Fine & Performing Arts

Jacey Regalado ’21 ‘not alone’ in her message

Jacey Regalado ’21 had a message she wanted to deliver to the world.

With the help of Wilbraham & Monson Academy, she did so.

After completing her Novel Writing class at the Academy, Jacey self-published “High to Death,” a 33,000-word fictional piece about a high school student’s struggles with mental health and drug addiction.

“I choose to write about drug abuse and mental illness because in the world I grew up in they went hand in hand,” Jacey explained. “People with really severe mental illness would turn a lot to drugs as an escape.

“I grew up in a really wealthy community and the majority of the kids around me were raised by their nannies with their parents constantly gone, and enormous amounts of money at their fingertips. In such a lonely world, or out of boredom or curiosity, whatever it was they would try drugs, and with that later would come mental health struggles. I wanted to write something that could help anyone know they are not alone, with whatever they may be struggling with.”

Jacey said her biggest obstacle while writing the novel was “a bit of self-judgment. While writing the book, I felt almost hypocritical of myself because a lot of the time I gathered passages from my own diary of all the pain I had felt in the past. Putting it into words was emotionally draining; passages from years ago and trying to think if I was even following the message I was trying to portray in my own book. It was definitely a journey of self-growth.”

Jacey received her book in hand in May. A ceremony was held a week later on the porch of the Athenaeum to celebrate her accomplishment.

Zihan “Angela” Tian ’22 has the ‘write’ stu

Having a literary piece of work published is exciting for anyone, especially a budding high school writer.

For Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s Zihan “Angela” Tian ’22, being published is becoming the norm.

Angela’s poem “Snowflakes” was selected for publication by The Storm King School of New York, which held an online poetry festival in the spring.

“It is about my astonishment when I look at snowflakes falling from the sky. It is so impressive. They are like feathers covering everything with an unspeakable power and beauty. I am amazed by natural power and wonder about my own position in nature.”

As a sophomore, Angela had a half-dozen or so poems published in a Chinese newspaper. In 2020, she wrote a novel in Chinese that was one million words long, and a publishing company in China signed Angela to a contract to publish the first 300,000 words.

Mascot Titan was among those soaking in great music and weather during a lunchtime Porch Jam on the steps of the Athenaeum.

Fine arts and dance were among activities students enjoyed amid COVID-19 restrictions.

1 Tendo Kalule ’21.

2 Ian Brook ’21 wearing his face mask design.

3 Academy Dancers Isabelle Rivera ’25,

Maddie Ford ’23 and Sarah Malandrinos ’22.

4 Rhaymi Porter ’21.

5 Shixing “Cherry” Wang ’21.

6 Laurel Vartabedian ’21.

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A springtime Arts Fest and Porch Jams were FPA events enjoyed by the WMA Community.

1 Lucas Schmidt ’21 shares his musical talents on the French horn.

2 A view of the Hill from behind Arts Fest performers.

3 Lead singer Lily Mathison ’24 performs. 4 Dancers Oluwafikayo “Fikayo” Olasunkanmi ’21, left, and Emalee Watson ’21 perform in front of the Athenaeum.

5 Our Porch Jam series was a breath of fresh air to the Titan community.

6 Joey McMahon ’22 plays the alto sax at Arts Night. 6