The Joys of Public Speaking through 10 Years of Chapel Talks

Senior Noor Amir practices her Chapel Talk, the capstone experience of The Summit’s Soleil Oratory Leadership Program. Nearly 250 students have given Chapel Talks since the program began 10 years ago.

The

Joys

of

through

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Public Speaking

10 Years

of

Chapel Talks

Spring Magazine 2018-19

By Nancy Berlier In the past 10 years, nearly 250 students have challenged themselves to walk to the front of the Chapel and bare their souls to an audience of 400 peers, teachers, parents and special guests.

These Chapel Talks, inaugurated in the spring of 2009, have been alternatively poignant, enlightening, artsy, surprising and playful, while embracing the broad diversity of experiences, perspectives and backgrounds of the student body.

Many reflected deeply on the transitional experience of growing into adulthood. Liz (Edwards) Ford ’10 discovered how cool her dad really was. Fatima (Moscat) Pardos ’11 elaborated on patriotism. Brittany Williams ’11 challenged her audience to rethink the definition of beauty.

Others built acceptance for all kinds of diversity.

Isabelle Saldana ’13 likened her family dinner table to a meeting of the United Nations where Puerto Rico, Portugal, France and the Peoples Republic of China hold nightly confabs. Wearing traditional Middle Eastern garb, Sara Ahmed ’12 talked about how to balance modesty, dictated by her religion, with fashion.

Some have been playful, even though they shone a light on serious truths. Simon Chow ’11 suggested adding sprinkles not just to donuts but to life itself. Wearing a pith helmet, Shirley Nunlist ’11 described observing her Middle School peers in their natural habitat and discovered The Summit is an ecosystem as convoluted as any rain forest.

Some were surprising. Talking about stepping outside your comfort zone, Daniel Shisler ’19 abandoned the podium and walked down the aisle for a conversation with his classmates.

J McLean III ’12 delivered his talk in rap. At the time, J didn’t consider it a risk to deliver his Chapel Talk in the style of spoken word poetry. “People would consider it different, of course,” he says. “However, the decision to do so felt comfortable to me. I was eager to share my most authentic self at the podium. I started with the concluding take-away and worked backwards when writing it. I wanted people to know it was OK to be their best selves too. I also wanted to

Chapel Talks moderators Upper School social studies teacher Tracy Law ‘85, Ph.D., left, and Spanish teacher Monica (Haas) Desch ’90 review the speech that senior Brigid Devine’s planned.

properly thank the ones who shaped me most as a person over my four-year journey at The Summit.”

“Delivered as a rap, it was edgy, dynamic and something to remember,” recalls Upper School social studies teacher Tracy Law ’85, Ph.D. who now facilitates Chapel Talks with Spanish teacher Monica (Haas) Desch ’90.

“People will remember Daniel’s talk too because they were startled when he stepped away from the podium and delivered his speech conversationally and from memory.”

Daniel’s delivery illustrated his point: Try new things.

“Who cares what other people think?” he says.

“What are we doing if we are just blending in?

We should want to be ourselves. We should

“We have the power to make differences.

We can stop making observations and start making inferences. We can use our wit to make the world a better place.”

– Niah Woods ’18 Summit Magazine 7

“Our unity’s empowered me, and I hope to inspire you, to embrace your gifts and love yourself and show the world what you can do.”

– J McLean III ’12 want to stand out. Everyone is unique in their own beautiful ways. I don’t think we hear this enough.”

Oratories like these are not the singular domain of the Upper School. The highly-trained faculty help students develop confidence for oral presentations beginning as preschoolers and give them opportunities to shine in front of an audience at every grade level. But Chapel Talks are a specific rite of passage in the Upper School and the capstone experience of Soleil, The Summit’s Oratory Leadership Program.

Illuminating each student’s personalized education experience, Soleil helps students develop a sense of self, hone leadership skills and find their voice. Chapel Talks polish oratory skills as students reflect on who they are and who they want to be.

“What Summit’s Chapel Talks became, and why it is so special to me, is that it shed light on my fellow classmates whom I had been sitting next to for at least four years,” says Gaby (Chandra) Napier ’10, who was among a group of faculty and students who defined the program after a visit in 2008 to Phillips Academy, Roxbury Latin and St. Sebastian’s to research similar programs.

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“I thought that I knew my classmates and friends, but after hearing their Chapel Talks, I felt I had a better understanding of who they were and how their beliefs were formed. Personally, and I think for every senior, when they write their Chapel Talk, it is a time to reflect on their own experiences and how they have grown into a person ready to be a leader in the world we’ll inherit.”

Telling stories that form connections is the most important aspect of Chapel Talks, says senior Colleen McIlvenna ’19 who gave her talk this year.

“That’s what stories do,” she says. “They connect us. They bring us together. They teach us more about ourselves and even others.”

That is certainly true of what may be the most remarkable of all Chapel Talks thus far, the one J. McLean delivered. Fast forward to 2017 when Niah Woods ’18 sees J’s talk on video and is awestruck.

“I was instantly mesmerized,” she says. “One, because there was a black senior on this little screen; two, he was not just speaking, there was rhythm in his tone. Listening to J’s talk not only caused me to shed a tear, but it brought out a passion that I had repressed for so long.

“I thought that I knew my classmates and friends, but after hearing their Chapel Talks, I felt I had a better understanding of who they were and how their beliefs were formed.”

– Gaby (Chandra) Napier ’10

During the writing process, I listened to J’s talk more times than I can remember. It became a daily routine if I’m being honest… I took notes carefully, breaking down each part of his talk to understand the deeper meaning of what he was saying. I wanted to be like him, I wanted to tell a story, I wanted people to remember my message even if they didn’t remember who gave it.”

As she prepared to deliver her talk, Niah asked Dr. Law to extend an invitation to J to attend. While J wasn’t available, he read her words in a restaurant where he met with Dr. Law. He was inspired to write a note to Niah on the spot which he penned on a restaurant napkin.

Freshman Tony Zhang performs an impromptu speech after drawing a random topic out of a box. Freshman speech class, taught by Tom Peters, is an introduction to public speaking.

“She had the bravery to fully express herself while facing pressure to perform a more traditional oration,” J says. “She also took stock of the people that inspired her, and I was deeply humbled to make that list.” On the napkin, he called her a queen.

“Giving that napkin covered in handwriting to Niah, and hearing her feelings about receiving it, encompassed both the meaning of Chapel Talks and the meaning of relationships at The Summit,” says Dr. Law. These are two students, separated by almost a decade who have never met in person. It’s all about the connection.”

Niah says J’s note was a confidence booster, and she carried it with her every day and laid it on the chapel podium beside her speech when she gave her own talk.

“I cannot thank J enough for what he has done for me,” she says. “He broke me out of a shell that I was too blind to know that I was in. I’m grateful that I gave that Chapel Talk, because without J, I wouldn’t have made it on ‘The Journey to Find Out Who I Am.’”

Tracy Law ’85, Ph.D, contributed to this story.

See Chapel Talks given by J McLean III ‘12 and Niah Woods ‘18 at www.summitcds.org/chapeltalk-videos.

In Leadership 10, where students learn attributes of ethical, collaborative leadership, Upper School teacher M.J. Feldhaus talks to Keene Kreider, Jason Zhan, Malik Cody, Chris Whitney and Alex Waak about their team Vision Statement Poster. The poster presentation lets students practice public speaking before giving a leadership talk at the end of the semester.

Soleil Soleil is a French adjective which means to finish with a high luster. The Summit’s Oratory Leadership Program, Soleil polishes the oratory skills of Upper School students and guides them to become leaders of character. Soleil fosters and empowers personal growth in faith, character, morally-based leadership and formation of conscience. Through a formal curriculum, students study speech as freshmen and take leadership classes as sophomores and juniors.

Chapel Talks is the fourth component of Soleil.

Students also have opportunities to practice what they have learned through Soleil in assemblies, student-led activities, liturgy, the arts, extra-curricular activities, advisement and community events.

Summit Magazine 9

What is beauty?

This is an excerpt of a Chapel Talk given in 2010-11.

By Brittany Williams ’11 What is beauty?

Throughout this talk, remember: Beauty cannot be defined. It is not a certain height, weight, race or gender. It is universal, has no set requirements or any type of secret code.

Look to your left. And what do you see? Now look to your right.

Your answer probably includes naming the person’s eye color, hair color, race and gender but there is more to that than what meets the eye.

Every day when I wake up, my daily routine involves applying makeup. I brush my hair until every single strand is in place. I apply perfume.

Brush my teeth until I am left with nothing but white. Add my earrings, and my rings. Then, I am set.

Brittany Williams’11

So I ask you again, what is beauty?

Is it the tall, skinny Caucasian woman in the CoverGirl commercial? Is it Beyonce’s curves?

Taylor Swift’s hair? Kim Kardashian’s body?

Someone define beauty for me.

Is it white skin? Black skin? Brown? Yellow? Blue eyes? Brown eyes?

What is it? I need an answer.

Did you know that “the average woman is 5-foot, 4-inches and weighs 140 pounds” while “the average model is 5-foot, 11-inches and weighs 117 pounds?”

Did you know…many teenage boys are prone to obsessive exercising, binge eating, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, steroid abuse and diet aid abuse, all because they want to look like the man on the Men’s Health magazine?

“It is estimated that 40 to 50 percent of American women are trying to lose weight at any point in time.”

“One out of every four college-aged women has an eating disorder.”

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Spring Magazine 2018-19

It was only recently that I realized my makeup is my armor. My shield. Its main purpose is to hide the real Brittany and reveal someone that is flawless and effortlessly beautiful. So that no one notices that my eyelashes on my right eye are curly and the ones on my left eye are straight. So no one can see the scaring around my nose from the chicken pox I had at an earlier age. My rings and nail polish add life to my long, rough hands, and my earrings add brightness to my otherwise dull face.

I want to take you back a couple years…to my sophomore year. Every day, I would enter Mrs. Williamson’s classroom and announce to the class that I would be on “America’s Next Top Model,” as soon as I turned 18. But little did they know that was nothing but the second layer of my armor. I pretended to have confidence in myself.

I wanted people to think I was beautiful and that I knew I was beautiful. I wanted everyone to remember me as the pretty black girl. I wanted younger girls to look up to me and think, “Wow, I want to be as pretty as Brittany Williams when I grow up.”

My self-esteem was horrible. I hated the person that looked back at me in the mirror. I felt disgusting. My friends were sooo small. I was 5-feet-10. They were 5-feet-5. I was brown.

They were white. My hips and backside stuck out while theirs sat evenly proportionate to their

“Look to your left. And what do you see. Now look to your right.

Now look all around you. I see beauty.

What about you?”

– Brittany Williams ’11 bodies. I was different. I was “More.” “Extra…”

“Developed…” “Plus.”

I was uncomfortable with who I was. Ha. I remember not wanting to lay on the floor in religion class when watching a movie, because I felt my butt would block the kid behind me.

It’s kinda funny when I look back on it now, but back then, it hurt because all I ever wanted was to be like the girl in the music video or the models on the cover of magazines.

But…I want to ask you again…

What is beauty?... Because sometimes I don’t know. I think about this all the time. Who’s to say the tall girl with long blond hair is prettier than the short girl with brown hair? Who’s to say the captain of the boys’ lacrosse team is more handsome than the president of the chess club?

And if so, what makes them more attractive?

I can pinpoint the very day I realized beauty cannot be defined. Sophomore year, my advisement participated in the Special Olympics during formation days. I met a 9-year-old African American girl named Sophia. When I saw her, we clicked. I was addicted to her. I wanted to make her happy because I thought she was miserable.

I imagined myself in her shoes and wondered how different my life would be. How I would

be faced with so many challenges that the average person could accomplish with ease, such as simply kicking a ball or using my words to explain a certain feeling. Sophia showed me many things in life that I would never have learned without her. Sophia was autistic, but it was something about her, something so inspirational that it made me forget about her disability and look at her like an extraordinary human being. Her spirit and enthusiasm grew on everyone around her. It was almost like she cast a spell on us.

She had so much energy but lacked in physical ability. She carried herself with such poise but needed someone to help her walk. She had a great and inspiring voice, but she could barely speak. She could reach to the sky and touch a star, but was only about five feet tall.

Everything about her was beautiful. She had so much inner beauty that I wanted to be Sophia.

It is through her that I have defined beauty.

My definition of beauty is …is everything. It is everywhere, everyone. It is Amy Corser’s eyes.

Ha – old people in shorts and tank tops. Rikkel Bravo’s radiant skin. Rwanda…Darfur. Gloria Beingana’s smile. Biracial relationships. Fred’s wet high fives. Jenna Joseph’s eyebrows. All relationships regardless of sexual orientation.

Mr. Stayton’s gold tee. The way Coach Simmons wrinkles her forehead when trying to make a point. Emma McGoff’s creativity. Kelsey Hock’s red hair. The way Mr. Smith’s whole face lights up when he smiles. Mr. Carle’s deep voice. Mrs. Cramer’s sweet voice. And Mr. V’s unique walk.

This is what beauty is.

My purpose is to destroy the image that so often comes to mind when one hears the word “beautiful.”

Look to your left. And what do you see. Now look to your right. Now look all around you.

I see beauty.

What about you?

Summit Magazine 11