2021-22 Taft School Viewbook by Taft School

THE TAFT SCHOOL VIEWBOOK / 2021 | 2022

Welcome to

GET READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD. The Taft School opened its doors in 1890 with a broad yet singular mission: to educate the whole student. What does that mean in 2021? A Taft education begins with rigorous academics, but it is so much more. Learning takes place in almost every corner of our campus, and through nearly every interaction—in the classroom, in community gatherings, on the playing field, and one-on-one with students and faculty who have come to Taft from 41 countries across the globe. A Taft education is built on intellectual curiosity, inclusivity, compassion, respect, and integrity. Our students are engaged and resourceful; they leave us with a sense of self, a sense of place, and a readiness to take on the world.

BRIGHT MINDS

This symbol is an invitation to

experience

Taft’s digital platform. Simply hold your smartphone camera over the symbol wherever you see it in this book, tap the icon that pops up on your device, and learn even more about The Taft School.

WHAT WILL TAFT GRADUATES KNOW? WHAT SKILLS WILL THEY BRING TO THE TABLE? WHAT DO WE TEACH, AND HOW AND WHY DO WE TEACH IT?

BRIGHT

We asked these questions of ourselves, and worked hard as a community to develop meaningful answers by deeply and thoroughly studying the academic life of the school and the demands of the global community in the 21st century. The result is the Taft School Portrait of a Graduate. It helps shape curriculum and define creative opportunities for reflective learning. It is a living document, one that is continuously examined and adapted as we prepare our graduates for the world outside of Taft. It tells us that Taft graduates are intellectually curious, resourceful, and actively engaged. They are thinkers, doers, and lifelong learners. Taft graduates work cooperatively and collaboratively, putting common purpose before individual need. They are self-reliant, disciplined, and courageous risk takers who express themselves clearly, purposefully, and creatively in word and in deed. They are technologically adept, and they are innovators. Portrait of a Graduate is an academic roadmap and a moral compass. It tells us that our graduates will act with honor and integrity, serve others unselfishly, respect authentically, and possess a moral worldview that helps create compassionate, inclusive, and socially just communities. Taft graduates are self-aware, and they are prepared to take their place in the world.

futures

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A TAFT EDUCATION?

ACADEMICS

heart LIE AT THE

OF THE TAFT SCHOOL MISSION. A Taft education is built on academic rigor, driven by intellectual curiosity, and supported by an ever-evolving and innovative curriculum. Taft students carve out individualized academic paths, choosing from 200 academic courses along the way. They may also work with faculty to design independent tutorials, or even take classes with students from more than 120 independent schools around the world through the Global Online Academy. Tafties are required to take some traditional core courses, but also choose from classes like these:

3-D Design and Prototyping Scientific Ethics Forensic Science Performance Engineering Screenwriting Japanese Fiction and Film The Politics of Race and Gender Human Geography Media and Identity Dystopian Literature Web Application Development Developing Mobile Apps for Android Art History of Spain and Latin America Marketing Public Speaking Stagecraft Theater Technology and Design Advanced Sculpture and

more!

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES

honor code

Taft’s Honor Code is the practical application of one of our school’s founding tenets and core values: Character, above all else, determines success in life. Pointed, timeless, and unwavering, the Honor Code places the responsibility and understanding of academic honesty and personal integrity firmly on the shoulders of each student. It is an anchor and a compass, grounding and guiding students throughout their Taft careers. And it is continually reinforced: Every assessment— whether daily homework or a final exam—ends with the student’s written pledge: “I have neither given nor received aid on this paper.” It is a simple but important commitment: Honesty and integrity matter, and your word is your bond.

Learn more about the

honor code at www.taftschool.org/ about/honor-code

A TAFT EDUCATION GOES BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL DELIVERY OF A CORE CURRICULUM. Experiential and applied learning opportunities at Taft transform theory into practice, knowledge into understanding, and passion into action. Our diverse programs and learning opportunities prepare Taft students to not only thrive in the 21st century, but to lead the way as globally literate, intellectually robust, and ethically principled citizens of an increasingly interconnected world community.

academic assessments Taft teachers deserve their reputation for providing in-depth, thoughtful evaluations. In addition to getting a numerical achievement grade, you’ll also get a more nuanced evaluation—two “habits” grades. One reflects planning and persistence (P/P)— the level of your organization, class preparation, and response to challenge. The other reflects your level of engagement and selfregulation (E/S)—your curiosity, collaboration, and focus. Grade reports are issued mid-semester, with full report cards coming out twice each year at the end of the semester. Report cards also include detailed, personal narratives from each student’s classroom teachers, class dean, and academic advisor.

academic requirements

Taft students may choose from more than 200 one-unit courses offered in each of our two academic-year semesters to fulfill our 36-unit graduation requirement. Students in grades 9 and 10 must carry a minimum of five academic courses each term, while students in grades 11 and 12 must carry a minimum of four academic courses.

MINIMUM COURSE REQUIREMENTS BY DISCIPLINE 1 unit of English every semester 4 units of History (2 US) j 4 units of Laboratory Science j Level III of a World Language j Algebra II and Trigonometry j One semester of Arts each year j j

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES 7

MEET MARCUS HOMETOWN: PONTRESINA, SWITZERLAND PASSIONS: SCIENCE, METALLURGY, ASTROPHYSICS COLLEGE: WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY Marcus developed an interest in metallurgy at a very early age, turning household items into a home laboratory where he melted and shaped metals into rings, a symbol, he says, of continuity. It was much later that he learned his grandfather had also been a metallurgist, and had developed the alloy from which the exterior tiles on the space shuttles are crafted. Continuity? Indeed: Marcus hopes his passion for astrophysics will one day lead to space travel—specifically to Mars. “I sometimes spend hours studying astrophysics,” says Marcus, “and thinking about all of the possibilities the universe holds.”

Portrait

OF A GRADUATE

Taft’s Portrait of a Graduate places great emphasis on preparing our students to lead, compete, innovate, and excel in the global communities they enter after graduating from Taft. We know that learning does not take place in a vacuum. Our students engage with peers around the world, while measuring their preparation and achievement through a wide range of applied academic experiences. In recent years, Taft students have earned honors and recognition through those experiences and across disciplines. Among them: National Merit Scholarship Program The American Mathematics Competition (AMC) j American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) j Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament j Girls in Math at Yale j U.S. Math Olympiad j New England Mathematics League j Technology Student Association (TSA) Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAMS) j Boston University Engineering Design Competition j National Engineering Design Challenge j Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology j Yale University Physics Olympics j Trinity College International Robot Contest j American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Physics Bowl j Connecticut Science Olympiad j Yale Model UN j Harvard Model UN j Cornell Model UN j The National Latin Exam j Le Grand Concours/National French Contest j Scholastic Art and Writing Awards j New York Parliamentary Debate League j National History Day Essay Contest j j

HOMETOWN: BANGKOK, THAILAND PASSIONS: ROBOTICS, ENGINEERING, ENTREPRENEURSHIP COLLEGE: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES

MEET MUFFIN

“I have always loved interdisciplinary 9 topics that connect multiple subjects, mimicking the interconnected nature of our society,” says Muffin. It seemed natural, then, that Muffin’s Independent Tutorial (IT) should reflect that passion for connection: Muffin has developed a prosthetic arm connecting, she says, engineering, medicine, and entrepreneurship. “I was immediately fascinated by the idea of designing and building prosthetics,” says Muffin who, after experimenting with things like Legos, pipes, and wooden pallets, soon had a rough design for a prosthetic arm of her own. That design, coupled with her strong academic background in STEM at Taft, helped Muffin secure internships, first in the prosthetics and orthotics department at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, then at the Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics, the largest prosthetic provider in Thailand. Muffin’s vision was to create an affordable, functional alternative to high-priced cosmetic arms most readily available to patients. She produced a 3-dimensional-printed arm with six degrees of motion—five fingers and a rotating wrist. It is controlled by electromyography sensors connected to the user’s remaining limb, which detect electrical activity in the muscle. “The next step I envision for the project is to mass-produce the hand on a small scale, by making the design more modular and interchangeable, allowing me to quickly customize for each patient,” Muffin explains. “In the distant future, I also hope to incorporate emerging technologies in soft robots, to mimic the flexible properties of human anatomy.” And while clinical setting regulations and connections with doctors and some patients posed challenges for Muffin in her work, she was able to connect with amputees who were eager to test her prosthetic arm outside of a clinical setting, while providing valuable insight and feedback. “This was also the most rewarding aspect of my work,” says Muffin, “seeing the smiles on their faces as they opened a jar on their own for the first time, or hammered a nail. On the side, I have also been making hands for children with Leprosy/Hansen’s disease. While far simpler, the outcome was equally, if not more, rewarding.”

ARTS & HUMANITIES CENTER DIGITAL DESIGN COMPUTER LAB HULBERT TAFT JR. LIBRARY

58,000 volumes More than 150 newspapers and journals in hard copy j Full-text databases with access to more than 12,000 periodical titles j Home to a 150-year-old Torah scroll from Tashkent, a 1616 King James Bible, a 19th-century Qur’an from Saudi Arabia, and a Tibetan thangka from the Gomang Monastery in southern India j j

LADY IVY KWOK WU SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS CENTER

48,000 square feet PCR machine for replicating DNA j Two networked computer labs j Aquatic Biomes Center j Telescope j Smart classrooms and laboratories j j

LAUBE AUDITORIUM MOORHEAD ACADEMIC CENTER

Staffed by certified learning specialists Resources for teachers, students, parents j Advanced learning strategy programming j Instruction in strategic reading techniques, time management, organization j Peer tutoring j j

MORTARA FAMILY ACADEMIC WING NANCY AND BEN BELCHER LEARNING CENTER THE PINTO LANGUAGE LEARNING AND RESOURCE CENTER 32 digital workstations Two adjoining smart classrooms/ virtual learning spaces

j j

THE STEM LABORATORY

Three hi-tech makerspaces Laser cutter, CNC machine, 3D printer j Advanced, interactive smart tools j j

VIDEO PRODUCTION LABORATORY AND CLASSROOM WOOLWORTH FACULTY ROOM

facilities

View our

virtual tour

at https://vimeo.com/88188757

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES

ACADEMIC

Uniquely

TAFT

MORNING MEETING

What sets Taft apart? So many things, including innovative learning opportunities that extend, deepen, and strengthen our rigorous academic curriculum, and take discovery and wonder well beyond the classroom walls.

GLOBAL STUDIES AND SERVICE (GSS) DIPLOMA

It’s part of our commitment to a global, multicultural education. The program is all about active citizenship—appreciating the global ripples of everyday, local life and sparking social change. What are the requirements for this diploma? Demonstrated proficiency in a second language; three semesters of GSS coursework; cross-cultural experiences at Taft, in the local community, and abroad, and a portfolio of written work about them; and a final public project.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE COLLABORATIVE

We love this exciting partnership between Taft and the City of Waterbury, offering students meaningful opportunities to deepen their understanding of global issues and their local impact. The Collaborative is built on a wide range of service opportunities and mentoring programs, with the Global Leadership Institute (GLI)—a highly selective, 18-month co-curricular program of leadership workshops, internships, research, and collaborative projects—at its core. Recent GLI Scholars have tackled problems as diverse as after-school programs, LGBTQ+ awareness, social justice, renewable energy, food insecurity, and clean water access.

Twice each week, Tafties gather in Bingham Auditorium for Morning Meeting, where fascinating speakers from all over the world offer deep and personal insights into a broad range of issues. Taft students have come to understand the impact of genocide in Rwanda through the words and work of a new generation of survivors. They have traveled to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts, probed the democratic process with senators and congressmen, seen the world through the lens of a National Geographic photographer, and gone inside a range of racial and social justice initiatives. They have engaged with authors, scholars, activists, and artists, and learned from their peers, teachers, friends, and mentors. Morning Meetings are a Taft tradition, and an important part of school life.

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES

SHAKESPEAREAN SPIRIT

There is no discontent in our winter, when all the school becomes a stage (apologies to The Bard), and Tafties take a monthlong dive into the world of Shakespeare. Lower mids and mids bring the sound and the fury to our annual recitation contests, perennial favorites of the head of school himself. Upper school students take it to another level in their 13 English classes, forming acting companies that cut scripts, block choreography, and stage “pop-up Shakespeare” performances around the school. All of this allows students to experience the joy of discovery and energy that drives revelation.

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM (ISP)

ISP lets Taft students pursue their passions through highlevel, self-directed courses of study. Established more than 50 years ago, our program was the first of its kind in the nation, challenging students to think about learning in innovative ways that extend beyond the traditional classroom and curriculum. Upper mids and seniors may apply; no course credit or grades are offered, it’s just learning in its purest form. Since its inception, more than 1,000 Taft students have completed independent study projects, from producing plays and designing a photovoltaic cell to delving into British history and exploring biofuel technology.

RENOWNED ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

A special partnership between Taft and The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) not only brings world-renowned scientists to our campus each year, it allows Taft students to spend time in the legendary NYBG gardens, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and research space. And it gets better: Every summer, Taft students join college and graduate school interns in working sideby-side with NYBG scientists on advanced research projects, including the development of a rapid DNA extractor for use by botanists in the field. Taft students have also worked in collaboration with the Sustainable Aquaculture Initiative out of Woods Hole, MA, to develop a small-scale tilapia aquaculture model; the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; US Geological Survey (USGS); and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Learn more about Taft’s

innovative programs

at www.taftschool.org/academics/ innovations-in-learning

MEET ELIZA HOMETOWN: SHARON, CT PASSIONS: SERVING CHILDREN IN ECUADOR, INTERNATIONAL STUDY INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE: GLOBAL STUDIES AND SERVICE DIPLOMA COLLEGE: MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE “At the end of my sophomore year I felt like I was more fully coming into my own as a student and as a person,” says Eliza. “I began thinking more about the world outside of Taft, and about the idea of global citizenship.” Around that time, Eliza heard a Morning Meeting presentation about Taft’s Global Scholarship and Service (GSS) Diploma Program. She jumped in with both feet, and signed on to volunteer at an orphanage in Ecuador that summer, fulfilling the program’s global service requirement. The experience, she says, changed her life. Eliza returned to Ecuador the following summer not for her GSS diploma, but because she cares so deeply for the children she met there; she will return again during her freshman year of college. Eliza began writing for Taft’s Global Journal as part of the GSS program, eventually taking on the role of editor-in-chief. She studied Arabic through the Global Online Academy, where she forged relationships with students from Syria and Jordan, and explored world issues with bright student delegates from schools across the country at Cornell’s Model United Nations Conference. “Gaining this understanding about world issues and coming to understand my place in the world has been very humbling. It has also fueled my ambitions and my thinking about what I want to do later in life. I don’t know if I would have ended my time at Taft in the same place and with the same intentions for my future without the GSS program.” 14

HOMETOWN: SOUTHBURY, CT PASSION: FILMMAKING INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE: NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN INTERN COLLEGE: YALE UNIVERSITY New York Botanical Garden Scientist Dr. Andrew Henderson is one of the world’s foremost authorities in palms, having spent the last 12 years studying them in Vietnam. Through more than a dozen research trips to the country, Dr. Henderson has collected more than 900 palm specimens, and countless hours of Go-Pro camera footage. As an NYBG summer intern, Dylan turned that footage into a short educational film. “It was definitely an incredible opportunity. There were probably 40 NYBG summer interns this year, but only two of us—the other also a Taft student—were in high school. The rest were in college, graduate school, or doing postdoctoral research,” says Dylan, who produced his first full-length movie at age 12. Dr. Henderson’s research received attention—and funding—from sources as impressive and diverse as the Fulbright Scholar Program, the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the International Palm Society, which funded a trip along the Ho Chi Minh Highway that lies at the heart of Dylan’s work. “Throughout much of Dr. Henderson’s journey, he was looking for one particular plant species. He actually found it near the end of the trip. It was pretty incredible to watch that happen, and to share that moment on film.”

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES

MEET DYLAN

YOU ARE THEIR LIFE’S WORK. Imagine

that the physics textbook you’re learning from was written by your teacher. Or that you recognize the distinctive baritone leading your choral music class from the Disney soundtracks you grew up listening to—Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan. Imagine touching your hockey coach’s Olympic Gold Medal, being inspired by the work your science teachers did with a dwindling group of indigenous people in a remote region of the Amazon rainforest, or even learning history from a “Top Gun” naval aviator. All of this happens at Taft every day. Our faculty not only bring a world of academic experience to our halls, they bring their experience in the world, and put it to work for you—in the classroom, on the playing field, in the dormitories, as teachers, coaches, deans, and advisors. You are, quite simply, their life’s work.

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES

FACULTY

Amazing

MEET SHANNON GUIDOTTI SCIENCE DEPARTMENT HEAD Among the things Ms. Guidotti loves most about Taft are the bonds she forms with her students. “I might be your bio teacher, or your advisor, or coach you in conditioning,” says Ms. Guidotti. “Or maybe I was your dean, or you live in my dorm. There are so many ways we forge connections here—we’re all fully enmeshed in this composite web that makes up our community.” Ms. Guidotti has been passionate about science since she was a child; her passion for teaching came a bit later, but runs just as deep. “When I step into my classroom every day I get excited. I love the ‘aha’ moments, and I love how rewarding it is to share my knowledge about topics that I am so excited and passionate about,” she says. “In our department, everyone is here because we truly love science, and that is so inspiring. I can’t imagine anything better.”

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES 19

Students

will work hard when they know that you care about them. If you touch their hearts, you reach their minds.

MEET KHALID TELLIS ENGLISH TEACHER Mr. Tellis spent the first two years of his teaching career in an impoverished, rural community in the Deep South. What he learned during his time there continues to shape his teaching philosophy. “Students will work hard when they know that you care about them,” he says. “If you touch their hearts, you reach their minds.” Mr. Tellis brings that student-centered approach into his mid and upper mid English classes, and in his work with Taft’s Debate Team. He also teaches a senior elective on boarding school literature, where he brings in elements of his college thesis exploring some of the recurring themes in the Harry Potter books. It is a course students clamor to get into, not just because they grew up with Harry, but because Mr. Tellis’s approach resonates with them. “I like to collaborate with my students—to make teaching a dialogue,” he says. “Sometimes I think, ‘Maybe I should be doing x, y, or z.’ But this works—treating kids like people first, collaborating, showing them they are valued. It is when they know they are valued that the learning happens.”

MEET YEE-FUN YIN PHOTOGRAPHY TEACHER Yee-Fun Yin is a professional artist who brings his worldview into clear focus as both teacher and mentor at Taft. He spent his childhood in Burma and Laos, studied architecture at Yale as an undergraduate, and speaks fluent Mandarin. “I really love teaching,” says Mr. Yin. “I love to watch my students learn that photography is interconnected to their lives and their learning. Knowing that I’ve helped change lives? That’s pretty satisfying.” Mr. Yin loves photography because it’s project-oriented, and a good medium for selfexpression. He hopes that all of his students come to understand the distinction between taking a picture and making one. “Anyone can snap a picture. I want my students to learn to be deliberate, to think about what we are making. I want them to make it personal, so that they achieve self-expression through their art.”

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES

My ultimate goal

is to get to know what each student is passionate about and then guide them to a program in which they can be challenged but successful.

MEET JENNIFER KENERSON ACADEMIC DEAN, MATHEMATICS TEACHER One of the things Mrs. Kenerson loves about teaching is watching students develop as learners. “It’s great to witness their growth in the classroom from the beginning to the end of the year,” she says, “and then to see how much they’ve changed by the end of senior year.” As an advanced mathematics teacher, Mrs. Kenerson often meets students in the classroom later in their academic careers. But in her role as Academic Dean, she gets to know every student from the very start of their time at Taft. She works with them individually to plan and navigate their academic paths, adapting that roadmap along the way as they refine their interests, focus their studies, and discover new passions. “I love all of the student interaction that I have in my role as the Academic Dean. Each day is different and brings new challenges. My ultimate goal is to get to know what each student is passionate about and then guide them to a program in which they can be challenged but successful.”

SERVICE TRAVEL AND

study abroad A Taft education prepares students to find their place in an increasingly interconnected global community. We offer students both methods and means for stepping outside of themselves—and outside of our campus—to learn and serve across the globe.

where to go:

SCHOOL YEAR ABROAD AND SEMESTER AWAY STUDY PROGRAMS The School Year Abroad program includes immersion experiences in China, France, Spain, and Italy. Our students also participate in semester programs at the Maine Coast Program of the Chewonki Foundation, at the Island School in the Bahamas, and at the High Mountain Institute in Colorado. Mids and upper mids may spend a full academic year at King’s Academy in Jordan.

CULTURAL IMMERSION

Taft’s World Language Department offers summer immersion programs in Nerja, Spain, and Vichy, France. Students live with host families, attend classes, and explore the cultural richness of these regions, with additional opportunities for weekend travel.

VACATION STUDY ABROAD

how to get there: KILBOURNE GRANTS

Kilbourne family grants help Taft students attend summer enrichment programs focused on the arts.

POOLE FELLOWSHIPS

This service-oriented summer grant program encourages students to broaden their perspectives and expose themselves to new ideas and experiences. Recent projects include community service in Moldova, Mongolia, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam, as well as service projects in the U.S.

MEG PAGE ’74 FELLOWSHIPS

These fellowships are awarded annually to students who wish to explore an experience or course of study devoted to the provision of better healthcare in areas such as public health, family planning, medical research, mental health, and non-Western practices of healing.

Taft faculty members often organize service travel opportunities for students during spring break and immediately following the close of the academic year. Tafties have built homes in Guatemala, taught English to schoolchildren in the Dominican Republic, designed academic programs in Costa Rica, and worked in Hawaii and Botswana. We also offer grants and fellowships that allow students to engage with a host of service and educational travel agencies and programs working in communities throughout the world.

Learn more about service

travel

and travel grants at www.taftschool.org/living-ourmotto/community-service/ service-travel-and-fellowships

CHAPTER 1 / BRIGHT MINDS, BRIGHT FUTURES 23

MEET BOJANA HOMETOWN: BELGRADE, SERBIA PASSION: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES INNOVATIVE INITIATVE: GLOBAL STUDIES AND SERVICE DIPLOMA; SERVICE TRAVEL, ROBERT KEYES POOLE ’50 FELLOWSHIP COLLEGE: BOWDOIN COLLEGE

Bojana is passionate about the environment. She is especially passionate about climate change. “I knew that the greatest impact of changes in the climate can be measured in the Arctic,” Bojana says, “and that if I really wanted to study and understand climate change, I needed go there.” And she did. With support from a Robert Keyes Poole ’50 Fellowship, Bojana spent ten days at the edge of the Arctic working with two scientists from the Earthwatch Institute, an international, research-driven, environmental nonprofit built on a citizen science model. The expedition base was Dechen la’, a remote lodge in the midst of tundra. “Dechen la’” comes from an aboriginal word meaning “the land at the end of the sticks,” and indeed, the end of the sticks—the tree line—played a crucial role in Bojana’s work. The lead scientist on the expedition is studying how climate and environmental change shape tree line dynamics. Bojana identified seedlings of firs and spruces and recorded their growth in seeded and unseeded plots to establish reproductive potential. “The data I collected will be crucial in proving that warmer growing seasons can lead to a greater number of viable tree seeds produced and higher germination success, allowing the tree line to migrate further into the tundra, where it is harder for them to survive because of the harsh conditions,” says Bojana. Bojana also worked on an ongoing project assessing the region’s permafrost layer, the soil that remains frozen— below 0 degrees Celsius—for more than a year. As temperatures rise and permafrost thaws, the organic compounds in it begin to decompose, producing carbon dioxide and methane. The release of these greenhouse gases will amplify the effects of global warming. “It is a 30-year project,” Bojana says, “Earthwatch comes back year after year to measure the permafrost in the same locations, which was what I was doing—probing the ground using a 200-centimeter metal pole and recording the permafrost depth. I could see the direct effects immediately. What I measured could really be influential in future research.”

LIVING WHERE WE LEARN. LEARNING WHERE WE LIVE. Taft is, in every sense of the word, a community. Our shared passions and purpose bring us together intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally; our individuality connects us on a deeper level, as we live and learn through shared experiences in common spaces. Our unique architectural design strengthens that sense of community: “Main Hall” is a vibrant, bustling corridor running through the heart of our campus. It connects meeting spaces, classrooms, dormitories, arts spaces, offices, dining halls and common rooms—and all of its travelers along the way. It is a place where lives intersect and where community thrives. And it is uniquely Taft.

YOU BELONG

CHAPTER 2 / YOU BELONG HERE 25

here

Bingham Auditorium sits at one end of Main Hall. It is where the full school community comes together as one for assemblies and Morning Meetings throughout the year. Bingham is also home to Taft’s main stage theater, and where the head of school welcomes students back to campus at the start of each academic year.

Our three dining halls sit at the far end of Main Hall. These bright beautiful spaces are hubs of campus life, where students eat, study, or relax with friends.

Abe Lincoln keeps watch over the school’s main lobby, which also bears his name. Students often gather here before and

between classes; they also rub his nose for luck with each passing. Its acoustic sweet spot makes Lincoln Lobby a favorite performance space for Taft’s a cappella groups. The Choral Room and the Faculty Room, two of the most historic spots on campus, flank Lincoln Lobby.

We are

what makes Taft Taft: It’s our conversations in Laube, in the Jig line, on the floor of the Athletic Center, from our beds across the dorm room at night, and in our Bingham seats before assembly. It is our conversations, our connections, and our friendships that make Taft what it is. —Eva

CHAPTER 2 / YOU BELONG HERE

OUR DORMS ARE MEANT TO BE, IN EVERY SENSE,

a home away from home.

For more than three-quarters of our student body, they are just that: they are places where friendships are formed, faculty becomes family, and comfortable spaces abound. They are where students live together, learn together, and grow together. For many, it is the first time they are living away from home. Our Residential Life team includes a director, dorm heads, resident faculty, deans, and dormitory monitors, all of whom work to make the transition to dorm life—and everyday living— smooth and successful.

RESIDENTIAL HALLS

Centennial Dormitory Charles Phelps Taft Hall j Congdon House j Cruikshank House j Horace D. Taft Hall j John L. Vogelstein ’52 Dormitory j McIntosh House j Upper School Girls Dormitory j j

DINING & STUDENT LIFE

Centennial Quad East Dining Hall j Laube Dining Hall j Lincoln Lobby j Oscarson Jigger Shop & Patio/Student Union j Potter’s Pond j Prentice Dining Hall j School Store j Woodward Chapel j j

WHAT MAKES TAFT TAFT

SIT-DOWN DINNER

Twice each week students dress for dinner—class dress, that is— and join students and faculty members at assigned tables for engaging dinner conversation. Table assignments change for each meal, allowing students to connect with different members of our community each week.

RED RALLY

Prep school rivalries are as old as prep schools themselves, and ours is one of the best: On one Saturday in November nearly every fall sports team takes on the athletes from Hotchkiss. But not before “Spirit Week” and a giant red pep rally and bonfire the night before. “Red Rally” is a highlight of the school year and a great lead-in to a fun-filled Hotchkiss Day.

SUPER SUNDAY

The first Sunday of the school year marks a favorite Taft tradition: Super Sunday. Students start on teams designated by color, but blend to become one giant, colorfully painted community after a day of fun and games, from sack races and egg tosses to Crisco slides and a hotly contested tug of war.

SPIRITUAL LIFE

Taft is a non-denominational school with no single religious affiliation, yet we believe that educating the whole student includes the mind, body, and spirit. We acknowledge, celebrate, and nurture the diverse religious traditions within the school, while respecting the differences and integrity of each. The Religion and Spiritual Life Council facilitates healthy dialogue among the many religious and spiritual traditions represented at Taft, as well as other school groups, including Gender & Sexuality Alliance, United Cultures of Taft, Jewish Students Organization, and FOCUS.

Saturdays are usually class days, and a big day for athletic competitions, but there’s still time in the weekend for movie nights, coffeehouses, dances, rallies, charity walks, and service projects. There are often club meetings and activities, and special events hosted by campus groups and organizations. There are cultural celebrations, arts performances, game nights, and off-campus excursions. Tafties hang with friends, skate on Potter’s Pond, ride bikes, take trips to the mall, dine out, create music and art, play pick-up games in the gym, go skiing, work out…the weekend options are almost unlimited.

ECOMONS

Monitors—mons—are our student leaders. EcoMons take the reins in ensuring that Tafties think green and live green. With an eye on environmental stewardship, EcoMons work to keep efficiency and sustainability at the forefront of campus life.

CHAPTER 2 / YOU BELONG HERE

WEEKENDS!

THE JIG

Formally named The Donald Oscarson Jigger Shop, the Jig is Taft’s student union. You can hang out with your friends at the Jig, play pool, and even get yummy food at the snack bar. When the sun is shining, expect everyone to gather on Jig Patio, next to Potter’s Pond.

FEEDS

Advisors, coaches, dorm parents, faculty members, classes and clubs all want to feed you! Whether it is ice cream, sushi, pizza, cupcakes, or cookies, “feeds” are a fun break from the routine, and always involve A LOT of food.

OUR MOTTO

Our school motto, Non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret, means “not to be served but to serve,” and serve we do. We are a community dedicated to making a difference, both locally and globally. In addition to our ongoing work, the entire Taft community pauses each year for one day in October to volunteer their time and talents to service organizations across the state.

DEEPLY CONNECTED,

uniquely

come up repeatedly when people describe Taft. We are an intellectually demanding school, and every day is challenging, but students and parents tend to add words like “community,” “warm,” “happy,” and “friendly” a lot. I know that Taft is an extremely rigorous place, where excellence is expected, and one that prepares students for the best universities; but I also think that Taft is a fun, spirited, and enthusiastic place, one where we want every member to feel included and valued. We are a school of remarkable and exciting diversity, and we celebrate and treasure the fact that every year we do the hard work of creating a welcoming community.

DIVERSE

—William MacMullen ’78 Head of School

CHAPTER 2 / YOU BELONG HERE

A few words

BUILT ON relationships Taft is a place that is built on relationships; at our core, we are all connected. Our students live and learn with a common purpose and a spirit of cooperation. They work collaboratively, and care deeply. They value kindness. All new Taft students are welcomed to campus by a peer mentor and guide, who becomes a trusted resource, a helpful navigator, and an early link in the chain of support and relationships that develop over time. In our dormitories, students get to know resident faculty—and often their families and pets—through dorm meetings, “feeds” (a Taft term for a fun food gathering), one-on-one chats, and daily campus life. Student leaders, who are selected by faculty and administration and known as monitors or “mons,” help resident faculty make the dorms feel like home. They are role models, cheerleaders, cruise directors, tour guides, communicators, empowerers, and friends. They, along with roommates, teammates, and classmates, all strengthen the relationship chain at Taft. Our community also includes a vast network of adult role models and supporters. Our teachers are coaches and dorm heads. They are club advisors, academic advisors, and class deans. They wear many hats, and get to know students in all aspects of their lives. New students are assigned an advisor; they may select a new advisor as they build relationships through classes, athletics, clubs, activities, or residential life. Students also work closely with our class deans, who oversee student progress in each grade, and the academic dean, who helps students select courses and set goals. They may also rely on our head of school, assistant head of school, dean of students, associate dean of students, director of residential life, and counselors for support and guidance. All work to model and instill Taft’s values, and reflect the depth and importance of relationships in our community.

HISTORY TEACHER “I had great teachers in my private secondary school, one of whom was my advisor,” says Mr. Traina, veteran history teacher and varsity hockey coach. “He taught me American Studies, a course about the connections between literature and history. It was my first experience with truly deep learning, and it made an impression on me. So from the age of 17, I knew I wanted to teach at a boarding school—there’s no better place to teach than at Taft.” Mr. Traina came to Taft right out of college, joining the faculty as a teaching fellow. “Taft has an incredible mentoring program for young teachers,” Mr. Traina says. And for young children: Mr. Traina lives on campus with his wife, Dean of Faculty Edie Traina, and his daughters, who learn a lot through their interactions with Taft students. “They learn that it’s cool to be passionate, to work hard, and to be kind. What happens here in our community is really magical.”

CHAPTER 2 / YOU BELONG HERE

MEET MARK TRAINA

MEET DIKY & BAWA PASSIONS: SOCCER, LEADERSHIP COLLEGE: BAWA: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA DIKY: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Bawa made his way to Taft from the Right to Dream Academy in Ghana, a residential school combining elite soccer coaching with top-notch academics and a character education program. After local tryouts across Ghana, 21 young men were invited to join the Academy. It was there that Bawa first heard about Taft. Diky is also an international student—raised in the Bahamas, proud of his Swiss heritage. He’d heard about Taft his whole life: His father is an alumnus, and he attended Taft’s summer program after seventh grade. Diky, too, played soccer. “The soccer team is kind of a band of brothers,” Diky says. “Once we became teammates, I started to get to know Bawa really well. I noticed that we had the same sense of humor, and told the same kinds of jokes. I feel like that humor really brought us together. Soon I got to know his background and his path here, and about his family and his values. Because we had this bond over soccer we were able to be open to each other.” Bawa believes that the playing field is where many athletes reveal their truest selves. They respond to the ups and downs of the game in the moment, he says, and with authenticity. You see how they respond to hardship, and how they celebrate life’s victories, both big and small. That has been especially true for Bawa and Diky. Bawa says that Diky teaches him how to balance hard work with a bit of fun, and that students from all walks of life can face all kinds of pressures in and out of the classroom. Bawa has shown Diky what pure honesty and truly giving one hundred percent of yourself in every aspect of your life can look like. Both say that their friendship has taught them the importance of setting aside preconceived notions about people. They remind each other to be humble, and grateful. “We’re both very thankful for where we are,” says Diky. “We followed different paths to Taft, but came together with the same goals and the same values. I think we both appreciate the friendship we found here.”

CHAPTER 2 / YOU BELONG HERE

This campus

is a place where people really get to belong. They feel this is home. That’s what makes Taft different. It is our home, and our students feel at home.

MEET PILAR SANTOS SPANISH TEACHER Pilar Santos has been teaching Spanish at Taft for 20 years. As a native speaker, she brings a unique perspective to the classroom. “I see both sides of the problem—I know what it is like to decode a foreign language, because I had to learn English. My biggest goal is for my students to sound authentic. We are very lucky here at Taft to be able to bring people from all over the world to teach languages. I also like to give my students the background. Comprehension of a language goes beyond the vocabulary. To appreciate a Spanish text, movie, piece of news, etc., you must know about the culture, the history, the music, the politics.” Ms. Santos has always had a special bond with Taft’s international students, perhaps because she knows what it feels like to be very far from home. “When I got here it was my first time in America. I was dropped off in this new place with 80 kilos of luggage, knowing no one. And the very day I arrived, I was invited to a birthday party at someone’s house. This campus is a place where people really get to belong. They feel this is home. That’s what makes Taft different. It is our home, and our students feel at home.”

Taft’s 2018–19 Davis International Scholars

Where

TAFTIES come from 2021–22

U.S. BOARDING STUDENTS Alaska California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Florida

Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Iowa Kentucky Maryland

Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri New Hampshire New Jersey

New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Carolina

Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington

WITH STUDENTS FROM

32 41

states and

countries, our school is an international community, a forum for widely diverse points of view, and a laboratory for the solution of global issues. We are an intentionally diverse community, with space for each member, and a desire to embrace and learn from the wide range of cultures, perspectives, experiences, and beliefs that each person brings to the table. This multitude of unique, authentic, and diverse voices helps shape conversation and culture at Taft. It brings awareness and understanding to what it means to live and learn in a truly equitable and inclusive community.

I like to

think that there is more than enough room for everyone at the table of Taft, and that we genuinely embrace the fact that it’s a noisy, colorful, and crowded table— the boys and girls, the men and women, from scores of nations, worshipping in a diverse manner, in all ways of living, with the beautiful palette of skin colors, animated by the wonderful richness of ethnicity, and charged by the electrical difference of politics. —William MacMullen ’78 Head of School

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Australia Austria Bermuda Brazil Canada Cayman Islands China

Dominican Republic Ecuador France Georgia Germany Ghana Guatemala

Hong Kong Hungary Indonesia Jamaica Japan Kenya

Malawi Moldova Morocco New Zealand Nigeria Russia Serbia

Singapore Slovakia South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka

Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Vietnam

CHAPTER 2 / YOU BELONG HERE

A MULTITUDE OF voices

Diversity, EQUITY & INCLUSION

Taft’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement formally affirms our school’s commitment to diversity. It is at once a charge to the community, a statement of responsibility, and a roadmap. It reads as follows: Taft is an intentionally diverse institution whose members work to acknowledge, respect, and empathize with people of all different identifiers, such as race, socioeconomic status, gender identity and expression, education, age, ability, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, language, nationality, and religion. We foster these habits and dispositions in accordance with Taft’s mission to educate the whole student, thus preparing individuals morally and pragmatically to become global citizens. As such, community members commit to participate in and support ongoing equity and inclusion programming through curricular and co-curricular offerings, professional development, residential life, and local and global partnerships. Moreover, members of the Taft community strive to understand and combat the symptoms and causes of systematic oppression— ranging from implicit biases to microaggressions to discriminatory policies, practices and traditions—that benefit privileged groups and disadvantage marginalized groups. While at Taft and beyond, community members commit to affirm and honor the lived experiences of others, to willingly challenge inherited beliefs and ideologies, and consequently learn, grow, and serve.

we are committed At Taft,

to the work of becoming more inclusive as an institution and as individuals. This work requires effort, thought and care, courage, humility and time. It is never ending, with space for new ideas and understanding, growth, and improvement. This work helps us prepare our students to be informed, moral, and just global citizens.

PASSIONS: DANCE, EDUCATION COLLEGE: TUFTS UNIVERSITY As a senior at Taft, Pearl completed an independent tutorial in dance exploring the life of Civil Rights pioneer Pearl Primus. A dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist, Primus used dance to resist civil injustice and advocate for change in the 1960s. As part of her tutorial, Pearl choreographed her own protest piece. She also performed a solo from Primus’s 1945 repertoire piece, Strange Fruit, based on the poem by Lewis Allan. “Movement is communication— in figuring out movements you are figuring out how best to convey a message,” says Pearl, whose independent tutorial allowed her to speak volumes through dance. “At the beginning of my Taft career, I was very hesitant to talk about some of the racial and cultural issues our country faces, which are reflected in issues many schools face. By educating myself about those issues, educating myself on how to talk about uncomfortable topics, and advising others on how to live their best life, I have been able to help myself and the community. I would say that is the most important thing I will take away from my Taft education: learning how to better myself while bettering the community around me.”

Learn more about the programs and initiatives that support Taft’s commitment to

diversity and inclusion at www.taftschool.org/dei

CHAPTER 2 / YOU BELONG HERE

MEET PEARL

DEI

DR. BETTINA L. LOVE Award-winning author and the Athletic Association Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia, Dr. Bettina L. Love shared insights into cultural knowledge and history that can create meaningful allyship and better understanding during a visit with the Taft community. “I want to start this conversation about the creativity, the ingenuity, the genius of Black folks,” Dr. Love explained. “I want to offer this idea: You can’t do social justice work or liberation work or abolitionist work if you don’t know the beauty and the creativity of Black and Brown people. It’s not just about knowing our pain, it’s not just about knowing our trauma, you have to know who we are: why we are beautiful, why we are wonderful, where joy comes from.” Photo courtesy BettinaLove.com

in action

A wide range of student-led groups support and celebrate our remarkably diverse student body. Taft’s affinity groups—currently based on race, gender, and sexual orientation—offer spaces for students to gather and converse about their shared experiences at Taft and beyond. Clubs offer students opportunities to share their unique cultures and experiences with our broader community, as do school events and programming, including our annual Multicultural Arts Celebration, held in conjunction with our Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Unity Breakfast and workshops; community service programs; and WorldFest, an evening expo during which students share the customs, culture, food, and traditions of their homeland. On a broader scale, global diversity comes into clearer focus through our Global Leadership Institute and Global Studies and Service program, as well as our allschool summer reading program, which has included Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brandon Kiely; Mudbound by Hillary Jordan; and most recently, The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett. Author, thought leader, and Deep and powerful learning and understanding is chair of the Department of writ large through our Morning Meeting program. Twice African American Studies at each week, Tafties gather in Bingham Auditorium for Princeton University, Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr., engaged the Taft Morning Meeting, where speakers from across the aisle community with his talk, Race and across the globe grant exposure to new or unique & Democracy: America is Always perspectives, and offer deeper, broader insights into Changing, But America Never the world. Our most recent roster of speakers includes Changes. Dr. Glaude examined Dr. Bettina Love, Helen Zia, and Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. “where we’ve been, what we’ve

DR. EDDIE GLAUDE, JR.

done, and who we might aspire to be as a country today.”

HELEN ZIA Author and activist Helen Zia’s talk, Asian Americans in the Time of COVID: Challenge and Resistance, was the culminating event of Taft’s celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. “This is what we’re building toward: Communities with unity,” said Zia. “This has been the 21st century challenge, to imagine new visions of lived unity—new visions of openness and dialogue to explore and understand differences, and seek common values, not shut down because of differences.” Photo courtesy HelenZia.com

CHAPTER 2 / YOU BELONG HERE 41

THE ONGOING WORK OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION Creating a diverse school where every member feels valued is a top priority. There is much to be proud of. Taft’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Planning Committee (DEISPC) continuously evaluates the school’s DEI work. They create guideposts and assess the impact of DEI initiatives on every aspect of school operations. The Committee, made up of Taft trustees, faculty, and staff, undertook a comprehensive audit—a “state of the state,” if you will—to better understand where we are as a school in an effort to most effectively build a roadmap for moving forward. The results of the audit help shape Taft’s critical DEI work in six areas: academics, admissions, student life, DEI resources, alumni relations, and faculty recruitment, retention, and training. In each of those areas, the audit revealed tremendous progress and meaningful successes. It also revealed areas of opportunity for continued growth and specific and important actions that we must undertake to keep our community strong and connected—a place where everyone feels welcome, and shares a sense of belonging. If our mission is the education of the whole student, it necessarily follows that we must shape the whole of every student, and more than ever in our history, we are committed to that goal.

RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL

diversity

Religious and spiritual diversity at Taft provides us with a real array of insights and understanding of the world and one another. Providing opportunities for religious and spiritual expression offers some students a feeling of home and community; for others it is a time of growth and renewal. The school’s Religious and Spiritual Life Council bring students across religious and spiritual perspectives together to create those opportunities; it serves students of every faith, identity and background at Taft. While each year is different, our community has included and honored Zoroastrians, many types of Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Jains, a full range of Christian beliefs, and many spiritual, non-religious students. This is a rich, full, rewarding, and exciting part of what makes Taft Taft.

A PLACE TO FIT IN

What if

every one of us committed to the idea that each of us had the opportunity here, on every corner of campus and at every hour, to be our genuine self?

—Head of School William MacMullen ’78, Convocation Address

A PLACE 42

in classrooms, on playing fields, while performing together or watching a performance on stage, during club meetings or activities, through conversations in dormitories at night, over lunch with friends or advisors, at sit-down dinner on Tuesday and Friday nights with faculty members, through Morning Meeting talks. Every action and every interaction is an opportunity for learning—the more we engage, the more we expand our knowledge and deepen our understanding of the world around us. Our community is filled with opportunities to engage, to explore, to create, and to grow. Our students learn through academics, arts, activities, and athletics. They grow intellectually, spiritually, and morally. They select classes that support their interests, and those that take them into uncharted waters. They join teams and clubs, or create their own. They fill leadership positions in the community, and help shape our culture. Taft is a place to find yourself, and to be yourself. It is a place with room for every student from every walk of life to fit in, and for every student to stand out.

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT

WE OFTEN SAY THAT LEARNING AT TAFT TAKES PLACE IN EVERY CORNER OF OUR CAMPUS—

stand OUT

Taft offers

UNLIMITED AVENUES for

SELFEXPRESSION and countless ways to pursue your

passions.

You can be a hockey player who sings in the showcase choir, a physicist who writes for the school newspaper, a skier who does improv.

JULIA At the end of her sophomore year, Julia traveled to Ireland to play in the Kerry Cup, an elite competition open to 64 of the world’s top junior golfers. Not only did Julia lead her Kerry Cup team to victory, she earned low medalist honors, and set a course record. “I’m very interested in science and artificial intelligence,” Julia says. “I often think about meshing my skills and passion for comp sci and golf—bringing artificial intelligence into golf in some way as a career.”

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT

ELEANOR

MIHIR

Eleanor is a talented cross-country runner and star hurdler on Taft’s track team. Where does she get her confidence? “Trying out for Improv was like a leap of faith for me,” says Eleanor. “Being a part of the group ended up really shaping many aspects of my experience as a student at Taft. Improv helped me come out of my shell. It gave me confidence to be myself, and make mistakes and to learn from them in every aspect of my life.”

Mihir is passionate about changing the world. 45 He has volunteered with nonprofits across the United States and India, and was the first high school student to win a seed grant from Be The Change Venture Inc.; he used it to research food access and the effects of malnutrition on learning. Mihir’s research was designed to inform plans for remediating hunger among the children of Ahmedabad, India. The point of his work, he says, is “to shine a bright light on the issue of world hunger.” And he knows something about bright lights: Mihir is also an actor, and his turns on the Taft stage have been filled with as much passion as his work around hunger.

Taft offers more than

academic courses in the arts,

from Dance for Everyone, Drawing & Design, and Electronic Music to Canto, Acting, Chamber Ensemble, and Theater Technology. You’ll be required to take some introductory classes, but most students engage with the arts long after those requirements are met, through courses at the advanced levels, independent tutorials, formal afternoon programs, and arts-centric clubs. Concerts, plays, recitals, exhibits, and popular “open-mic” coffeehouse evenings fill the school calendar. They not only broaden and enhance learning, but also bring energy, culture, creativity, and balance to our community. 46

To walk the Main Hall is to be surrounded by art in all of its forms; it is to be told that we cannot think of the human experience, much less an education of the whole student, without contemplating and celebrating our aesthetic selves. —Head of School William MacMullen ’78

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT

Art is everywhere IN THE TAFT EDUCATION.

Learn more about Taft’s

arts program at www.taftschool.org/arts

and vibrant at Taft. That so many of our arts venues are located on the school’s main hall—Potter Gallery, Bingham Auditorium, the black box theater, and even Lincoln Lobby, where our choral groups often perform—speaks to the value that is placed on the arts in our community.” —Bruce Fifer, Head of the Arts Department

ARTS

facilities Bingham “Main Stage” Theater Band Room j Choral Room j Digital Recording Studio in the Bristol Music Room j Electronic Music Studio j Gail Wynne Sculpture and Ceramics Studio j Mark W. Potter Art Gallery j Multimedia Computer Lab j Music Practice Rooms j Pailey Dance Studio j Photography Dark Rooms j Printmaking and Fabric Design Spaces j Tremaine Arts Studio j Video Production Laboratory and Classroom j Walker Hall Performance Venue j Woodward “Black Box” Theater j Woodward Chapel Performance Venue j j

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT

The arts are alive

MEET KAEDI HOMETOWN: BRONX, NEW YORK PASSION: MUSIC, PERFORMING COLLEGE: CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY Kaedi began singing when she was five or six years old, mostly in school and church choirs. By the time she was 11, music had become her passion. Her voice is pure, smooth, controlled, and soothing. When she sings, everyone stops to listen. And by everyone, we mean thousands of people in sold-out arenas across the United States and Canada: Kaedi is part of the all-female a cappella group Citizen Queen, who recently opened for Pentatonix on their world tour. Kaedi’s a cappella career started at Taft as a member of Hydrox. Then, with support from Taft’s Kilbourne Summer Enrichment Fund, Kaedi traveled to Los Angeles to participate in the 10-day A Cappella Academy during two consecutive high school summers. Only 13 percent of the high-school-aged students who auditioned for a spot at the Academy were accepted in the first year, fewer than 10 percent the second. “It definitely shaped the way I define a cappella today, making me realize the authenticity of creating music with just your voice,” Kaedi says. While at Taft, she also sang with the gospel choir, was a frequent cast member in Taft musicals, and a go-to soloist and co-head chorister in Taft’s showcase chorus, Collegium Musicum. “The Arts program here allowed me to discover different sides of my voice that I didn’t necessarily know were within me. I learned to embrace all these vocal styles, and add them to my vocal resume. My time at Taft definitely helped me to mature my voice; I have better vocal control and better vocal delivery now.”

MEET NATASHA HOMETOWN: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA AND HONG KONG PASSION: PAINTING COLLEGE: UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Natasha loves to paint, and for good reason: Her natural talent is extraordinary. “I draw from life, so in that sense I have a realistic painting style, but I like to play with color to make it more my own.” The art courses Natasha took at Taft helped shape her experience here while igniting her passion for art. Natasha brought that passion to an interdisciplinary independent study project during her junior and senior years. “I’ve investigated why people who express themselves through art (both visual and literary) choose one medium over another,” she says. “Last year I studied Monet and Degas. This year, I applied my research to my own preferred forms of artistic expression.” The result: “I reached the conclusion that when I draw something, I’m collecting information outside of myself. When I write, I’m looking inside of myself, in a way that allows me to anchor my feelings and emotions.”

HOMETOWN: HAWTHORN WOODS, ILLINOIS PASSIONS: THEATER, TECHNOLOGY, BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER COLLEGE: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Nicholas loves to write code, often just for fun. He enjoys applied mathematics, and has spent summers working in tech support positions at a pharmaceutical company. But when you see him on stage, you feel like he’s truly found his home. Nick made his Taft stage debut in Shrek, The Musical, set hearts aflutter as a prince in Into the Woods, and earned a prestigious Halo Award nomination for his comedic work in Chicago—just a few of his favorite Taft roles. The most challenging one to date: Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, a 15-year-old on the autism spectrum. “It was hard,” says Nicholas. “The character is so different from who I am as a person. It is way out of my comfort zone, and a long way from Shrek, where everyone is dancing and happy all the time.” The role required Nicholas to memorize reams of dialog, including an “afterwards,” of sorts, where he delivered a highly technical accounting of the solution to Christopher’s favorite problem on his “A-Levels” mathematical exams. The key, Nicholas notes, is understanding the character—not to mention understanding the math. “Whenever you do a play or a musical you have to find the balance between knowing every word from rote memory and being able to go on and get past it even if you trip on a couple of words. If you know a character well enough, you know what that character would say in a situation. That helped me a lot in this production.”

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT

MEET NICHOLAS

ATHLETICS

Instilling

in students the importance of a balanced life in both academics and athletics is critical to finding success as an individual, and as part of a team. —Ginger O’Shea Head Coach, Girls’ Varsity Golf

they are about health and wellness, and understanding the importance of a lifelong commitment to fitness. They are also about finding enjoyment through athletic pursuits, and catching the Big Red spirit that unites our community. Athletics are woven into everyday life at Taft. Most students play on a team at some point in their Taft careers, and most will attend a sporting event to cheer on their friends and their school. Athletes can compete in most sports at the Thirds, JV, or Varsity level. Some compete for fun and camaraderie, while others are elite athletes preparing for competitive careers in some of the nation’s top college-level programs. As one of the most successful athletic programs in New England, our coaches encourage fair play, respect for opponents, a love of the game, competitive spirit, and team loyalty. Our students leave us with an understanding of hard work and good sportsmanship, a sense of responsibility to one’s team and teammates, the ability to set goals, and an overall commitment to healthy living through physical activity.

Learn more about Taft’s

athletics program

at www.taftschool.org/athletics

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT

ATHLETICS AT TAFT ARE ABOUT MORE THAN COMPETITION;

TAFT

offers

a wide variety of sports, each supporting a range of teams open to athletes at every skill level. Those marked with an asterisk compete in New England Championships.

FALL SPORTS Boys’ Cross Country (V, JV)* Girls’ Cross Country (V, JV)* Field Hockey (V, JV, III)* Football (V, JV)* Riding (Intramural) Sailing (Intramural) Boys’ Soccer (V, JV, III, IV)* Girls’ Soccer (V, JV)* Volleyball (V, JV, III)*

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT

WINTER SPORTS Boys’ Basketball (V, JV, III, IV)* Girls’ Basketball (V, JV)* Boys’ Hockey (V, JV, III)* Girls’ Hockey (V, JV, III)* Boys’ Skiing (V)* Girls’ Skiing (V)* Boys’ Squash (V, JV, III)* Girls’ Squash (V, JV, III)* Wrestling (V)*

SPRING SPORTS Baseball (V, JV) Boys’ Crew (V)* Girls’ Crew (V)* Boys’ Golf (V, JV)* Girls’ Golf (V, JV)* Boys’ Lacrosse (V, JV, III) Girls’ Lacrosse (V, JV) Sailing (Intramural) Softball (V)* Boys’ Tennis (V, JV, III)* Girls’ Tennis (V, JV, III)* Boys’ Track (V)* Girls’ Track (V)*

ATHLETIC MCCULLOUGH ATHLETIC CENTER

5 Squash Courts (8 total in our complex) j 4 Indoor Tennis Courts j 2 Indoor Basketball Courts j 2 Batting Cages j Indoor Track j Weight Room j Yoga and Fitness Studio j

CRUIKSHANK ATHLETIC CENTER 3 Squash Courts (8 total in our complex) j 2 Hardwood Volleyball/ Basketball Courts j Climbing Wall j Locker Rooms j

LOGAN FIELD HOUSE John Wynne Wrestling Room Weight Room j Athletic Training and Rehabilitation Center j Locker Rooms j j

ODDEN HOCKEY ARENA NHL-sized Ice Surface Six Locker Rooms j Reception Room j Seating for 600 j j

MAYS HOCKEY RINK

DONALDSON FAMILY PAVILION AND TENNIS COURTS 12 Tennis Courts Player Pavilion j Viewing Pavilion j j

GEOFFREY C. CAMP ’91 SYNTHETIC TURF FIELD (New Turf in 2021) j Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse j Field Hockey

KATIE JACKSON MORRISON ’92 FIELD Girls’ Varsity Soccer Girls’ JV Lacrosse

j j

Varsity Baseball Field 2 Batting Tunnels j Viewing Deck j Modern Dugouts j j

ROCKEFELLER FIELD Football Field Viewing Bleachers

j j

SNYDER FIELD

(New Turf in 2021) j Boys’ Varsity Soccer j Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse j Ultimate Frisbee

18-HOLE CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF COURSE SOFTBALL FIELD WILLIAM WEAVER 400-METER ALL-WEATHER TRACK CARDIO AND WEIGHT TRAINING ROOMS

facilities

ROWING ERGOMETER ROOM ADDITIONAL FIELDS for Softball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Field Hockey

OFF CAMPUS

Ski Team Mountain Equestrian Barn j Boathouse (Crew) j j

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT

LAWRENCE H. STONE BASEBALL PAVILION AT ROCKWELL FIELD

MEET KAYLA HOMETOWN: BRISTOL, CT PASSIONS: ATHLETICS, KINDNESS COLLEGE: HAVERFORD COLLEGE When you talk about Kayla, it’s hard not to talk numbers: She’s a three-season varsity athlete and a three-sport team captain. And if that seems impressive, try this number: During her senior year, Kayla became only the second basketball player in school history to score 1,000 career points. She says that the many mentors in her life, including her own team captains, helped shape her experience both in the classroom and on the court, giving her the confidence she needed to fulfill her potential within the Taft community. And she has: Kayla is an honor student, the head of the tour guides’ Admission Council, a member of GSA and of the Step Team, and a powerful voice on the Day Student Council. From her mentors, she learned that she can do almost anything she puts her mind to, and do it well. “They showed me what good role models looked like. They helped me branch out and find my passions, and then how to balance them as both a student and an athlete.”

GIRLS’ VARSITY HOCKEY COACH Ms. Silverman’s hard work and talent on the ice are the stuff legends are made of. At Dartmouth, she was the school’s all-time leading scorer and two-time Ivy League Player of the Year. She made several U.S. National teams before earning a spot on the very first U.S. Women’s Olympic team, which competed in Nagano in 1998. Ms. Silverman scored the first goal of that inaugural and historic game, and that was just the start: she came home with a gold medal and a deep understanding of the work ethic that got her there, which she shares with Taft players in every game and at every practice. In addition to coaching the Girls’ Varsity Hockey Team at Taft, Ms. Silverman also works in Admissions and teaches math to lowerschoolers. “I love to have fun in the classroom,” she says, “but I want the younger kids to realize it’s only the beginning of their journey. I emphasize organization as a key cornerstone of their overall program at Taft.”

Read more about Ms. Silverman’s road to

olympic gold here:

www.taftschool.org/about/taft-voices/ post/~board/faculty-for-home-page/post/ olympic-dreams-gretchen-silvermansjourney-to-gold

MEET SHAVAR BERNIER BOYS’ VARSITY BASKETBALL COACH Mr. Bernier is a coach, admissions officer, Associate Director of Multcultural Recruitment, and allaround good guy who knows that success starts with character. As a prep school PG, he earned the prestigious Spooner Award, voted on by faculty and given to the most outstanding student in general excellence of studies, loyalty, and character. Mr. Bernier is the boys’ varsity basketball coach, and assists with the varsity football team. He models hard work and dedication in both roles. Want to be impressed? Ask him to shoot a few from outside the arc—he was ranked first in career three-pointers at his alma mater, Connecticut College, where he earned a BA in human development, captained the varsity basketball team for three years, and earned the Sportsmanship Award. He’s currently working on his master’s degree in liberal studies at Dartmouth, with a concentration in cultural studies.

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT

MEET GRETCHEN SILVERMAN

Clubs,

COMMITTEES, AND PUBLICATIONS That there are so many ways to get involved at Taft is testament to the fact that our students love to engage, explore, contemplate, collaborate, and create. There are some clubs and publications that are nearly as old as the school itself, including our a cappella singing group, and others that just came on the scene, like our indoor drone racing club. New clubs pop up every year as students dive into new interests or craft ways to share their passions with the community. There is truly something for everyone— and always the opportunity to create something more.

SOME OF OUR CURRENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: Admissions Council and Tour Guides j Asian Food Club j

Astronomy Club Brotherhood Without Banners (Game of Thrones Club) j Chess Club j The Crash (pep club) j Current Events Club j Debate Team j Drone Racing Club j Filmmakers Club j FOCUS j Gamer’s Union

German-Austrian Club Girls Who Code j Global Awareness Club j Global Journal j Gospel Choir j GSA (Gender & Sexuality Alliance) j Gun Violence Prevention Club j HeForShe Club j Hydrox/Oriocos (a cappella) j Improv

IRP (Taft International Relations and Public Policy Chamber) j Jewish Student Organization (JSO) j Key Club j Latin Dance Club j Meditation Club j Model Congress Club j Nintendo Club j Operation Smile Club j Outdoors Club j Outreach360 Club j

CHAPTER 3 / A PLACE TO FIT IN, A PLACE TO STAND OUT 61

Photography Club Pond Hockey Club j Pop Punk Club j Random Acts of Kindness Club j Recognize the Rhino j Red Inc. j Religious and Spiritual Life Committee j Rhino Rescue j SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) j j

Students Advocating for Gender Equality (SAGE) j Science Journal Club j Taft Baking Club j Taft Entrepreneurial Club j Taft Environmental Awareness Movement j Taft Fishing Club j Taft Investment and Economics Club j Taft Lifting Club j

Taft Lookbook The Backgammon Club j The Big Red Stampede j The Broken Quill j The Christmas Club j The Movie Club j The NBA Club j The Physics Club j The Pre-Med Club j The Running Club j The Taft Democrats Club

The Taft Papyrus The Taft Republican Club j The Unitarian Club j United Cultures of Taft (UCT) j Volunteer Council j We Need to Ted Talk j Women Speak Out Loud (WSOL) j Wounded Warriors Foundation j WRED Radio j Zumba

THE TAFT SCHOOL MOTTO

WHEN YOU BECOME A TAFTIE, YOU BECOME A TUTOR, A MAKER, A MENTOR. YOU TEACH ENGLISH IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES, YOU BUILD HOMES, YOU PAINT FENCES. You nurse animals, work in food pantries and soup kitchens, and build athletic programs in remote villages seemingly worlds away. You run coat drives, and toy drives, and blood drives. You walk for a cause, and give voice to a cause. You support service organizations, and even start your own. Taft students don’t just talk about the school motto, they live it. It is part of the fabric of our community, and a piece of Taft life that every student carries with them long after graduation. Our motto is a lifetime commitment: Not to be served but to serve.

Non Ut Sibi Ministretur Sed Ut Ministret:

NOT TO BE SERVED

CHAPTER 4 / LIVING OUR MOTTO 63

A great advantage

of boarding school is that it gives opportunities for students to get out of themselves. They must work for others. —Horace Dutton Taft

but to serve

Living A MEANINGFUL TRADITION:

COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY For one day in October, faculty, students, and staff set lessons, homework, and daily academic life aside to dedicate themselves in full to serving the greater community. More than 700 strong, Tafties lead projects both on and off campus, working with more than 60 individual constituent groups and organizations in at least a dozen area towns. It is a tradition that has been in place for more than 25 years. More recently, we’ve introduced Senior Community Service Day. On the eve of graduation, Taft seniors return to the organizations they have come to know well during their time at Taft for one last day of service as a Taft student.

OUR MOTTO AT TAFT Our Community Service Council (CSC) lies at the heart of our community service program. Every Taft student is a part of the Council; its 12-member board is charged with developing meaningful service opportunities and projects throughout the school year. Students may formally commit to service work as their afternoon activity during an academic term, or simply participate in the many service opportunities scheduled throughout the year, including blood drives, charity walks, and homework help sessions with local students. Our community service program is purposefully flexible, allowing athletes, actors, artists, and musicians to participate while also pursuing their extracurricular passions. Many Taft students also commit to service initiatives through academic programs. Our Global Leadership Institute and Global Studies and Service programs include strong service and service learning components. (Learn more on page 12.) Other students may engage with hands-on sustained giving though our Red Rhino Fund, an endowed, charitable fund run by a nine-member student board. The group supports programs for children in the Greater Waterbury community by awarding monetary grants and promoting local organizations with a focus on education, literacy, and the arts.

GLOBAL IMPACT

Taft offers students the opportunity to engage in service projects throughout the world. In recent years, Tafties have taught English at an elementary school in the Dominican Republic during spring break, and traveled to Guatemala in June to build homes and assist with food and clothing distribution. Faculty members have also created opportunities for service travel to Hawaii, Nicaragua, and Botswana, and have added service components to arts and sports travel programs scheduled throughout the year. Most trips also allow time for cultural excursions. Many students opt for summer service projects and travel outside of Taft’s own offerings. Thanks to the generosity of Taft families past and present, fellowship grants are available to Taft students to help defray the cost of summer service programs and travel.

Learn more about these

programs

and fellowships at www.taftschool.org/living-ourmotto/community-service/ service-travel-and-fellowships

CHAPTER 4 / LIVING OUR MOTTO

LIVING OUR MOTTO

living OUR MOTTO

AT HOME MEET ADITYA HOME TOWN: NAPERVILLE, IL PASSION: TECH STARTUPS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COLLEGE: VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY Aditya founded a nonprofit organization called Meaningful Summers, and put together a local charity run. The money he raised at the event went to the local food bank, whose cause he first learned about through a random email. Their Backpack Program serves children in 130 schools across 13 counties, one of which Aditya calls home. After several successful events and substantial donations, Aditya decided to expand the organization’s programming and reach; he invited a dozen friends and neighbors to form a youth leadership team. “The following summer we screened a documentary about an orphanage in India dedicated to supporting kids with HIV and AIDS. Then we organized our first annual kickball tournament, which raised nearly $3,000 for the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans, an organization I am particularly passionate about,” Aditya says. Soon, Meaningful Summers was partnering with a newly elected local mayor who had campaigned on a promise to unite his diverse city. “We’re trying to create a community of responsible citizens—of youth—that puts aside all of these disparities and comes together to rally around a cause,” says Aditya. “Whether it’s helping our veterans, helping an orphanage, or helping the homeless, our mission is to ultimately care for the community we are so proud of.”

living OUR MOTTO

AT TAFT MEET CAELEY HOME TOWN: YONKERS, NY PASSION: HOCKEY COLLEGE: SUNY CANTON

CHAPTER 4 / LIVING OUR MOTTO 67

Caeley has found a way to blend her passion for service with her other lifelong passion—hockey. “Hockey has given me so much and Taft has given me so much,” Caeley says. “I am of the age and ability to give something back, and felt it was important to do so.” Caeley brought one of USA Hockey’s signature programs—Disabled Hockey—to Taft and the Greater Watertown community. The Watertown-Rhino Youth Disabled Hockey Team players range in age from 5 to 12, and are a talented and enthusiastic team. Under Caeley’s guidance and with the support of a team of dedicated student volunteers, they hit the ice in Taft’s Odden Arena every Sunday. Most of the gear they use is donated to the team, and gifted to the players. During their second season, Caeley was awarded a grant from the Connecticut Hockey Conference to purchase an ice sled for a young player with cerebral palsy. “For these kids and their families, to have an extracurricular like this is everything,” Caeley says. “For me, it was everything to be able to give it to them.”

living OUR MOTTO

ACROSS THE GLOBE MEET TANIA HOME TOWN: PERSHOTRAVENSK, UKRAINE PASSIONS: GLOBAL SERVICE AND EDUCATION COLLEGE: YALE UNIVERSITY “I never thought that my community service experience could go beyond my home country,” says Tania. “But then I saw a movie where some of the main characters traveled to another country to teach English and thought, ‘Maybe one day…’ Once I came to Taft, I realized that ‘one day’ had arrived.” With support from a Poole Grant, Tania traveled to Sri Lanka where she taught English to a group of young monks in a local Buddhist temple. “My class was about 15 boys, ranging from the age of 9 to 13,” Tania says. “The monks had not had language lessons on a regular basis before, so I was teaching them basic grammar rules about sentence structure and questions, and teaching them some words, describing food, animals, professions.” Tania also spent her afternoons working in an orphanage for girls, some as young as 6, none older than 18. Through both experiences, Tania came to a deeper understanding about the true nature of service. “I understood that volunteering is not about changing the whole world, but about changing something in the world of a small group of people and, with it, changing something in yourself.”

College

COUNSELING

FOUR FULL-TIME PROFESSIONALS BRING MORE THAN 80 YEARS OF COMBINED EXPERIENCE ON BOTH THE SECONDARY AND COLLEGIATE LEVELS TO THEIR WORK IN THE COLLEGE COUNSELING OFFICE. THEIR GOAL: TO GUIDE EACH TAFT STUDENT ON THEIR JOURNEY TOWARD A MEANINGFUL COLLEGE EXPERIENCE; IT IS A STUDENT-CENTERED JOURNEY GEARED TOWARDS EDUCATING AND SUPPORTING STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES AS THEY NAVIGATE THE COLLEGE SEARCH AND SELECTION PROCESS.

The journey formally begins in the late fall of the upper mid year, when each student is assigned a college counselor; parents are always invited to participate in the process. In the months that follow, students and counselors meet regularly: counselors learn about each student’s goals, interests, passions, and strengths during those sessions, while students learn about the nuts and bolts of the process, from standardized testing and essay writing to course selection and how best to present themselves through their college applications. All of this work helps students and counselors enter senior year with a solid list of well-researched, highly-personalized prospective colleges. Senior year is a flurry of activity: students finalize essays, visit more campuses, and submit applications, while college counselors work closely with teachers, coaches, deans, dorm faculty, and advisors in crafting detailed letters of recommendation for each student. Recommendation letters cover much more than just academics: They highlight every facet of a student’s moral, intellectual, and social development, and present each student in an accurate, nuanced, and compelling light.

DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING As a graduate of Georgetown University, a certified teacher, a former director of admissions at St. Lawrence University, and parent, Alison Almasian has been on all sides of the college admissions process. “Our mission in the College Counseling Office is to do everything we can to help students and their families successfully navigate the college search, application, and selection process,” Alison says. “We work to find the best match for each student, which is both an art and a science. We do a great deal of questioning—we’re communicating constantly and getting to know all of our students really well. We also use data to inform our conversations. There’s a questionnaire for students, and for parents. We read every teacher comment, dean letter, and advisor letter. All of this comes together to not only help us find the right match for our students, but to develop written recommendations that tell each student’s story in a compelling way.”

CHAPTER 5 / COLLEGE AND BEYOND

MEET ALISON ALMASIAN ’87

MEET JACK HOMETOWN: WATERTOWN, CT PASSIONS: VIDEO PRODUCTION, SCIENCE & MEDICINE COLLEGE: YALE UNIVERSITY Jack got an early jump on the college search process, building a list of schools on his own before the start of his junior year. He was well-prepared when he was paired with his Taft college counselor, Alison Almasian, later that fall. “Taft does a great job of matching students with counselors,” says Jack. “Ms. Almasian helped me add to and refine my list of schools, and gave me excellent tips for getting the most out of campus visits and drafting supplemental essays. Throughout the process, I felt like she was truly an advocate and supporter. She took time to get to know me not just as a student, but as person, and to help me find schools where I would thrive.”

JACK’S

pro tips:

Start early, be organized, take lots of notes during campus visits, and write a personal essay that truly reflects who you are.

OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS (2017–2021), Taft students enrolled at 189 different colleges and universities in 33 states, the District of Columbia, and eight foreign countries. During the same period, five or more students enrolled at each of the following schools:

Amherst, 8 Babson, 8 j Bates, 6 j Boston College, 13 j Boston University, 12 j Bowdoin, 9 j Brown, 21 j Bucknell, 21 j Carnegie Mellon, 6 j Chapman, 5 j Colby, 7

Colgate, 20 College of the Holy Cross, 7 j Colorado College, 7 j Columbia University, 9 j Connecticut College, 5 j Cornell University, 18 j Dartmouth, 5 j Dickinson, 5 j Duke, 12 j Elon, 6 j Franklin & Marshall, 6

CHAPTER 5 / COLLEGE AND BEYOND

MEET NATALIE HOMETOWN: ELIZABETH, NJ PASSIONS: DANCE, MATH & SCIENCE, CULTURAL STUDIES COLLEGE: UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Natalie started the college search process feeling that she didn’t know a lot about what different schools had to offer. What she did know was that her interests were broad, her talents were many, and that her desire to be at a big school in an urban setting was particularly strong. “I knew I was interested in Penn because I had visited the fall before,” says Natalie. “My college counselor, Mr. McNeill, said it would be a reach—a far reach—as it is for everyone, but he always encouraged me, and never doubted me in any way. Mr. McNeill spent a lot of time getting to know me and learning about my passions so that we could find schools that would offer me everything I was looking for in a college experience. When I showed him my first application essay he said, ‘Let’s keep working on it. I just need to know more about you by reading it; be true to yourself in those 650 words.’ In the end, I delivered an essay that was very personal, and very true. Mr. McNeill loved it, and had complete faith that those reading my essays would see me not just as a student, but as the full and complete person I am.”

NATALIE’S

pro tips:

Write an essay that is personal and genuine; know yourself, and be true to your passions in your search.