New

History teacher Greg

Lesser recently welcomed a new addition, Amelia Max Lesser, to his family, so taking his place in the classroom until early May is Martin Gilbert, who has been teaching since 1984 at schools such as Hackley and Byram Hills.

Gilbert said that he was inspired to become a teacher by his own AP US History teacher in high school. “I started out in college as pre-med,” he said, “but I wasn’t particularly interested in medicine. I only did it because it was what my family wanted me to do; my father was a physician. But I always loved history in high school, and I had a really special AP US teacher. That was an important part of my decision.” In addition to teaching history, Gilbert has also coached basketball and been the faculty advisor for clubs such as mock trial and quiz bowl.

In his time as a teacher, Gilbert has crossed paths with many people. Some of them have gone

After Masters, Pall attended New York University and majored in art history and music business. Pall noted that he always had a passion for music and hosting events. He said, “One of my greatest joys in life is bringing people together to have a great time and DJing really satisfies both of those passions. It goes without saying but the music-making side is always the best as well, it’s a very cathartic experience–writing songs deeply personal to us– and then seeing people have their own unique and exciting experiences with them.”

Just eleven years after Pall graduated high school, The Chainsmokers released their debut single “#Selfie” in 2014. The single was charting on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

Soon after their debut, the Chainsmokers started to make headlines. They began collaborating with notable musicians like Coldplay, Bebe Rhexa, and Halsey.

Fischer remembered the feeling she had when she realized Pall was behind the Chainsmokers.

She said, “Even when I heard it, I had no idea that it was him until like, I didn’t know, he was part of The Chainsmokers until somebody else from Masters had said, ‘You know that’s Alex, right?’ And I was blown away. Because last I’d heard from him, he was in, like, a club scene and promoting and just in a very different space. I didn’t know he was actually an artist and creating music.”

Junior Gabriel Heller also enjoys producing music in his free time and has recently been DJing as well. Heller has found major inspiration in Pall who has walked the same halls as him.

Heller described how Pall has made him grow and inspired to be a more dedicated musician. Heller said, “Since school takes away so much of my creative side which includes music production, I on to become famous, such as David Harbour, who you may know as Jim Hopper in the hit Netflix original series “Stranger Things,” and Amanda Nepo, who at the age of 16 went on Penn and Teller’s show and fooled them with her original magic tricks. “But really,” he said, “it’s the everyday successes that I’m sometimes inspired by. Sometimes a student will say ‘That was the best lesson,’ or ‘I’m curious to know more about know that I need to continue to nurture that creative side of myself and cope with school, just like Pall did. Especially because I know music will be a part of me for the rest of my life.” He continued, “Pall’s reputation is usually centered more around his public image as a professional DJ and he often does not receive the credit he deserves for being such a talented producer and musician all around. I am not only inspired by the fact he went to Masters, but by his music in general, which only encourages me to keep working on mine and continue improving.”

Furthermore, Pall hopes that Masters students interested in pursuing a musical career should “hone in on what area of music excites them and expose themselves to the business side, the performative side, and the song-writing side, and really get a sense ofwhat brings themost joy,“ Pall said. He noted that once they have a sense of the aspect that brings them the most joy, “They should work harder at that than anyone else and share their work with the world.” history,’ and I know I’ve done my job well when that happens.”

Gilbert’s teaching style differs from Lesser’s in that he often brings in stories from his own life; for example, when his eleventh grade US history class started their unit on the Gilded Age he told them about Madam C.J. Walker, our country’s first self-made Black millionairess, and how he passes her mansion, Villa Lewaro, every day on the way to work. He also showed the class that the sign outside of Villa Lewaro is in disrepair and needs to be replaced or, at the very least repainted, and he hopes that his students will take action to get this done.

“Students need to take charge,” he said. “Sure, good grades are important to college, but they also want people who take action to make the world a better place.”

All in all, Gilbert has been received warmly by his students. Mila Benson, a freshman in his World History class, said, “Mr. Gilbert keeps us on our toes and asks us a lot of questions.”