May 2021 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

May 19, 2021 Volume 56, Issue 6

the Everything Greenhill

evergreen.greenhill.org

The New Normal?

People are dying every day due to gun violence.

Why is no one talking about it? p. 4 Return to Campus Processing Loss Greenhill School won’t offer an online learning option for the 2021-2022 school year and considers vaccine and mask mandates, p. 2.

Informing Greenhill since 1966

In a year of pandemic-related death and social, political, and racial upheaval, community members reflect on life and loss, p. 12.

Graphic by Khushi Chhaya

Senior Section

The Evergreen celebrates the Class of 2021 as seniors conclude a year of changed traditions and remote college visits, p. 17.

4141 Spring Valley Road, Addison, TX 75001

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News

Online classes to end, fall planning proceeds

SOURCE: Evergreen poll of 159 Upper School students.

Graphic by Khushi Chhaya

Saara Bidiwala and Valerie Xu

W

ith many Greenhill students and faculty among the 120 million Americans fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by May 14, school administrators have begun drafting preliminary plans for fall classes and campus activities.

One big decision has been made: The school will offer only in-person classes starting next fall.

Aside from that, administrators are still in the process of figuring out what has worked during the past year and what hasn’t.

“Each division has a small working group that’s reflecting on the protocols we’ve had this year and what are the things that, particularly from a faculty standpoint, they truly feel that they can hold people accountable to and we can continue to have,” Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester said.

Although Greenhill will continue to listen to the guidance of local and federal health experts as new information comes out, the rising vaccination numbers among students and faculty have reduced the need to continue online school in the fall, Head of School Lee Hark said. In recent days, vaccine eligibility has been modified to include students as young as 12.

“Vaccine eligibility will have a positive impact on what we’re able to do—especially when the majority of our community members [become] vaccine-eligible,” said Hark. “Regardless, though, we will continue to be cautious and prudent when making decisions about how to move forward, just as we have this year.”

Tentative plans On March 31, senior administrators held a webinar to update Greenhill families on the school’s tentative plans for next fall. Among the topics discussed were the removal of the remote learning option, masks and the possibility of a vaccine mandate for Greenhill employees.

“We all agree that [masks are] effective,” Associate Head of School, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Kendra Grace said during the webinar.

“We probably will continue to have them in the fall.”

Hark said during the webinar that schools in the area were in discussion about a vaccine mandate, but he does not believe Greenhill will require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“The vast majority of our faculty have already been either fully vaccinated or at least received their first shot,” Hark said. “My personal hope is that everyone who can get vaccinated will, but requiring it felt like yet another thing to demand of our faculty in a year when the demands on them have been extraordinary.”

Hark says that the school still strongly recommends that both students and faculty who are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine get it.

Ultimately, Grace says that all decisions are made to put the well-being of the community first.

Community response Freshman Natalie Stachowiak, who has been learning remotely since last year, believes that removing the remote learning option at the start of next school year is reasonable, given the number of people who will be vaccinated by then and how much more experience the school will have had with schooling during the pandemic.

“I think that at that point enough people will be

vaccinated for it to be safe enough because my primary concern was safety,” Stachowiak said. “A new school year would be the best time to do this.”

Senior Adina Durden agrees that most people should come back in person but thinks there should be a few exceptions.

“I do know some of my friends have immunocompromised parents at home, and I think that they should still be allowed to be remote,” Durden said.

“But if you don’t have anyone who’s immunocompromised at home, I feel like it’s okay for you to come back, especially if we are still going on the upward trend of people getting vaccinated in Texas.”

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the hard work of our nurses, and the way everyone in this community has gone above and beyond to ensure this school year was a success,” Grace said. “I’m incredibly grateful to be a part of this community.”

Hark says plans for next fall are still very ambiguous.

Much like during the pandemic, it’s hard to predict the future, he said.

Still, Hark says he is excited for what the future holds.

“We are going to begin walking back toward normal Greenhill,” Hark said during the webinar. “We just need to do it in a way that keeps the community safe, and we’re going to do that. We can’t wait to get there.”

We are going to begin walking back toward normal Greenhill. We just need to do it in a way that keeps the community safe, and we’re going to do that. We can’t wait to get there.”

Although senior Josh Flowers agrees that Greenhill has done a good job of maintaining safety within the community, he believes the only way for the school to safely transition from the pandemic is requiring vaccines.

“There are already so many vaccinations we are required to have to go to school in the first place, so I don’t see why there would be any problems adding this one to the list,” Flowers said. “While getting the vaccine is an important step to protecting yourself, it’s also crucial to protecting the community.”

Regardless, many Greenhill students have already taken the vaccine or are planning to do so. In a recent poll of Upper School students, 73% of 159 respondents said they had already been vaccinated.

Flowers, who has been vaccinated, says that he fully trusts the vaccine. He says he hopes that the vaccine will help America “overcome the virus.”

“I’m a firm believer in science, and there is plenty supporting the vaccine and its efficacy,” said Flowers.

Upper School history teacher Genie Burke says the transparency among scientists developing the vaccine and the research she has done all made her feel confident that the vaccine was safe to take.

“My responsibility, as a non-scientist, is to gather as much valuable information [as I can],” Burke said. “I think that’s everybody’s responsibility, and from everything from the trusted people that I’ve chosen to listen to over the pandemic, I have no long-term concerns at all. I think it’s magnificent what science has done in such a short amount of time.”

Stronger than before With so many students returning to campus next year, Worcester says there will continue to be challenges with the process of integrating everyone back onto campus.

“It’s a really fluid set of circumstances,” Worcester said. “Part of it is going to be what happens this summer, and I think, unfortunately, we’re still going to have to plan for two or three different scenarios.”

Regardless of the hurdles ahead, Grace says she continues to be moved by the strong resolve of the Greenhill community amid the challenges of this past year.

“There is no doubt this was a difficult year for everyone, but I have been nothing but impressed and encouraged by the creativity of our faculty, the resilience of our students,

Graphic by Khushi Chhaya

the Ever Evergreen

Wednesday, May 19 , 2021

News

Annual Latin convention remote again Isabel Martinez

U

pper School Latin students qualified for the National Junior Classical League competition in July after a strong performance in the state meeting.

Drawing Courtesy of Khushi Chhaya

ROMAN-THEMED ART: Sophomore Khushi Chhaya submitted a drawing in the Texas State Junior Classical League competition.

The Texas State Junior Classical League annual convention was held entirely online for the second consecutive year because of pandemic concerns. The annual spring competition tests students on their Latin abilities in multiple-choice tests and musical and artistic Latin events like vocal ensemble and photography.

“There are various sections,” said Upper School Modern and Classical Languages Department Chair Laura Hudec. “There are the academic competitions, which are written tests. Some of the academic competitions are actually performancebased as well, such as Latin oratory, where they memorize a passage and deliver it in the oratorical style, and there are many more.”

This year, the majority of Latin students participated in the competition.

Almost everybody who participated in was ranked in the top five for their respective events. Junior Aimee Stachowiak came in third in Dramatic Interpretation and third in Myth, while sophomore Nikitha Thoduguli ranked first in Classical Photography.

To qualify for the national competition, students must rank first, second or third in their event. Students are able to compete and qualify in multiple events.

Students spend hours studying and preparing in different ways to be ready for their tests and events.

“There’s a lot of preparation involved,” said Stachowiak. “For example, to study

for the academic tests, I study Quizlets and make sure I understand all the information as much as possible. For the performance events, it’s a lot more difficult because it’s a lot of memorization.”

In previous years, Stachowiak says, students have prepared for their tests and events as a group; however, COVID-19 has forced students to rely on self-study and practice for events in front of a limited audience.

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Junior Classical League participants often use the competition as an opportunity to simply bond with each other and to make new friends.

“My favorite part of JCL is probably the community that you build and the friendships that you retain,” said Thoduguli.

“It’s just really cool because you’re all there for the same shared love of Latin, but you’re all also having tons of fun together.”

Photo courtesy of Nikitha Thoduguli GREEK GODDESS: For her entry at the state level, Nikitha Thoduguli entered a photograph of pomegranates representing Persephone, the deity of spring growth.

Debate finishes pandemic year with national success Emma Rikalo

T

he Upper School debate team has completed another successful year in state and national competitions, with top performers winning several national titles.

In April, Greenhill students competed in the National Debate Coaches Association tournament and the Tournament of Champions, securing several first-place finishes in various individual and team events.

The World Schools Debate team of juniors Caroline Greenstone, Ashley Shan, Cam Kettles and Aimee Stachowiak earned first place at the National Debate Coaches tournament, their second national win following success at the National Speech and Debate Association tournament last summer.

Many students also won speaker awards at the National Debate Coaches tournament. Ashton Higgins was named top speaker; Greenstone was second; Kettles, third;Shan, fourth; Nate Stitt, seventh; Natalie Stachowiak, eighth; and Sophia Li, ninth.

At the Tournament of Champions, Joshua Timmons won the championship in both Program Oral Interpretation and Oral Interpretation events. In policy debate, Lindsay Jade Feinstein and Shruti Siva advanced to the round featuring the final 16 competitors. Krutin Devesh and Varsha Gande finished in the top 32 in the LincolnDouglas format; Devesh was also named fifth best speaker in the event.

In two other highlights, Kettles was recently selected to the U.S. delegation to the World Championship held online from Macau; and Timmons won first place in Program Oral Interpretation at the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions.

Higher stakes Going into the National Debate Coaches Association tournament, team members went through the familiar

process of preparing and researching their arguments. Their goal is to create detailed cases for all sides of their prepared motions and hone their skills at impromptu motions, which are assigned one hour before each round.

“We approached it the way we approach any other tournament, which is that we want to win,” Greenstone said.

Stachowiak agreed, saying the team was always thinking of how to better their arguments.

“I think that the prep itself is what makes us so successful because we are constantly pushing ourselves to get to the best cases,” Aimee Stachowiak said.

After advancing through nine rounds of competition, including two byes, Greenstone, Shan, Kettles and Aimee Stachowiak became National Debate Coaches Association champions.

In addition to winning, team members say they have forged strong bonds.

“I think that the whole year we spend putting a lot of time into debate, and it works out, it proves to be worth it,” said Greenstone. “Not just because of the victories, because those are nice too, but because tournaments are times that we try to have a lot of fun.”

They’re the most hardworking people that I know.

I think that all of us genuinely care about the activity and genuinely care about our team’s success.”

Greenhill debaters who were part of the Tournament of Champions participated in a variety of sections and events, with

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Director of Debate Aaron Timmons says the program encourages students to always compete at their best and to match and exceed their competition.

“With any national tournament the stakes are a little higher,” said Aaron Timmons. “You know everybody’s just going to bring their A game. It’s a question of how you anticipate all that.”

As the three-day tournament began, Aimee Stachowiak says the team quickly gained confidence and hit their stride.

“The first preliminary day, I was a little nervous, but as soon as we started debating, everything clicked as it usually does, and it was really, really smooth,” Aimee Stachowiak said.

Greenstone says the team’s accomplishment was largely due to their dedication and the extreme effort they were willing to put into knowing their cases and strategies front and back.

“They’re the most hardworking people that I know,” said Greenstone. “I think that all of us genuinely care about the activity and genuinely care about our team’s success.”

Tournament of Champions

competitions,” said Aaron Timmons. “So, you have the best of the best all together competing in every round.”

For junior Krutin Devesh, this year marked his first time going to the Tournament of Champions.

Devesh moved through preliminary rounds to the first elimination round, featuring the final 32 competitors.

Competing in the Program Oral Interpretation and Oral Interpretation events, senior Joshua Timmons won the championship in both.

In preparation for the Tournament of Champions, Joshua Timmons worked on perfecting his chosen speeches and prose, saying that at this point in the season, he was mainly focused on making his performances as impactful as possible.

“I was definitely a little bit nervous,

Photo courtesy of Caroline Greenstone

NATIONAL CHAMPS: The World Schools debate team champions are, clockwise from left: Caroline Greenstone; Aimee Stachowiak; Cam Kettles and Ashley Shan.

students involved in Lincoln-Douglas and Policy debate formats as well as individual speech-based championships.

“Anybody that’s participated in the tournament has been successful at both regional, and more likely national level

but I usually don’t try to worry myself with anything, I just go there and do my thing, and then it’s up to the judges what they think of what I do,” said Joshua Timmons.

“I just try to focus more on doing the message that I want to send.”

Evergreen Ever the

4 News

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

The new normal?

World News Israel and Palestine

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

Avery Franks and Emma Nguyen

J

unior Maddy Schlegel was sitting in her room watching TV in the spring of 2020 when she heard a loud cracking noise. She removed one of her headphones to listen for a second, but the noise stopped.

She continued with her show, never once taking her eyes off the screen.

“It ended up being that somebody had shot from their car while driving along my street, in the opposite direction of my house,” Schlegel said. “Had they shot on my side of the street, a bullet could have gone through my window, and I didn’t even look.”

Schlegel is the president and founder of the March for Our Lives Club at Greenhill, which promotes conversation and activism around gun violence in the United States.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks violent incidents involving firearms, there have been 198 mass shootings in 2021 as of May 11. The archive defines a mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are killed or injured, not including the perpetrator.

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Going to a progressive school like Greenhill and having conversations like we do, there is a better chance that kids will realize how wrong this is and grow up to be activists. However, these shootings are not sending a good message to these kids or helping them in any way.”

“We, as a society, almost become numb to it because it happens so often,” Upper School Dean of Students Jack Oros said.

“When the Sandy Hook and Colorado [shootings] happened, ‘Oh my God, it’s happening!’ And we get desensitized to it.”

This trend of increased gun violence has caused many to wonder how it will affect the younger generation, and if they will develop an increased desensitization to these events.

Fatigue from COVID-19 has also led to more gatherings in an attempt to return to normal, which has increased the risk of gun violence in large groups of people.

“Now that things are opening up and people are getting vaccinated, it means going back to having mass shootings every single day and having to hear about these tragedies on the news after a long day of work or school,” Schlegel said.

The pre-COVID “normal” Before COVID-19 became widespread, “the normal” meant frequent headlines of mass shootings and gun violence. Last year found gun sales soaring at the start of the pandemic; authorities reported 3.7 million background checks in March 2020 alone.

Experts like Lisa Geller, state affairs manager at the nonprofit Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, say this isn’t a coincidence.

COVID-19 and its restrictions have prevented Americans from accessing social services to the detriment of mental health.

“I think we are very aware that food insecurity, isolation and lack of social services are risk factors for many forms of gun violence,” Geller said in an interview by NBC News.

The overwhelming nature of gun violence, Associate Head of School for Mission, Community and Culture Tom Perryman adds, has led students to normalize such events to avoid constantly living in fear of a shooting happening to them.

“The absolute biggest risk of this whole situation is that we become jaded to it and we almost treat it as if it’s normal when there’s another shooting,” said Perryman. “Human beings, when they are confronted with awful things over and over, eventually have to put up protective defenses.”

Junior Anissa Bryant, vice president of the campus March for Our Lives Club, believes that the lack of activism and the government’s failure to act contribute to the normalization of the issue.

“The next generations to come are definitely going to feel [numb] if we keep having shootouts and the feeling that things aren’t going to change because the government isn’t doing anything,” Bryant said.

Search for solutions The debate over gun violence remains deadlocked in Washington, D.C. where the power of the National Rifle Association and Republican opposition to gun-control measures in Congress have blocked meaningful action.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on April 26 to review a major Second Amendment rights case, New York State Rifle et al v.

Corlett, on whether carrying firearms should be allowed outside the house. President Joe Biden has promised gun reform on behalf of his administration, but a conservative Supreme Court majority could thwart that effort.

At Greenhill, COVID-19 restrictions, activism fatigue and the normalization of gun violence has meant fewer conversations regarding the issue.

“Going to a progressive school like Greenhill and having conversations like we do, there is a better chance that kids will realize how wrong this is and grow up to be activists,” said Bryant. “However, these shootings are not sending a good message to these kids or helping them in any way.”

Since the 2018 Middle School Walkout protest against gun violence following the Florida shooting that left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Greenhill community has rarely addressed the issue. Most conversations around gun violence are driven by student advocacy, which takes place in classrooms and in clubs.

“I am so proud of our students for

recognizing their power and their agency, and their ability to change the world,” Perryman said. “This country has seen how powerful students could be. But then, as is often the case, we kind of get complacent, and we stop fighting for things that really matter.”

It’s difficult to say how much the drop in gun violence activism stems from COVID-19 guidelines that have restricted such movements and gatherings from happening.

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The people who make decisions, we have to force them to make them. We have to pressure people into giving us basic rights and basic protections .”

“We have not had assemblies on gun violence or have any classes that have dealt with that,” Oros said. “We just can’t get many kids close to each other in a space and still have our six-feet social distancing. I’m sure that will be in the fall, we’ll pick those [conversations] up again.”

In the shadow of such incidents as the 2012 murder of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and more recent school shootings, the administration has also taken steps to increase student safety. Glass windows on campus have been reinforced to include a shield. Campus security has also been strengthened to include experts who are trained to deal with an active shooter.

But in broader American society, the search for solutions appears to have stalled— despite the fact that 57% of Americans favor further restrictions on the sale of firearms, according to a Gallup poll.

The Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives has passed two bills aimed at strengthening the nation’s gun laws, but Senate Democrats lack the 60 votes needed for the bills to advance.

This inaction frustrates many Americans, including Greenhill students.

“The government doesn’t protect us as much as they should, and I think we realized that much younger than other generations,” Schlegel said. “The people who make decisions, we have to force them to make them. We have to pressure people into giving us basic rights and basic protections.”

Schlegel and Bryant don’t feel like enough has happened on campus to create the pressure that will produce results in Washington.

“I don’t blame the [Greenhill] administration because they can’t read our minds if we aren’t saying anything,” said Bryant. “What can an administration do if the students aren’t doing something to force them to take action?”

Violence has continued to flare across several cities in Israel and Palestine this week after demonstrations in East Jerusalem following the eviction of Palestinian families in the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood.

Israeli law allows Jewish people to reclaim property that they owned in East Jerusalem prior to 1948. Current international law considers East Jerusalem Palestinian territory. The Israeli Supreme Court postponed a hearing on these evictions to decide the constitutionality of the expulsion due to the violence.

The Israeli government argues the evictions are a private land dispute while a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres described East Jerusalem as territory occupied by Israel.

India COVID-19 cases in India spiked dramatically in late April and have continued to increase, with new cases surging past 400,000 each day. Experts say this spike is due to a second wave that caught India unprepared. As a result, hospitals are running out of basic medical supplies, leaving many patients to die from a lack of oxygen.

Family members of those affected

by COVID-19 have been forced to search frantically for open ICU beds or to turn to the black market for oxygen sold at high costs. Many international families have found themselves unable to travel due to the risks, and cannot see their loved ones.

Countries such as the U.S., United Kingdom and Japan have sent vaccines to India, but distribution is slow.

Colombia In response to recent protests, the Colombian government has killed dozens and injured over 800 people. Another hundred or so have disappeared in suspected government-linked extrajudicial abductions. Citizens expressed their outrage with government corruption, economic and social inequality and pandemic-related tax reforms. In the western city of Cali, the epicenter of the demonstrations, protesters haven been met with severe police brutality.

“This government wants everything from us, but we have nothing, and now they’re using violence to silence us,” protester Juan Carlos Neiva said in an interview with USA TODAY.

Myanmar Myanmar has seen the civilian death toll rise to nearly 800 since the military overthrew a popularly elected government in February.

Former state counselor leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 recipient of the Nobel Peace prize for her efforts to restore democracy in the Southeast Asian country, initially shared power alongside the military before being ousted in the Feb. 1 military takeover. The military, called the Tatmadaw, has restricted civilians’ internet access. Despite the bloody crackdown on civilians, in which government troops have opened fire on civilians, democratic protesters have continued to take to the streets of major cities.

“The call [to protest] is much bigger now,” said activist Wai Hnin Pwint Thon in an interview with VOX.

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A year of pain and pandemic

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I’d say that I’m pleased that Greenhill has decided to take a stance on a lot of these issues and put out statements. I think the statements can be vague at times and not really hit the nail on the head. I would like to see some more specificity with some of those statements, but I definitely do appreciate that the school is showing that they care enough to acknowledge what its students have been experiencing. I’m very grateful for that.”

The pandemic has taught me that the physicalities of Greenhill can be taken away in an instant. Greenhill is the common factor of our community, and if we can use it to support and empower others, Greenhill will last us our whole lives.”

- junior Julian Iwasko

- senior Josh Flowers

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I think lower income people of color who are here on financial aid were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. It’s not easy.

Obviously, not having the kind of cash to have the technology necessary to have done online classes or continue to get sports credits, things like that.”

- sophomore Madison Rojas

Nationally, I had seen many more instances of racial discrimination on the news and on social media before this year, even though it was highlighted this year.”

- freshman Marina Richard

I think racial tensions have always been there, but I think it’s clear that in this past year we have really seen how political and social events and crises can stir the pot enough to bring a lot of underlying sentiments to view.”

- sophomore Shreeya Madhavanur

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As a virtual learner, my current Greenhill is simply a daily series of online interactions. Being in a virtual environment has led me to truly value the people I’m privileged to work with and learn from every day.”

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- junior Kendall Hashimoto Personally, I’ve been sheltered from everything since I am more privileged, so I don’t really face what other people who have to go to work or go outside every day have to face. When I go to the store, I’m with my white dad. I think being my age and being sheltered from the world because of where I am in society and who my parents are, I don’t face the same discrimination that I know a lot of people face, which is really unfortunate. It may also be because I don’t look like the stereotypical Asian.”

- freshman Marina Richard

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- junior Julian Iwasko

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In terms of the Greenhill community, I was sheltered from the discrimination that happens. I was stereotyped before because I was Asian, so I had to be smart, but I never experienced racial slurs at Greenhill, and still haven’t.”

- freshman Marina Richard

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The impact of COVID-19 has really emphasized that the core of the Greenhill community is people. Greenhill has an amazing campus with amazing spaces and facilities, but fundamentally, Greenhill is the commonality that has made a large, diverse group of people into a beautifully interconnected community.”

- junior Julian Iwasko

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I think that the Asian community has been affected by the pandemic. There were already a lot of microaggressions that people used for the Asian community, even here at Greenhill. The pandemic only added more to the list.”

I think that there have been a lot of impacts on the Greenhill community throughout the past year. The most obvious one has been the pandemic, which highlighted a lot of economic inequity within Greenhill as well as across the nation.”

- sophomore Madison Rojas

I usually go biking every other day and I remember after Election Day, I wasn’t allowed to go out for a few days, and neither was my grandma, who loves to go on walks around our neighborhood, because there was this huge fear of being attacked in the wake of the results. Better safe than sorry.”

- sophomore Shreeya Madhavanur

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We saw a healthcare system that collapsed when it was time to apply pressure on it and when lives were at stake. So that’s another thing that I recognized.”

- sophomore Madison Rojas

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I think the events this year have shown me that our country has a lot of work to do in terms of acceptance when it comes to race, not just with all the protests about police brutality but also just with the reaction to COVID and all of the anti-Asian American sentiment that has been circulating. I think it’s very alarming to see that, despite all of the progress that we claim to have made as a country, we’re still dealing with a lot of the stuff we dealt with in the 50s and 60s.”

- senior Josh Flowers

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Evergreen Ever the

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Editorial: What’s with the rocks?

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n recent days, Greenhill Upper School students received rocks in the mail inscribed with the words “You Rock!”

What followed was the typical student buzz when something strange happens to a high schooler with a phone and friends— text messages, pictures and posts, all asking the same question: Why did Greenhill mail us rocks?

For most students, the stones, casually dubbed “You Rock Rocks,” appeared out of nowhere.

While we appreciate endof-year encouragement, we respectfully question the gesture.

The statement “You Rock!” provides nothing tangible for students. While we doubt the You Rock Rocks made anyone upset, the motivational message missed its mark.

The cost of these rocks and the postage to send them could have been used for more substantive projects. It cost $4 to mail a rock to every Upper School student, or a total postage bill of more than $1,900. Add to that the cost of each engraved and polished rock.

We believe the money could have been better spent.

The Office of Equity and Inclusion’s budget is supposed to be used to create a more inclusive environment by funding specific actions to address specific problems. We are unsure which specific problems were meant to be addressed with the You Rock Rocks—student mental health, or simply student burnout perhaps—but whatever the issues were, we question whether the rocks solved them.

For us, the effect of the rocks could be compared to a generic email sent to the entire Upper School with the same words.

We understand that there were good intentions behind the sending of the rocks.

But we simply disagree with the wisdom

of spending nearly $2,000 that could have been used to fund programs or actions with an actual impact on student mental health.

The Evergreen understands that the intentions behind the rocks were to share kindness and affirmation. We get that work towards successful equity and inclusion is full of struggles and sometimes, some initiatives or actions don’t have the resounding

Graphic by Jothi Gupta

impact they were intended to have, and in these scenarios, no one is really to blame.

But the Evergreen also believes that as students and as the recipients of these rocks, we reserve the right to critique actions that we don’t agree with. Furthermore, good intentions do not always end with good results – and do not justify them, either.

Perhaps Greenhill could have gone with the original plan of the Student Diversity Leadership Conference cohort: provide blank rocks and organize rock painting to foster community spirit. This would have aided the community, not

because students would have had a rock of their very own, but because they would have painted them together.

If the intention was to give students a mental break, the money could have been used to support what students have already found to give them a break and bring them joy. The group of upperclassmen who ran a spikeball tournament could do with more equipment to play different games. Some new board games for the Student Center are long overdue. Teenagers may be filled with angst, but we are easy to entertain.

Plastering a sheet of paper on a wall and drawing a tic-tac-toe grid on it could have sparked a grade-wide tournament.

Ultimately, these rocks evoke the issue of performative activism.

Greenhill has work to do to create an equally welcoming environment for all of its students. Some students on campus have experienced discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation and gender. While this is in no way unique to our school, it means that every action taken to correct such discrimination must be substantive.

The Office of Equity and Inclusion’s budget is supposed to be used to create a more inclusive environment by funding specific actions to address specific problems.

When a student has been bullied, called names or singled out, they need Greenhill’s help to fix structural problems.

When such a student is delivered a You Rock Rock, the implicit message is that with encouragement, they can overcome what they experience on their own.

To those of us who have faced such struggles, the rock felt like an empty gesture.

Opinion: An Invitation from the Director of Equity and Inclusion

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riends: When the most recent Greenhill cohort reflected on their experience at the National Association of Independent Schools’ Student Diversity Leadership Conference, they were interested in finding a way to share the welcome and kindness and affirmation they felt during their experience. Our hope is that at least some

in our Upper School student community received that message with the receipt of the kindness rocks.

As we anticipate summer, I would like to invite those of you who will be returning to Greenhill next academic year to begin thinking about an initiative that you would like to see the Office for Equity & Inclusion support. Early in the academic year, I will

share details about a proposal process that will encourage any Upper School student (or group) to craft an initiative that will help build community (ideally across all grade levels). The proposals will be vetted, and the finalists will be voted on by the Upper School student body for implementation.

Best regards, Dr. Ingram

Evergreen staff Ever the

Evergreen Print Editors-in-Chief

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Features Finding unity amid upheaval

7

Equity and Inclusion initiative tackles community division

Graphic by Nate Stitt

Cam Kettles and Nate Stitt

T

he U.S. is fractured.

After a year of protests, the fight for racial justice is visible and transcending barriers: in the courts, in state and federal legislatures, and especially in workplaces and schools.

In part due to this visibility, independent schools like Greenhill are coming under increasing pressure to discuss issues of diversity, equity and inclusion with students.

It’s become a contentious issue at many schools. At Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, for example, anonymous parents have spoken critically of the school’s antiracism initiatives in interviews with journalists and through an Instagram account called “Woke at Harvard-Westlake.”

“Around the country, these issues are tearing institutions and organizations apart,” Head of School Lee Hark said. “We are so fractured as a society, and it’s no surprise that some of those fractures have surfaced at Greenhill as well. We need to keep moving forward, but it’s essential we do so in a way that keeps our community intact.”

Greenhill has always been a school that embraces diversity, Associate Head of School for Mission, Community and Culture Tom Perryman says. “[DEI work] is just a part of who we are,” Perryman said. “Greenhill was founded to offer an educational experience that was not available to families in Dallas in 1950.”

Now, Greenhill is among the independent schools across the country introducing new diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“We are many things” Director of Equity and Inclusion Marcus Ingram arrived on campus last summer to assume his position as racial justice protests were erupting in cities across the country.

Not long afterward,

Marcus Ingram

he launched school-wide initiatives that speak to issues of racial justice and equity.

Ingram’s vision for how Greenhill should approach diversity, equity and inclusion work is displayed through his main initiative, Plural Commons.

To support the work of Plural Commons, Greenhill is restructuring the Office for Equity and Inclusion to now include two half-time assistant directors and three advisory councils.

According to the March draft of the Ingram initiative sent for community feedback, a plural commons is “an environment where each person’s whole self is welcomed, cared for, and seen as essential to the common good.”

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We are not one thing as individuals, nor are we one thing as a collective. We are many things. We are plural, and amidst that plurality, we also have this connective tissue. If we lean into it enough, we have the opportunity to build on a foundation that is common. Not that it’s the same, but it’s common.”

Initiatives, opportunities To help inform the work of Plural Commons with data, students, faculty, staff, administrative leadership, families, alumni and trustees took the survey portion of the National Association of Independent Schools’ Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism in April. The results of this assessment will provide the school insight into the climate of inclusion on campus and influence the next steps, which will include issue-based focus groups next academic year.

Plural Commons includes professional development for Greenhill employees, regular student engagement to teach “ageappropriate” equity and inclusion practices, a regular evaluation process for curriculum content and delivery, the creation of purpose statements on inclusion and discourse, and “goal setting for individual employees, departments, and divisions,” according to the March draft.

There are three advisory councils overseeing the Plural Commons initiative: the Student Inclusion Council comprised of Upper School students; the Employee Inclusion Council; and the Family Inclusion Council. Representatives from these councils will assist the Office of Equity and Inclusion in carrying out the initiative.

A core Plural Commons venture is a leadership development program, “Leading Difference,” that will teach leadership to every student, starting in Prekindergarten.

Planning is scheduled to begin next January.

“It has a clear directive,” said Assistant Director of Equity and Inclusion Monsie Muñoz. “What I really enjoy about this sort of DEI strategic plan is that it has initiatives, and it has created spaces and opportunities for ideas. It has no floral comments.”

Diversity to inclusion Many students, parents and faculty serving on the inclusion councils recognize where the Greenhill community falls behind and seek to create change.

“I applied [to the Student Inclusion Council] because there is a gap between the diversity and the inclusion at Greenhill,” said junior Icis Barrientos, a representative on the Student Inclusion Council. “While that’s inevitable to an extent, I think it should just not be as bad as it is.”

Other students see specific initiatives within Plural Commons as potential catalysts for community change.

“I’m particularly excited for the PK12 Inclusive Leadership Development Program,” said junior Julian Iwasko. “I think that if kids have the opportunity to absorb age-appropriate leadership skills through a program that is specifically designed to grow and nurture inclusive leaders, the student body’s leadership would prove to be even more robust than it currently is.”

Some students who say they have experienced discrimination on campus are cautiously optimistic about Plural Commons.

“I’m quite happy to see the things in Plural Commons,” said senior Clarissa Smith. “They don’t just seem to be filler action items. I worry that it is a lot to push for within a singular time period and it’ll

just kind of fade over time.”

Smith cites a previous campus initiative as an example.

“In Middle School, I remember our teachers all had like the gongs and we would all meditate,” Smith said. “I haven’t done that since Middle School.”

Hope—and questions Among the Plural Commons’ ventures, all but the Leading Difference program will launch in 2021. Professional development, goal setting and engagement activities will be ongoing while the rest of Plural Commons’ plans are set to be completed within a year of the venture’s launch.

Some students believe that the initiative will create the structural change that they have desired for a while. Still, parts of the initiative raise questions among students about implementation.

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An issue I had with the Plural Commons were the Inclusion and Discourse statements. While I do think it is important to have a tangible goal to work toward in terms of inclusion, I think there needs to be more emphasis on where we are now as a school, and the immediate things we need to do to improve equity. I would like to see how the standards detailed in the statements will be upheld and enforced.”

While students believe Plural Commons sets a strong tone for improvement, they agree current challenges should not be taken lightly.

“I think we’ve needed this [Student Inclusion] Council for a long time,” said Barrientos. “It’s really overdue.”

In the past, students went to the Office of Equity and Inclusion under Ingram’s predecessor to seek solutions for problems, but were frustrated by the lack of progress.

“They had things that they wanted to change, but sometimes that doesn’t happen,” Barrientos said. “Hopefully, with this council, I am going to try my best to make that happen.”

Evergreen Ever the

8 Features Ava Iwasko

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Senior Capstone projects culminate in success

I

n a year marked by missed opportunities, Greenhill seniors have found meaning through Capstone projects.

Ideas for these yearlong projects must first be submitted at the end of a student’s junior year in a proposal that includes a list of possible advisers and a statement abount intent on why that student would like to do the project. Capstones culminate at the end of a student’s senior year in a final project that can take a variety of forms: a traditional academic research paper; fine arts performance; creative writing project or any other unique presentation.

These individually driven independent studies are an opportunity for seniors to reach beyond the courses available to them at Greenhill and focus on a self-selected area of interest.

Director of Academics Jason Yaffe acts as the program’s lead adviser and works to help provide the seniors with resources and guidance as they complete their Capstone projects. Yaffe says the projects are a great way to go beyond what Greenhill offers and dive deeper into specific areas of study.

“It’s a real opportunity for creativity and curiosity to take off,” Yaffe said.

Three seniors There are three seniors working on Capstones this year: Joohan Kim, Matthew Magee and Ria Subramanian.

Magee’s project is focused on writing a screenplay for a dramatic comedy television series. Subramanian’s project focuses on linguistic studies and how native speakers read with shortcuts. Kim’s project looks at the connections between Asian American immigration to the United States and the challenges of running a restaurant, focusing on promoting small immigrant-owned businesses in the area through creating websites for them.

Upper School Visual Arts teacher Corbin Doyle is Magee’s on-campus adviser;

Greenhill alumnus Russell Grindstaff `12 is his off-campus adviser.

Grindstaff, who went to New York University to study filmmaking, currently works in Los Angeles and writes screenplays.

Magee says that Grindstaff has helped show him different aspects of the writing process and what screenwriting looks like in the professional world.

“Hearing from his perspective, not only about the specifics of sitcom structure and screenwriting and his experience with writing scripts, but also his experience as a screenwriter in L.A., as somebody whose line of work I am interested in following has been very meaningful,” said Magee.

Upper School English teacher Andrew Mercurio acts as Subramanian’s on-campus adviser, while professors Naoko and Jeffrey Witzel of the Sociolinguistics Laboratory at the University of Texas at Arlington act as her off-campus advisers.

While Mercurio has been offering helpful direction and guidance on her project, Subramanian says that the Witzels have provided especially crucial support with their background in the professional field.

“They just have the technical knowledge to help me out and also have done research before, so they have a lot of experience,” said Subramanian.

Project inspiration Students get out of the project what they put into it. This is what makes Capstones so worthwhile, Magee said.

“You do have assistance from other people, but the creative nature of it is entirely your own,” Magee said. “Having that is very, very rewarding.”

Subramanian’s inspiration for her Capstone came from her interest in constructed languages, which she first saw in the “The Lord of the Rings” series. Once she began learning more about linguistics, Subramanian contacted professors in the area for research opportunities.

The Witzels enthusiastically responded

to Subramanian’s interest and allowed her to work with them in some of their linguistics experiments last year. This experience, Subramanian says, is what got her interested in pursuing a Capstone project.

“They taught me a lot about what the underlying ideas of their research were, and that was super interesting to me,” said Subramanian. “I wanted to try that on a more independent level, and I thought a Capstone project would be a reasonable way to do that.”

For Magee, the inspiration to do a Capstone came from the work he did to help Greenhill alumna Jaclyn Goldstein ’19 on her own Capstone project as a senior.

“It was a really great experience for me being able to act in the film she produced for her Capstone,” Magee said. “That really inspired me to do something that related to film on a much larger scale, just seeing how she worked and what a great experience that was for her.”

A passion project Yaffe says a Capstone project lays the groundwork for students as they graduate from Greenhill and move into higher education.

“In college, there are going to be lots of opportunities, whether you’re at a small school or a large university, where you are going to be tasked with doing independent work,” Yaffe said. “We don’t want that to be the first time.”

Magee says his project has prepared him well for his future experiences in college.

“Because of the open-endedness of the project, I was able to choose what I want to do in college and work with the kinds of people who I am striving to be with after college,” Magee said.

A Capstone takes a lot of time to develop, so a student has to make sure they are prepared to commit themselves when deciding to take on a project, Magee said.

“If you’re passionate about something, you should absolutely go for it,” Magee

Photo courtesy of Ria Subramanian

Senior Ria Subramanian assists Professor Jeffrey Witzel with an experiment at the UT Arlington Socio-Linguistics Laboratory.

said. “You can learn a lot from teachers at Greenhill, but just that one-on-one nature of talking with a teacher and utilizing their expertise for what you’re most passionate about is what I think you can gain the most out of it.”

While it may not be the best project for all students, Subramanian says that she would definitely recommend Capstones to anyone who already has an interest in a particular field.

“If you have a beginning of an idea even, find somebody to talk to who is more knowledgeable about the specific thing you’re interested in and just talk to them, and you might be able to make something really interesting,” said Subramanian. “It’s definitely fun, and it’s totally different from what you’re doing in your classes, because it’s whatever you want to do.”

Magee believes that completing a Capstone project is not only impressive, but also incredibly fulfilling.

“It can be very rewarding,” Magee said.

“There’s a feeling that once you’re done, you can look back on it and show yourself and others how much work you’ve put into something you’re really passionate about.”

The reality of post-AP language courses Pooja Sanghvi

G

reenhill’s language department offers post-Advanced Placement courses for Spanish, Latin and Chinese. This year, only 14 students enrolled in these post-AP classes.

There are multiple objectives in a post-AP language course: deepen cultural understanding; explore specific applications of the language; and prepare for collegelevel language courses. These classes are discussion- and research-oriented, rather than consisting mostly of lectures and tests.

Graphic by Khushi Chaya and Emma Nguyen

“We have to ask if we have enough teacher resources to teach a post-AP course,” Upper School Chinese teacher Petra Lynch said. “It also depends on how many students are able to sign up.”

This year, for example, there was not enough student interest to offer a postAP Chinese course. To accommodate all students, including those that have expressed interest in going further into the Chinese language, Greenhill offers the option to either do a post-AP Chinese tutorial or a Capstone project. Both options are individualized.

Junior Ashley Shan was the only student this year to express interest in going further with the language. She is working on a personalized tutorial with Lynch called “Our Experience: The Chinese American Experience.”

“I am looking toward Chinese Americans and the experience dealing with issues of being Asian within America,” said Shan. “It’s been really independent, which I personally like. It’s very much based on how much you want to put into the tutorial.”

In this class, Shan is given the freedom to design her own curriculum. She can interview Chinese Americans, such as restaurant owners, politicians and celebrities.

“She had the opportunity to talk about Chinese immigrants, the fruit of their struggles and the difficulty of what they are doing at this moment,” said Lynch. “At the same time, we are

reading a book about Vera Wang, a fashion designer.”

For Shan, the goal of this class is to examine the treatment of Chinese immigrants in America.

“I look at their journey, immigrating from China and establishing themselves in America and what that means for their own identity and journey,” Shan said.

While post-AP Latin and Spanish courses are also facing low enrollment, both languages have enough students to create a section for their respective post-AP classes.

Honors Latin Seminar, a class that is focused on a developed research project presented at the end of the semester, currently has four students.

“It’s usually not a huge class, which is definitely a luxury,” Upper School Latin teacher Jason Gajderowicz said.

Gajderowicz describes the class as a time to focus on discussion. Students develop a deeper cultural understanding and then present an essay on a topic of their choice, defending their thesis in front of faculty throughout the school.

“My research paper is about animal cruelty in Ancient Rome and what that says about ancient Roman power dynamics,” said senior Uday Narayanan.

The post-AP Spanish class, Honors Spanish Literature, is a discussion-based course that develops literary skills. It currently has nine students.

“The primary goal is to take all the Spanish-language reading, speaking and writing skills that the students develop in the AP curriculum and apply those to a course with literary content,” Upper School Spanish teacher Luis Gallegos said. “The course is a good way to keep your language

skills active and developing.”

Beyond the course itself, Gallegos believes that pursuing a deep passion for a language strengthens the bonds between students.

For some people, furthering their interests means taking higher-level classes in other departments.

“I’m taking post-APs in the Science Department because I am planning on pursuing STEM,” said junior Varsha Gande.

“I would rather take those classes as it would be more beneficial for my future than taking a post-AP language course.”

Junior Arden Jefferds shares similar sentiments.

“I’m choosing to drop post-AP Latin and take AP Environmental Science,” said Jefferds. “My main interests include courses offered in the Science Department and we are very fortunate to have access to them.”

All post-AP courses that the Upper School offers strive to prepare students for college-level subjects, pushing students to take higher-level courses that they are passionate about.

“Post-APs are designed to be taught at the same level as the AP, so the rigor is maintained, but also it aims at variety so that the post-AP elective offers something unique,” Gallegos said. “You take a smaller scope theme and study it further in depth.”

Many students enjoy the ability that post-AP courses give them to dig deeper into their interests.

“Something I like is that we can go further into a topic of interest, such as poetry, and not have to worry about completing the set curriculum,” said Narayanan.

Wednesday, May 19, 2020

Evergreen Ever the

Features

9

Pandemic weighs on teachers Graphic by Khushi Chhaya and Nate Stitt

Diane Lin and Jothi Gupta

S

tudents have slogged through a hard year, with COVID-19 forcing some into remote learning and curtailing school activities. Yet the pandemic has hit faculty hard as well, requiring teachers to juggle classes split between in-person and at-home learners while facing exposure to a deadly virus.

Last fall, confronted with the threat of the coronavirus, nearly one-quarter of all teachers in the U.S. said they planned to stop teaching by the end of the year, according to a RAND Corp. survey. The National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers’ union, reported in December that 55% of veteran teachers—those with over 30 years of experience—said they were now considering leaving the profession.

Greenhill teachers, administrators and staff haven’t been immune to the stresses cited in the national surveys. Faculty members have taken on added duties and risks, such as covering classes for colleagues, assisting with carpool lines and enforcing COVID-19 guidelines protocols.

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Teaching is a hard job in the best of circumstances.

It’s a really demanding profession. And given the circumstances this year, I understand why some teachers would reach that conclusion that teaching is just not what they want to do anymore.”

“This is my first year in all my years of teaching that I won’t be teaching all summer too,” said Pre-Kindergarten teacher Greg Browne, citing the stress of the past year.

Faculty members across Upper School departments have felt the impact of COVID-19 in their classrooms. They’ve had to adapt to new technology, hybrid classes and health and safety guidelines, among other things.

Some cite the pandemic as a contributing factor in their reason for leaving Greenhill.

“Teaching is a hard job in the best of circumstances,” Head of School Lee Hark said. “It’s a really demanding profession.

And given the circumstances this year, I understand why some teachers would reach that conclusion that teaching is just not what they want to do anymore.”

Director of Human Resources Stephanie Campbell says schoolwide faculty departures this year aren’t unusually high.

Still, faculty departures have touched nearly all Upper School departments. At least seven Upper School teachers aren’t returning.

The RAND survey found that 32% of teachers surveyed nationally didn’t like the way things were run at their school during the pandemic.

One Upper School teacher who is leaving said they didn’t feel fully supported over the past year as they were asked to take on additional responsibilities. The teacher had initially agreed to be quoted by name, but then asked to remain anonymous.

“We’ve tried to show empathy and compassion to our faculty,” Hark said. “At

the same time, this year has required a lot of us to make it through successfully to be able to operate the school.”

“Personal choice” In the Upper School, Cathy Falk has taught math for 22 years. While she is still teaching in the coming years, she experienced similar struggles during the pandemic.

To an Evergreen reporter Falk describes how technological challenges, social-distancing and hybrid classes all made the year a difficult one.

In speaking of other departures, Falk said, “It’s mostly a personal choice.”

Upper School science teacher Jeff Funkhouser says he is leaving Greenhill after 12 years to return to a public school in the Dallas suburbs to obtain maximum benefits under the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

“I can increase my potential retirement benefits considerably by teaching in [the public school] system for a few more years now near the end of my career,” Funkhouser said. “Unfortunately, the increase in Social Security benefits I’d get teaching at Greenhill would not come close to matching what the additional Teacher Retirement System benefits will do.”

Upper School English teacher Abby Seeskin says her decision to leave after three years is both a response to the pandemic and also a personal choice to be closer to her family in North Carolina.

“I was always going to go [back to North Carolina],” Seeskin said.

Big impact The imminent departures have added to the sense of loss felt by students during a year of disruption and social distancing.

Senior Olivia Kim is saddened to see two of her favorite teachers leaving: Seeskin and science teacher Andrejs Krumins.

“Dr. Seeskin and Dr. K and so many others leaving made a big impact on me in high school,” Kim said. “I think any time that teachers leave, it’ll impact a lot of students, but a lot of them leaving this year felt central to Greenhill.”

Teachers like Funkhouser are figures students grow to expect to see around campus, says junior Aimee Stachowiak. To her, losing them doesn’t just feel like losing a single teacher; it feels like losing a part of Greenhill, she said.

“For all three years Dr. Seeskin was here, I always knew I could rely on her when I needed help, and I couldn’t ask for a better adviser,” said junior Rachel Wegener, who is part of Seeskin’s advisory.

Hark says the decision to leave is a personal one that faculty members must consider each year.

“If people come here and for whatever time they’re here, they give a lot to the students and their families and their colleagues, I would see that as a success,” Hark said. “I don’t view someone coming and staying and doing a great job for a time then leaving the school as a failure.”

Graphic by Khushi Chhaya

10

Arts

Evergreen Ever the

Montage adapts to a virtual world

Emily Hu

M

ontage, Greenhill’s student literary magazine, has experienced drastic changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of in-person interactions has created many challenges with student engagement.

The magazine features writing and art from Upper School students. After starting as a club at the beginning of each year, Montage transitions into a class during the second semester. During the class, staff members are assigned specific spreads that pair artwork and written pieces.

Students are free to write about whatever they want in these spreads, said Montage faculty sponsor and Upper School Fine Arts teacher Lesley Rucker. There is no criteria for subject matter, and students can write in various forms, including poetry, prose and screenplay.

“There is writing that has to do with personal growth and reflection or dealing with challenges of oneself,” said Rucker. “The writing that students are capable of doing in high school is incredible and I’m overwhelmed each year by the strength of student writing and how personal it is.”

To adapt to remote learning, students learned the basics of Adobe InDesign and Photoshop on their personal laptops to create the magazine remotely.

“Assigning spreads, being able to give feedback, and all of that is slowed down because we have to do it through email or Teams,” said senior Sheena Kwon, the Montage editor-in-chief. “Learning the specifics of how to work programs was much more challenging.”

Additionally, the lack of conventional communication methods meant there were fewer submissions to Montage.

In the past, posters and Community Time announcements were effective reminders for students to submit pieces. Email

reminders have now become the only way of spreading awareness this school year.

“March is our usual deadline so we can get the book produced,” said Rucker. “While we would normally have 20 to 25 submissions [by then], this year we had nine.”

Due to the lack of submissions, the deadline was extended to April 1.

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There is writing that has to do with personal growth and reflection or dealing with challenges of oneself.

The writing that students are capable of doing in high school is incredible, and I’m overwhelmed each year by the strength of student writing and how personal it is.”

The staff also organized a haiku competition in March.

Although Montage has held competitions in the past, they were previously all judged within the staff. This time, the staff voted on teachers in the English Department to judge the competition. English Department Chair Joel Garza was eventually chosen.

English teachers across Upper School were also contacted to encourage their students to participate in the competition. Many included haiku in their lesson plans to help students prepare and practice for the competition.

“The contest was so successful that I’m intent on building out this haiku activity into a fuller unit on ancient poetry with strict forms,” said Garza. “Based on the student feedback I got, it was an accessible and enjoyable activity.”

The Montage staff discussed rules and prizes before Garza anonymously chose the top 10 haiku of the

Photo courtesy of Sheena Kwon

VIRTUALLY PICTURESQUE: The 2020-2021 Montage issue’s front and back covers embrace the theme of possibility.

competition. In order, the top three haiku were written by juniors Aarian Dhanani, Hallie Sternblitz and Saara Bidiwala.

“I think the competition was ultimately successful because it brought awareness,” said Rucker. “We received more submissions in poetry and in prose after the [haiku] competition was announced as it kind of reminded people to submit to Montage.”

Despite the unusual circumstances of this past year, the Montage staff notes that some adaptations made because of the pandemic can be used in the future as well.

“In previous years all, the work was stored in the computers at school,” said Kwon. “After COVID, we could continue to work on our own laptops, which will allow more time for people to work on the magazine outside of school.”

“Varsity Blues:” Inside the college admissions scandal Eliza Lamster

!"#$%&'('%)*+(%*,'(#--%./0('11.*21%*3%$"'%4-/5

olleges admit students through one of three doors: the front door, which is by application only and at no additional expense; the back door, which would be through massive donations that allow colleges to erect new buildings; or the side door, which consists of obtaining fraudulent admission spots by lying about participation in niche sports like sailing or crew.

The new Netflix documentary “Operation Varsity Blues” follows the pay-for-play operation of independent college counselor William “Rick” Singer, who chaperones students through the side door. Singer is one of 53 people charged in the federal investigation codenamed Operation Varsity Blues; more than 40 people, including Singer, have pleaded guilty to various federal charges and nearly 10 are still awaiting trial.

Singer approached athletic coaches and directors with a heavy say in college admissions to get his clients into specific colleges. He targeted smaller sports such as water polo and rowing. He ultimately pleaded guilty to all charges brought against him: racketeering conspiracy; money laundering conspiracy; conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice.

Colleges involved in this scandal included prestigious schools like Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, USC and the University of Texas at Austin. The list of criminal convictions in the case includes a mix of famous and wealthy individuals, including Hollywood stars Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.

The Evergreen interviewed students and faculty members who have watched the documentary. Here is a snapshot of their views:

“I thought it was just, frankly, baffling that something like that could happen and that people would go to those lengths to be able to get their kids into a specific college.”

—Jack Quinn, senior

C

“I’m glad that there was a documentary made about [the scandal] to expose and to make it well known, because I would not be surprised that this stuff has been going on for a lot longer, and still is, probably…Overall it was a well-done documentary, and I think it’s important content for people to be aware of.” —Kaleb Mathieu, Upper School science teacher

“The one thing that struck me was the way some people just assumed it was all okay as opposed to really asking those questions like, ‘Wait a minute, you’re saying if I pay you this amount of money, this person here is going to get my kid in and that’s perfectly legal and/or ethical?’” —Trevor Worcester, Head of Upper School !"#$% 6*% )*+% $".28% 1$+6'2$1% #26% $'#7"'(1% 1"*+-6% $#8'% #&#)%3(*/%$".15 “At some point, it’s out of the student’s hands, it’s out of the school’s hands, and it’s in the hands of the college that’s looking at it. And if what they did on that documentary is what has to happen, then it’s just really, really bad.” —Trevor Worcester, Head of Upper School 9*&% 6.6% &#$7".2:% ;<#(1.$)% =-+'1>% #?'7$% $"'% &#)% )*+% $".28% #@*+$%7*--':'%#6/.11.*215 “It made me really aware of my privilege in being a student that goes to a college prep school. I feel as though if I don’t do incredibly well, even though I started out with so many advantages and so many privileges, then I’m doing something wrong.” —Shruti Siva, junior

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

!"#$%0#($%*3%$"'%6*7+/'2$#()%1$**6%*+$%$*%)*+5 “[Rick Singer] turned so easily on his own demographic.

He wired himself, and he was willing to do it right away, which shows that he cared so little about everything he was doing that he could just throw everybody else under the bus.” —Abeera Amer, freshman

“I think there’s just so much more stress and stuff than there needs to be for this whole process. You see this in the way your students’ mental health just tanks and declines so much, and it’s honestly kind of sad to see how it has affected people so negatively when it should be a happy, enjoyable process. I think it’s been made to be much worse than it should be.” —Kaleb Mathieu, Upper School Science teacher

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Evergreen Ever the

Arts

11

Fine Arts alums find Hollywood success Max Kettles

W

hen Hollywood stars recently gathered in Los Angeles, London and other cities for the pandemic-influenced 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, Fine Arts program alumni had more than a passing interest in the festivities.

In recent years, alumni Cooper Raiff ’15, Michael Paraskevas ’10, Karen Rupert Toliver ’84 and Lesli Linka Glatter ’71 have all made their mark in the film industry.

In the span of a little more than a year, Raiff won best narrative feature at the South by Southwest Film Festival last year for his film “S#!%house;” Paraskevas worked with famous composer Christophe Beck on the

“Frozen 2” score and the recent Marvel TV series “WandaVision;” Toliver received an Oscar in 2020 for coproducing the animated short film “Hair Love;” and Glatter was recognized as the best director of a dramatic series by the Directors Guild of America for her work on the Showtime espionagethriller series “Homeland.”

The common thread among this group: They began their separate journeys to Hollywood success as fine arts students on Greenhill’s campus.

“We encourage their creativity and hope [students] will draw on the things they have learned with us and in other fine arts activities to develop as wellrounded artists,” said Upper School Theater teacher Valerie Hauss-Smith.

All four alumni were actively

involved in Greenhill’s fine arts program.

Raiff took classes in Improvisational Comedy and Theater. Paraskevas was able to apply his musical skills to film in Advanced Video Production, where he first took an interest in film scoring.

Toliver was a Greenhill singer and developed strong storytelling skills from her English classes.

After graduating from Greenhill, Glatter was a dance choreographer overseas before heading to Hollywood and charting a career as an awardwinning director.

Despite their achievements, the four alumni are continuing to strive for new heights in Hollywood.

Raiff is working on new filmdirectorial projects.

Paraskevas continues to work with accomplished

Hollywood composer Christophe Beck while developing his own projects.

Toliver is bringing new films to the screen in her role as executive vice president of creative for Sony Pictures; and Glatter is directing a new Amazon show, “The Banker’s Wife,” and producing a Netflix show called “Pieces of Her.” The spirit that has infused their journey from Greenhill Fine Arts to Hollywood was summed up by Paraskevas in an Evergreen interview last year.

“It’s kind of surreal right now since I’m still learning and I feel like a small part of something big,” Paraskevas said.

“It’s cool to know that we are all working on [one film] that has an impact on people all over the world.”

Spring Musical spotlights American workers Sophia Li

T

he Upper School production of “Working: The Musical” made its digital premiere on May 12 before a festive audience of more than 100 people at the Stage at Grandscape in The Colony.

The production was put together over several weeks of filming in the homes of students and the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center, with scenes of dancing, singing and acting meshed together in the editing room.

Musical numbers were filmed in a professional recording studio.

The Stage at Grandscape was selected for the premiere because its outdoor setting and spacious grounds allowed socially-distanced viewing.

The audience sat in lawn chairs and on picnic blankets scattered around the grassy lawn before a big three-panel screen and stage.

The event went off smoothly before an appreciative audience.

The musical is based on a 1974 nonfiction book—“Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do”—

by Studs Terkel, the late oral historian and radio broadcaster. Terkel explored the value of work to individuals and what makes it meaningful to people in different walks of life. He highlighted

such characters as a parking valet known as Lovin’ Al and a waitress named Dolores.

Terkel’s focus on unsung workers resonated with Upper School Drama and Theater teacher Valerie HaussSmith and her students in a pandemic year that has seen front-line workers risk their health and lives to keep the country running.

“The show definitely wants to recognize people for doing the jobs they do,” said sophomore Molly Cleary, an ensemble member. “A lot of blue-collar workers go underappreciated, so this is just a homage to them.”

While the jobs of ordinary people are often seen as nothing extraordinary, Hauss-Smith says that they are integral to the well-being of this country.

“This country is built by ordinary people doing ordinary jobs,” said Hauss-Smith. “But here we are in this pandemic, and we realize these people are all essential to help us function.”

The pandemic that put frontline workers in harm’s way created huge logistical challenges for Hauss-Smith and her students.

Unlike other Upper School productions, singers in “Working” recorded their parts individually in a recording studio.

“We had four days to do those re cordings, so you can imagine how we

Photo coutesy of Valerie Hauss-Smith

QUIET ON THE SET: The stage is ready for the actors to perform the first musical number.

Photo courtesy of Valerie Hauss-Smith

SOLO IN THE BOOTH: Junior Ilanna Feldman records her songs in a booth at January Sound Studio, where Greenhill booked time to produce the “Working” soundtrack.

had to stagger everyone,” said HaussSmith.

As the actors worked on the dance numbers and recordings, technical students created the set, which features a cityscape backdrop made of scaffolding.

After laying the groundwork for the musical, tech students began filming.

“There was one professional videographer who had three sets of cameras from three different angles on the stage,” said senior Rakesh Venkat.

“The people online had their own vlogging kit, which included a phone holder, and lighting and microphone fixtures.”

“Working” is Greenhill’s first livestreamed musical. The production was created with consideration for cast members’ safety and the integration of students participating virtually.

“There’s the health concerns,” said Hauss-Smith. “We had lots of conversations with our head nurse, Ms. Katie Trimmer, about the precautions we have to take. The other thing is how could we know for sure that, the day we were going to film, all the people that needed to be here would be here?”

Beyond the health complications, other challenges presented themselves

during rehearsals, with one being incorporating both online and inperson students and minimizing retention issues.

Nonetheless, the faculty made certain adjustments to better accommodate at-home learners.

“The people that are still online went through the entire rehearsal process at home,” said Cleary. “The faculty would give them progress checks by turning in videos to Flipgrid or Blackbaud.”

Before the Stage at Grandscape screening, the audience was treated to a slideshow of photographs that documented the production challenges overcome by the cast and crew. After the show, cast and crew took the stage to answer questions from the audience.

In addition to the in-person event, the musical was also livestreamed on May 14 and May 16.

“We, as a community, were faced with a lot of challenges, particularly in the Theater Department,” said HaussSmith. “We found a way. We got creative and committed ourselves to this. As a result, we have created a beautiful piece to be proud of.”

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12

the

Processing loss: Campus refle Khushi Chhaya and Caroline Greenstone

T

he past year has been defined by unparalleled loss.

In so many aspects of life, from personal and communal to society at large, members of the Greenhill community have felt the grief characteristic of the past 14 months.

Across the world, over 3 million people have died from COVID-19; 580,000 have died in the United States, and 50,000 in Texas.

“A lot of our losses have been a physical loss,” said long-term Upper School Substitute Counselor Emily Corbin. “We are not getting to participate in some of the things that we usually do, but psychologically they are still there as important rituals, like graduation or pep rallies. [These events] join us as a community, but they also connect us intergenerationally. For some of these losses, it’s not that we had it and then it escaped us. It’s that we never got to have it in the first place, but it still holds a place in our minds.”

Over the past year, this collective loss has only intensified.

With the ebb and flow of waves of infection, change has been constant. Loss has appeared for many in multiple forms: financial hardship; social interaction; routine activities and even life itself.

Despite the upward trajectory of vaccinations and decreasing spread of COVID-19, the impact of losses sustained during the pandemic will extend far beyond 2020 and 2021.

Loss of life As the nation grieves the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the past year, the Greenhill community grieves these same losses on a smaller, more intimate scale.

In a survey sent to Upper School students and faculty, nearly 40% of 124 respondents said that they had lost a loved one in the past year. Nearly 30% of those who had lost someone cited COVID-19 as the cause.

Senior Olivia Worcester, who lost a family member last summer to a cause other than COVID-19, says the pandemic has compounded the effects of her loss.

Her family expects to hold a memorial service this summer, nearly one year after her family member’s passing.

“We didn’t want to be endangering anybody with some sort of memorial service [at the time] because the majority of people that would be there are older and we didn’t want to even try to chance that,” Worcester said.

Working with COVID-19 restrictions and health concerns in mind, the family decided on alternative ways to honor their relative.

“We decided to take his ashes and plant them and put a tree on top of it to grow like a little reminder [of him],” Worcester said.

Many members of the Greenhill community share similar stories of losing loved ones.

“Obviously, [loss of life] is the most profound, saddest, hardest loss you can experience,” said Head of School Lee Hark. “They’ve lost loved ones and then, because of COVID, are not able to grieve fully because they’ve been required to be at a distance.”

However, according to Corbin, these losses are not being processed

as explicitly as they were at the beginning of the pandemic.

“Maybe psychologically we are not thinking about [these losses], but emotionally and physically, we are still very much suffering from the stressors of the pandemic,” Corbin said. “So, there is this lack of validation that occurs when we are not owning that this has been really hard and it continues to be really hard.”

Losses other than death have added to the year’s emotional toll.

“That’s sort of where my mind goes first when you say loss–the loss of life, the loss of people close to you,” said Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester. “But also there’s the isolation aspect. There’s the loss of any number of things that would be in a person’s routine.”

Loss of community As soon as the “two weeks” of online learning were announced in March 2020, students and faculty knew that changes were coming. No one could have predicted how drastically life would change.

“All of us have had a tough year, but I think the folks who have been at home all year had the toughest,” Hark said. “I am sure they feel left out. I’m sure they felt, at times, ignored or devalued. That is not, obviously, what we want at all. Sometimes it’s just a function of literal physical distance.”

Students have opted to stay at home for a variety of reasons, but primarily to protect themselves or their loved ones. Junior Aarian Dhanani has been online for the entire school year and continues to remain cautious about COVID-19 out of concern for his grandparents, whom he visits frequently.

While Dhanani doesn’t regret his decision to stay home, he says success with remote learning varies widely from class to class.

Teachers find it difficult to translate some inclass activities to at-home learners, he said. Some interactive elements of a class are simply not feasible in a virtual setting.

Dhanani recalled a class that frequently broke into groups for two-minute discussions. “[You] can’t open up breakout rooms every two minutes,” Dhanani said. “It’s just really hard for the students and the teachers.”

While adapting to online education has some advantages, such as having more time during the day without commuting to and from school, both online and in-person learners recognize the inherent separation from the community that comes with learning through a computer.

Junior Mia Ness has been an in-person learner for the majority of the school year but has seen others struggle with online learning.

“Some of my friends hadn’t come to campus until recently, and I know they really struggled mentally and with their classes,” said Ness. “I know it’s so much harder to learn online than it is in person. I would say that the community has struggled a little bit just by not mixing well with online [students].”

Teachers and students say they see this disconnect as a gap in their Greenhill experience.

“There’s just something about being in a classroom with a group of kids–there’s a connection that happens,” said Associate Head of School for Mission, Community and Culture Tom Perryman.

“Whether that’s being able to read people’s faces or see a sparkle in their eyes or see a frown or a quiver of a chin, I can’t see most of those things with our masks now.”

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Wednesday, May 19, 2021

13

ections on the year of COVID-19 Alongside issues of internet connection, creating personal connection with online students has been especially challenging for teachers. To transition to classes being completely online and later to a hybrid model, teachers had to navigate around new technology and physical distance to maintain a connected, operational learning environment.

“I’m teaching in three different classrooms, so the technology hooked up is different for every room I’m in,” said Upper School math teacher Cathy Falk. “So it’s like, ‘Okay, what do I do here? What do I do there?’”

Falk, like many other faculty members, has to maneuver the changes to make sure students learning remotely feel part of the class. In doing so, she experienced frustration with technology and having to change the way she used to teach her classes.

!

“There’s just something about being in a classroom with a group of kids–there’s a connection that happens. Whether that’s being able to read people’s faces or see a sparkle in their eyes or see a frown or a quiver of a chin, I can’t see most of those things with our masks now.”

“It seems like every other week, something has to change,” said Falk. “So I have to learn how to adjust.

I feel that, even though I show up for class early and think I’m ready to go, there’s always some little thing that I have forgotten.”

Falk used to add small things to her classes each day to engage students and create a fun, welcoming environment. She played music as students came into class or did homework and had a whiteboard with a question such as “What is your favorite movie?” where students would write their responses so that she could get to know them better.

“Those are the things that I miss greatly,” Falk said. “I feel like the interaction between me and the students has kind of fallen apart in that respect, and I missed that. I missed that so much.”

Loss of team connections Greenhill prides itself on the well-rounded education it offers, and part of that is athletics. This year, many aspects of athletic education have been stifled by COVID-19 protocols. Student-athletes have not been able to create bonding opportunities with their teammates like they used to.

Ness, a three-sport athlete, has been a part of Greenhill sports since her freshman year. For her, missing out-of-city tournaments and chances for team bonding has been a major loss.

“Tournaments are really good for having a closeknit team and having a good relationship with all of your teammates,” said Ness. “It affected the basketball team a little bit this year just because we couldn’t really hang out outside of practices and games.”

The community around athletics is incredibly important, Ness said. Mixing with other grades and groups of people that may not normally cross paths allows for unique friendships to form.

Clubs at Greenhill have also had to weather storms of changes. Despite dedicating Community Time periods to club meetings, the virtual format makes many meetings less enthusiastic and interactive.

Falk, the sponsor of the South Asian Affinity Group, has seen changes in the way the group conducts meetings and interacts online. She described a lack of

energy and enthusiasm among her students.

“Last year, they met in my classroom, and it was much more interactive and so much more fun,” said Falk. “It was fun listening to them talk about foods and movies that I’m not aware of, so I miss that greatly.”

There has also been a collection of smaller losses that have added up for many members of the Greenhill community, such as the loss of student freedom on campus and the inability to meet in the Marshall

Family Performing Arts Center or have faculty meetings in the way they used to be run.

From the major changes within the community to the smaller ones, these losses have added up and taken an emotional toll on many members of the Greenhill community.

“This year, it’s almost like the whole school has senioritis because it has been a long haul, 14 months,” Perryman said.

The fatigue of constantly adapting to COVID-19 protocols and the emotional roller coaster of the pandemic has created exhaustion across campus.

“The relationships [between students and faculty] have been strained,” said Hark. “The faculty don’t want to be constantly telling kids what to do, where to stand and to pull their masks up. This is not the relationship you want.”

Emotionally, as these losses have piled up, students and faculty alike have experienced a decline in mental health.

“As long as this pandemic has gone on, it’s been exhausting to maintain that level of energy and attitude, and so now people are depleted—like we’re running on empty, but our responsibilities haven’t changed,” said Corbin.

Healing As Greenhill enters a new stage of the pandemic, with vaccination rates climbing and restrictions easing, individuals on campus can begin to process the past and move forward.

“I think we need to be able to harvest the good things that have come out of this experience,” Trevor Worcester said. “We also need to be able to continue forth with what we started to implement, and we all need to be in hopefully a better mindset. Come August, I am very hopeful that people will find that time and space.”

Moving into the summer and the school year ahead, each member of the Greenhill community is tasked with healing from the unique form of loss that they have experienced, Trevor Worcester said. From the loss of family to the loss of friendships, activities, opportunities, and for some, a full year of in-person school, the breadth and depth of loss is vast.

Yet, throughout the debilitating months of the pandemic, there have been moments of perseverance and hope, Perryman said.

“I think one of the things that I will look back on proudly about this experience is one of the ways that we celebrated community,” Perryman said. “We honored our community by ultimately trying to keep one another safe. It would have been easier, and it was certainly very tempting, to say ‘You know what, let’s loosen things up, let’s cut everybody some slack.’

I think that ultimately we honored our community by distancing our community.”

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

14 Sports

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Aditya Malhotra’s road to the Final Four

Josie Arbuckle

T

Evergreen Ever the

he final seconds on the clock ticked down, each beat bringing the Baylor University Bears closer and closer to their first NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball championship. The clock reached zero, and pandemonium erupted throughout Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

“Sometimes I don’t believe it’s real,” said former Greenhill basketball coach and teacher Aditya Malhotra, laughing at the vivid memory.

Malhotra, current director of basketball operations at Baylor University, recently reflected on how his time at Greenhill has shaped his life—the work ethic, love, and open-mindedness that he learned during his formative years on campus.

Malhotra first came to Greenhill as a third-grade Carter Teaching Fellow, a position that introduces teachers to campus life through work with Lower School students and faculty.

“I knew I wanted to coach and teach in high school, and Greenhill gave me a background and the opportunity to get my foot in the door,” said Malhotra.

Although Malhotra started by teaching third graders, two years later he was offered the opportunity to coach basketball and teach fifth- and seventh-grade math.

“It was the perfect environment because I was getting to interact with every stage, from Pre-K to 12th,” Malhotra said.

Teaching students of various ages taught him about the process of developing the mind of a young child, he said.

Head of Middle School Susan Palmer says she noticed Malhotra’s connection to both his students and athletes.

“He’s so understated and soft-spoken, and he was a magnet to the kids,” Palmer said.

Malhotra started as an assistant girls junior varsity basketball coach and worked his way up to head boys junior varsity coach. He then became an assistant to Jaye Andrews, a current math teacher and diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator who was head Middle School basketball coach at that time.

“The biggest thing I learned was that nothing was going to be given to me,” Malhotra said. “I realized I had to outwork others if I wanted to get where I wanted to go. [Greenhill] taught me hard work.”

Andrews says he enjoyed working with Malhotra during his time at Greenhill.

“He is unflappable,” Andrews said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him really upset about anything. He’s just so even-keeled.”

Malhotra says he also learned other valuable skills during those years.

“Greenhill taught me to love others, whether we had the same background, same race, same ethnicity, no matter what,” Malhotra said.

His experiences opened his eyes to an incredible number of diverse stories and backgrounds. He learned that regardless of people’s differences, bringing each other together was key, Malhotra said.

“What I valued the most was how open Greenhill is,” Malhotra said.

“It changed my outlook on life in a lot of ways.

The best thing you can do is love others, and after that you can figure out the differences.”

He came to appreciate the value of having an open mind.

“It’s opened my view to so many different things,” he said. “The worst thing you can do is close a door that is not shut for you.”

Learning to keep his heart and mind open to opportunities is a lesson Malhotra takes with him even today.

Today, Malhotra finds himself a part of a national championship program at Baylor University.

Making the jump from high school assistant coach to a high-profile basketball staff job at Baylor is a challenging transition.

“You have to be willing to adapt and to be a star at whatever role you are given,” Malhotra said.

Malhotra started at the bottom and worked his way up. He began his career at Baylor as a graduate assistant and was eventually promoted to Director of Basketball Operations.

His duties include overseeing the scouting of opposing teams and the recruitment of new players, during the season and offseason. Malhotra also works closely with Baylor’s current nutritionist, strength coach, and head coach.

“I had to start believing that if I do these little things along the way, I’m going to get to the bigger picture,” Malhotra said.

“You have to sacrifice some things that you want to get the big thing you want to achieve.”

Photo courtesy of Aditya Malhotra

ON THE COURT: Malhotra began his career working for Baylor basketball as a graduate assistant before eventually rising to director of basketball operations.

Photos Courtesy of Aditya Malhotra

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: Aditya Malhotra, top right, became an assistant coach under Greenhill’s Jaye Andrews. Malhotra, bottom right, celebrated winning the NCAA title.

Evergreen Ever the

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Sports

15

Spring sports: A season like no other

Photos courtesy of Joe Monaco

HORNET PRIDE: Clarissa Smith, left, Gabriel Diaz, center, and Noah Grimsley were among the athletes representing Greenhill in Spring competition.

Emma Hoffman

U

sually at this time of year, spring sports teams are celebrating Southwest Preparatory Conference championships or recalling season highlights.

This year, spring sports have concluded with curtailed or canceled SPC tournaments as a result of pandemic restrictions.

“Not having [the SPC tournament] did not stop my players,” said head varsity boys lacrosse coach Jack Fisher, whose teams capped their season with a conference title. “If anything, it gave them more motivation at each game to do well, to get to that championship game.”

Track and Field For the first time, the boys and girls track teams practiced separately to reduce the number of people in any given space, even outside.

“The hardest part of this year has been trying to get the team to bond,” senior track captain Clarissa Smith said during the season’s final weeks. “We have a group chat, but we cannot hang out outside of school or be closer than six feet, which is not as fun as it was in the past.”

Typically, track meets will have 16 teams at one location. This year, only four teams competed at two different locations. Despite these changes, many Greenhill runners beat personal records heading into the SPC championship meet.

At the conference meet, only the top four competitors from the North and South Zones competed in one heat per event. As a result, Smith said, it was “the fastest competition ever.”

To restore a sense of normalcy on the track and field team, head coach Stacey Johnson did

whatever possible to facilitate the season.

“I feel fortunate that we went through this without bumps in the road, but the important thing was getting the kids together and having fun,” said Johnson.

for the opportunity to let them compete. With fewer games this season, the boys compete from whistle to whistle, which can be super compelling for the boys.”

Prior to the conference tournament, the team was required to quarantine for two weeks, Baseball but they returned in time to compete for the Early in the season, with a five-game winning championship. streak under their belts, players were confident in In a hard-fought title game, the Hornets won their abilities to win a championship. The season their first-ever SPC lacrosse title with an 11-8 unfolded with lingering pandemic restrictions: victory. The teams finished with a 9-2 overall Players wore masks in the dugout and on the record, and Fisher was selected as the Texas High field, only removing them once they reached School Lacrosse League’s Person of the Year. their positions.

“I wish we could have had more fans and The SPC title was to be decided by the friends at games,” said senior Noah Grimsley, a champion of the conference North Zone playing lacrosse team captain. “Not being able to go to the champion of the South Zone rather than the the girl’s games and vice versa is hard.” usual bracket tournament. The team was moving toward the season-ending competition when the Tennis team was quarantined due to a player testing positive for COVID-19. Unable to play the games The tennis program made a variety of changes needed to qualify for the tournament, the team’s to ensure a safe season. season ended without the hoped-for title.

“Things had to be changed, to make sure “This year was hard,” said senior Gabriél the girls were safe,” said head varsity girls tennis Díaz. “We had a ton of talent, but you have to coach Lauren Nicholson. “We still made the most have chemistry in baseball, and with COVID this of the time we had, however we had it.” year, it just made it much more difficult.”

The team went undefeated in singles and doubles in winning the North Zone. They played Lacrosse Kinkaid School for the overall title on May 7 in Waco, losing 4-1 in the SPC championship The varsity boys lacrosse team advanced to match. the SPC championship game against St. Stephen’s “We have an amazing roster for next year and Episcopal School in Austin with an 8-2 record. will come in fighting,” said Nicholson.

“There was always uncertainty with having such a large break since last spring, but the idea of getting to compete this year was essential to both the team and me,” said Fisher. “I am so thankful

2020-2021 Hornet sports results

Josie Arbuckle

Fall Sports

Winter Sports

Sport: Football

Wins: 0

Losses: 3

Ties: 0

Field Hockey

3

1

Volleyball - Boys

2

Volleyball - Girls

5

Sport: Cheer Cross Country - Boys

Sport:

Wins-Losses-Ties

3

Basketball - Boys Basketball - Girls

1-6-0 5-1-0

4

0

Soccer - Boys

3-3-2

4

0

Soccer - Girls

3-4-0

Swimming - Boys

1-1-0

Swimming - Girls

1-1-0

Games/Meets 2 6

Graphic by Josie Arbuckle

Evergreen Ever the

16 Views

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Rants & Raves RAVE to junior/senior privileges. As AP exams start, those of us who no longer have class are enjoying our time off campus and grabbing lunch from random fastfood joints. There is no greater joy than walking into class at 10:15 a.m. with a nice, cold smoothie in hand and an extra hour of sleep.

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RANT to final projects, tests

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and AP exams. I hope these last weeks of research, essay-writing, and testtaking don’t dramatically tank my grades. For those upperclassmen who have spent this past month prepping to take the dreaded three-hour AP exams in Greenhill Towers, you have my sympathy.

RAVE to school ending.

This year has been an interesting one to say the least. As educational and “unprecedented” as it was, and as many new friends as I have made (read: my advisory), I am ready for this year to be over. Thanks to everyone who I’ve seen this year–I hope I don’t see you until July, at the earliest.

A

RANT to Community Time

A RAVE to the Spring Musical, “Working.” It’s pretty cool that we got the chance to attend an in-person screening.

Watching the production with friends makes the experience much more enjoyable.

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RAVE to not having finals

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RAVENT to the new STEM

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links being sent out at the last minute. Frankly, the number of meetings I have unknowingly scheduled during Community Time with my teachers, fellow students and college counselors is easily preventable. I honestly don’t think anyone ever knows that there is Community Time until advisory.

this year. Despite the pile of projects we are all juggling, it’s been far more relaxed at the end of this school year than it has in the past. To whoever made the decision to relieve us of finals, the entire student body appreciates you very much.

building. I’m excited to have nicer classrooms, functional bathrooms and no fruit flies; however, I’m certain that exactly no one is looking forward to the portable classrooms set up all the way in the Meadow. At least I will get my exercise for the day on my trek across campus to science class.

RANT to end-of-year burnout. The toll of a pandemic-filled, generally difficult school year has caught up with most of us students. Honestly, the only thing keeping me going is summer break at this point. All the love to my classmates and teachers, but once the clock strikes 4 p.m. on the last day of school, I’m out.

RAVE to Greenhill encouraging us to get vaccinated, especially with the vaccine clinic on campus. We’ve all got high hopes for the possibilities of this summer and next school year, and this is a necessary first step to make it happen. For those of you who are eligible, get vaccinated!

How to be successful in: Engineering I Diane Lin

E

ngineering I is one of Greenhill’s many courses that counts for a computer science credit. Because students are required to have at least one computer science credit before the beginning of their senior year, many Greenhill students take Engineering I, either during the school year or over summer break.

Engineering I is a semester-long course that serves as a prerequisite for entry to more advanced computer science courses and focuses on several big ideas. The course draws from the core elements of computer science and teaches students engineering processes, design, modeling and 3D printing.

Students work with the Arduino prototyping environment as an introduction to electrical and electronic engineering using the C programming language. The class offers students a chance to both explore and find their interests in the world of computer science, and it is offered to students during the summer and school year. The course spans two weeks during the summer and a semester during the school year.

The Evergreen asked some Engineering I alumni about the class, and here is what we learned:

of prep, I would say understand basic coding structure.

Not necessarily a specific language, but understanding how computers use logic and those logic processes work.” – senior Julia O’Gorman

7",)'.(')"*'8#09%#,&'%.9*'.+'4+/.+**0.+/'56 “Even with the material of the class being condensed to fit the two-week schedule in the summer, I did not feel overwhelmed at any point. Most of the work was finished in class, and our homework was whatever we did not finish.

It’s perfectly manageable.” – junior Justin Yu

a new piece of equipment. I spent some time preparing by figuring out what the equipment would be — I used the internet for help a lot. I also did some outside work with my journal by outlining my plans for what I expected to accomplish each class. For example, I don’t have a hot-glue gun at home, so I planned to make the most of my class time and do most of my hands-on work then.” – junior Justin Yu

7",)'1*)"#&('&.&'-#$'$(*')#'.120#?*'-#$0'*+/.+**0.+/' (9.%%('.+'4+/.+**0.+/6

“I used the resources around me, whether that be using 7",)' 9.+&(' #3' 20#:*;)(' &.&' -#$' &#' .+' 4+/.+**0.+/' 5<' my parents to bounce ideas off of or just Googling stuff.

And when I say ‘bouncing ideas off my parents,’ it’s more ,+&'8".;"'#+*('0*(#+,)*&'8.)"'-#$')"*'1#()6' like me one-sidedly explaining things out loud so I can see “We had assigned projects that everyone had to do in how my logic is fitting together so I can better figure out the order to become familiar with the equipment and program, code I need to make it work right. It’s also called the Rubber and we had independent projects where each person got to Duck Method.” – senior Julia O’Gorman be creative with what they learned. The independent project was the most fun because it was where we were able to do @+-' #)"*0' /*+*0,%' ).2(' 3#0' 4+/.+**0.+/' 5' )",)' -#$' something that made us different from everyone else in the 8#$%&' *12",(.A*' 3#0' ()$&*+)(' 8,+).+/' )#' ),9*' )"*' class. The most ambitious project I remember in my class ;#$0(*6' !"#$%&' ()$&*+)(' &#' ,+-)".+/' &$0.+/' )"*' ($11*0' )#' was a Rubik’s Cube solver, but that wasn’t able to get any further than an algorithm found online.” – senior Victor Le “Things never work once, and iterative design is 20*2,0*'3#0'4+/.+**0.+/'56 important to understand. The barrier of entry is extremely “I didn’t do anything personally. I think [course =#8'&.&'-#$'20*2,0*'3#0'1,:#0'20#:*;)('#0'*>,1('.+' low going into the class. Lack of previous knowledge won’t be a hindrance. Pretty much every problem that you have instructor Maria Suarez] does a very good job of making 4+/.+**0.+/'56 in the class has already been asked and answered before on engineering very accessible to students who have little “For our final project we were expected to incorporate the internet, just worded differently.” – senior Victor Le previous experience, but if you do want to do some kind

the Everything Seniors

17

Graphic by Jothi Gupta

18

Senior Section

Everg Ever the

CLASS OF 2021:

green

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

19

: THE NEXT STEP

SOURCE: Greenhill College Counseling; data current as of May 13 and does not reflect the entire Class of 2021 Graphic by Sarah Luan

20

Senior Section

Evergreen Ever the

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

GO HORNETS, GO! Eight seniors to play NCAA Division I and III sports

SHEELA VASAN will play NCAA Division III field

hockey at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee , next fall. Vasan started playing field hockey in the seventh grade, and she made her presence on the field known immediately as a four-year varsity athlete as well as a co-captain her senior year. Though at times her recruitment process was disappointing and discouraging due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vasan is incredibly fortunate that Rhodes was one of the first schools to talk to her. She is looking forward to being surrounded by people who love field hockey as much as her, and some awesome new jerseys.

KATE MARANO will attend Drexel University in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to play NCAA Division I lacrosse. Marano started playing competitive lacrosse in fifth grade, but she had been exposed to the sport from a young age. Her recruitment process was different than many other athletes because Marano was still recovering from an ACL tear during the summer before her junior year. The pandemic added another complication since her summer events after her junior year were canceled as well. “Luckily, between my videos and a few conversations between my club coaches and the coaches at Drexel, I was fortunate enough to receive an offer,” Marano said. Marano has earned All-North Zone honors and served as the co-captain for the lacrosse team in her junior and senior years. She is looking forward to being on a team where everyone is pushing each other to be the best they can be

JAKE NELSON will take his talents to Hendrix College in

LANE HERBERT is committed to Northwestern University

Conway, Arkansas, next fall, where he plans to play NCAA Division III soccer and lacrosse. Nelson has been playing soccer since he was about three years old, and picked up lacrosse in the seventh grade. Along with being a co-captain for three years, Nelson earned All-SPC honors, All-North Zone honors and his team’s Most Valuable Player for soccer.

He also earned two All-North Zone honors for lacrosse. His favorite memories are the big wins his team got in sports, but also the fun times they had outside. “I would have to say the 6-point comeback win against Plano East, and the dinner we went to afterwards was my favorite memory from lacrosse,” Nelson said. Nelson is looking forward to traveling with his new team and making friends and memories with the guys around him.

in Evanston, Illinois, where she will play NCAA Division I field hockey. From the moment Herbert saw Northwestern’s campus and met the coaches and players, she knew it was the place for her. Herbert started playing field hockey in seventh grade and has been a force to be reckoned with on the field.

She has earned All-SPC and All-North Zone honors multiple times during her time at Greenhill. While she is going to miss her teammates and coaches at Greenhill, Herbert is looking forward to the great combination of academics and athletics that Northwestern offers. She is excited to compete for an amazing set of coaches and represent an excellent institution and program. “I will never forget the seniors we had as freshmen,” Herbert said. “They were such great leaders and inspired so many girls to join the program which has made it stronger.”

THEO JOHNSON will be attending Claremont

JOSH FOUNTAIN is committed to Olivet College where

McKenna College in Claremont, California, where he has been recruited for NCAA Division III swimming. Johnson has been swimming since he was five years old; however, he really started to take the sport seriously in the ninth grade when he joined the Academy of Texas Aquatic Champions swim club. Johnson has earned two All-SPC honors and was a captain of the swim team during his senior year. Johnson is excited for the team environment in college and to have a group of friends that he gets to work with daily. He is also looking forward to the amazing facilities and perks of being a student-athlete.

ZACH KENNEDY will continue his studies at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, where he

will play NCAA Division III baseball. Kennedy describes his recruitment process as stressful because he had to take the initiative to reach out to start conversations with coaches. He started playing baseball around the age of four, and plays for the Dallas Mustangs club team along with Greenhill’s varsity baseball team. Kennedy has earned honors such as the Hornet Award and was a captain of the team during his senior year. Though he is going to miss Greenhill’s program and the Southwest Preparatory Conference, he is looking forward to having a great group of guys right when he steps on campus.

he will be part of the NCAA Division III diving team. This is a remarkable feat as Fountain only started diving during his junior year of high school. After last year’s swimming and diving season at Greenhill, Fountain continued diving under the coaching of Dan Pitts. Because of his commitment and dedication to the sport, he will be able to continue his diving career at the collegiate level, which he is looking forward to.

CARTER SHEDD will continue his studies at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, where he will play NCAA Division III baseball. Shedd entered Greenhill in eighth grade, and immediately made his presence known on the baseball field. He is a pitcher and one of the most hardworking athletes in Greenhill’s baseball program. The COVID-19 pandemic had some adverse effects on Shedd’s recruitment process – his select team usually competed in baseball tournaments over the summer; however these were canceled. Nevertheless, Shedd was still able to receive an offer to continue his play at the collegiate level, which he is excited about.

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

the

Evergreen Ever

Senior Section

21

Graphic by Khushi Chhaya and Jothi Gupta

REEL-iving the memories before the final curtain call, we dedicate the next three pages of this issue to the class of 2021

Scene 1: 1st Grade Thanksgiving feast

Scene 2: 2nd Grade Pet Parade Scene 3: 3rd Grade Humanities Field Trip

Scene 4: 4th Grade Mystery Theater Scene 5: 5th Grade Greek Play Scene 6: 6th Grade Band and Orchestra at Sandy Lake

Scene 7: 7th grade Halloween Parade

Scene 8: 8th grade Graduation Scene 9: 9th Grade Community Service Scene 10: 10th Grade Homecoming Scene 11: 11th Grade Turnabout Games

Scene 12: 12th Grade Water Tower Painting

Senior voices

It’s a pun-derful life

“Nothing matters.”

“We are on a floating rock.”

“We all die.”

“AP test stupid.”

One very sage senior texted these words to me after the AP Microeconomics exam.

Let me paint the picture for you.

Like the Type-A personality I am, I was very frustrated after the exam because I had changed one of my answers at the last minute and it ended up being wrong. I just couldn’t let it go, and I yell-ranted the whole way home. My car is permanently scarred.

It was not until I received those texts that I shut up. Those four lines made me stop. When I read them, I smiled. I read them again and laughed out loud. It was the perfect remedy.

I was clearly overthinking the whole situation.

Instead of thinking about the exam in its totality, I focused on that one mistake. I thought about the time I spent studying, how much I had wanted to get a five—the top grade—and yes, even the opportunity cost of those forgone hours of sleep or leisure.

I came out of that testing room with one thing on my mind: instant regret.

But I realized something when those four texts of comedic genius buzzed into my hands: Maybe I just need a little perspective.

If you know me well, or even a little bit, you are probably familiar with my fantastic gift of coming up with puns. I use puns frequently, usually as jokes, sometimes as conversation starters, and mostly at the expense of others. No one seems to enjoy the puns like I do.

I have learned a valuable lesson from my years of punning and, most recently, from this incident with my Micro exam: There is something more to humor. Yes, humor has the power to bridge gaps in conversation, make people more comfortable, and be the metaphorical spoonful of sugar that makes the metaphorical medicine go down.

It can also offer perspective.

Obviously, AP exams are not stupid, but it was that extremely sarcastic string of phrases that cured my anxiety. It was that moment of relief that allowed me to look around, gain some metaphorical perspective, and find a way off the summit and back to base camp.

It is very easy to feel overwhelmed in high school. Perspective is hard to attain and more difficult to maintain through all the challenges and failures. At times, the world can seem as big or as small as your next exam. Tests and grades can feel like the end-all, be-all of your future. Now, it’s not fair for me to lecture about overthinking because I do it all the time. However, I do have some advice on how I learned to manage it.

Use comedy as a gateway to perspective. Appreciate that little moment of relief, that smile, laugh or even cackle – whatever floats your boat. Take that time to realize that you are still here; an anvil has not crushed you. An exam does not determine your worth.

And if none of that advice works for you, I offer these words: Nothing matters.

We are on a floating rock.

We all die.

AP test stupid.

!$"+%-,)./0 When my parents moved from Plano up to the then-small town of Frisco, its few inhabitants were outnumbered by grass rolls. The two-mile drive from the Dallas North Tollway to our house featured nothing but a hospital, a gas station, and a line of fences that separated the road and empty fields of grass.

I learned my lefts and rights at the intersection of Legacy and Warren. On the left was Warren, and on the right was an old, rickety fence that blocked the street from miles of fields. As I grew up, I’d imagine that road whenever I forgot which way was left or right.

I defined my childhood as being in “the town of Frisco.” And yet, seemingly out of nowhere, that reality disappeared. The last years of my childhood have been spent in “the city of Frisco,” a sprawling new area centered around its prized possession: the Dallas Cowboys’ training facility and stadium.

I’ve struggled to merge the gap between “town Frisco,” the place that I used to call “north Plano” since it was never featured on a map, and ‘city Frisco,’ one of the fastest growing cities in the entire nation.

To me, they exist in two different realities: a reality where every night is quiet and everyone in the neighborhood knows each other, and a reality where the illumination of The Star can be seen from my bedroom window.

I’ve grown along with my town-turned-city. The most terrifying part of acknowledging the change and growth of Frisco is that I must accept that I’ve changed. The me of yesterday, last week, last month and last year are all different people. Just like how Frisco will never be a town again, I’ll never be the person that lived in “town Frisco” again either.

Change is scary. If you center yourself around pasts and futures, it feels sudden. It seems like places and people are slipping from your hands if you try and immortalize them in their time. No recollecting or lamenting will reverse time and bring me the Frisco from my childhood.

What I learned is that change is a consequence of life. No matter how much Frisco and I grow, my identity stays the same, regardless of how far I am from where I started. At the end of the day, Frisco is Frisco, and I am me, and nothing I do will ever change that.

Now, as I drive down Legacy, there’s no fence on my right. The street continues, featuring multiple stores and restaurants. But present-day me knows left from right. Frisco has changed, and so have I, and as drastic of a change as that might seem, all I can do is live in the present.

Wednesday, May 19, 2021 *"'"+%!,"#

After my awkward middle school phase of keeping up with meaningless Snapchat streaks, I found a new purpose for the app: an unlimited storage space for random videos and photos, a memory capsule for moments full of emotion.

Scrolling to the very bottom of my “Memories” tab on Snapchat, I find one of my personal favorites: a video capturing the moments after Mr. Krueger kicked our freshman Chemistry class out because someone made a corny joke, causing everyone to laugh and disrupt the lesson. Between the spurts of giggles I hear from behind the camera, I see my friends stress-studying in the corner because we had a quiz over functional groups the next day.

Scattered throughout my freshman year timeline are also videos featuring my carpool buddy at the time, Kevin. From those videos of me sitting in the back seat of his car, I could see how much I dreaded those carpooling days.

We’re friends now, don’t worry.

Snaps of carpool rides slowly become replaced with sophomore year struggles—English 10 with Mr. Merc and Advanced Biology labs were new sources of stress. Chaotic videos of me screaming Bruce Springsteen lyrics to help me study for my midterm exam are balanced by the occasional video of me obsessing over the Harry Potter series.

As I reenter junior year through my phone, I cringe as I look through snaps of me and Raag practicing TikTok dances during Evergreen layout. More late-night study sessions at 1 a.m. filled my feed as I suffered through my AP courses. I know the pain was all worth it after discovering the video of me singing calculus carols with Ms. Falk and the rest of my BC Calculus class.

The “March 2020” section is filled with photos of me baking, daily walks with my family and discovering new Netflix shows during a time when the world seemed to stop; but to me, it gave me the opportunity to enjoy everyday things that I didn’t normally appreciate.

That brings me to my most recent timeline.

Videos of me struggling in Biochem and keeping up with college apps make up the beginning of my senior year feed.

I’ve finally had the time to look back on those moments and reflect on the special memories from these past three years.

In the moment when I took all those photos and videos, they seemed pretty meaningless. But there’s something special about the ordinary day-to-day events of my life. These moments build up, forming a visual timeline of when I met new people, when friendships formed.

When I look at my daily flashbacks on Snapchat titled “three years ago today,” I feel a mix of emotions: nostalgia, gratefulness and a desire for time to slow down. High school goes by fast. What were once spontaneous snaps became distant memories, flashbacks to the most random yet meaningful moments.

Three years ago today…

!"#$%&$'($')

Evergreen Ever

Town-turned-city of Frisco

22 Senior Section

the

EVERGREEN SENIORS: From left: Leah Nutkis, Sarah Luan, Lane Herbert, Raag Venkat and Chloe Wetzler provided leadership to the award-winning print staff.

Photo by Jothi Gupta

Evergreen Ever the

Wednesday, May 19, 2020 !""#$%&'(")

23

*+,-&$.&)/,&0 was Introduction to Journalism.

During the first week of school, the teacher explained how we would go about pursuing our “Evergreen careers,” and we did a bunch of useless writing exercises.

“Just keep your head down, and try not to fall asleep,” I concluded.

Then came my first story assignment.

I was assigned to work with Sarah Luan to write a news story about Sara Bharwani, a victim of Hurricane Irma who had found refuge in Dallas and was attending Greenhill. My partner seemed unapologetically excited about the story. I wished I could have been more like her.

Sarah and I started the story process for the first time in our lives: We sent out interview requests, interviewed Sara about her experiences, transcribed interviews, wrote the first draft and went through multiple rounds of edits on our piece.

Through Sara’s interesting yet heartbreaking stories, I found work on the story a rewarding experience. We completed everything in a rush, and it was somehow enjoyable, a word that I had never associated with the Evergreen. I hadn’t experienced an elective that I was genuinely passionate about, but these feelings were manifested in me when the story was printed on page four of the November 2017 issue of the Evergreen.

That story was my blood, sweat and tears on the page for everyone to see. I felt a feeling of genuine jubilation and pride.

For the first time, I found my passion.

Throughout my high school career, my bond with other Evergreen staff members as well as my writing skills grew stronger.

Evergreen is my happy place. It is the class that I go to early and leave late.

And yet, because I chose it solely to fill a requirement, it has grown into a real passion that has taught me so much about the world around me. I have come to realize that small actions can make a big difference

When I was in the sixth grade, I was ranked number one in Texas on the defunct trivia app, QuizUp, in the “High School Musical” category. Being number one in the U.S.’s second-largest state was quite a feat; I was basically an expert in all things High School Musical.

Around that time, I was also obsessed with teen shows like “Glee,” “Pretty Little Liars” and “Gossip Girl.” With all the media I was consuming, I grew more and more excited about high school.

I thought what I saw on TV was what I was going to get.

I knew people wouldn’t break out into song every five minutes the way they do in “High School Musical,” but my perception of high school was still warped. I anticipated massive house parties every weekend, prom being the peak of high school, having a longterm sweetheart et cetera; like the protagonist in every stereotypical American teen romance movie.

But none of that happened.

Not even close.

High school is not what you think it’s going to be, even if you don’t expect it to be like a Disney Channel original movie like I did.

The Greenhill Upper School doesn’t have a defined social hierarchy. Unlike in the movies, there won’t be strict cliques for the jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, or goths. You don’t need to fall into a specific category.

There are plenty of “jocks” and athletes that are in theater. They don’t risk their social standing by participating, because frankly, no one cares. Don’t worry about something making you look less cool. Don’t be afraid to try new things because of popularity.

“But hey, that’s high school”

On the evening of July 26, 2017, my life changed forever, and I didn’t even know it.

It wasn’t in a morbid, treacherous kind of way but rather in its own simple yet beautiful way. But how was I, the timid, awkward, not yet high schooler but not quite middle schooler, supposed to know that an email could open a new chapter in my life?

I sat at home in front of my computer the summer before my freshman year pondering what to do with the rest of my freedom before starting my very first day of high school. I was consumed with what high school would be like. “Who were my teachers going to be? Could I finally be popular? Would I make varsity tennis?” I thought to myself. And that’s when it happened. On the top left of my screen, I saw an email titled “Scheduling.”

The contents of the email stated that I set all my core academic classes, but I hadn’t picked electives and still had to fill the fine arts graduation requirement.

I had dabbled in photography, band, acting, painting and ceramics in middle school but nothing seemed to be a genuine passion. I clicked on the course spreadsheet, and there I saw the very words that would change my life: “Introduction to Journalism.”

It was a filler to complete my schedule.

School soon began, and things were looking up. The first day, week and month of high school came and passed by briskly like the wind.

The only class that didn’t pass by swiftly

Appreciate the little things

Senior Section

In Middle School at Greenhill, popularity was definitely determined whether you were cool or not; that doesn’t continue into high school.

In high school, you also won’t look like an adult. Modern high school TV shows have actors in their mid-twenties with personal trainers and on-call plastic surgeons to play teenagers. So, don’t get down on yourself for looking like a child because you look exactly the way you’re supposed – like a child.

Finally, you’re not going to have the free time to solve crimes and end world hunger.

You’re not even going to have the free time to talk with your friends some days. In the media, kids never seem to have any work, likely because that doesn’t make for a good story.

If my high school experience was adapted into a movie, it would be a box-office flop. No one wants to watch a movie about a girl doing 4 hours of homework a day and never going out on weekdays, let alone weekends.

I’m not trying to say don’t get your hopes up for high school. Get excited! But don’t expect it to be the way it’s portrayed in the movies. Because in the movies, they don’t show the part where you have to study 7 hours for a pre-calc exam or the awkwardness of adolescence.

But who knows? Maybe you are the second Blair Waldorf from “Gossip Girl.”

Maybe you will experience everything I mentioned above, but don’t expect that to happen.

High school went in a completely different direction than I intended. To some, that might sound like a bad thing, but it was a blessing. I was able to determine my own high school experience rather than living in the one given to me by the movies. Now, I’m leaving high school much happier than when I entered it.

third grade

seventh grade

10th grade

12th grade

Photos courtesy of Katie Young

24

Farewell

to our

Evergreen Ever the

Backpage

Seniors MS. LYNCH

MR. GIORGIO I don’t figure skate, but I can make waffles.

They may not have been très chic Belgian waffles, but they were always made with love.

Speaking of love….

It didn’t take long to grow to love you all.

Many of you already had a firm place in my heart from our time together in middle school. Others of us were just meeting for the very first time. Now here we are: three years later—no longer students and teacher, but rather family and friends.

You’ve heard me say countless times that learning is like a staircase. Since our time together, I have seen each of you climb— with every step, an ascension to who you are, one step closer to a more complete version of your truest self.

I’ve also said that life can be a rollercoaster: one filled with anxiety-induced, excitementfilled ups and downs. Ride those peaks as long as you can and know that the valleys pass quickly—especially when you have a friend by your side.

Learn from every failure and none of you will fail to learn. For as E. E. Cummings wrote, “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.”

MS. MUÑOZ

It goes without saying that our journey as the Muñoz advisory was a short one!

However, I believe wholeheartedly in quality over quantity.

While the time we spent together was brief, it was tremendously impactful in my life as an educator. I want to thank each of you for giving me the chance to get to know you. I appreciate the grace you showed me as I tried to understand your context and how to best support you.

I am continuously amazed at your resiliency in living through a senior year that lacks any semblance to what any of you envisioned. Your fortitude and perseverance are unparalleled, and you inspire me every day.

During the New Teacher’s Orientation four years ago, Ms. [Genie] Burke assured me, “We will cut you some slack because you are new. We are giving you a good group.” You guys are not a good group. You are the best group: a combination of artistic, quirky, smart, outspoken and resilient donut lovers!

Remember our 12 boxes of donuts?

This may sound like a cliché, but it is from the bottom of my heart.

Remember, you are loved by your family, friends and teachers. Remember that you are deeply loved when life throws you for a loop because you will need love to overcome life’s obstacles.

I leave you with my blessings. May you soar high on wings like eagles, may you run and not grow weary, and may you walk and not faint.

In Chinese, we don’t say goodbye.

Instead, we say “see again.” So, see you later, my friends. I love you. I will miss you terribly!

MR. HASKINS Thank you for accepting me as your adviser these past two years. Our time together has been short but eventful, and it has been a pleasure watching each of you grow into the young adults you are now. I hope your futures are bright and exciting, and that you learn many new skills and ideas these next four years in college.

You certainly have left a mark on Greenhill, and I look forward to getting together in the future and reflecting on the great memories shared between us. Until then, remember to live a purposeful life and be present in the moment. Time is a fleeting resource, so go forth and make the most of it.

I cannot wait to see what the future holds for each of you.

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

MS. ALMANZA

Kaylee, continue to be your incredibly caring self. Ben, may your kindness always shine through. Everett, this trajectory of growth you’re on, persist. Eisha, I hope your light-hearted nature never changes.

Matias, continue helping people connect through laughter. Abby, may your heart forever be this genuine. Jonathan, always share your intellect with those around you.

Kate, don’t ever let your authentic spirit change. Zoe, keep speaking with honesty and candor. Jack, may the strength you’ve demonstrated only grow stronger. Raag, keep achieving everything you set your mind on. Rakesh, may you always have a kind and gentle soul.

I will always be thankful to Greenhill for bringing us together. To say that I will miss the 12 of you is an understatement, but I’m so happy to get to witness you all move on to the next step. Best of luck on your next adventure!

MR. HARKEY I’ve got a secret y’all, and I can finally share it: We stopped being the “Harkey Advisory” a long damn time ago.

We were only ever really the “Harkey Advisory” for a hot second during y’all’s freshman year. We’ve actually been the (Bowman)-Chow-Fox-Gibson-HarkeyKassanoff-Kim-Lebowitz-Nguyen(Nur!)-O’Gorman-Read-SeinfeldThompson-Wilson Advisory ever since y’all beautiful people more or less independently developed a collective identity far more impressive and wonderful than anything I could have ever hoped to create or impose. I got to just be largely along for the ride, helping a little bit here and there, maybe, but mostly just marveling at your shared and individual awesomeness.

I’m convinced I’m never going to have a better advisory group. I hope I’m wrong, frankly, because that would make my life easier. But I don’t think that’s going to be the case.

I’ll miss you all a lot, but I know you’re off to bigger and better things. Thanks for the time we got to spend together.

You might not have noticed, because of who I am and because of (gestures broadly at everything), but I cherished every moment.

ShuBells, it is hard to believe that four years have gone by already. We can’t help but feel robbed of some meaningful memory-making time together due to all things COVID. We will miss every one of you collectively and individually.

We will miss your smiling faces, and we will also miss your complaining, silliness, goofiness and sleepiness.

Remember when advisory was in the morning? Just think, you were Ms. Campbell’s first advisory group ever. You trained her very well, and she learned a lot. Please pay us a visit when you are home on your breaks— you will want to meet your replacements.

We wish you all the best and it was a pleasure being your advisers. Goodbye for now. We wish you all a bright future.

Oh—and don’t forget: Finish strong.

MS. BATTIS To all of you disparate, high-flying, determined peeps!

It has been fun watching each of you find your passions during high school, whether it is digging into the stock market, exploring dark holes and CGI, shooting goals that I somehow can’t see, becoming an amazing photographer, or speaking up for yourself and others in rallies, in speeches, and in advisory.

Each of you has found your passion. I have loved sitting and listening to you share your passions and can’t wait to see you follow them into the future.

This year has taught you to persevere, to accommodate, and to try new things. This will be your foundation for success moving forward.

Come back and share your accomplishments and excitements.

Each and every one of you, whether you were with me for a year, two years, or all four, will always be a Battis advisee, and I am always just a phone call away! Stay in touch!

DR. GAJDEROWICZ

MS. PARKER

The past four years with our remarkable advisory have been a truly rewarding experience.

I could not have asked for a more amazing group of smart, passionate and courageous individuals. I am impressed with your growth, fascinated by your interests and forever grateful for all the wonderful memories. You all have been a true blessing, and it warmed my heart every time you emphatically I join your families, friends, teachers and stated that “we had the best advisory.” mentors in celebrating this milestone in your lives. May your futures be full of May we always remember our boundless energy, best-decorated, fabulous holiday parties, birthday celebrations, advisory lunches, astrology talks, health, happiness, success, exploration friendships that blossomed and our healthy uproars of giddiness and laughter. and discovery. As Greenhill’s one and only Class of 2021, your ability to shine As you move on to college, please be proud of the years of effort that have through the haze will be the legacy you gotten you to where you are right now. Continue your commitment and leave behind and the gift you take with dedication to becoming all that you will be. Be proud to be our future and you to your new communities. I believe in you! Be a force of positivity, integrity, make a difference in this world. Follow your dreams, find what fuels your passion and embrace all the opportunities and challenges that come with life. and love—we need it.

Be present and make every moment count in this one life of yours.

2021

MS. SHUMAN

I am forever grateful that I got to take over as your adviser three years ago and that you all welcomed me warmly. What a time we’ve shared! Before you leave, I want to share a message with each of you:

It has been an honor and a privilege to walk beside you in your journey to where you stand today. Thank you for all the joyful years you’ve given to me and our beautiful advisory family.

I am so proud of all of you! Your first year in Greenhill Upper School was my first year at Greenhill, and it’s been a pleasure to watch you all grow up, learn, and turn into young adults ready to take the next step in life! In turn, I appreciate your patience as you’ve seen me go from someone who had no idea how things work at Greenhill to someone who knows how, like, at least a couple of things work at Greenhill.

I know that the past four years have not always been what people would have expected, but I have watched you adapt to new situations with perspective, with patience, and with good humor. These qualities make me believe you have the resilience to move through life’s many challenges.

Hang in there, because life has a few challenges and a few curveballs to throw your way. If you ever got coached in baseball or softball, you know what to do: keep your head down, keep your eye on the ball, and only swing at the good ones.

Remember your Home on the Hill and check in with your old Upper School teachers every once in a while. Peace and long life!