Milton Magazine
Spring 2010
The Power of Confidence Is confidence an inherent attribute, a skill to be nurtured, or a strategic approach to an issue? How do certain experiences, or environments, or individuals help build confidence in others? Can the process of gaining confidence be defined?
Milton Academy Board of Trustees, 2009–2010 David Abrams Brookline, Massachusetts
John B. Fitzgibbons ’87 Bronxville, New York
George Alex Cohasset, Massachusetts
Catherine Gordan New York, New York
Julia W. Bennett ’79 Norwell, Massachusetts
Victoria Hall Graham ’81 New York, New York
Bradley Bloom President Wellesley, Massachusetts
Margaret Jewett Greer ’47 Emerita Chevy Chase, Maryland
Bob Cunha ’83 Milton, Massachusetts
Antonia Monroe Grumbach ’61 New York, New York
Elizabeth Donohue ’83 New York, New York
Kerry Murphy Healey Beverly, Massachusetts
James M. Fitzgibbons ’52 Emeritus Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Franklin W. Hobbs IV ’65 Emeritus New York, New York
Ogden M. Hunnewell ’70 Vice President Brookline, Massachusetts
John P. Reardon ’56 Vice President Cohasset, Massachusetts
Harold W. Janeway ’54 Emeritus Webster, New Hampshire
H. Marshall Schwarz ’54 Emeritus New York, New York
Lisa A. Jones ’84 Washington, D.C.
Karan Sheldon ’74 Blue Hills Falls, Maine
F. Warren McFarlan ’55 Belmont, Massachusetts
Frederick G. Sykes ’65 Secretary Rye, New York
Carol Smith Miller Boston, Massachusetts Erika Mobley ’86 Brisbane, California
V-Nee Yeh ’77 Hong Kong Jide J. Zeitlin ’81 Treasurer New York, New York
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Features: The Power of Confidence 4 What Triggered Your Confidence? For some, confidence hums along as a personality trait, such as compassion or willfulness. For others, confidence germinates in fertile ground—being in the right place at the right time. For others still, confidence grows in lockstep with self-awareness, aligning what you do with who you are. The Milton alumni who speak in this issue, as individualistic as they are, do agree: Confidence is a potent power source, and authentic confidence builds upon itself. Cathleen Everett Erin Hoodlet
15 For an Opera Singer, No Place to Hide Siddhartha Misra ’01 can’t fake his confidence. Hundreds of eyes and ears immediately detect any faltering, any misgiving on his part. Sid is an opera singer, and in performance selfassurance is quintessential. Erin Hoodlet
16 Riding the Self-Confidence Wave Most of us ride a confidence wave with each new domain we tackle. The height of the peaks and the depth of the valleys are a function of base selfconfidence. Where you find yourself on the wave is a result of the context.
Adam Berrey ’89 17 Forging the Confident Teenager A teenager can find some comfort— and find it easier to learn—when what he experiences around him is consistent, predictable and, ultimately, rational. Teasing apart and putting together the ways that Milton builds confidence, faculty members almost surprised themselves when they tracked how often a student’s experience is replicated—and in how many ways. Cathleen Everett
27 Mind the Gap Milton students find a gap year can open new routes to their future. Universally, the gap year builds confidence in unpredictable ways. For the Milton students who take it, a gap year provides time and space to re-imagine the courses their lives might take. Caitlin O’Neil ’89
30 Powerful Alchemy in K–8 Across the nine-grade span of Milton Academy’s K–8 division, our curriculum is rich in content and vigorous in the teaching of skills. Our expectations are high for students to innovate, take initiative and develop mastery. Our curriculum also purposefully builds the catalyst for all learning: a sense of confidence. Marshall Carter
23 The Confident Athlete at Milton That moment when everything comes together—desire, skill, speed and strength—is a source of pride. It is also a wellspring of confidence from which student athletes draw. This magic moment comes at different times and in different forms for high school students. Erin Hoodlet
Front cover: Photograph by N’dea Hallett ’11 Opposite page: Photograph by Michela Marsh ’10 Back cover: Photograph by Jovonna Jones ’11 Milton Magazine
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Departments 35 Classroom The Class IV Talk: Rather than a psychic scar, a shared badge of honor and identity Tarim Chung
36 Post Script Confidence comes from within? No way. Rob Woodhouse ’08
37 Head of School A Quiet Confidence, Grounded in Humility Todd Bland
38 In•Sight 40 Sports Running with the King: Boys on the cross-country team listen for their positive inner voices
42 On Centre News and notes from the campus and beyond
49 Class Notes
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Editor Cathleen Everett Associate Editor Erin Hoodlet Photography Bill Creighton, Michael Dwyer, John Gillooly, Erin Hoodlet, Nicki Pardo, Greg White Design Moore & Associates Milton Magazine is published twice a year by Milton Academy. Editorial and business offices are located at Milton Academy where change-of-address notifications should be sent. As an institution committed to diversity, Milton Academy welcomes the opport unity to admit academically qualified students of any gender, race, color, handicapped status, sexual orientation, religion, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally available to its students. It does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, handicapped status, sexual orientation, religion, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship programs, and athletic or other school-administered activities. Printed on Recycled Paper
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The power of confidence Confidence fuels many a decision, a risk, a venture. Lack of confidence has an equivalent power—limiting options, challenging direction, undermining ideas. Is confidence an inherent attribute, a skill to be nurtured, or a strategic approach to an issue? How has confidence or its absence figured in your life? How do certain experiences, or environments, or individuals help build confidence in others? Can the process of gaining confidence be defined?
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What triggered your confidence? For some, confidence hums along as a personality trait, such as compassion or willfulness. For others, confidence germinates in fertile ground—being in the right place at the right time; being face-to-face with opportunity; being inspired, coaxed, challenged or angered by key people; being forced to recover from adversity. For others still, confidence grows in lockstep with self-awareness, aligning what you do with who you are. The Milton alumni who speak in this issue, as individualistic as they are, do agree: Confidence is a potent power source, and authentic confidence builds upon itself.
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Nat Paynter ’90 “Be confident in your knowledge, and equally confident in your ignorance. Saying ‘I don’t know’ with certainty is a strong position and underscores the reliability of statements you do know. And if you’re not confident speaking publicly, then sometimes you just have to fake it.”
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owever, you need to balance confidence and overconfidence. In the work I do, the absence of arrogance is very important. Coming into a developing country and saying, ‘We know what’s best for you,’ only shows how little you know.” Nat Paynter ’90 works on a certain scientific, sociopolitical frontier. For three years he worked in Tanzania implementing and studying the health and economic effects of improving hand washing and sanitation among the rural poor. Now based in Washington, D.C., he coordinates a publicprivate partnership on hand washing, which is under way in 15 countries, including Peru, Senegal, Tanzania and Vietnam. The partnership brings together soap manufacturers like Procter & Gamble and Unilever; multi-lateral institutions like the World Bank and UNICEF; and research institutions like Johns Hopkins and the London School of Hygiene, to leverage different strengths. Ultimately, reducing diarrheal disease and improving the economic status among the world’s poorest is the goal. Success depends upon strategies to stimulate behavior change—while knowledge of the importance of hand washing is typically high, actual performance of the behavior is very low. The difficulty lies in changing knowledge into behavior, particularly among the young mothers targeted by the project. Their energies are focused on many basic needs: collecting water and wood, farming, cooking, feeding their family, and taking care
Nat with members of the Ifunda Women’s Committee in Tanzania
of their children. What will motivate this type of substantive behavior change? How does anyone trigger in these mothers that fundamental change? Project partners are trying to learn what works—what can be replicated and scaled—so that these projects can be applied at a national level to affect tens of millions of lives. For this type of program, good working relationships among diverse players and cultures are essential to progress, as is good evidence. Being active in a leadingedge field is both exciting and uncomfortable, Nat says, and confidence plays a complex role. “So much is unknown about an activity we do daily that slipping back on assumptions is easy. For the project to have credibility it has to be rigorous about evidence—any statement or discovery has to satisfactorily answer the question, ‘How do you know?’ And perhaps more
important, ‘So what? Is this knowledge merely interesting, or is it important?’” Authentic progress depends upon real data, real causality, real health effects. Developing countries have so many challenges and so many demands upon their limited resources that they must prioritize, even between emphasis on access to water or on sanitation. Appropriate prioritization depends on facts—will promoting handwashing reduce poverty by X% as compared to another intervention? Moving a pilot project to a larger scale, attempting to affect many millions of people, should rely on explicit evidence. The confidence to name what is known and what is not is essential.
AND ANOTHER THING Changing direction may trigger the confidence that leads to success; you may find the personal strengths that lead to a rewarding career. Nat earned a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from M.I.T. That was after an undergraduate concentration in English literature and work, albeit unhappy work, as a literary agent. How did he find the confidence to switch gears entirely, jump into science, to migrate from geology to hydrology to water and sanitation? “Fear drove me. I was terrified that if I didn’t even try, I would regret it 30 years later.”
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Meika Neblett Roberson ’90 “ Confidence is the emotional intelligence of competence. It comes both from being prepared and being comfortable relying on your gut instinct.”
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ice chair of an urban emergency medicine department, Meika Neblett Roberson ’90 is tested daily in the fires of fast-moving situations. Confidence builds as you find the intellectual and emotional resourcefulness that each day demands, she contends. Solid, rigorous preparation—medical school and long hours of residency training—is part of the equation. “Sometimes preparation helps, and sometimes it doesn’t. If a patient is sick and dying, nothing compares with having everything you need to make decisions and take action.” Often, Meika must act without the luxury of time. “I rely on my resourcefulness, and on my gut feeling. If I don’t have something at hand, I know where to get it. And when something is wrong with a patient, I can often sense it. I pay attention to that instinct, and it has served me well.” Having grown up in the Boston suburbs and attended Milton and Emory, Meika decided to pursue medicine at Howard
University. “I needed to make sure that I could still relate to my community,” she says. “I didn’t want to be a physician and feel removed from understanding my community; I realized that I needed to go to a black institution, where there are predominantly black students, black professors and black patients.” Consciously shaping the person she wants to be, Meika has traveled and studied all over the world. Each journey formed defining points in her life. Spain, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Japan held lessons to learn, but her residency training in South Africa was particularly poignant: “There, I was exposed to trauma unlike any I’ve seen in my life.” Aware of her strengths, and the interests that would sustain her over time, Meika chose a role in medicine where she could integrate policy and planning with hands-on care. Meika’s innate leadership helps immensely in emergency situations; as an attending, she’s responsible for both the patients
and the doctors charged with their care. “In the life-or-death situations that we see, [doctors] need to have the compassion to attend to the human element of a situation, but the clinical response to get things done quickly and well; both require a high level of professional confidence. However, there’s a fine line between a healthy amount of confidence and overconfidence, which can actually hurt, in our profession. That balance can’t be taught—you have to realize that you can’t save everyone, but that you have to treat with everything that you have, and sometimes that requires help.” You don’t build confidence solely by fanning your own flame. “Having people around you that let you discover yourself, and teach you that it’s okay to fail, is irreplaceable. Experiencing that environment as a young person supports and stimulates whatever is naturally your own. Milton cultivated that confidence so well; this was a community where you could be smart without negative social repercussions. You didn’t have to hide your A’s from your friends in order to be cool. That environment was a huge boost for me.”
AND ANOTHER THING “I don’t think confidence and success are equivalent, because you don’t have to succeed at everything to be confident. I accept what I can do, and when I face something that I don’t do well, I’ll still try it, but I don’t punish myself for failing. I also don’t have the time or luxury to get mired in my particular challenges or mistakes.” Meika needs to bounce back quickly from disappointments—“taking a moment to feel what I feel, and then move on.” Resilience is a practical matter: the next task, and the next patient, is depending on her focus and action. 6
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oss Sherbrooke ’54 advocates gaining confidence from adversity. “I’ve had plenty of that,” he says. “Adversity forces self-awareness.” Adversity cropped up intermittently but steadily for him. An early game-changing incident was a bout of pneumonia he encountered when at Milton. Events conspired to offer him a choice; he decided that investing the significant effort necessary to do well at Milton was worth the experience of the School. Within his college career, in the Navy, over the span of his career in the investment field, and in the form of death and illness within his family—serious adversity wove itself into a successful life. Service has been another lifelong theme. Ross applies his voluntarism widely. The service that has inspired a long-term commitment responds to the violent, life-altering misfortune inflicted by landmines. Jerry White, a family friend, was a college junior studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, when an overnight camping trip in the Golan Heights resulted in a landmine accident that cost Jerry his leg. Jerry’s seven-month struggle to recover, the longer effort to regain confidence and direction, affected Ross profoundly. Jerry’s turnaround trigger was an Israeli patient who practiced what Ross calls “tough love.” That is, a kick in the pants helped Jerry realize that he was more than any of his limbs and that he had plenty to do in the world. Jerry co-founded Survivor Corps (formerly Landmine Survivors Network) and became a leader of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Ross has
served those efforts for two decades. In particular, he has helped provide physical support, tools, equipment and strategies to help landmine survivors figure out how to move on. Ross has visited victims in many countries afflicted by landmines—with Queen Noor of Jordan in Cambodia after the end of the Pol Pot regime, for example, or in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Witnessing so many victims’ circumstances firsthand, Ross is able to participate in developing unique solutions: A survivor in Addis Ababa with two prosthetic legs, crouched in his tiny dung hut and very close to starvation when Ross met him, is now the proprietor of a fruit stand. A Cambodian man who cycles to work each day with his single leg, used the set of tools he was given to set up a bicycle repair shop.
“The psychic income I get from this work is incredible; it’s tremendously rewarding. I gain a great sense of accomplishment in serving, in helping to meet a need.”
AND ANOTHER THING Ross agrees with Alan Watts that accepting insecurities is a good thing. He goes further. “Sometimes,” he says, “I am terrified before doing something. Everyone should have the experience of looking a fearful thing directly in the eye. As soon as you act, the fear is gone. If you don’t have that kind of a challenge, that’s a piece of yourself you don’t yet know.”
Ross Sherbrooke ’54 “Part of confidence is serving. Service is an enabler of confidence. For people who lack confidence, or whose confidence is declining, help them find a need, a way to serve, a cause. Find something that you can feel good about accomplishing.” Milton Magazine
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Kim Steimle ’92 “In high school, college, and even early in my business career, seeking situations where I was not in my comfort zone came naturally to me. When you work outside your comfort zone enough times, it actually expands. You soon discover that you have been learning all along, and that you have grown as a professional and as a person.”
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n executive vice president, Kim Steimle ’92 sits among ten male colleagues around the board table at Suffolk Construction. Her team, the Executive Management Team, provides input on the strategic direction of the 26-year-old construction management firm. Suffolk is ubiquitous in New England; the company’s red-and-blue logo marks a presence in four other regions of the country as well. Suffolk Construction manages projects in numerous business sectors—commercial, education, health care, science and technology, and government. A recognized figure in the Boston business landscape, Kim received the Pinnacle Award presented by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce to women who have made outstanding achievements in the business community. In the same year, 2008, she was named one of the Banker & Tradesman’s “New Leaders.” In 2006, she was ranked on the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list as a result of her professional, personal and civic accomplishments. The comment on Suffolk’s Web site, that Kim “drives many company initiatives,” is the simplest summary of her job. She manages Suffolk’s branding and marketing strategies, nationally and in four regions—Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and West Coast. She spearheads
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the picture: “I tested out all the aspects of the School that I could—sports, Octet [all female a cappella group], serving as a discipline committee rep. I was naturally inclined to go beyond my comfort zone,” she says. “Teachers, coaches, administrators had a huge impact in encouraging and challenging me.” At College of the Holy Cross (where she majored in Spanish), during a Washington, D.C., internship in public affairs under the Clinton administration, and then in her first business stint at McDermott O’Neill, Kim continued her now-established pattern—reaching beyond what was comfortable. Those actions triggered a key reaction: “Along the way, a lot of people were willing to take a risk, and put me in a situation that I initially felt was way over my head. But they gave me support and feedback, and I learned.” Stretching out into a new domain, learning and using what it takes to succeed, then stretching out again—that’s the recipe that keeps confidence brewing for Kim. Now, with all the ground she has covered, she has to be much more purposeful about reaching for more.
business development efforts and processes. Finally, she organizes and manages Suffolk’s volunteer and community programs on behalf of Suffolk and CEO John Fish. Trying to tease out the elements in this package of confidence, Kim points to her first summer job. At 14, she was the only female on the grounds crew at the Longwood Cricket Club—all summer. What she learned as a member of that team has been endlessly valuable; it was a foundational experience with long-term applicability. A nurturing family made “a world of difference,” Kim says. They were ready to support her in whatever venture she was inclined to take up. Add Milton to
Suffolk is glad to oblige. “The whole company is about to undergo a rebranding and repositioning campaign,” she says. “We’d like to be the first in this industry to take advantage of technology in how we do things; the construction industry hasn’t yet exploited technology to deliver extra value for clients. So there’s an opportunity for this company, in this industry, to reshape the way it does business, and reshape its brand.”
AND ANOTHER THING “If you want to be a true innovator and leader, you have to build in the expectation that sometimes you will fail,” Kim points out. You need a certain boldness, and the awareness that you’re testing, and some ideas will be better than others. “You need to have the confidence to surround yourself with people smarter than yourself, to harness different talent, different expertise and experience. The ability to be collaborative requires that confidence.”
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Charlie wishes his own education had deepened self-awareness; that he had developed an emotional vocabulary to state when he felt happy, sad, angry or scared. Learning about core emotions that drive our behavior and social interactions seems like a vital part of the duty of educators. Charlie hopes in his new position he will be able to see how Montessori practices connect to effective leadership development and self-knowledge for fulfilling lives.
s both a personal and professional matter, Charlie Abelmann ’84 thinks about confidence every day. Since 2006, he has supported behavioral learning throughout the World Bank. Charlie’s work helps thousands of Ph.D.’s—technical experts in a myriad of fields—on issues such as leadership, teamwork, negotiation skills, and the role of language and culture. Charlie is an educator. He has participated in the field as a policy maker, researcher and practitioner, and in nearly every corner of the world, for more than a decade with the World Bank. He has been a teacher and an administrator, an analyst and program developer, an advisor and evaluator. He’s worked across cultural and ethnic divides, as he has helped education ministries throughout Africa, East Asia and the Pacific. This summer, Charlie gets back into life as a practitioner; he will be the head of school at the Barrie School in Silver Spring, Maryland (pre-K through grade 12). In his career, he has leaped at times into new roles and positions requiring the confidence that we do learn by doing, and that we can generalize experience across domains. Scaling and describing the exciting challenges in his new job is naturally a focus for Charlie’s thinking at this point. He is nervous, yet he sees a potential that allows him to welcome testing his fit to independent school leadership. His many experiences, with adults and children around the world, both clarify some goals and give texture to some ideas.
Helping people learn the ability to work effectively with others is a recurrent and insistent challenge. At the bank, Charlie works with people from all over the world, the majority of whom have been educated in the same 20 to 30 elite institutions. While their technical skills are superb and their confidence in those skills is high, their prevailing weakness is the inability to problem solve with a group. Listening, engaging, gaining a real understanding of how someone else conceptualizes the problem, rather than how you do; learning what information they want us to know, rather than the information you want them to know—those are too often the missing pieces. Great problems require people with different expertise and different power to work collectively. So, how does an educational system, a single school, deepen self-awareness—not just a strong sense of individuality and individual success—but who you are in a set of relationships, and how your actions affect others? How do you build the confidence to be reflective about yourself?
A corollary opportunity to building confidence is helping people build resilience, a skill that has been underappreciated in the school world and the world of work. Dealing with some failure provokes the need to ask for help, when asking for help is neither familiar nor easy. Seeking support and guidance from the community around you is humbling, enriching, and builds self-awareness of the most valuable sort. Responding to the typically long list of urgent “to-do’s” for any new head of school, or leader of an organization, Charlie returns to the idea that what gives him confidence and allows him to trust others is the idea that “it’s not just about me.” A sense of balance provides confidence when you’re stepping into the unknown, figuring out approaches to new problems where no one answer is right. There are so many opportunities to ask questions; the task ahead requires soliciting ideas continually. Having a vision, Charlie believes, is important from the get-go. But that vision can have different components to it, which can be highlighted or not, depending on where you meet the community. Certain
Charles Abelmann ’84 “When I have clarity of vision, confidence emerges. I can generate an energy to move a goal or others forward.”
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anchors need to be in place to make progress against the vision. Building a strong team (“dance partners”) is one. Finding alignment (not necessarily agreement) among team members moves work forward. Working to people’s strengths effects the best outcome on numerous levels. The underlying issue of most importance, however, is the idea of authenticity. What’s the role of authenticity in leadership? “The closer I am to being authentic, the closer I am to not holding back—information, or thoughts, or emotions—the closer I am to having more confidence,” Charlie says. “Integrating the intellectual and emotional components of yourself is important to confident leadership. This challenges us to own our story, our path, our victory and our mistakes.” ”What does it mean to ‘Dare to be true,’” Charlie asks, “when it means being true to the full sense of yourself?”
AND ANOTHER THING “How do we create a culture of valuing, soliciting and using feedback? It requires confidence to be open, to listen, to respond, to reevaluate continually. So many people take feedback as highly personal criticism about who they are and how they do things, when it could be a valuable source of building confidence over the long term.”
Peggy Huguley Law ’54 “When I was at Milton and in college—this was the ’50s—I defined confidence as figuring out what the world wanted of me and being confident that I could live out those roles. I did that pretty well, but I was always quite sure that I was someone else at heart. I put that feeling on the back burner, because in my generation recognizing one’s real self was not encouraged. It’s not anybody’s fault, it’s just the historical situation. Our models came out of tradition, particularly if your background was one of privilege.”
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y experience quite carefully kept me from knowing people who might have presented me with different models,” Peggy Huguley Law ’54 explains. “It was just a reflection of that period. “Now I define confidence differently,” she says. “I think confidence develops when you feel sure that there are people who will help you, provide you the space, the mentoring and the connections, to look at the big picture; when you listen openly to people that you agree with and do not; and when you are in touch with your own feelings. “Confidence is being sure that somehow you can find your own path within all that information—that you can find your own voice. It’s also always being willing to rethink and reassess as the world changes and as you change.” Peggy began constructing a different “big picture” in 1961, when she and her husband, John Law, and two young children
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moved to California. Partly, that was a conscious seeking of another way to be in the world. “People around me who seem most confident,” she says, “are those who have had an opportunity to step outside of what’s familiar.” The social and political upheaval of the ’60s spawned new political and social opportunities—new roles for women. Responding to a new awareness of injustice with other activists, Peggy met people she would never have met before, and was challenged to find her own voice. Peggy, John, and their four birth daughters (ultimately, two more daughters joined the family) chose to participate in the voluntary desegregation of the elementary and high school programs in San Mateo County, California. Each received an excellent education in a setting where they were a decided minority.
anniversary. A weekly public affairs program, Making Contact is broadcast on roughly 200 stations. Many high school and college classrooms use it as course material. Making Contact covers global economic issues, women’s rights, environmental issues, all from the point of view of justice and injustice: “everything controversial,” Peggy says.
“Those experiences had a major impact on their lives and our lives,” Peggy says. “We all came to understand a much larger world with different challenges and opportunities. We learned, along with our children.” Peggy went back to college as her oldest daughter did, and completed undergraduate and graduate work in interdisciplinary studies. Her particular skills emerged—the big-picture insight and vision—coupled with the tools and methodology to put ideas to work; she was moved to a certain confidence based on the strengths others saw in her. “The biggest part of my education happened,” Peggy says, “when I started traveling outside of the country with human rights groups.” She visited Latin America during the wars of Central America in the ’80s (beginning with a program called Witness for Peace). Her purpose was gaining an understanding of the lived experience, from the ground up, in war zones. In Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Middle East, women whose lives were affected by proxy wars and death squads urged her to tell their stories to “her people.” Peggy and her husband took that
The first step was finding confidence to take a risk; the second was finding a voice; what followed was her sense of responsibility. That singular purpose that was so elusive in the ’50s defined itself: “My role was to magnify the voices that were not heard.” request seriously, presenting slide shows and talks across the country (including one at Milton in the early ’90s). Aware of her writing and public speaking, a few journalists approached Peggy about launching a radio program. Its goal would be to bring seldom heard voices and information to people living in this participatory democracy. They founded the National Radio Project and started a 13-week pilot program, Making Contact, which is now celebrating its 15-year
AND ANOTHER THING “Be with and learn from those who are different from you,” Peggy says. “Listen openly and well. Listening is an undervalued force in developing the confidence to find your own voice. Treating people with respect, honoring the importance of their voices, is a powerful response that can affect understanding and positive change.”
Emily Ebert ’04 “When you succeed at something you think, ‘I’ll bet I can do this again, and even bigger next time.’ You release a lot of endorphins when you succeed, and that rush becomes addictive. Summiting a mountain is an amazing feeling—the landscape is beautiful, you’re happy to be alive. And, for me, I then look around and think, ‘What’s next?’”
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elf-proclaimed “adrenaline junkie” Emily Ebert ’04 looks constantly for the next adventure, the next rush, the next mountain to conquer. Recently, she took advantage of that small window between graduating from Brown University and beginning medical school at Emory. Having already backpacked along the coast of South Africa, and enjoyed cage diving with great white sharks, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was the next big thing. “There’s certainly a duality between confidence and positive reinforcement,” Emily says. “Having skied and hiked at altitude in the past, I was assured I could handle the physical challenge. I was also mentally prepared, in that a number of my riskier, more exciting adventures had been successful. I suppose that’s all cumulative, and confidence is the final light switch: deciding that you’re going to Milton Magazine
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do something, regardless of whether you succeed or fail. Hopefully you succeed, and that perpetuates the cycle of positive reinforcement.” An avid traveler, Emily prefers to experience the culture of a country apart from the popular tourist attractions: “I’d much rather try to find out how the rest of the world is actually living, which admittedly is difficult to do in a short amount of time—you can live somewhere for years and not understand parts of the culture still. I have been lucky to have explored places—Tanzania, Cyprus, Taiwan, Senegal—with someone who knows the landscape very well, has lived there, speaks the language.” Emily hasn’t always had a craving for risk and adventure. In earlier years, she was inspired by her younger sister Sarah (Class of 2007). Sarah has “the ultimate get-it-done mentality,” according to Emily. “If Sarah is skiing to be the first one down the mountain, my goal is to be right there beside her.” Emily admires her sister’s natural athleticism. That, itself, is a building block of confidence: When you know your body is capable, you’re much more likely to attempt something. Beginning medical school with the traditional anatomy lab, students working with a cadaver, Emily asked the members of her group if she could make the first cut. “I took a scalpel and made the first incision, and my lab partners said, ‘Wow, you just
went for it.’ In my mind, there’s no other way. You can spend an hour planning how you’re going to cut, but you’ll never know what’s in there until you do it. I guess that’s my philosophy on medicine, and on life in general.”
AND ANOTHER THING Connections are important; multiple competencies can be connected to serve a bigger picture. Emily is pursuing a dual degree: M.D./M.B.A. She wants preparation to serve as a crucial link between physicians and the administration of health
care. Aware of her own aptitudes and inclinations, she is clear on what she can bring to the spectrum of health care. “I have brilliant colleagues who are so good at connecting with patients and getting the information relevant to help the diagnosis. I want to support their talents by allowing these physicians to focus on this crucial aspect of health care—the direct patient-physician relationship— while I can tackle the administrative side. Of course, I enjoy the patient interaction too, but I know I’ll have the most impact on their care if I can act as their voice to the health care industry.”
David Brewster ’90 “For me, confidence is all about being passionate and being curious—having the intellectual curiosity along with the relentless belief in your ideas to be confident in your commitment to seeing them through.”
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s a courtesy to the uninformed, David Brewster ’90 offered the accessible definition of EnerNOC’s work: empowering users of electricity (larger companies and organizations) to become more energy efficient and to engage actively in energy markets. David founded EnerNOC in 2001. “At the simplest level,” David says, “we apply information technology to the demand side of the energy industry. Until
now, information technology has hardly been applied to the electric power industry in comparison to just about every other industry in the world. The data that we now generate as part of the ‘smart grid’ enables much better energy management. This industry hasn’t seen a lot of service innovation or business model innovation. Therefore, there’s a great opportunity to help users become more efficient; to unlock the value of real-time data to help businesses and institutions become more productive per every unit of energy consumed in their facilities. The core of what we do is actually linking that capability up with the electric power market. We’re able to contract with grid operators and utilities to reduce the consumption of electricity on demand—in other words, we get dispatched the same way that power plants do, but instead of generating additional electricity and feeding onto the grid, we reduce demand at commercial and industrial facilities when called upon. That has big value to the system. It makes the grid much more efficient, because we don’t need to build supply to serve the peaks in demand that occur a few hours each year. What we’re doing is actually engaging and empowering end users so that they can have some elasticity in their demand for electricity—and get paid for that flexibility.” EnerNOC’s groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting business opportunity has seen steady, strong growth. “Part of this is the luck of timing,” David explains, “the perfect confluence of the Internet, and ubiquitous communication networks, that make our business model possible; equipment—metering technology and other technologies that are becoming ever more affordable; an openness in the markets for new ideas; environmental mandates and goals at every level; national security concerns; and the very core of our economic concerns. Energy is a real focus point for all those things. With the money going into the ‘smart grid’ now, through private and public investments, it’s recognized as an extremely important industry. “So, timing was fortuitous, and then we chose a business model that works on a number of dimensions and helps us get commercial relationships going and growing really quickly.”
So he followed Duke by earning an M.B.A. at Dartmouth’s Tuck School, a move that David says was “completely outside of my comfort zone, in terms of my educational background. That time proved to be very important. It validated the fact that good environmental stewardship was also good business.”
David made the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list in 2007.
The idea to bridge the divide between the massive and unruly energy market and conventional end users, by applying information that will prove mutually advantageous—is an unprecedented one. It could have been seen as impossibly challenging to execute. What kind of confidence stimulates an idea like that, along with the willingness to stick with it? “I was taught to think differently at Milton and Wesleyan,” says David. “In those environments, I learned to think outside the box. My mom, my education, both encouraged the certain precepts: that you don’t accept trade-offs, don’t settle, think differently about problems, and be relentlessly persistent in realizing what you believe.” David’s concentration at Wesleyan was in the liberal arts, “generally learning how to approach thinking about things rather than gaining in-depth technical knowledge,” he says. His concern about the environment led him to a master’s in environmental management from Duke. He was frustrated there, by the environmental community’s tendency to see business purely as adversarial. “There was a sense of conflict with business rather than an opportunity for collaboration. Few understood that trade-offs aren’t necessarily essential; what makes sense for the environment could also make sense for business. Environmental pollution is waste, and in business, waste is inefficient.”
Timing was not always on David’s side, particularly when he first tested investor interest in EnerNOC. He and his partner met with 30 investors in Boston. The two—“neither of us engineers, more poets than engineers”—spelled out the EnerNOC plan in a PowerPoint presentation. None of them invested. In 2002, when investors were pulling back, having been burned by the burst of the Internet bubble, energy was not the hottest topic in the venture capitalist world. Today, energy and biotech are huge, but that was not the case in 2002. “After yet another investor rejection, my mom gave us the key gamechanging pep talk about not giving up. My family, my wife, and my great friends have been so consistent in giving me support as an entrepreneur—a brutally timeconsuming career.” Applying a passionate interest in energy was—and is—the right idea. “One of the most powerful industries in the world, energy is at the root of many of our geopolitical and environmental problems. Energy is the central issue for our generation. The more bright minds that dive into this industry, the better.”
and another thing “You can’t try to do something to change the world and do it by yourself. You learn early through sports how working with a team is more effective than individual play. You need partnership; you need collaboration. You need to build a network and get as much support as you possibly can. Having the confidence to keep asking a ton of questions and to work with others on an idea you’re passionate about are important drivers of success.” Cathleen D. Everett Erin E. Hoodlet
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“In my field people look at me and immediately make a judgment about who I am and what I can sing. There’s very little I can do to change that, so I have to make myself as interesting a product as possible, and ideally turn what some see as weaknesses into unique ideas that could be construed as strength.�
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Siddhartha Misra ’01
For an Opera Singer, No Place to Hide I
product as possible, and ideally turn what some see as weaknesses into unique ideas that could be construed as strength.”
n his profession, Siddhartha Misra ’01 can’t fake his confidence. Hundreds of eyes and ears immediately detect any faltering, any misgiving on his part. Sid is an opera singer, and in performance self-assurance is quintessential. “There’s no place to hide,” he says. “I can’t parlay responsibility to someone else or avoid accountability. I have to be confident on stage and believe in what I’m producing. Confidence is arguably the most important element I have to present as a performer.” Having recently completed his master’s degree in opera at Temple University, Sid is now a freelance singer based out of Philadelphia. He auditions and performs for companies all over the country. He recently played the roles of Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, and Ernesto in Don Pasquale. He’s preparing for productions of Die Zauberflöte, Rigoletto and Tosca. To create a character, Sid depends upon preparation, technique and training. He does his homework to prepare for every audition. His confidence comes not only from knowing how to sing and how to act, but also from the belief that he can take all he’s been taught and make it his own. “I have to feel sure that what I’m presenting isn’t full of jargon, and that I have something vital to contribute to the art. I’ve met plenty of singers who don’t have any interest in or unique ideas about the music. My confidence comes from believing that what I’m doing is genuine and unique, as well as marketable.” Resilience is crucial to Sid’s success, and his sanity. He’s done the math. Typically, he is one of about 40 singers in an audition. That means he stands a 2.5 percent chance that he will be hired. “In general, I’m about one role for 15 in auditions, which means 14 times I’m not going to hear anything. That’s plenty of rejection
to deal with. However, one role for 15 auditions has been a surprisingly high success rate for me. I expect the roles will become significantly more selective as I transition from a young artist to an established professional. “As a performer, your confidence can’t be results-oriented, it has to be processoriented. You have to believe that you’re making the art you want to make. If you read too much into why you weren’t hired, you start reading into others’ ideas, eventually making their ideas yours. Then it’s no longer your art, or your personal gift. That’s poison to a performer. “Along with the rejection, there are so many opinions, so much feedback—internalizing all that criticism turns it into a criticism of who you are as a person and not just criticism of how you’re performing on the job. I have to let some of the criticism roll off my back and say, ‘I had a bad day at work.’” The world of opera performance is highly subjective. Sid is of Indian descent, and on the shorter side—neither are traits typical of a male opera singer. “In my field people look at me and immediately make a judgment about who I am and what I can sing. There’s very little I can do to change that, so I have to make myself as interesting a
For example, a few operas feature— according to the text—Indian characters. They’re not often cast with Indian singers, Sid says, but in a day when image is becoming more important in his industry, he tries to turn what was a disadvantage in some operas into an advantage in other pieces. “I try to target places where my strengths—whether that be my ethnicity, my musicianship or my professionalism— become an advantage for me, as a marketing strategy.” When Sid’s not on stage, he’s networking—marketing his product; he runs a self-operated business. To do that, he relies on good social skills and a sense of integrity. He first learned the value of that honesty and commitment to an ideal in the Milton classroom. “In my English and history courses at Milton, if I ever turned in a paper and didn’t believe in my own argument, my teachers called me out on it. At Milton, that didn’t fly. I had to look into myself and what I was analyzing and figure out what I genuinely believed about a topic, and how to convey that. That’s essentially what I try to do as a singer: I figure out what I genuinely believe about a piece and how I am going to convey that. “If I thought it was impossible for someone like me to sing leading roles in major opera houses, I would have chosen another career path. But I’ve decided that my voice—both literally and figuratively— makes this path a viable possibility, and I can’t let other people compromise my sense of what I’m capable of. I have to stay true to the fact that I think this is feasible for someone like me, and work in that direction.” Erin E. Hoodlet Milton Magazine
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Adam Berrey ’89
Riding the Self-Confidence Wave Entrepreneurs sign on for peaks and valleys
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operating room. Your fellow resident has already published three articles in the New Yorker and learned Kiswahili from the summers he spent running a clinic in Soweto. Down the slope you slide, as your self-confidence slips away in the halogen of your new reality.
arah* trooped into my office for our weekly meeting and dropped herself into one of the mismatched chairs. I could see the frustration on her face. Work was not good. I’d spent months recruiting Sarah—convincing her to leave a good job and move across the country. Expectations were high. She arrived in the lobby on the first day charged up. But as the first few months passed, the problems mounted.
Sarah was at the nadir of that wave the Tuesday morning she sat in my office. So we came up with a way to reorganize her responsibilities—focusing on the work that played to her natural talents. Over the coming months, the successes started to mount. She dug into developing key new skills and started climbing the back side of the confidence wave.
Sarah wasn’t fitting into the new role. There were conflicts with colleagues; projects were running late; the quality wasn’t what I wanted. Skills I thought she had weren’t showing themselves. As she sat across from me, I could feel the dejection. She’d lost her self-confidence. Lack of self-confidence is like a pernicious disease. The symptoms can be contradictory. Some people who lack self-confidence pull back; they lose focus and motivation. Others lean forward. They’re overeager— trying so hard to please, perform, and impress that they end up alienating peers. The worst are the patients who attack and belittle people around them as they try to prop themselves up. Unfortunately, the disease can be chronic, acute or both. Chronic lack-of-self-confidence is hard to treat. It’s caught early in childhood and the cure is invasive—well beyond the scope of what a manager can do. Acute onset lack-of-self-confidence is easier to address. Thankfully, that’s what Sarah was suffering. Most of us ride a confidence wave with each new domain we tackle. The height of the peaks and the depth of the valleys are a function of base self-confidence. Where you find yourself on the wave is a result of the context.
The first peak is a high that comes from naiveté. You walk into a new activity underestimating the difficulty and overestimating your ability. Naiveté can be a great force for change. Steve Jobs argued it’s the precondition to entrepreneurship and innovation. Why start something crazy and new if you know how hard it will be? Imagine the life of a new doctor. The first day in your residency at Mass General Hospital you’re on top of the world. The best in your class at medical school, you know you’re good. Then you realize the textbook is very different from the
“Down the slope you slide, as your selfconfidence slips away in the halogen of your new reality.”
Up the other slope is a more stable place. The second peak is a plateau built on selfknowledge, experience, and real achievement instead of the naiveté and hubris that got you started. As Sarah got to that place, she settled into her new role and continued to rack up achievements. My career has always been in start-ups. I’ve found myself leaving whatever I was doing every four or five years and jumping into something new. Like most of my Milton friends, I get bored with the plateaus after a while and the rush of riding the next wave beckons. Oddly, each time I’m surprised when my limitations send me sliding down, but crawling up the other side pays back the pain—often with a nice return. Adam Berrey ’89
Adam has spent the last 20 years building new nonprofits and businesses. Now he is working as an entrepreneur in residence at General Catalyst Partners looking for the next big thing in renewable energy. He writes a weekly blog at www.startupblender.com. *Names changed to protect the innocent.
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At Milton
Forging the Confident Teenager By instinct and by plan, Milton faculty move students to a different plane.
“I’ve seen the ‘aha’ moment arrive for students; it comes from looking into the horizon, and figuring out where you fit—who you are and what your strengths are.” —Mark Connolly, Modern Languages Department Chair
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ho remembers the teenage years as a time when a sense of confidence ruled the day? Big ups and big downs, testing strategies and identities, shifting friendships, looking for what to depend upon: more often the days were filled this way. A teenager can find some comfort—and find it easier to learn—when what he experiences around him is consistent, predictable and, ultimately, rational. Faculty members talked about this issue around a Harkness table. Teasing apart and putting together the ways that Milton builds confidence, they almost surprised themselves when they tracked how often a student’s experience is replicated—and in how many ways. Moving through the “system,” gaining ground as you go, isn’t necessarily easy at first. Several people around the table agreed that Milton may deconstruct a certain confidence that comes in the door with a new student, before building a
Don Dregalla, Music Department Chair 18
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stronger, more reliable version. The sheer impressiveness of the talent around them unsettles some girls or boys who have been stars in their former schools. The system they relied upon to pile up the A’s doesn’t seem to work at Milton. People here want to know what you think and why. Further, they may disagree with you. You’re one of only 12 around a table, and you’re expected to engage with your peers and the teacher about what you’ve prepared. “After all, we clearly telegraph that we expect confidence,” says Lisa Baker (English), “in what you’re saying, or writing, or your abilities in performance.” “This is a pattern we know well, and we are consciously supportive of students who need to build confidence,” says Erica Banderob (Math). “Not only are we adults supportive, but the other students are, too.” “Those students who are open, ready— perhaps even starting with less of a sense of self than more—make gains with meteoric speed,” says Peter Parisi (Performing Arts).
“The confidence we grow is different from the confidence they come in with, which is only in one or two dimensions,” offers Michael Lou (History). “Their intelligence is malleable and dynamic. Age and maturity are part of the mix; as they go from being concrete thinkers to more abstract thinkers, their understanding becomes more complex.” “Students begin to see that there are multiple ways to achieve and to learn. When they get that, they begin to understand their own complexity, to know that they can grow in many ways,” says Lisa.
Learning not to fear your own doubt “Confidence is built into competencies,” says Mark Connolly (Modern Languages). “That is one thing we do very well, build those competencies. We make a conscious progression, within the year, and then year-to-year, that develops skills. Over time, students are asked to do something
Peter Parisi, Performing Arts Department Chair
that they’ve done before, but each time on a more sophisticated level. You see that begin with the organizational skills and resources that the Class IV deans promote, making clear what it means to be a successful student at Milton. You see it in the Class IV English and Class IV Talks; or in the first language classes and in math and science. It’s there in so many realms at Milton.”
Science classrooms are a case in point. “Over the first year, and then year-to-year until graduation, our process helps students understand how to be a scientist,” Michael Edgar (Science) explains. “The way in which we do labs puts students in charge of what they’re learning. Labs are not pre-baked for success every time, like the lab exercises in typical science
“The focus, for us, is on process,” says Lisa. “We allow students to wallow in it. The grade or the outcome is way out there.” Right now, right here, there are more important things: asking good questions; learning how to critique one another’s writing and how to revise; learning not to fear your own doubt; learning how to read closely; learning that the data you’ve generated for a lab is not correct, but you’ve still succeeded at designing the experiment. You learn, finally, an approach you can rely upon that will work across the curriculum.
programs. We ask them to make their own decisions about process, about equipment—that taps into their creativity and helps them figure out a strategy that they think will answer an open-ended question. That work builds confidence in unique ways. It’s almost like controlled failure. You should see the difference between the first lab they do in Class IV and the D.Y.O. (Design Your Own) lab at the close of the year.”
We know you and we expect more This approach that works in the classroom reflects a much deeper cultural reality at Milton: “One thing we do well here is to communicate to students that we respect them,” says Lisa. “We take their work seriously. We believe in their intellectual capacity. We give them the message, ‘I know you are going to be a writer; I know you can do it, regardless of any prior history.’ This tangible belief in them goes a long way toward their developing the confidence to succeed.” Michael Edgar, Science Department Chair Milton Magazine
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Michael Lou, History
“Like Lisa,” says Erica, “I let students know that they will be math students, regardless of what they might have thought before. As adults we try to model how people should treat other people.” The pattern plays out. “We help students seek a larger audience,” says Don Dregalla (Music). “In performance—solos for orchestra or chamber singers—one opportunity means so much in terms of confidence.” All the little moments of success, no matter how shallow they may seem, work to build confidence. “As faculty, we may work with students in one capacity (as their Spanish teacher, for instance), but we engage with them about multiple things that they do across their lives at School,” according to André Heard (Associate Dean). “That connection with them tells them at least two things: First, we know them. An important part of a sense of confidence is knowing that you
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belong, you are important to us. Second, it tells them that we expect more of them than their being just a student, or an athlete, or a musician. Each of them is a key member of a community.” Advisors play this role as a matter of course. They look for all the threads and pull them together. They see things in students that students don’t necessarily see in themselves. They can redirect a child when he or she is momentarily shattered. “Even the discipline process affirms our teaching goals,” says Bryan Cheney (Visual Arts). “It’s easier to send a student who’s made a mistake away; it’s harder to ask him to confront the choice he’s made, to come back to the mistake. We talk with students about consequences and then make it clear that a mistake won’t be the measure of their success as a person. The conversations around a discipline event help you put yourself back together again and show you the way forward.”
The Milton culture relies on numerous student-to-student confidence builders, as well. Older students understand and articulate their responsibility to mentor younger ones. Upperclassmen in the performing arts, experienced creative writers, upper-level math and language students, all understand their expanded roles. That relationship appears often in tutoring scenarios. Further, asking a student with shaky self-confidence to help a younger student is often intentional. “I’ve watched one of my students just experience a perfect peer tutor,” Michael relates. “Now they’re both prospering. The older student had the opportunity to demonstrate his expertise—to be a leader and a teacher.” The less-confident older students often don’t realize how the younger students see them.
Lisa Baker, English Milton Magazine
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Bryan Cheney, Visual Arts
“This dynamic is quite evident in the houses,” Lisa points out, “where the communication about supporting the younger students is explicit.” André notes that in Norris House “we remind the older students that the legacy they leave lives in the freshmen, and that they should be very careful with that. We engage on these things, and they develop the vocabulary, the ability, and the personal expectation that connecting purposefully with the younger students is part of their lives. Then, they aren’t at a loss as to how to do that in other life situations—at college, or beyond.” The message is, as Lisa puts it, “I’m confident enough in you to give you an important task. The relationships they develop affect their confidence, and that spreads into other areas of their lives.” “When you ask students to do that,” André says, “they always take it up a notch, more than clear the bar, and continue it more than you intended.”
André Heard ’93, Associate Dean of Students
you admire; there’s such a diversity of talents that you see. Every time you say ‘I saw your work,’ and that’s frequent, you help them realize what they have to offer to the world.” In the Milton culture, however, confidence is a quiet thing. Arrogance is a particularly noteworthy flaw, and compensating attributes had better be strong. “Milton students aren’t big-headed or cocky,” says Mark. “In fact, those with the most to be proud of seem to have the least arrogance.” “We try hard to emphasize, explicitly,”
Erica Banderob, Math Milton Magazine
“Ultimately, the most important gift we give students,” Erica explains, “is empowerment. We show them, over and over again, that they can do it on their own. We teach them, ‘You won’t need me. You are capable and you know how to begin.’” CDE
“Sometimes we see all the extracurricular options to be a burden,” Lisa admits, “but what they really represent is multiple opportunities to be leaders in different capacities.” Many new upper-level courses, Bryan Cheney points out, “bleed into a greater number and depth of extracurriculars—the student-directed one acts, for instance, or the second dance concert, improv theater, or the small advanced art exhibitions. We value so many things around here. Just think about the students
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points out Peter, “that personal pride in what you have done goes hand-in-hand with a sense of humility about it.” In the classroom, Lisa says, “the idea of a truly intelligent person is one who is both confident and modest. After all, for lifetime learners, there’s always more to learn.”
At Milton
The Confident Athlete “Working with adolescents, we’re trying to help the student manage a landscape with several ever-changing variables—intellectual, physical, emotional, social—so we have to attend to one without letting another fall.” Milton Magazine
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hat moment when everything comes together—desire, skill, speed and strength—is a source of pride. It is also a wellspring of confidence from which student athletes draw. This magic moment comes at different times and in different forms for high school students. Milton coaches engage and challenge athletes whose skills and experience vary greatly; they are mentors for young athletes, modeling the roles to adopt. Varsity boys’ hockey coach Paul Cannata says, “Working with adolescents, we’re trying to help the student manage a landscape with several ever-changing variables—intellectual, physical, emotional, social—so we have to attend to one without letting another fall. “In the first half of the season, I don’t have my players review video from their own games; I use video from NHL and collegiate games as models. In the beginning, I don’t think it’s helpful to show them what they’re not doing well. At some point
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it becomes valuable to show them exactly what they can improve, but better to start off with a positive foundation.” “At this level, coaches must have a ‘glass half-full’ mentality,” says head football coach Kevin MacDonald. “We have to be positive about students’ successes and about their hard work.” “The difference between coaching high school students and coaching college students,” adds varsity boys’ basketball coach Lamar Reddicks, “is that a college player can easily draw on past success. A high school athlete may not have that reserve to draw upon. The confidence isn’t always there yet.” Athletics department faculty agree that being specific is important; students can easily see through the general “We played well” comment. They want to know exactly where they fell short, where and how they can improve. “The day after a game I always have the students tell me the positives and negatives about how the
team played,” says interim athletic director Marijke Alsbach, “and they know. They articulate the same things that I saw from the sideline. Once we can identify those things, we can address them.” Milton’s athletics program requires a three-season commitment from Classes III and IV, and a two-season commitment from Classes I and II. “There is a carryover of success from sport to sport; if you can face people yelling at you from the foul line, you can face people yelling at you from the football sidelines,” Kevin says. “While the technical skills may be different from sport to sport, the positive effects—both physical and psychological—transfer.”
Preparation leads to a sense of control During and between seasons, innumerable students rely upon the strength training and conditioning regimens that athletic trainer Steve Darling crafts for
individual sports and athletes. With circuit training workouts, which build strength, balance and agility, he helps students stay strong and limber during the season and stay in shape between sports. There are variations for certain players, but all athletes need overall body strength, speed, agility, power, flexibility, core strength and stability. The training also keeps students safe and healthy: “As an athletic trainer, I see many preventable injuries, or at least injuries that could have been less severe had the athlete been involved in a formal strength and conditioning program,” Steve says. “Having students work in the weight room gives them confidence as well,” adds Kevin. “They get stronger, they get faster, they can see their progress—in the amount of weight they’re lifting, or the times of their sprints—and that builds a sense of competence that is reflected on the field, in a game.”
Mental preparation is as important as physical preparation. “Preparation in both strength and visualization gives you a sense of control, which translates to real control on the field,” says assistant varsity girls’ soccer coach and science faculty member Elizabeth Lillis. “Feeling prepared is a huge part of being successful, and the more we can make a player feel ready for whatever comes her way, the more confident she’ll feel on the field. “On the flip side, eroding confidence can happen very quickly in sports, because you are immediately aware of your failure. Feeling defeated after missing a ball, and then worrying about missing the ball again, affects a player’s aggressiveness. In sports you don’t have time to wallow; you have to bounce back, ready for the next point. When teammates are vocally complimentary, that’s a huge boost, and the effect is powerful.”
Comments from teammates resonate more “If you give the seniors a sense that it’s their team,” Kevin says, “the younger guys inherit that sense as well. They’re proud of it, and when it’s their turn, they step up. They know what’s been entrusted to them, and they foster in the younger players what’s been fostered in them.” Lamar adds, “We make sure the seniors are leaders on the team—whether they get a lot of playing time or not, they have a voice in practice. I don’t always want to be the one addressing an issue—I want the older athletes who care about the program taking the lead. And the younger players respect that; things resonate more coming from teammates than they do coming from me sometimes.” The fact that Milton’s Class IV athletes play together on the third teams is an aspect of the program that coaches and players call a memorable highlight and
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a ripe ground for developing skill, selfesteem and friendships. “We always have Class IV students who are strong enough to play on varsity,” Marijke says, “but being with the older players right away is not always beneficial to them. In size, strength, and simply in conversation, they are often outmatched. Athletically, they can peak too early. The students who begin on the third teams have a much more steady growth, of strength, skill and confidence.”
A coach’s nod is powerful Milton’s athletics staff most often have roles that reach beyond the training room and playing fields. Many are classroom teachers, advisors and house parents. Seeing students on campus throughout the day allows them a much wider lens through which to see their players, and helps them to know their students as whole people, rather than just as athletes. “Seeing one of your players in Forbes eating lunch, or in the Student Center, and pulling him aside for a few words of encouragement—even if you’re commenting on things outside sports, congratulating them on doing well on a test, for instance—lets them know that you care about them as a whole person, and not just as an athlete,” says Lamar. “Those words of encouragement go a long way,” adds Kevin. “Students don’t forget them. They share that with their parents.” Liz agrees: “Looking a student in the eye and saying, ‘Today is the day you’re going to make this happen’ has a visibly powerful effect on the way the student performs on the field. If a student realizes that her coach cares, she’s more willing to take a risk. She’ll work harder for you if she respects you, and wants your respect.” “An athlete’s success comes down to having both the skill and the temperament to excel,” Paul says. “Many athletes only have half of the necessary tools. When a player can combine the physical and the mental attributes at the same high level, he’s going to find rare success. We try to build a foundation from which our players can build just that.” Erin E. Hoodlet
Coaches, teachers and mentors. Pictured from left to right: Lamar Reddicks, Paul Cannata, Marijke Alsbach, Kevin MacDonald, Steve Darling. Missing from photo: Elizabeth Lillis 26
Milton Magazine
At Milton
Mind the Gap Milton students find a gap year can open new routes to their future
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he mainstream crowd is happy to pack up bedding, books and laptop to head to college the fall after their Milton graduation. Each year, several graduates seek a different path. On one level, choosing a gap year takes courage; at another level, it’s just common sense. For most, heading off into relatively unstructured time with a sketched-out plan is an unprecedented experience and a leap of faith. For those armed with a more formal plan, or a new responsibility, immersion into unknown terrain is de rigueur. Universally, the gap year builds confidence in unpredictable ways. For the Milton students who take it, a gap year provides time and space to reimagine the courses their lives might take. Jon Coravos ’06 hiked the mountains of Spain. “I was sitting in Grenada, Spain, looking up at the Sierra Nevadas. My friend said, ‘Let’s climb them.’ At home, my reaction would be to plan, get food, get a bus schedule. But that day I just said, ‘yes.’ We climbed the mountain the next day. The moment where you sit there and say, ‘Let’s go. Let’s climb it’: that’s an encapsulation of my gap year.” Instead of heading to Bowdoin, where he was admitted early, Jon interned for six months at ACCION International, a microfinance nonprofit, to earn money for his travels and then backpacked through Europe without an itinerary. “I landed in Dublin and thought, ‘What am I doing?’ The airport is outside the city, and I didn’t know where I was staying that night. But it all worked out. I threw myself into uncomfortable situations and had to make them work.”
Abby Bok ’09 Living, studying and teaching in Shanghai Milton Magazine
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So what happens when the gap year is over? With their newfound confidence, students find that the road is open, the possibilities endless. “I’ve always considered myself confident, but in a different way,” says Sam. “I could read an English book and write an essay. Now, I feel that I can pretty much handle anything a professor or boss throws at me.”
Jon Coravos ’06 Working at a microfinance nonprofit to earn money for backpacking without an itinerary
These real-world lessons had a lasting impact on Jon. “I came to college with a confidence that other students might not have,” he says. “I’d gained perspective. At Milton, you can lose sight of the fact that there’s a world outside of academia. My gap year refreshed my perspective, showed me life outside of classrooms and brick dorms.” Jon’s gap year gave him the ability “to say no to second-semester physics, and the confidence to say I want to be a molecular biologist, not a doctor, because of my experiences outside of school.” Think of a gap year as a scenic detour, a less-traveled path that can yield insights not visible from the superhighway. Don’t think of it as a rest stop. “A gap year isn’t time off,” says college counselor Rachel Klein-Ash. “It’s not sitting on a couch with your feet up. Most students have spectacular plans. They ultimately head to college energized and directed. It’s a real benefit for a lot of people, having been able to pause and reflect on why they are going to college.” Danny Brandt ’07 experienced an epiphany about his college career before he even set foot on the Harvard campus. Taking a gap year allowed him to discover his interest in film and screenwriting. “If I hadn’t taken the year off, I would have taken 28
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English classes, not studio film recording and editing,” says Danny. “Being away from the classroom helped me to see what risks are okay to take in college.” He found a program in Barcelona designed for gap year students, where he could live with a family and improve his Spanish language skills. Then in the spring he went to live in a dorm at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba, Israel, where he learned Hebrew. But it was on El Camino de Santiago, the famous route of Catholic pilgrimage through the mountains of northern Spain, where Danny found insight into his own path. “The hike gave me time for introspection. I realized the opportunities I had before me. It was a wake-up call for me to take advantage of them all.” Samantha Barkowski ’09 says she never considered taking a gap year, but now sees her decision to live and work as a junior fellow at Kings Academy in Jordan as a defining moment in her young life. “Milton is competitive. Most students power through high school, college, then grad school. Now I’ve realized that there’s no rush. I can explore my interests.” The King of Jordan founded Kings Academy and based the model on his
experience at Deerfield, where he attended prep school. Sam lives in a girls’ dorm, assists with grade 11, and coaches in the afternoons. There are 12 other gap year fellows at Kings, with whom Sam has traveled around the Middle East. “So far I’ve been to Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, Syria and Dubai, and I’ve only been here for five months.” The school has served as a launching pad for Sam’s interest in Middle Eastern culture. “Most students don’t wear hijabs or burqas, but in East Amman most women do. It’s hard to see women in the hijab, all covered up. But that’s also the most amazing part, seeing them in person, because now I’m most interested in studying women in Islamic culture in college.” A gap year can also offer new vistas for students who have successfully walked the path from kindergarten to college. “There’s no doubt that taking a gap year,” says Rachel, “gives some students the sense and the experience that they can do something off the beaten path, on their own, and succeed.” Abigail Bok ’09 is a case in point. Abby graduated from Milton “feeling burnedout and tired.” She wasn’t yet ready to jump into the academic rigor awaiting her
Samantha Barkowski ’09 On staff at Kings Academy, Madaba, Jordan
“A gap year isn’t time off,” says college counselor Rachel Klein-Ash. “It’s not sitting on a couch with your feet up. Most students have spectacular plans. They ultimately head to college energized and directed. It’s a real benefit for a lot of people, having been able to pause and reflect on why they are going to college.”
Danny Brandt ’07 Improving his Spanish, learning Hebrew, and finally making a mountain his pilgrimage
at Yale, but she was ready to step outside the classroom and be more independent. “I wanted a different setting, a new way of being intellectual.” This past fall she traveled on an Institute for Effective Education (TIEE) program to Shanghai, China, where she lived with a family, studied Chinese, and taught English. While in China, Abby met with Elizabeth DeCampo ’05, who lives in Shanghai and works with the Joint U.S./China Collaboration on Clean Energy (JUCCCE). “The encounter made me realize that my Milton education is connected to being able to live and work in China. Here’s another grad doing what I want to do, already living and working over there, fluent in Chinese.” “The reason that a student chooses a gap year is different for every individual,” says college counselor Rachel Klein-Ash. “There is a little bit of a leap with a gap year that all will be okay. It takes students who are confident or ready to push themselves, even if they aren’t ready to describe themselves as confident to start with. A sense of independence, confidence, happens as they come out of the gap year. They think, ‘Wow, I can survive doing something independent for a year.’”
Many students turn to gap year fairs to find programs that will help them structure their time. “The programs, while amazing, can be pretty pricey, even though there is financial aid available,” says Rachel. “Many students work first to pay for attending the program in the second half of their year.” Other students, like Jon, relish the challenge of forging their own path. “There is a trade-off in planning your own gap year,” says Jon. “In a program, you plunge into what you are trying to experience, whereas I was in Spain for five weeks but found it difficult to make local connections. I think a big part of my growth came from struggling to make the immersion myself.” So what happens when the gap year is over? With their newfound confidence, students find that the road is open, the possibilities endless. “I’ve always considered myself confident, but in a different way,” says Sam. “I could read an English book and write an essay. Now, I feel that I can pretty much handle anything a professor or boss throws at me.” Caitlin O’Neil ’89
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At Milton
“This is important.” “You can do it.” “I won’t give up on you.”
Powerful Alchemy in K–8
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n her colonial American history class, Liz Gray writes this question on oversized paper: “What is an American?” Circling it, she asks for responses from her Grade 6 students, ages 11 and 12. One at a time, she charts their answers; they’re pretty straightforward to start: “Dutch.” “Native Americans.” “English.” “Godfearing.” “Entrepreneurial.” Then, as answers keep coming, the simple question becomes more complex. In fact, some descriptors and ideas seem to conflict with one another. “Peaceful.” “Violent.” “Individualistic.”
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“Community-oriented.” Students furrow their brows at these complications in defining a colonial American, and think more deeply. This is getting hard, just as Ms. Gray intends. But above the board, three inspiring tenets boldly inform the classroom culture. Laminated on bright paper, they read: “This is important.” “You can do it.” “I won’t give up on you.” As Liz builds her students’ knowledge and understanding of colonial America, she simultaneously develops their confidence.
Across the nine-grade span of Milton Academy’s K–8 division, our curriculum is rich in content and vigorous in the teaching of skills. Our expectations are high for students to innovate, take initiative and develop mastery. Our curriculum also purposefully builds the catalyst for all learning: a sense of confidence. Not the hollow confidence of educational “self-esteem”; rather, the substantive and authentic sense of self that allows a student to strive toward difficult goals, relying upon original thinking, perseverance and resilience.
“When students realize that they might fail with their ‘solution,’ and that failure is part of the learning, they gain a confidence that lets them try different ideas.”
Failure as opportunity A key element is frequent opportunities to solve difficult, open-ended academic challenges. To Lower School science faculty member Gary Shrager, this means the “frequent opportunity for failure.” For instance, Gary watches over teams of fourth graders as they attempt to engineer eight-foot bridges from small foam cubes and toothpicks—bridges that, sometimes, collapse. “When students realize that they might fail with their ‘solution,’ and that failure is part of the learning, they gain a confidence that lets them try different
ideas,” Gary notes. Failure becomes an opportunity to observe, take stock, and re-explore with a revised strategy. Every day, students armed with resources, parameters, and a question discover the natural limitations and possibilities in a situation. Their proposed solutions take them in multiple directions; they are not all expected to land in the same place, on a preordained “right answer.” When their own ideas, plans and experiences lead to success, they’re more confident when approaching future challenges.
Being “up front” A distinctive hallmark of a Milton Academy K–8 education is the “out-front time” that every student experiences. As Grade 5 teacher Scott Ford says, “When we ask if anyone would like to speak at an assembly before an audience of more than 200 students and parents, so many fifth graders eagerly volunteer.” This eagerness arises from the many small classroom opportunities for growth. Scott notes that faculty from Kindergarten through Grade 8 “foster an environment that encourages children to take risks, speak up in class, participate in discussions, go to the
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board to demonstrate a problem solution, explain something on a map or on the SmartBoard, or make a presentation of a computer class activity.” Students build extensive performance skills as they progress through the grades. According to performing arts faculty member Eleza Kort, students in her thirdthrough eighth-grade drama and movement classes get to “build their exposure level gradually.” With younger children, “we’ll work first as a large performing group so there is a feeling of safety. Then, we can break into smaller groups” in which each child has a larger role. This gives a child a reserve of confidence; he
Confidence allows a person to move securely and skillfully from uncertainty to sure-footedness; it catalyzes the connections between intellect, passion and perseverance. 32
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or she can draw upon that, down the line, when abundant solo and group opportunities crop up. Our Middle School speech team and dramatic arts programs are well known, and culminate years of incremental work in classrooms. The skills so clearly on display when each and every eighth grader takes to the stage, alone, to lead a Middle School assembly and deliver a poised, insightful, and commanding eighth-grade talk, have been years in the making. From a student’s point of view, these experiences are important. Eighth grader Emmie Atwood remembers that in Kindergarten, “When I first performed in the School assembly in front of those tall
sixth graders, I was so incredibly nervous. But I also remember as my classmates and I grew older and moved up from grade to grade in the Lower School, we all became much more comfortable expressing ourselves out loud and relating to others in front of large crowds or simply every day in the classroom. Because Milton does such an excellent job urging students to perform in assemblies, community meetings or just in front of their classes, we become comfortable with ourselves and begin to develop the ability to successfully communicate our ideas to others.”
Calibrated risks The many benefits to taking risks are carefully calibrated by teachers over time. This is particularly important for very young children, says first-grade teacher Jerrie Moffett. In her Child of the Week program, each student is featured through a wall display of family photos, writings, a favorite book, and a letter written by parents. Vocabulary words like “persistence” and “perseverance” are woven into discussions of self-improvement. The first graders are “amazingly candid about what they are working to get better at,” says Jerrie. Her students discover things that they did not know about each other, and “building these connections, builds confidence. The children develop a strong sense of home base and from this they can venture out, take risks, and return to that safe place.”
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Other choices that students can make also move them outside a comfort zone. Trying a new activity is one of those, according to eighth grader Neil Chandra. “I think of the first time I came to School in sixth grade. Participating in activities where I was free to be myself, such as jazz combo and drama, helped me settle in and feel comfortable doing things I would never have done otherwise. Especially now, when I’m getting ready to jam in front of the entire Middle School and have already jammed with the Upper School band, I don’t feel held back from taking risks that boost my skills, my confidence and my performance.”
Where it’s safe to be smart Neil’s insights highlight the importance of social context. At Milton, it is safe to be smart, and we emphasize widespread respect for individuals. The social environment is receptive and supportive. Neil’s classmate, Emmie, agrees; she remembers
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connections between intellect, passion and perseverance; it gives a student the sense that while the challenge may be great and the outcome unknown, he or she can grasp an opportunity and make it productive.
Marshall Carter, K–8 Principal
a recent math class. “There was such a sense of community, relaxation and care that I felt so at home in that class. In the Middle School everyone creates such a gentle and open atmosphere that I feel so happy when I’m in Ware. Middle School can get stressful, but on a normal basis when I walk into my classes, I feel sure in what I am doing, where I’m going and who I am. I feel like I can trust everyone in the Middle School with who I am.” Confidence allows a person to move securely and skillfully from uncertainty to sure-footedness; it catalyzes the
Liz Gray lists a host of specific methods that she and many of her colleagues use—the Socratic seminar, the “fishbowl” discussion, portfolios, representing different cultures in the curriculum, and practicing “wait time” so more students have the chance to develop their answers. “Basically, all of these things fall under the category of student-centered teaching.” Student-centered teaching defines the K–8 division. No wonder, then, that our students are distinguished by their quiet confidence. What is most exciting is their potential—how they will continue to realize themselves at Milton and beyond. Marshall W. Carter K–8 Principal
Classroom The Class IV Talk Rather than a psychic scar, a shared badge of honor and identity
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ew phrases can stop ninth graders in their tracks like “Class IV Talk.” As jaws drop, iPods pause, and backpacks crash to the ground, students conjure a heart-arresting image: a lone speaker withering under the scrutiny of a room full of peers. What image can supercharge adolescent anxiety like one of isolation and public humiliation? The Class IV Talk, a memorized five- to seven-minute speech on any topic, at first may seem like an exercise in derailing a student’s selfconfidence. But each year something quite different unfolds for students during this rite of passage. For over 30 years, ninth graders have been required to give a Class IV Talk, and we, the teachers of Class IV English, are continually amazed at the quality, audacity, and inventiveness of these little declamations. While we expect Milton students to rise in an adrenalized moment to show fluency and analytical insight, their native talents are not the real force beneath the quality of this experience. Rather, the students’ respect and kindness for each other make Class IV Talks a special learning experience. Without fail, students support each other during the Talks with eye contact and the collective silence of a brain surgeon’s operating room. Whis pering, giggling and errant cell-phone rings are virtually unheard of. Afterward, the applause is deafening. And this scene reenacts itself each week throughout the year.
bullied or on an outdated hobby like stamp collecting. As a colleague once put it: “If I had given that speech in high school, I would have been hanging on the inside of my locker by lunchtime.” Rather than a psychic scar from ninth-grade year, the Class IV Talk is a badge of honor and identity within the class: we, the teachers, notice that alumni return years later, forgetting what we may have discussed about Hamlet, but remembering instantly “what my Class IV Talk was about.”
Tarim Chung (English) leads the Class IV Talk program.
By issuing so much mutual respect (with so little instruction from teachers to do so), ninth graders, in a year potentially fraught with anxiety, take a direct hand in forging each other’s sense of confidence. This confidence is evident in the parade of zany, heady topics chosen each week. A random sampling: nanotechnology, the future of a Palestinian state, race in America, the virtues of the jelly donut, hate speech, jazz improvisation, and, of course, the agonies (and irrationalities) of Red Sox fandom. To be sure, the Talks never cease to be self-conscious creations, and we continually fend off the siren song of the so-called “Wikipedia Talk,” a disgorging of facts instead of a speech invested with personal interpretation.
Our ninth-grade students have plenty of developmental bridges to cross yet, but through these speeches they engender an experience that fluently marries the academic and the personal. In the end, students take as their touchstone the culture of Milton itself, a culture that says: be smart, be human, and try to understand one another. They give to each other through the Class IV Talks and then take that well-earned aplomb into the remaining three years together. Ultimately, we all are the benefactors of the confidence, made and shared, that circulates through this place each day. Tarim Chung English Faculty
After hearing a few rounds of Talks, a listener no longer holds her breath when a girl begins a speech, with equal attention to science and culture, on menstrual synchronization. A teacher does not grip the edges of his seat when a shy student begins to speak on a history of being
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Post Script Confidence comes from within? No way.
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ooking back on my four years at Milton, I feel I didn’t do enough. I didn’t join as many clubs as I wanted to; I never really got into Ultimate Disc; I never painted; I forgot about writing for a publication; I never did a boatload of things. Perhaps that’s the nature of Milton—the School gives students so much opportunity that they can’t possibly do all of it. But does a failure to try everything that Milton offers come from a lack of confidence? I don’t think so, certainly not in looking over the things I did do. In the fall of my Class I year, I tried out for The Diary of Anne Frank —abandoning the football team to do so—in spite of my better judgment. Why did I doubt myself? Well, I have a stutter. I feared stammering my way through auditions, not being offered a role, and having no major activity that term (big no-no in the college process). Stuttering more or less defined my time at Milton, actually—not in a major way, but everyone I met asked within the first five minutes or so, “Do you have a stutter?” However, what inspired confidence in me was not my peers’ reactions to my stutter, but rather, their lack of reactions. My friends, teachers and mentors all accepted my stutter as a part of who I was. Never was I teased, insulted or ridiculed just because I took an extra four to seven seconds to say a word. Therefore, to say that confidence comes from an inner desire to succeed, to overcome obstacles, doesn’t work for me. I gained confidence from the support of my peers at Milton. Knowing my friends “had my back” instilled great confidence in me; I felt my potential was limitless. When I gave my Class IV Talk on stuttering, and was greeted with a standing ovation, whoops and hollers, I honestly thought about “President Woodhouse.” However, I’m far too lazy to be a politician.
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friends, classmates and peers had a powerful ability to motivate me. They gave me the confidence I needed. You can try to rely on what you have inside, but true confidence comes from the people who will catch you when you fall. Rob Woodhouse ’08
Editor’s note: Rob did get the part in The Diary of Anne Frank and played the role of Mr. Van Daan spectacularly.
Rob Woodhouse ’08
Just now, in late January, as I’m writing these thoughts, Milton can be a very unpleasant place. The days are short, cold, snowy and windy, and the workload leading up to exams, gargantuan. Also, everything in January just seems less vibrant—grey skies seem to make everything dull. I always hated January exam week. The uncomfortable chairs in long lines, not the usual discussion circle, were unnerving. Nothing was worse than walking into the exam room feeling about 75 percent sure of the material. Studying for exams was the worst, though. What always made it better was working in a group. Grasping the big picture for a history exam is easier in a study session. Figuring out the kinks of a geometry proof gets simpler talking it out with a friend. Using a student tutor for biology can make a huge difference in how you feel about a test. My friends were there for fun and laughs, but they were also there to work with. Walking into an exam, group study guide on Chinese history in my backpack, talking with a classmate about Genghis Khan and feeling confident—well, that was the best. The single greatest asset a Milton student has is other students. My
Post Script is a department that opens windows into the lives and experiences of your fellow Milton alumni. Graduates may author the pieces, or they may react to our interview questions. Opinions, memories, explorations, reactions to political or educational issues are all fair game. We believe you will find your Milton peers informative, provocative and entertaining. Please email us with your reactions and your ideas at cathy_everett@ milton.edu.
Rob plays the role of Mr. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank, alongside Chloe Cole ’09.
Head of School A Quiet Confidence, Grounded in Humility
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relish the opportunity to boast about personal accomplishments. Turn those questions toward their peers, or colleagues, or Milton teachers and coaches, however, and watch out. Effusive, articulate, proud, heartfelt comments pour out; and they are absolutely accurate. Can a school ethos be characterized by confidence grounded in humility? Absolutely.
ne of the fears that looms for someone making a personal or professional transition is simple: Will my new job or home be as wonderful in reality as I have anticipated? Or for me: Is the Milton that I saw as a candidate the same Milton I see now? The answer, thankfully and unequivocally, is “Yes.” Many of my greatest hopes have been confirmed, and the heart of Milton—the teaching and learning—is even more impressive than I had imagined. My winter at Milton has been filled with a rush of new experiences, none more enjoyable than joining Paul Rebuck, dean of admission, on the admission trail. At receptions in New York and Boston for prospective families, I have listened to the Miltones sing, to Milton students speak, and to notable faculty presentations. Then I share a few thoughts with everyone. My comments try to assure these families that the School is, in fact, as good as it appears. Milton describes itself accurately in numerous ways. A quiet confidence pervades the entire experience at Milton. We are a school that knows itself, and we comfortably share with others what we are, and what we are not. This strength perpetuates the community we enjoy. Talented and enthusiastic learners and
teachers who are great “fits” for our School choose to come, and they further enrich us. I can see the relief on admission candidates’ faces when I say this aloud. Their faces collectively say, “I knew it.” We are all aware that the line between confidence and arrogance is a delicate one. Milton’s tradition of excellence is longstanding, and many who do not yet know us might expect to see an inherent arrogance. I was so pleased, at these admission gatherings, to see that when students and faculty were questioned about their personal successes, they typically paused, and even blushed. Few Miltonians seem to
How do we at Milton define success? The answer on one level is simple: Do we fulfill our mission? According to Milton’s mission “…we create a community in which individuals develop competence, confidence and character.” The Milton I now know strives to fulfill this promise every day. My hope and expectation is that it will continue to do so for generations. We will also continue to cultivate young people who remain “unafraid to express their ideas,” so that “living by our motto, ‘Dare to be true,’” gives the truest sense of our identity to those interested in who we are. Those of us who have made a lifechanging decision to join this School are the beneficiaries; we will always be grateful that Milton confidently dares to be true to itself. With respect and affection, Todd B. Bland Head of School
Few Miltonians seem to relish the opportunity to boast about personal accomplishments. Turn those questions toward their peers, or colleagues, or Milton teachers and coaches, however, and watch out. Effusive, articulate, proud, heartfelt comments pour out; and they are absolutely accurate. Can a school ethos be characterized by confidence grounded in humility? Absolutely. Milton Magazine
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In•Sight Photograph by Natalie Chaves ’11
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Sports Running with the King Boys on the cross-country team listen for their positive inner voices
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cott Bosworth began coaching Milton’s boys’ cross-country team as a favor to a friend. He had a team of nine students, and he believed that season to be a one-shot deal for him. This fall, Scott completed his sixth season as head coach, leading a team of 33 young men to a thirdplace finish in both the Independent School League and the New England Championship race. The boys completed their regular season with 13 wins and two losses, the team’s winningest record since 1987. Led by co-captains Henry Russell (II) and Dylan Watson (I), this year’s team exceeded its own high expectations, both as a group and individually. Competing on
the 5K course, several of the boys achieved personal-best times in the closing races of the season, and Henry placed first in New England with a time of 18:05. One week earlier, competing in the ISL race, he set a personal record of 16:29. This level of success requires physical preparation, training and hard work—but members of Milton’s athletics department herald Scott for the mental training and preparation that he stresses with his runners. “So much blood is going to your head when you’re running, and your mind is very active,” Scott says. “When you’re pounding the pavement, your mind can either be a great friend or a great foe. If you don’t control what’s going on up there, you could be in trouble.
“I try to help the kids manage the mental aspect of running—we talk about what they’re thinking about when they run; visualization; imagining yourself doing well, feeling well; mental cheerleading. I tell the kids to spend 50 percent of their brainpower thinking about their external race—what’s going on around them—and 50 percent thinking about what’s going on inside. If you spend too much time on either, you could be doomed.” Running is an individual sport, but the members of the team are incredibly close. Scott contends that the goofy traditions; spending time together during long, slow runs; and the cerebral nature of the runner—sensitive, and thoughtful—builds that bond and camaraderie. “In running, you can’t hide,” Scott says. “What you give, everyone sees. You’re baring your soul in every race. In some sports you can make up for a bad play during the next play. When you’re down and out in running, you’re down and out. That creates a bond and an honesty among the athletes that you may not have in all sports.” “Running is an honest sport,” agrees Henry Russell. “While other sports have tryouts, and sometimes ability is subjective, in running if you’re the fastest, you’re the fastest. Sprinting is often more about natural talent, but long-distance running is about grit—a person’s desire and commitment to put in the work.” Each week, Scott recognizes at least two of his runners—not for talent, but for hard work, sportsmanship, gritting out a race or a workout—and the boys take this seriously. They recognize that accomplishment, support one another, and give each other standing ovations.
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Though the team’s camaraderie makes practices look like fun and games, the boys depend on their teammates and coaches to help them push through when slowing down seems an easier option. The boys on the team will tell you that Coach Bosworth—“Boz”—is an essential element of what makes the program fun, successful, inspiring and rewarding. “Boz and [assistant coach] Kevin Murphy really keep our spirits up,” says Henry. “Even when we’re hurting, they keep things light and positive, and we owe a lot to them.” Scott has been a competitive runner since he was young, and he still is; he claims this helps in his coaching because he knows how his runners are feeling and what they’re going through. Knowing how destructive a negative inner voice can be, Scott searched for a way to
voice to life, playing the role of the king. The boys began to internalize the effects of “running with the king.” The king actually became the unofficial mascot of the team. At this season’s New England Championship race, Scott ran ahead to the mile mark, where dressed in a king costume—crown and all—he cheered his runners on.
make this dynamic tangible to the boys. Borrowing two hand puppets—a king and a devil—from his children’s toy box, he introduced them at practice: Scott would play the role of the devil (“My legs hurt.” “I’m tired.” “I’m not going to make it.”) and each of his runners took a turn bringing the opposing, positive inner
“The guys on the team are an amazing, funny, quirky bunch of guys,” Henry says. “We work really hard, but we have a blast together.” Students on other athletic teams often say to the boys, “When we get in trouble we have to run, so what do you have to do when you’re in trouble?” The standard response from the team is a broad smile (one from Scott, as well) followed by, “We never get in trouble.” Erin E. Hoodlet Milton Magazine
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OnCentre They’ve discovered a planet. Milton astronomy students first in the country to describe this planet Using Internet-based telescopes and cameras, Milton astronomy students have been able to define and describe a new planet. They “watched” a star’s brightness dim and return, over time, indicating an eclipse of the star by one of its planets. Analyzing images of a star taken over a single night, they tracked a constant brightness that dimmed and then returned to its previous level. The star is known to professional astronomers as HAT-P-10. Students’ calculations, based on the percentage of light loss to the star over that time period, enabled them to determine numerous characteristics of the orbiting planet. John Brophy, Lily Halpern, Sabrina Katz and John Mleczko (Class I) and Shan Lin (Class II) note that their planet is a Jovian planet (like Jupiter): large and gaseous rather than primarily rock.
The Milton students used recommendations from astronomers at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astro physics about when to take pictures of stars in hopes of seeing evidence of an eclipse or transit. They hypothesized that if they took pictures over the right time period, they would be able to gather evidence of an extrasolar planet.
Kernohan of Milton’s science department, who teaches the astronomy course, was one of several teachers from across the country who worked during the summer of 2009 at the Harvard Center testing and reacting to instruments, protocols and materials being developed for the project. Jim is pilot testing those materials with his class this year.
The chance to use telescopebased investigations of real-world, cutting-edge astronomical questions developed from a project at the Harvard Center in Cambridge. Jim
“This discovery is groundbreaking in many ways,” Jim says. “We have confirmed and described one of the more than 300 extrasolar planets astronomers had detected. We were
the first class in the country to accomplish that, and we paved the way for other classes. We worked with astronomer Ruth Krumhansl and Roy Gould of the Harvard Center to determine the calculations that would most accurately measure this planet. The whole process of finding and describing these planets is only 10 years old. We’ve gone from the theoretical to the actual in that short time. Thinking about Milton students at the forefront of this science is pretty exciting.”
Astronomers have detected more than 300 extrasolar planets, but these planets are too distant and too dim to be seen directly. One of the ways to find these planets is by securing evidence of transit and eclipses—locating planets orbiting other stars by observing the small dip in a star’s brightness during the planet’s orbit. Observing the effect a planet has on the star it is orbiting can reveal information about the planet’s orbital period, orbital distance, orbital shape, mass, radius and density.
Astronomers Sabrina Katz, Lily Halpern, John Brophy, John Mleczko and Shan Lin with science faculty member Jim Kernohan 42
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Sparking the Life of the Mind 2009–2010 Pianist Louis Lortie performs at Gratwick Concert For 79 years, the annual Gratwick Concert has brought some of the world’s most renowned classical musicians to Milton’s campus. On October 27, the tradition continued as the Gratwick series presented Canadian pianist Louis Lortie. Mr. Lortie has been praised for the fresh perspective and individuality he brings to a deliberately broad spectrum of the keyboard canon. Celebrated for his interpretation of works by Beethoven, Mr. Lortie has performed the complete Beethoven sonatas in London’s Wigmore Hall, Toronto’s Ford Center, Berlin Philharmonie, and the Sala Grande del Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. In Berlin, Die Welt called his performances “possibly the most beautiful Beethoven since the times of Wilhelm Kempff.” Mr. Lortie studied in Montréal with Yvonne Hubert (a pupil of French pianist Alfred Cortot); in Vienna with Beethoven specialist Dieter Weber; and subsequently with Schnabel disciple Leon Fleisher.
location; at a preprogrammed date and time, the tag detaches itself from the shark, floats to the surface of the water, and then transmits to the scientists’ computers, via satellite, the information it recorded over the previous months. Researchers recently completed a study on the migratory patterns of the basking shark using PAT Tags, and the information they learned redefined what they know about the sharks’ distribution and habits.
Internationally known marine biologist, Greg Skomal, tells the truth about sharks Dr. Greg Skomal, aquatic biologist and leading shark expert, spoke with students on October 28 as this year’s science lecturer. He addressed the truth about white sharks, why they get a bad reputation, and how we can learn more about them. One of Dr. Skomal’s professional goals as a marine biologist is to help maintain populations of aquatic life—fish and sharks—in a way that’s sustainable, protecting them from overfishing or illegal killings. In his presentation, Dr. Skomal showed a collection of television news clips that aired this year surrounding the white shark sightings off of the Cape and islands; “This is a media frenzy,” he said, “which is different from a shark frenzy, and—I would argue—more dangerous.” The newest technology that Dr. Skomal and his colleagues are employing is Pop-up Archival Transmitting (PAT) Tags. Scientists attach a PAT Tag to the shark’s dorsal fin, and the tag collects and archives data on water temperature, depth and
Dr. Skomal earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in zoology at the University of Rhode Island and received his doctorate in biology at Boston University. He conducts research out of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and travels the world studying the physiology, life history and ecology of aquatic life, promoting the importance of ocean conservation. He is the author of The Shark Handbook: The Essential Guide for Understanding the Sharks of the World.
Bingham Visiting Writer, Sally Bliumis-Dunn ’77, shares her poetry
the very ordinary images around us…and, then, without agenda or lofty scope, acknowledge the significance found there, as if significance just quietly, even tenderly, entered—perhaps as a few yellow leaves ‘caught suddenly in an updraft’ might appear before a window. Amidst such appearances, we remember to see more than we do, to stay still longer, and to note beauty and its counterpart pain—not when they blind us but rather when they steal upon us ‘like an atmosphere changing.’” Sally earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and received her master of fine arts degree from Sarah Lawrence. Her poetry has appeared in a number of publications, including Prairie Schooner and The Paris Review. In 2006, the manuscript of Talking Underwater was a finalist for the University of Arkansas Press’s First Book Prize and for Ashland Poetry Press’s Richard Snyder Poetry Prize; it was also a semifinalist for the Kenyon First Book contest. Sally Bliumis-Dunn teaches modern poetry and creative writing at Manhattanville College.
Poet and creative writing teacher Sally Bliumis-Dunn ’77 returned to Milton on November 4 as one of the year’s Bingham Visiting Writers, a series that brings notable authors to campus to read their work, meet with students, and teach creative writing workshops. Sally read to students in Classes I and II from her recently published collection of poetry titled Talking Underwater. Lisa Baker from the English department introduced Sally, saying her “poems collect
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Sparking the Life of the Mind 2009–2010
On Veterans’ Day, Lieutenant Jonas Peter Akins ’97 urged a higher purpose Each November, Milton students hear from alumni for whom military service has personal meaning. Students learn firsthand about experiences of graduates who have faced challenging circumstances in defending our country. On November 11, Lieutenant Jonas Peter Akins ’97 returned to campus to speak with students in Classes IV through I as part of the School’s annual Veterans’ Day commemoration ceremony. Ultimately, Peter implored students to find a purpose, an area of the world that would benefit from their strengths and talents; to forge meaningful relationships with those around them; to work with others toward a greater goal, making life better for others. After graduating from Milton, Peter attended Harvard, where he concentrated in history; after graduating he taught at the Sedbergh School in England. Upon his return to the States, Peter worked as a financial market analyst before enlisting in the United States Navy. Peter is involved in naval intelligence with an expertise in Iraq, from where he returned this fall after a year of duty as Intelligence 44
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Watch Chief and Briefer to the Commanding General. Sarah Wehle, Upper School principal, introduced Peter saying, “He is charged with distilling information from disparate and numerous reports into a useful brief. His knowledge and understanding of our [country’s] operations in Iraq are of unusual depth.” For students, Peter honored and named many Milton graduates from previous generations who dedicated themselves to military service. He asserted the importance of teamwork, of joining together with others of similar purpose for a good that is greater than that achieved alone. He told students that this esprit de corps is essential in the armed forces, but also cited Milton experiences that proved his point, especially as a linesman during his Class I year (fall 1996) on the divisionchampion varsity football team.
Director of Yale’s environmental studies program, Paul Sabin ’88 gives the Henry R. Heyburn Lecture On December 16, Paul Sabin ’88 and the sixth Henry R. Heyburn lecturer, talked with students about climate change, energy politics and history. A professor of history at Yale University and director of the school’s undergraduate environmental studies program, he explained how historical analysis can—and should—influence our approach to climate crisis and energy policy. Focusing his career on both environmental action and academia, Professor Sabin says that “the tension between ideals and pragmatic action has always been central to [his] life and work.” Paul claims that our actions now, directed toward the future, must reflect fundamental historical truths. A greater appreciation of history prepares
us for making informed and constructive policy choices and better guides proposals for further action. For the past century, Paul noted, political choices have affected oil consumption and production, that a free market in energy has never been the case. Energy policy has always been shaped by politics—tax policy, public land policy, labor law, environmental regulation. “A solution that eliminates greenhouse gases is the goal,” Paul said, “and if government action is required to promote the energy change necessary, we have to understand what role government played in the energy market in the past.” He argued that political power, social values and economic interest will affect a new energy regime as much as technological efficiency and availability. Paul received his undergraduate degree in history and environmental studies from Yale and earned his Ph.D. in American history from University of California, Berkeley. His book Crude Politics: The California Oil Market, 1900–1940 was published in 2005, and his essays on energy politics and leadership development have appeared in the Boston Globe, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Chicago Tribune and Legal Affairs.
Harvard’s Professor Maria Tatar explores fiction for children over the centuries “Why do we tell stories?” asked Maria Tatar, professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and chair of the Program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University. Professor Tatar visited campus on January 6 as the 2010 Margaret Johnson lecturer. As many revered writers have hypothesized in numerous ways over centuries, stories help us make sense of what goes on in the world. Professor Tatar’s research interests include children’s literature, and with students she explored the development of storytelling from the 17th century through the 21st— the progression from oral stories around the hearth to the format familiar to us: an adult reading to children, or a child with a storybook. Children’s stories, fairy tales, are cultural expressions, global expressions, mythic expressions, Dr. Tatar explained. They confront elemental questions such as mortality, violence and sexuality. They demonstrate interplay of light and darkness, and can be comforting and consoling as well as fearsome and
moralistic. The oldest tales are still being rewritten and reapplied; nostalgia for the spell of the story continues unabated. Immersing themselves in this fiction, as is true for adult fiction, Professor Tatar asserts, children (and adults) do not escape reality, but rather confront it. They “escape” into an opportunity to consider what it means to be human. The Margaret Johnson Lecture Series was endowed in 1981 by a group of graduates of the Milton Academy Girls’ School to honor Ms. Margaret Johnson, who served as principal of the Girls’ School for 31 years. The women who launched this lecture series wished to memorialize Ms. Johnson’s leadership and dedication to a life of service. The Johnson Lecture series makes it possible for students to spend time in the presence of a woman who is distinguished for her professional achievement.
Artist and activist, Derrick Ashong is the Martin Luther King Speaker On January 13, Mr. Derrick Ashong—activist, artist, intellectual—exhorted students to listen to each others’ stories, discover the truth behind their own, and, in light of that understanding, give to those in need. Mr. Ashong, this year’s Martin
Luther King speaker, is truly a global citizen. Born in Ghana, he has lived in Brooklyn, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and New Jersey. His experiences taught him how important it was to be aware of where he was, and equally aware of who he was. He came to enjoy stepping outside his comfort zone and living in the space between different cultures. Trained in classical piano, Derrick is a self-taught guitarist, a natural performer, and a songwriter who was involved in theater throughout school while learning to communicate his thoughts through poetry. While a student at Harvard University, Derrick met his current band members while performing in the Kuumba Singers, a university choir. Before completing his studies, he took a leave of absence to perform the role of Buakei in Steven Spielberg’s film Amistad. He returned to Cambridge to finish his degree, and then began to pursue a
Ph.D. in African-American studies and ethnomusicology. Right now, he is pursuing his artistry and advocacy full-time. Derrick’s thoughts on Senator Barack Obama make up some of YouTube’s most viewed videos of 2008. He leads the emerging band Soulfège. His lyrics won Billboard Magazine’s 2007 World Song Writing Competition. Through his expressions of artistry, Derrick inspires, engages and activates young people with positive messages for social change. Derrick describes himself as a social entrepreneur dedicated to building bridges between the fields of business, media, technology, youth culture, pop culture and politics. He is the founder of Take Back the Mic, a youth-centered cultural movement that encourages young people to take leadership in four key areas of life: art, society, business and politics.
Kevin Collins ’10 is the first recipient of the Millet Scholarship A new scholarship honoring Milton Academy’s beloved Frank Millet was awarded at Convocation 2009. The definition of the Millet Scholar befits the role that Mr. Millet has played in the Milton community for 67 years. The Millet Scholar will be a student who demonstrates high moral integrity, is supportive of classmates, and has established meaningful relationships with peers and faculty. The Millet Scholar is a student who by virtue of his or her character and deeds is an
integral member of his or her class, and holds great promise as a leader. The scholarship was awarded to Class I student Kevin Bernard Collins at Convocation, an announcement greeted with rousing applause and a standing ovation from Kevin’s classmates. “Kevin’s teachers have remarked on his openness to the world,” said Head of School Todd Bland. “Imagining a student who has lived his Milton life with more integrity, heart and gusto than this boy would be difficult. He has made his presence felt in
many areas, and has never shied from trying new things—from sports and acting and student government, through singing and co-heading the Spanish Club. While Kevin’s list of activities is impressive, we feel the force of his character most strongly in some of his quieter contributions: serving, mentoring, supporting, being a good friend. With great pleasure we award the Millet Scholarship to a student whom one teacher called, ‘such a true-to-himself person.’” Milton Magazine
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Alumni Authors Recently published works
Absent a Miracle by Christine Lehner ’70 Absent a Miracle, following Christine Lehner’s 2004 collection What to Wear to See the Pope, continues the thread of conflicted faith, the pursuit of sainthood, and crises of the heart and soul. Absent a Miracle is the story of loving mother, doting wife, and lapsed Catholic Alice Fairweather who—having recently lost her job and the devotion of her spouse—decides to help out her husband’s college roommate who has come to town on a mission: to have his aunt canonized as the first Nicaraguan saint. His quest becomes Alice’s obsession, which along the way causes her to befriend eccentric characters; become an expert on female saints; and find herself on a plane destined for Nicaragua.
As one Publishers Weekly review points out, Christine imbues her characters with charming eccentricities—husband Waldo is an inventor with a fondness for limericks; son Henry speaks in thesaurus-ese (“hypogeal” and “egregious”); the other son, Ezra, lives “fully in his sleep”; and Alice has an interest in dream interpretation that she parlays into a job as a radio talk show host. The dynamic of this family paints a picture of universal joy, heartache, and either gritting through or embracing the quirks of those you love. Tom LeClair of the New York Times writes, “Absent a Miracle has no literary pretensions; it’s pure, unadulterated adulterous entertainment. Lehner is a talented humorist—and a softy sentimentalist.”
Wind Turbine Syndrome by Nina Pierpont, M.D., Ph.D. ’73 Nina Pierpont ’73 entered the scientific and political dialogue about wind energy when she published her book, Wind Turbine Syndrome: A Report on a Natural Experiment. “In the world of medicine,” Nina writes, “my study is properly called a ‘case series,’ defined as a descriptive account of a series of individuals with the same new medical problem.” Nina’s study consisted of clinical interviews over the telephone with 38 affected people from ten families living 1,000 feet to 4,900 feet from wind turbines erected since 2004. Two families were in England, five in Canada, one in the U.K., one in Italy, another in the U.S. Nina’s subjects experienced a similar set of health problems; she named this complex of symptoms “Wind Turbine Syndrome.”
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The symptoms include sleep disturbance, headache, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), ear pressure, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, panic episodes, problems with concentration and memory, and panic episodes. Nina concluded that her subjects were feeling the proximity of wind turbines as an imperceptible vibration in their bodies. This was disrupting the innerear vestibular system—the body’s chief tool for balance and spatial orientation. These vibrations “feed back neurologically onto a person’s sense of position and motion in space, which is in turn connected in multiple ways to brain functions as disparate as spatial memory and anxiety,” Nina asserts. Her work, Nina concludes, calls for further clinical research before wind farms can be safely built within two kilometers of homes and schools.
Good for the Jews by Debra Spark ’80 Elements and themes from the biblical story of Esther take on a modern cast in the new novel by Debra Spark ’80, Good for the Jews. Esther’s courage, sagacity and patience save the Jewish people from annihilation in Persia, at the hand of King Xerxes. Set in Madison, Wisconsin, the ostensibly progressive university town, Good for the Jews explores anti-Semitism as it appears in the workplace in 2005. Winner of the 2009 Michigan Literary Fiction Award, Good for the Jews, published by the University of Michigan Press, looks at how modern characters who work in a public high school and an art gallery “deal with anti-Semitism and the way that powerful men—and the women who love them—negotiate bureaucracies.” In Debra’s novel, generational differences in responding to anti-Semitism complicate the situation.
Ellen is Esther’s counterpart; she is young and nonobservant. Mose, whose role corresponds with the biblical figure Mordecai, is her older cousin, “a high school teacher who thinks he knows, in fact, what is ‘good for the Jews’—and for Ellen, too. Their stories intertwine with those of the school superintendent, his ex-wife and son, and a new principal. Workplace treachery, the bonds of family, coming of age, and romantic relationships all take center stage as the characters negotiate the fallout from a puzzling fire.” The University of Michigan Press calls Good for the Jews a “smart, funny, sexy” novel. The Press credits “Spark’s evocative writing style and sharp, understanding treatment of her diverse characters” in discussing this “surprising page-turner,… part mystery and part strangercomes-to town story.” Debra is the author of two previous novels, The Ghost of Bridgetown and Coconuts for the Saint, as well as Curious Attractions: Essays on Fiction Writing. She has been a fellow
Leading a Business in Anxious Times: A Systems Approach to Becoming More Effective in the Workplace by Leslie Ann Fox and Katharine Gratwick Baker ’55 According to the authors, Leslie Ann Fox and Katharine Gratwick Baker ’55, Leading a Business in Anxious Times will provide readers with the tools necessary to become stronger, more effective leaders under stressful circumstances. Ms. Fox is co-founder and CEO of Care Communications, Inc., a health information management consulting and staffing
firm. Katharine Gratwick Baker is an executive and leadership consultant who provides strategic planning and organizational learning services, as well as time management seminars. The
at Radcliffe College’s Bunting Institute and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts award. Her short stories, essays and reviews have appeared in publications including Food and Wine, Esquire, the
New York Times, the Washington Post, and Yankee. She is a professor at Colby College and teaches in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. Debra lives with her husband and son in North Yarmouth, Maine.
two authors propose that organizational anxiety, hidden from the surface, can undermine leaders’ effectiveness during an organization’s challenging times. Their book looks at the workplace as an emotional system and introduces systemsbased leadership, an approach grounded in a human behavior theory used for over 50 years by family therapists.
businesses, nonprofits, and service organizations to embrace a new definition of leadership as a reciprocal relationship. They propose that the ability to lead any type of business organization directly relates to the leaders’ capacity to manage their own anxiety in the relationship system—to think clearly and take thoughtful action in the presence of anxious colleagues in order to minimize the crippling effects of anxiety in the company. Leslie Fox and Katharine Baker illustrate the concepts introduced in the book using the stories of several successful business leaders, as well as stories from their personal experiences.
The authors show that the same patterns of automatic behavior governing family relationship systems also affect business and have a profound impact on every business’s success. The authors encourage individuals working at all levels of large and small
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Alumni Authors Recently published works
Money Makers: Inside the New World of Finance and Business by David Snider ’03 and Chris Howard, Ph.D. Money Makers: Inside the New World of Finance and Business, co-authored by David Snider ’03 and Chris Howard, provides a unique perspective into the inner workings of the complex private-sector industries that fuel today’s economy. The book—through interviews with leaders from McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, GE, Google, J.P. Morgan, Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group—reveals the histories, mechanics, operations and challenges of six key industries: investment banking, venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, management consulting, and the management of Fortune 500 companies. After graduating from Duke in 2007, David joined Bain & Company. He started working on Money Makers; his goal was to offer a timely and straightforward approach to understanding
business. In light of the recent recession, the authors expanded the scope of the project to make the book approachable to anyone looking to understand the inner workings of the key financial and business fields, regardless of interests or background. Money Makers provides insight into the landscape of banking through financial crisis; government involvement in the private banking sector; how entrepreneurship is related to venture capital; the future of the hedge fund business; the differences between private equity and venture capital; and the challenges of working in a high-growth, Fortune 500 company. New York Times author and columnist Suzy Welch says of Money Makers, “David Snider and Chris Howard provide readers with a clear understanding of key financial industries and deliver insights and analysis from the people leading these fields. This is the book for a savvy layperson interested in exploring business today.”
Seasons of the Moon by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair ’66 Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair ’66 is a writer, educator, lecturer and photographer of Jewish faith and culture. His book Seasons of the Moon chronicles the cycle of the Hebrew calendar through photography, essays and poetry. His book includes over 75 original black-and-white photographs—Jewish elders gathered for study and discussion; the weathered façade of a beloved synagogue; the earnest expression of a young boy hovered over his lesson book. Seasons of the Moon illustrates many of the central themes and events in the collective Jewish experience: its festivals, seasons, history and legacy. A reviewer from The Online Photographer said of Rabbi Sinclair’s images, “Illustrating the title of the book, they appear to be nocturnal and mysterious, radiating spirituality with a feeling of moonlight, yet with plenty of rich texture and light both in the sky and land. Those images are nothing like what I have
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seen before, at least at this level of realization, where, presented as a series, they give the work a unique visual signature. Long after Ansel Adams and Edward Weston have passed away, many black-and-white landscape photographers still work in their footsteps. The images in Seasons of the Moon offer a refreshing departure from that classical style.” Yaakov Asher Sinclair became a rabbi after a decade of study in Jerusalem. From his close work with the Torah, he began writing an educational newsletter that elucidates the connection between a month’s designated astrological symbol and the corresponding events in the Jewish calendar. The essays featured in that newsletter gave rise to this book. The artistry, sentiment and message of Seasons of the Moon is accessible to those outside of the Jewish faith; the poignancy of its words and detail of its images will resonate with many.
Class Notes 1952 Westminster School exchange classmate, Dr. Roger Mark Adam Freeman, was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2008 in honor of his many services: as parliamentary liaison to MPs and peers concerning all aspects of mental health laws; local and regional advisory and managerial work; and general commitment to the College’s Council and specific committees. He graduated from Oxford in 1959. On the North Shore of Massa chusetts, Josh Brackett is involved in setting up and monitoring an Internet forum specializing in Cape Ann’s political affairs. Tim Gates says, “I have been videotaping for Cape Ann Region Community television (many town, school board and committee meetings) for the past two years—an eye-opener to what goes on in small-town
government ‘by the people.’ Josh Brackett, Babette, Katerina and I frequently visit or talk with Dave McElwain at his assistedliving residence, Dana Hall, in Lexington. His spirits are high and he keeps in shape by long walks around Lexington. As our longtime class secretary, he is interested in hearing from classmates.”
1963 William Brewster recently lost his wife, Gail—to whom he was married for almost 42 years. Gail is survived by two grown sons, Brad and Ben, and granddaughters Katie (6) and Georgia (4). William writes, “To my wonderful surprise, C.P. Howland attended her memorial service here in Orinda, California. I have been retired from the financial services industry for more than six years and spend several weeks in Truro on Cape Cod during the summer. I have fond memories of my years at
Siblings Betsy Crosby Johnston ’49 and Ned Crosby ’54 pose with the portrait of their grandfather—and former faculty member—Frank Edwin Lane. Frank Lane taught mathematics (1892–1937) and was the School’s bursar (1906–1937), headmaster (1910–1917) and principal (1917–1934).
Milton and say ‘hello’ to everyone in my class whom I knew over 46 years ago. You just might see me at reunion in the future.”
1967 John Sussewell writes, “My congratulations to Kenneth Horak ’61, whom I’ve come to know through the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA.”
1976 Carolyn Walker Sullivan and her husband are developing their decorative arts business, Rosewalker Design Project (www.rosewalkerdesignproject. com), which specializes in antique restoration. The company recently secured a custom furniture project for a corporate retreat in the Bahamas. Carolyn says, “This project has enabled my husband to research early plantation furniture and develop his CAD and 3-D modeling skills. I continue to work at
E. Todd Chayet ’86 was recently promoted to counsel at Tucker Ellis & West LLP in the firm’s Los Angeles office, where his practice focuses on medical and pharmaceutical litigation and appellate and legal issues. Los Angeles Magazine identified Todd as a “Rising Star” and one of “Southern California’s Super Lawyers” in 2008. He has authored a number of published articles.
Two generations of Miltonians gathered at Benjamin Naddaff-Hafrey’s graduation ceremony in June 2009. Pictured from left to right: Andrea Naddaff ’80, Nathaniel Naddaff-Hafrey ’04, Sandra Naddaff ’71, Ramona Naddaff ’77, Benjamin Naddaff-Hafrey ’09. Missing from the photo but also in attendance were Alfred Naddaff ’80 and Bill Slocum, Jr. ’79.
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Simon Tang ’93 and his wife, Renee, welcomed their daughter, Kaela Tang, on December 7, 2009.
Nicole LaBrecque Brown ’93 and her husband, Casey, joyfully announce the birth of their daughter, Isabel Noel Brown, on December 23, 2008. Mom Nicole says, “She came home on Christmas Day and was the most spectacular, perfect gift we could ever imagine!”
Peter Huoppi ’96 and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their son, Mason Anderson Huoppi, on July 14, 2009. Mason is pictured here with canine sisters, Remy and Barrett.
OHL, a third-party logistics company just outside Nashville, supporting the international, contract logistics, and global business development divisions. I’m looking forward to completing a book project this year, and hope to get back into songwriting and recording; it has been almost two years since we released our first CD, Love & The Cold, Hard Ground.
1985 John Siegfried welcomed his son, John Iver Siegfried, on May 18, 2009.
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1991 Kathleen “Kaci” Carr Foster earned her M.F.A. in creative writing from Boston University in May 2009. She works in Boston University’s Office of Sponsored Programs and teaches creative writing. She lives in Milton with her husband, Jim, and two daughters, both of whom are students at Milton Academy. Captain Matt Pottinger is serving in Afghanistan, where he recently published a report called “Fixing Intel.” He was the 2009 winner of the Lieutenant Colonel Michael D. Kuszewski Award for Marine Corps Intelligence Officer of the Year.
Haley Brew ’97 married Jared McMurray on June 7, 2008, on Cape Cod. The couple resides in Cotuit, Massachusetts. Haley earned her M.S. in oceanography from University of Rhode Island in May 2008. She teaches chemistry at Harwich High School and is an adjunct professor of chemistry at Cape Cod Community College.
Simon Tang writes, “We are blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Kaela (pronounced Kay-la), born on December 7, 2009. We had a wonderful birth experience and everyone is doing great. Kiele is thrilled to have a little sister, and Kaela can’t wait to meet everyone soon.”
1996
Dr. Don Dregalla, Milton’s music department chair, addresses alumni—class years spanning ’50 through ’02—during an afternoon of music and conversation with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra on January 3, 2010.
1992 Abria M. Smith published Somebody Soup, a book of poetry, in November 2009 under the name Abria Monique.
Gerard Schwarz, Music Director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra; Dr. Don Dregalla; and David Gannett ’58
Patrick Yachimski and Phaedra Saltis Yachimski are excited to announce the birth of their second child, Declan Alexander, born on July 2, 2009. Big brother Stephen adores his new baby brother. In September, the Yachimski family moved to the Nashville area, where Pat is a gastroenterologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Will Lyons reports, “We are excited to announce the birth of our daughter, Grayson Schieffelin Lyons. Grayson entered the world on October 10, 2009. Schieffelin (pronounced ‘Shefflin’) is a family name on Melissa’s maternal grandfather’s side of the family.”
2001 Andre Sigourney has started a TESOL training program in San José, Costa Rica. The program requires a high school diploma and the desire to travel and teach English around the world. The month-long program includes accommodations and job placement assistance anywhere in the world where ESL teaching jobs are offered. For more information, go to www.globaltesolcostarica.com.
1993 Nicole LaBrecque Brown taught Spanish in private schools for 10 years after graduating from Colby College. She recently earned her master’s degree in school counseling and took a year off from the field of education to be a stay-at-home mom. Nicole and her husband, Casey, both work at Wilbraham and Monson Academy, a private boarding school, where Nicole teaches Spanish part-time. Casey works in the technology department and coaches varsity football and baseball.
Leigh Pascavage ’99 married Greg Richart in the Bahamas in July 2009. They were joined by Milton alumni Lily Brown ’99, Adele Burnes ’99, Rachel Reichard ’99 and Eric Pascavage ’01. They live in Paris, France, where Greg works for EuroDisney; Leigh is completing her law degree at UCLA. Milton Magazine
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Deaths
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
1930 William Ladd 1937 William F. Borland 1938 Katharine W. Tweed 1939 Richard J. Comey C. F. Edgarton 1940 Henry G. Brooks, Jr. 1941 Roger J. Donahue Ann M. Fitzgibbons Mary-Peale Smith Schofield Jean Hendrie Simonds 1942 William A. Hefler, Jr. Elizabeth Blackall Porter 1944 Jean DeForest Kurtz Margot Royce Porter 1945 David B. Lamb George H. Whitney, Jr. 1946 Richard B. Gamble 1948 Aldus H. Chapin 1950 Harris L. Coulter 1952 Edgar C. Felton Sarah Crocker Garrison Nancy Agens Thompson 1953 Stephen Lewis Wald 1964 John F. Crocker IV 1967 Anne Udy Penny 1972 Stephen B. Huntington 1994 John R. Collins 2002 Henry L. Masters Faculty Barclay Feather
—Benjamin Franklin
Which investment opportunity is right for you? If your goal is to:
Then you can:
And your benefits are:
secure a fixed life income while avoiding market risks
establish a charitable gift annuity
• charitable income tax deduction • often a boosted rate of return from assets
defer a gift until after your lifetime
include Milton in your will (cash, specific property, or a share of your estate)
• estate tax deduction • assets kept in your name during your lifetime
maximize an heir’s inheritance while benefiting Milton
name Milton as beneficiary of your retirement plan, leave other assets to family
• reduced estate tax • reduced income tax
avoid tax on capital gains
give appreciated stocks or bonds held over one year
• an income tax deduction • avoidance of capital gains tax
create a charitable gift while continuing to enjoy your home
give your personal residence and retain life use
• current charitable deduction • reduction in the value of your taxable estate
create a hedge against inflation over the long term
create a charitable remainder unitrust or annuity trust
• a variable or fixed income for life • charitable income tax deduction and other tax benefits
reduce gift and estate taxes on assets you pass to your children and grandchildren
create a charitable lead trust
• a gift or estate tax deduction • assets return to your family
For more information, please visit Milton’s Gift Planning Web site at www.milton.edu/alumni/ planned_giving or contact Suzie Hurd Greenup ’75 at 617-898-2376 or suzie_greenup@milton.edu.
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Join us for
Graduates’ Weekend 2010 Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19
This June, come spend a weekend laughing with old classmates, sharing with former teachers, and indulging in good food and drink, all while enjoying the Milton of today.
• Enjoy a Mediterranean feast with other grads as we celebrate reunions for alumni with class years ending in five or zero.
Friday
• Revisit favorite spots on campus and experience new ones on a student-led tour or via trolley with guide and faculty member Bryan Cheney. • Get up to bat or cheer for your side at the alumni baseball game. • Discuss Milton’s present and future during the “State of the School” address with Head of School Todd Bland.
• Engage your mind in classes taught by Milton faculty members. • Indulge your artistic side with jazz, dance and theatrical performances by Milton students. • Relive your high school days by staying overnight in the Milton houses. • Just before the opening, tour the Pritzker Science Center.
Saturday
• Play in the sunshine and enjoy a barbecue lunch on the Quad at the familyfriendly outdoor festival. • Hear from a panel of students about life at Milton today. • Connect with old and new Milton friends and faculty over dinner, drinks and live music at the class parties. For the latest reunion information or to register, visit the “Alumni” pages at www.milton.edu, or call Rhianne Crowley in the alumni relations office at 617-898-2375.
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