Psychology instructor at Emma Willard School, says grades often de-incentivize girls to follow their passions. “We reduce intrinsic motivation when we increase extrinsic rewards,” she says. “So, the student that truly loves biology actually has that love a little bit diminished by all of the A’s and by all of the success. Students don’t always understand that the true intrinsic motivation would be, ‘I love biology. I love the time I spend studying biology or writing about it.’” Carol believes that Emma Willard School excels at offering students the chance to explore passions and interests through Signature and Practicum programs, where girls choose topics and causes outside of
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Learn more about college counseling at Emma Willard School at emmawillard.org/page/academics/ college-counseling
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the Emma curriculum and spend time developing projects, internships, and impactful experiences. These students do not receive grades at the end of their studies, instead they present what they’ve learned to the Emma community. Personalized learning in programs like these can lead to more success because the student is excited by the learning process itself. A girl can take risks, which is especially important to lifelong learners. “They are at a moment when they should be able to explore, to fail comfortably, and to be curious,” Rachel says.
Being YOU is Enough Building healthy friendships is crucial to a girl’s development. “From early adolescence, the need for friendship and to be part of a group is particularly strong,” says Carol. Girls inspire other girls, and those close friendships have a measurable impact. In a 20-year review of the National College Health Assessment, girls across varying demographics consistently ranked themselves as less confident than their male counterparts in the same roles. There was one exception, according to Rachel. Graduates of all-girls schools reported being “smarter, more confident, and more engaged in school” than did girls who graduated from co-ed schools. “I think that Emma’s biggest upside is that it attracts wildly competitive people,” says a student in Carol’s AP Psychology class. She points out that students are extremely supportive of one another, and that it’s easy to get caught up in being accomplished and at the top
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From early adolescence, the need for friendship and to be part of a group is particularly strong.
PHOTO BY AMOREENA O’ BRYON
CA ROL B ENDA L L , A P P SYC HOLOGY I NST RU C TO R @ EM M A W I L L A RD SC HOOL
when you are surrounded by driven, intelligent friends. “You always want to be where your peers are in the scale of how much you’re doing, and how many classes you’re taking. You’re always trying to take one extra step because you want to be a step ahead of your whole class. It’s not necessarily a bad thing—we enjoy the competition— but it can become overwhelming because sometimes you wonder, ‘Why did I sign up for all of these classes? I don’t have an interest in them, I just want to be able to fill my schedule,’” she says. In addition to comparing themselves with other students in school, girls today face social comparison
pressures online, where controlling the way others see them is the norm. “The essence of social media is that it encourages us to be a better version of ourselves—whatever that means for us,” says Rachel. “That inherently tells girls that who they are right now is not enough.”
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She warns against naming social media as the root cause of teenage depression, anxiety, or insecurity. “Blaming social media exclusively is a very good way of letting adults off the hook. How we use it is the problem, opposed to the fact of its existence. If we are already feeling insecure with how we think people think about us, social media is going to exacerbate that.” Rachel urges adults to talk to girls and let them know that this is a societal issue that impacts a lot of people, and to lead by example as often as they can. She says, “One of the best gifts you can give a girl is to be your true self in front of her. Show that being who you are is enough.”
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One of the best gifts you can give a girl is to be your true self in front of her. Show that being who you are is enough. RAC HEL S I M M ONS
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CO N N ECTIO N S
Campus Traditions
Emma Willard School faculty process into the Alumnae Chapel for Opening Convocation, the traditional start of the academic year.
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Admissions
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How to Apply
Applying to a new school can be overwhelming. The admissions team at Emma is here to help make the application process as easy as possible. The Emma application process includes the following: APPLICATION This can be completed online at www.emmawillard.org/admissions. The application includes: ❑ Application Form ❑ Essay ❑ Parent Statement ❑ Application Fee TRANSCRIPTS Should be completed by a school official and contain a minimum of two years of credits as well as the first semester or trimester of the current academic year. RECOMMENDATIONS ❑ English Teacher ❑ Math Teacher ❑ Teacher of Choice
TESTING While we look at much more than test scores when selecting our future Emma Girls, standardized tests help us learn more about each girl’s academic background. More information on the tests we use in our admissions process can be found at www.emmawillard.org/ admissions. INTERVIEW Please contact the admissions office at 518.833.1320 or admissions@emma willard.org to schedule your interview. IMPORTANT DATES Application deadline: February 1 Financial aid application deadline: February 1 Admissions decision: March 10 Enrollment contract and deposit due: April 10 emmawillard.org
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Signing Off HEAD OF SCHOOL, JENNY RAO
A Shared Vision As I begin my “sophomore year” as head of Emma Willard School, I have much to reflect on. On a beautiful morning last June, I watched my first graduating Emma class walk across the stage, heads held high with pride. There were many smiles, and some shed tears of joy and sadness, as each young woman officially ended her time as a student of this great institution. Parents and families, faculty and friends—all cherished this seminal moment in which we sent our seniors on to their next chapters. Roughly two weeks later, I witnessed the deep bonds of Emma alumnae, some who had graduated five years before, and some who were celebrating with their Emma sisters who graduated decades ago. We laughed and reminisced, and cheered all of the classes as they marched in the Reunion parade. Bearing posters that read: “I am still marching,” and “We persisted,” William Dietel and the Class of 1968 reminded us that generations of women have borne witness to the passages of history and time while on Mount Ida, each year unique in its own way—but bonded with each other nonetheless. I will always look back on this first year with fondness. Schools—especially Emma—are hubs of activity, and we have certainly had a busy year. Over the summer our adult community read the book, Enough As She Is, by Smith College Professor Rachel Simmons. The book gives insight into the anxieties of adolescent girls, and provides strategies on how to help them move beyond impossible standards of success to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Simmons argues that when perfection is the ultimate goal, we are less likely to allow ourselves to experience true challenge for fear of not achieving perfection. In fact, taking risks and being challenged are important conditions for deep learning to occur. At our opening convocation this year I shared with our students that what I value and have come to treasure is not challenge per se but the experi-
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E M M A W I LL AR D SC HO O L
ence of growing through challenge. It allows us to go deeper into our minds and hearts, and the deeper we go the more profoundly we are able to live our lives. At Emma Willard, we strive to instill in our students the pursuit of lifelong learning where growing becomes a habit and an objective. One piece of last year’s labor that I am particularly proud of are our continuing efforts to ensure our campus and culture are safe, and that our students have the skills and tools to be safe in their lives beyond Emma Willard. At a time where women’s voices are finally being heard on a global level, I firmly believe that Emma Willard School is poised to be a leader in cultivating safe communities and enacting real culture change around these issues. We have engaged industry leaders in the effort to eradicate sexual assault and misconduct from campuses to train our Board of Trustees, our administrators, and our faculty. Through these efforts, and with the additional guidance of our Core Leadership Team established by Culture of Respect, we developed the Emma Willard School Standards of Behavior for our entire adult community. This important document details guidelines that set the tone for our culture, which allow us to continue to build healthy relationships with our students, while maintaining the proper boundaries needed for those bonds to flourish. All of our safety policies and procedures have been reviewed by legal experts in this area to ensure that we are adhering to or exceeding best practices. Safety is a collective effort and this important work will continue to be a top priority for me. Every person I have connected with since arriving at Mount Ida has deepened my understanding of and admiration for Emma Willard School. Your voices, stories, and experiences inform and inspire my leadership. I look forward to our work ahead where, together, we will craft the future vision for Emma Willard.
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