AN ADMISSION SEASON LIKE NO OTHER roton School is celebrating ninety-six newly enrolled pandemic-related school closings drove more families to consider students and a record-breaking admission season. independent schools. Of those newly enrolled, 22 percent selfApplications to Groton were up 20 percent to a record identify as Black or Latinx, including biracial and multiracial number at 1,505, and only 9 percent of applicants were students. admitted, a drop from last year’s 11 percent admit rate. FortyThe Admission Office interviewed a total of 1,432 four percent of the new students will applicants — 12 percent more than last receive financial aid — a reflection of year — and all of the meetings were Groton’s commitment to enroll the virtual. Pre-pandemic, in 2020, only most qualified students, regardless 106 applicants interviewed virtually, of their families’ financial standing. and 1,172 came to campus. Of 141 admittees, the 96 who chose In this unusual pandemic era, the Groton — 68 percent — represent a outstanding admission season reflects record yield for the school and a yield the hard work and creativity of the about 10 percentage points higher admission team, faculty, coaches, and than fifteen years ago. most of all, Groton students, who In this competitive season, the acted as tour guides and created An innovative approach to a closed campus school’s mission and values remained videos for the Groton “Drive-In.” at the heart of the process. “We Forty-eight families toured Groton’s focused on drawing students who exhibited the qualities of campus — without leaving their cars — at the “Drive-In,” an kindness, perseverance, and intellectual engagement,” said Dean innovative combination of student videos and a visit to campus. of Admission and Financial Aid Ian Gracey. Admitted families also attended virtual events, from cooking The number of full-pay applicants from the United States classes to history paper presentations to athletic captains’ increased by 38 percent, a notable rise even in a year when meetings to a Spanish class.
AN INTERNATIONAL DEBATE CONTENDER
J
iacheng Kang ’22 competed in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships April 23–26, a rare feat last accomplished by a Groton student fifteen years ago. At the virtual competition, Jiacheng qualified for the finals in three of four events — debating, persuasive speaking, and interpretive reading. “The debating was very paradigm-shifting,” he said of
the international competition. “In my first debate, I was paired with a student from Lithuania, and I debated against students from South Africa. Throughout the debate, students from the two different countries brought up examples that I was not familiar with, and I learned a ton about Lithuania from my own partner.” One topic for debate was whether the Confederate flag should be banned in accordance with a law passed in Germany that prohibited the swastika. “Hearing how students from other countries think about issues such as freedom of expression vastly expanded my worldview,” Jiacheng said. Qualifying for Worlds is not easy. “A debater in our league needs to place as the best advanced speaker at a qualifying tournament sometime during the fall and
winter terms,” said Michael Gnozzio ’03, Groton math teacher and debate advisor. “This means besting approximately one hundred other competitors. Jia managed to tie for first place at the Loomis Chaffee tournament in January and was one of only twelve Americans to qualify for the tournament this year.” With the help of a group of dedicated Fifth and Sixth Form students, Jiacheng was able to hone his skills via weekly Zoom practice debates last summer. His hard work paid off in consistent successes in smaller debates throughout the fall. “Jiacheng keeps the flare, puts things into perspective, and doesn’t get bogged down in the semantics,” said Groton Debating Society president Samarth Agrawal ’21. “He’s super strong rhetorically, really good at leveraging what his opponents have said against
them, great at emphasis, and always grabs the crowd’s attention.” If not for the pandemic, the competition would have been held in a major international city. This year’s virtual championship was hosted by South Korea. Stephen McCarthy ’06 competed in the 2005 World championship in Cyprus. The last Grotonian to reach Worlds, Sebastian Osborn ’06 in 2006, had the mixed blessing of competing in his home state of Connecticut. “Even though I didn’t end up winning in any of the categories, the whole experience was full of fun and learning,” said Jiacheng, “and I cannot thank Dr. Reyes, Mr. Gnozzio, and Steven Pang ‘22 enough for their help and support in my preparation for the tournament.” — Alexandra Karr ‘21
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