February 2023 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

Photo Illustration by Khushi Chhaya

Economics Upheaval An Upper School Departure Upends Student

On Dec. 15, an email sent to the families of Upper School students enrolled in Advanced Placement Macroeconomics for the spring broke the bad news: e class had been canceled.

Prior to the o AP Macroeconomics, the administration had been trying to for Upper School history and economics teacher Adrian Martinez. Martinez had been scheduled to teach the AP Macroeconomics course in the spring, but he accepted a teaching position with another district in late October and le semester break.

at set o the economics and history courses that Martinez had been teaching. Students in AP Microeconomics semester with Kathy Li.

“We were fortunate that SMU had just hired Dr. Li, who came in to substitute for the rest of AP Micro, and she had come in from out of town, so she wasn’t scheduled to start teaching there until the second semester,” said Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester.

However, because Li was scheduled to begin teaching economics courses at Southern Methodist University, she couldn’t teach AP Macroeconomics at Greenhill in the second semester.

“If you think about mid-November to mid-December, it’s the middle of the year,” said Worcester. “It’s hard to nd really good teaching candidates for any subject.”

e administration was unable to nd a quali ed candidate for the role by the end of the rst semester, so students were given three options: ey could replace the AP Macroeconomics course with a di erent history elective, take the Macroeconomics course o ered by Global Online Academy, or have an unscheduled period.

On Dec. 22, students were also given the option to take an online macroeconomics course through Texas Tech University K-12. e cost of the course is being covered by Greenhill.

Pursuing Economics

For many students enrolled in AP Macroeconomics, the immediate reaction was disappointment.

“I was initially very worried about my curriculum since I tried to center my second semester around studying for the [AP Macroeconomics] econ course and exam, and have been forced to nd other options,” said senior Ahmed Agha.

I was initially very worried about my curriculum since I tried to center my second semester around studying for the [AP Macroeconomics] econ course and exam, and have been forced to find other options."

Agha says he wants to major in business or economics in college.

“Looking back at it, I felt like I was involuntarily put in a position where I need to put more e ort in to achieve what I wanted,” said Agha.

Senior Shreeya Madhavanur says she had similar feelings.

“I couldn’t believe that they were just

Plans

For the Hornets

This Week

Feb. 9-11

Southwest Preparatory Conference Winter Championships

Feb. 10-13

Winter Break

This Month

February Black History Month

Feb. 14

Feb. 20

Feb. 22

Valentine’s Day

President’s Day

I thought that they were going to figure something out sooner, and when they couldn’t I was pretty surprised.”

“I’m glad I took the GOA [course] because it’s asynchronous and gives me more free time in the day,” said Madhavanur. “I’m a second-semester senior, so that’s always appreciated.”

At the time when students were o cially noti ed of the course cancellation, there were 56 students enrolled in AP Macroeconomics – and only seven openings in the GOA macroeconomics course.

“You had to respond really quickly to get a spot,” said Madhavanur.

Days later, an institutional partnership was set up with Texas Tech University K-12 that gave students another option

For so many of us, taking economics was a priority. In many high schools, economics is a requirement, so this was just one of those classes I was counting on to prepare me for what I want to pursue for the next four years.”

Until then, students who are interested in pursuing economic-related elds in college still have the option to take either the GOA economics courses or a slightly related non-AP Economics in Society course which the Upper School will continue to o er. ese options aren’t much consolation for some unhappy students. “I can’t imagine us not having AP Economics at Greenhill,” said Madhavanur. “It’s just such a fundamental class that every school has.”

Ash Wednesday

Next Month

March 1

Middle School Musical – “Seussical Jr.”

March 4

March 9

Greenhill Gala

Middle School Greek Play Performance

March 13-17

Spring Break

March 17

St. Patrick’s Day

March 20

Professional Development Day

March 22

Beginning of Ramadan

March 28

Upper School Singers Concert

March 30 - April 1

Spring eater Production

Next issue: April 5

Sydney Chien Graphic and Photo Illustration by Evie Kwei

Glossy red envelopes, traditional clothing, glutinous meals, dragon dances, and the gathering of family means one thing for many East Asian and Southeast Asian households around the world: the celebration of Lunar New Year.

e celebrations mark the beginning of the lunar calendar and the arrival of spring. At Greenhill, the East Asian A nity Group and Southeast Asian A nity Group led campus e orts to commemorate the holiday.

“I just like celebrating Lunar New Year with the school because I get to share some of the excitement around the holiday with others, and other students getting to try new foods or learn more about di erent [cultural] traditions is one way I can share the holiday spirit with others,” said senior Kevin Han, president of the East Asian A nity Group.

Director of Community Service and Engagement Jessica Chu, who serves as the East Asian A nity Group’s faculty sponsor and also teaches Upper School math, says the school’s e orts to celebrate Lunar New Year have reminded her of what she loves about the Greenhill community.

I just like celebrating Lunar New Year with the school because I get to share some of the excitement around the holiday with others, and other students getting to try new foods or learn more about different [cultural] traditions is one way I can share the holiday spirit with others.”

“I think one of the reasons why I came to Greenhill is because I noticed the diversity and I noticed the fact that we are willing to educate our community about all sorts of celebrations, cultures, backgrounds, whatever they are,” Chu said.

Cultural Traditions

is year, Lunar New Year fell on Jan. 22.

e holiday originated in China:

Lunar New Year

Campus Celebrations Launch Year of the Rabbit

of many Greenhill students.

Senior Jacob Liang, East Asian A nity Group treasurer, says his family celebrates the holiday with a large traditional meal and by exchanging red envelopes stu ed with money.

Senior Emma Nguyen, co-president of the Southeast Asian A nity Group, says her favorite part of Lunar New Year is spending time with her family.

“It’s a special holiday to me because it’s one that’s especially focused around family, and over the past couple of years, family has become something that’s really important to me,” said Nguyen. “Having that time that is especially dedicated to observing the new year, it’s like a new start with people that I value and love.”

Shared Celebrations

e East Asian and Southeast Asian A nity Groups jointly planned a campus celebration honoring Lunar New Year that unfolded during the week of Jan. 16-20.

Nguyen says the goal of the celebrations was to teach more students about Lunar New Year and its signi cance and to get students to ask questions.

“Because it’s coming from the school setting, people are going to be curious and hopefully they will be empowered enough to ask questions about the holiday and to learn about the holiday in a genuinely interested way,” said Nguyen.

roughout the week, students from both a nity groups decorated various areas of the Upper School with red paper lanterns and golden streamers. ey also set up tables with culturally signi cant items.

On Jan. 20, several activities were held in the Upper School to commemorate the holiday. Parents of members of the East Asian A nity Group sponsored a luncheon for Upper School faculty and a nity group members featuring East Asian specialties like fried noodles and egg rolls.

I think one of the reasons why I came to Greenhill is because I noticed the diversity and I noticed the fact that we are willing to educate our community about all sorts of celebrations, cultures, backgrounds, whatever they are.”

nity group members also handed out traditional Lunar New Year snacks and

During the lunch period, Middle and Upper School students were able to learn a traditional lion dance from the Jiu Long Lion Dance Troupe at the Phillips Family Athletic Center’s outdoor basketball

A special Lunar New Year assembly was also held in the Phillips Family Gymnasium. First, the Dance Troupe performed a lion dance, entertaining Upper School students as a neon-green lion, manned by two people, snaked up and down the gymnasium bleachers.

“I thought that was super interesting and really cool that we got to see that during an assembly,” senior Chancey Stefanos said.

“I think it was a fun way to immerse us in

en, two students from each grade participated in a trivia game, answering various questions about Lunar New Year. e freshmen ultimately won, receiving a jar of candy as their prize.

Stefanos, who participated in the trivia game, said the engaging format helped her learn more about the holiday and the traditions of her peers that celebrate it.

“I think like with any holiday that people don’t celebrate, it’s interesting to learn about di erent cultures,” Stefanos said. “Also at Greenhill, we have such a diverse community, so we’re given the invaluable opportunity to learn about the holidays everyone celebrates and get to see such

di erent experiences.”

Chu said she hopes students see and appreciate all the work the a nity group members, parents and teachers have put into teaching the greater Greenhill community about the holiday.

“Everyone has put in time to make this celebration a celebration, and hopefully people learn from it,” Chu said. “I hope that students feel like they either can celebrate, learn, as well as enjoy it and have fun and experience what Lunar New Year should feel like whether you celebrate that festival or not.”

Ava Iwasko, Riya Kommineni

Photo by Evie Kwei

DRAGON DANCE: The Jiu Long Lion Dance Troupe performed at Greenhill on Jan. 20 during lunch to teach willing students the basic steps and cadences of lion dancing.

One Faculty Departure, Multiple Problems for Teachers and Students

Students, teachers and administrators are continuing to deal with changes unleashed by the unexpected resignation of Upper School math teacher John Meyers in December.

Meyers le Greenhill due to personal reasons, leaving behind four math classes and a senior advisory needing faculty coverage.

“It is really hard on the community when a faculty member leaves mid-year,” Head of School Lee Hark said. “Life changes and things sometimes happen, but it’s a very challenging thing for our student body and faculty who are le to pick up the pieces.”

Schedule Upheaval

roughout the rst semester, math teacher Jessica Chu taught a Vector Calculus class and an Advanced Placement AB Calculus class. However, a er Meyers’ departure, Chu took on his two sections of AP AB Calculus and math teacher Melissa Battis took over Chu’s Vector Calculus class.

Chu is in the process of transitioning from a math faculty position to a fulltime role as the Director of Service Learning and Community Engagement. Teaching one subject provides Chu with greater exibility in her schedule, said Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester.

“Previously [Chu] was teaching one AP Calc and one Vector Calc,” Worcester said. “So, even if she’s teaching more classes, at least she knows, ‘this is what I’m teaching on any given day.’”

Battis was also required to take an extra class from Chu, because Chu took on two extra classes. Vector Calculus and AP AB Calculus both con ict with her eighth-grade Honors Geometry class on some days, but because Vector Calculus students work independently more o en, it was better for Battis to take on that class, according to Worcester.

“It was really what was the best,” said Worcester. “ is was the best scenario that we could come up with that bene ted everybody and had the least amount of impact to any given class.”

Additionally, Dean of Students Jack Oros steps in to aid with the Honors Geometry course when Vector Calculus students need to be taught a lesson rather than work independently on assignments. Oros has taught Upper School math classes for years in addition to his other duties.

Faculty Challenges

e adjustments have gone beyond scheduling con icts. Battis had never taught Vector Calculus before so, with Chu’s help, she spent her winter break learning the three units covered in the rst semester. She reviewed the textbook, homework, tests and watched videos, Battis said.

“I want to do the best I can for my students,” said Battis. “So, for a week and a half of my Christmas break, I was working on making sure that I could come in and try to teach as consistently as possible from where Ms. Chu le o .”

However, the period of winter break was not enough for Battis to learn the full Vector Calculus curriculum, so she has resolved to watch a video each night. One of these lessons lasted a full three hours, she said.

“It’ll be longer days,” said Battis. “But I love the kids and it’s been really cool to see how precalculus is getting used in vector.”

I want to do the best I can for my students. So, for a week and a half of my Christmas break, I was working on making sure that I could come in and try to teach as consistently as possible from where Ms. Chu left o .”

Despite the school’s best e orts to increase exibility for Chu and Battis, this extra teaching load has a ected the amount of time they have for things outside of teaching.

For Battis, having to learn Vector Calculus has a ected how she balances her free periods. is, along with testmaking and grading has changed where she works during her free time.

“By going into a classroom, it’s less likely that a student will drop by and talk to me so I can get a little bit more work done,” said Battis. “I think where [I lose the most time] is most noticeable each night, as I take more time to learn and understand Vector Calculus.”

Chu has also found it challenging to manage her time and balance her classroom and administrative roles.

“With this additional workload, it’s tricky to nd a balance between my role as a service director as well as a teacher and making sure I’m helping serve my students in the math classroom, but also servicing the school as a whole,” said Chu.

Chu knows she is di erent from Meyers; however, she hopes that each student will give her a chance and help her adjust.

“I am a di erent person, and my style of teaching is di erent,” said Chu. “But whether you have heard good or bad about me, I hope you give me a chance.”

“I’m the one who feels comfortable teaching [the geometry class], but Mr. Oros will step in and teach the geometry [class] if there’s a day where both of the classes are at the same time and both need to be taught a lesson in order to continue the curriculum,” said Battis.

Meyers also taught two sections of Advanced Geometry, and those responsibilities have been assumed by Tracey McElroy in a long-term substitute role. Additionally, the senior-class advisory overseen by Meyers was taken over by Upper School Counselor Amanda Frederick.

McElroy has been substituting at Greenhill for many years now and agreed to help out, said Worcester.

“She was gracious enough to say ‘yes,’ and it helps to have [Math Department Chair Darryn] Sandler and [math teacher Steve] Warner, who teach the other sections of Advanced Geometry,” said Worcester. “She’s able to lean on them to really understand what’s going on and work on the syllabus and tests.”

Student Adjustments

Along with the teachers, students have had mixed opinions about the adjustments.

With this additional workload, it’s tricky to nd a balance between my role as a service director as well as a teacher and making sure I’m helping serve my students in the math classroom, but also servicing the school as a whole.”

Freshman Nora Ahearn, one of McElroy’s students in geometry, said that the change hasn’t a ected her learning and that there are always other math teachers willing to help if needed. However, freshman Aiden White is still adjusting to the change in teaching styles from Meyers to McElroy.

“Since Ms. McElroy’s teaching style is di erent from Mr. Meyers, even though they have the same curriculum, it throws people o when we’re doing a lesson,” said White. “Since she did a problem a di erent way, none of us knew how to do it and so she had to reexplain the whole concept to us.”

On the other hand, students who have had Battis or Chu in previous years felt the transition was much smoother since they have had time to adjust to those teaching styles.

“It’s di erent, but it wasn’t too bad for me,” said senior Kevin Han. “I’ve had Ms. Battis already for two years, so getting her as a teacher was not a problem with me.”

As students and teachers cope with the fallout of a midyear faculty departure, Hark hopes that the a ected students will be able to enjoy the semester.

“I agree [that the change] was tough and disruptive,” said Hark. “But as always, I [hope] every student at Greenhill [has] an awesome and special year.”

Winter Dance

On Saturday, Jan. 21, Greenhill held the annual Winter Dance at Cristi’s Banquet Hall. e dance began at 9 p.m. and ended at 11:30 p.m. Less formal than the Homecoming Dance, many students wore casual dance attire and, following tradition, many seniors wore costumes.

Spirit Week

Upper School students dressed up and competed in Color Wars games for the inaugural Winter Spirit Week from Jan. 23-27. e week, modeled a er Homecoming Week in October, celebrated winter athletes as they prepare for the Southwest Preparatory Conference championships in February. Dress-up days included Pajama Day, Holi-Day, Winter Olympic Sport Day, Jersey Day and Green and Gold Day. Color War games included dodgeball, “Do You Know Your Date?” and tug of war. e turnabout games originally scheduled for Friday during advisory were postponed due to scheduling issues. A pep rally in the Phillips Family Gymnasium capped o the week, featuring performances by the Winter Cheer squad and the Drumline.

Senior Nights for Sports

Winter teams had their Senior Night home meets and games on Jan. 26-27 to honor senior winter athletes. Swimming’s Senior Night was on Jan. 26, while boys and girls soccer and basketball had their Senior Night on Jan 27. Girls swimming won their meet against Hockaday the previous week for the rst time since 2011. Boys soccer and girls basketball also won their games against St. Mark’s School of Texas and e Hockaday School, respectively.

Snow Days

Due to a winter storm, Upper School students were dismissed early on Monday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. to avoid slippery roads. e icy weather continued, forcing Greenhill’s campus to stay closed from Jan. 31-Feb. 2.

Winter Championships

Winter Southwest Preparatory Conference championships will take place Feb. 9-11 at various locations. All winter teams will compete for Greenhill: boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, and swimming.

Fashion Show

On Sunday, Feb. 19, seniors Campbell Scheer and Emily Kim and juniors Anisa Walji and Susie Fagelman will run the 12th Annual Greenhill Charity Fashion Show at Sewell Lexus of Dallas. e show will feature student models from various grade levels. All proceeds will bene t the Grant Halliburton Foundation, a North Texas organization that aids children and adults struggling with mental health issues.

Christan Park, Kate Ponnambalam

Photo by Evie Kwei

It was really what was the best. This was the best scenario that we could come up with that bene ted everybody and had the least amount of impact to any given class.”

NEW EQUATION: The departure of a department colleague has led teacher Melissa Battis to teach Vector Calculus.

Middle School

And the Answer Is...

The rst half of the Middle School Quiz Bowl tournament’s nal round had just ended, and it looked like the Greenhill A team had no chance of winning. But the team pulled out a victory against St. Mark’s School of Texas, prevailing in almost every toss-up on the way to a tournament win.

It’s been a dominating year for Greenhill’s Middle School Quiz Bowl team. Head Coach James Herman has led the program to multiple tournament wins while also seeing two of his teams qualify for the Middle School Quiz Bowl national tournament.

e victory over St. Mark’s at a tournament hosted by Cistercian Preparatory School was one recent measure of the Greenhill team’s success.

“I was really proud of how that team sort of like boosted each other up, built each other up and went on to nish really strong,” Herman said.

e Greenhill MS Quiz Bowl program actually grew during the COVID-19 pandemic because of online competitions. About 50 students eventually signed up for the program, Herman said.

Having a large number of students encourages lots of friendly competition, Herman said.

Now, with so many strong players, there has been a lot of shi ing within the top teams.

“Like our B, C and D, I think on any given day they could beat one another,” Herman said, “So that’s really exciting as a coach because you have all these players who are really good and really competitive.”

With the national championships coming up in May, this makes it hard for Herman to decide team lineups in competitions.

“ ere may be a player who’s on a team that quali es in the fall, but by the spring someone else has kind of stepped up to take that spot,” Herman said. “So, it’s kind of tough to say which kids speci cally are going to nationals.”

Akash Bose is a student on the Middle School A team that also features Arman Makhani, Tomal Khan and Smriti Siva. Bose says having many people in Quiz Bowl has another e ect.

“It also means that you always have a network of people to support you,” Bose said.

“Seussical Jr.” Musical Set for March

Theater students and faculty are working hard to prepare for the upcoming Middle School musical production of “Seussical Jr.” on March 1.

Directed by Greenhill’s new theater and improv teacher Greg Mihalik, the production has progressed to three weekly rehearsals since auditions in November.

“It’s a really great cast of kids,” Mihalik said. “ ey’re serious about it. ey goof around and have fun, but they are doing some real, serious work.”

Until last year’s “Elf Jr.” musical, Greenhill had not performed a Middle School musical in over three decades.

Head of Fine Arts Terry Martin, who directed the “Elf Jr.” production, said this was an opportunity he wanted Middle School students to have.

Martin said that Mihalik was a good t to take charge of the production because of his prior experience in directing “Seussical Jr.”

“Putting up a play takes a team, but putting up a musical takes a village,” Mihalik said.

Seventh-grader Rehan Menon, who plays the role of Cat in the Hat, also participated in last year’s “Elf Jr.” production

Magazine O ers Creative Outlet

It has been years since the Middle School produced a magazine, but that will change in May because of English teacher Suzanne Ya e and her passion for writing.

Middle School students will have an opportunity to not only submit writing for the magazine but also to help produce it, Ya e said.

“As an English teacher, I see so much talent in our student body as writers, artists and leaders,” Ya e said. “I wanted to revive the literary magazine in order to provide a place these talents can be enjoyed by the wider community and to give students a forum in which they can collaborate with each other in a meaningful and supportive way.”

ere will be myriad forms of creative writing: narratives, short stories of many genres, poetry and works of visual arts. Fi h- and sixth-graders can submit work for publication. Seventh- and eighth-graders can submit work as well as participate in the work of editing and publishing the magazine.

Several students expressed enthusiasm for the project.

“ e magazine is a time to express yourself and your feelings,” said seventhgrader Cindy Chou, who said she enjoys writing.

Ya e said she wants the magazine

to be an outlet where students can push themselves and overcome any doubts about sharing their work.

“A lot of people feel intimidated to publish their work,” Ya e said. “It’s my hope that this opportunity to build a community of writers and artists will encourage students to stretch themselves and take the risk to do it. We all have a story to tell. And when we share our stories, we give courage to others to share theirs, too.”

Seventh-grader Sophia Wang said she hopes students will be inspired by this project.

“I see this going throughout Greenhill to younger kids,” Wang said. “I hope they will look up to our work and think how they would want to do that someday when they are older.”

e magazine will provide a platform where Middle School students can stretch and push themselves as authors, writers, artist, and leaders, students said.

“It will be cool if we can have a little bit of everything,” said seventh-grader Arhaan Iyer. “We should make it cohesive because it will work better.”

in the lead role of Buddy the Elf.

“I feel like it’s much more organized, because last year we were scrambling to nish,” Menon said. “Mr. Mihalik set a goal to nish Act One before winter break, and we got to that goal. Now we’re almost done with Act Two.”

Eighth-grader Sean Millimet, who is participating in the musical for the rst time, said he’s also enjoyed the rehearsal experience.

“So far, it’s been pretty good,” Millimet said. “Rehearsals are fun.”

In contrast to last year, Martin said that “Seussical Jr.” has received

greater participation from Middle School students across all four grades.

“By the time they get to Upper School, we’ve got students who are hooked already and really love doing it,” Martin said. “We’re growing the program, we’re getting students involved earlier, and we’re getting them more experience earlier.”

Revamped Forum

Encourages Student Leaders

Sasha Wai

The Middle School Student Forum is returning a er a revamp. Heading the redesign of the student leadership forum is Kara Smith and Kathryn Koshkin, both Middle School history teachers and advisors. Interested students have been assigned to one of the forum’s ve boards: academics, arts, athletics, lifestyle, and service/ sustainability.

One of the main goals of the new forum is to have it be student driven. Students are helping reimagine it and assuming leadership roles, faculty advisors said.

Smith said the reconstituted forum will give students the space to seek out leadership opportunities.

“Student-led leadership is driving the revamp of the forum,” Koshkin said. “ e brilliance of it is that this can be an opportunity for the students to really come up with their own plans.”

Another change is eliminating the election process by which student forum

members were previously selected. By getting rid of the election factor, Koshkin said she hopes to make the concept of leadership more accessible to all middle schoolers.

Koshkin and Smith are also aiming for students, especially h- and sixth-graders who are still early in their Middle School journey, to transition from the group aspect to individuality.

“I think we as teachers hope they develop their individual tastes and preferences, and that can be applied to how they serve and help this community,” said Koshkin.

e faculty advisors said they’re excited to see how the revamped forum develops over the next year.

Smith said her goal is to help middle schoolers learn what leadership is and how to lead.

“Ultimately our goal is to give them opportunities and guidance to learn how to nd and use their voice,” Smith said.

Vedant Subramanian

Syrus Gupta

Photo by Chloe Nguyen

DOMINATION: The MS Quiz Bowl team practices for upcoming tournaments. Team members use buzzers as they compete to respond with the fastest correct answer.

Jordan Arbuckle

Green Team

Student-Led Push for Campus Sustainability

As a child, senior Spencer Simon was encouraged to go on nature preserve walks and nature-themed summer camps. He “found safety and love for nature” in these experiences, Simon said.

Now, Simon has found a way to make a di erence with his love for nature: by helping lead an Upper School club, the Green Team.

e Green Team is a student-led environmental awareness club that is dedicated to nding ways to increase campus sustainability practices and protect the environment.

Simon sees the Green Team as lling an important function. Maintaining a healthy environment is key to “make sure the world is a better place for ourselves” and to “protect what we enjoy,” he said.

e team teaches students how to incorporate sustainable habits into their lives. ey work in tandem with the Sustainability Committee, a faculty-led group that advocates for environmental change on campus. is year, the club is led by Simon and senior Charlotte Purcell. Its faculty sponsors are Upper School English teacher Trey Colvin and Primer teacher Janice LaMendola, both of whom also serve on the faculty Sustainability Committee.

e Green Team meets once every couple of months. During club meetings, members listen to presentations on environmental awareness, brainstorm sustainability ideas and plan school events.

Proposals have included picking up trash around campus and organizing hikes.

“Our goal is to not only help sta on campus, but also clean up and show that we can make change,” Simon said.

Purcell says the Greenhill campus is a privilege and that “part of the Green Team is helping bring awareness to the fact that we have such a great campus.”

Sustainable Goals

Club members say they would like to decrease Greenhill’s

carbon footprint by reducing forms of waste and reminding students to be more environmentally conscious at home and school. Club members are also asking school administrators to nd ways to burn less carbon dioxide and “to build with greener materials.”

e latter goal is already taking shape in the form of the new STEM + Innovation Center that is currently under construction. Much of the structure is being built with wood and sustainably cultivated supplies instead of rebar and reinforced concrete.

Additionally, the club is developing more information on environmental policy to increase student awareness, Simon said.

Similarly, the Sustainability Committee helped retro t the campus with LED lights to save electricity. Currently, they are working on reinforcing the rules of recycling and plastic education, especially with Lower School students.

“We need to reteach our rules about recycling here on campus,” said LaMendola. “During COVID it kind of went by the wayside, but we’re trying to get back into that.”

LaMendola says that along with recycling, the committee proposes changes in services or products used on campus.

Environmental sustainability is a campus-wide and intergenerational cause. LaMendola says that getting more Upper School students in the club would be ideal for increasing the Green Team’s in uence because “students listen to students.”

Echoing the Past

is latest student-led push towards being more environmentally conscious reminds Associate Head of School for Mission, Community, and Culture Tom Perryman ’81 of the “Save the Land” campaign Greenhill students started in the 1970s to preserve the campus.

“Young people are leading the way on environmental issues,” said Perryman. “If kids weren’t interested, I don’t know how much work would get done.”

Middle School science teacher Gretchen Pollom, who also serves on the faculty Sustainability Committee, says that campus-wide persistence and e ort is key for change.

“It’s important to have awareness in Lower School and then Upper School,” Pollom said. “We need to be doing a lot

more.”

ough the Green Team works on campus, members plan to grow the club and increase their o -campus outreach. For example, Simon would like to plan a tour of the nature preserve where he works parttime, and perhaps involve students in a plant restoration drive at the preserve.

Other possible activities include o -campus trash pick-ups and e orts to increase climate awareness, Simon said.

Initiatives like the Green Team instill in students “how to be respectful citizens of the world,” Perryman said. And in a world struggling with the e ects of climate change and unsustainable development practices, Perryman says the Green Team can help teach students to “become responsible stewards of natural resources.”

Jewish Studies Club Becomes A nity Group

who identify as Jewish allows for a stronger connection to form between these students.

for holidays at Upper School assemblies to spread positive awareness rather than negative awareness.”

Whensenior Lauren Hazan entered Upper School in her freshman year, she knew something was missing in her Greenhill experience. She wished there was a way for her to nd a community of people similar to her.

Four years later, Hazan reached out to Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion Monsie Muñoz to form a Jewish a nity group.

“I think that my Jewish education encouraged me to build a Jewish community at Greenhill,” Hazan said.

Muñoz encouraged the idea, so at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, Hazan started the process of forming the new Jewish A nity Group.

ere were multiple steps in this process. e leaders of the group – senior Josh Titens, junior Eliana Campbell and freshmen Mahri Wenzel and Ella Sadka – had to nd a faculty sponsor and create a mission statement.

e leaders approached Director of College Counseling

Jenny Fisher to be their faculty sponsor.

“Being Jewish is very important to me, and so I was really happy to help the students,” Fisher said.

All throughout Fisher’s rst eight years at Greenhill she sponsored the Jewish Studies Club, which this year transformed into the Jewish A nity Group.

“My understanding is that the main di erence between Jewish Studies Club and an a nity group is that a club is open to anyone regardless of how they identify,” Fisher said. “An a nity group is focused more uniquely on kids who identify with whatever the identi er is.”

Hazan said an a nity group that brings together students

“[A club] does not build the same community that an a nity group does,” Hazan said. “I was surprised there wasn’t already a Jewish a nity group, considering the big Jewish population at Greenhill and the [number] of a nity groups.”

Fisher said the O ce of Equity and Inclusion was always supportive of the idea of having a Jewish a nity group, but the decision of whether the Jewish Studies Club would be transformed into an a nity group was up to the students.

[A club] does not build the same community that an affinity groupp does. I was surprised there wasn’t already a Jewish affinity group, considering the big Jewish population at Greenhill and the [number] of affinity groups.”

Campbell said she wanted to make the club an a nity group to bring the importance her family places on Jewish values into her Greenhill life.

“I really wanted to share [our religion] because as a Jewish person, it’s our goal to bring light into the world,” Campbell said.

e a nity group came into existence at a time when antisemitism is prevalent on school campuses. A er witnessing acts of antisemitism, Hazan said she was more motivated to nalize the group to give Jewish students a place to express themselves and spread awareness about hatred of Jewish people.

e main thing is combatting stereotypes,” Hazan said. “We have discussed potentially having presentations

Antisemitism on college campuses has in uenced Hazan and many other seniors’ college searches.

“It’s really horrible seeing all of the [antisemitism] on college campuses, and I know I’m not the only individual who has to account for it when looking at schools,” Hazan said.

Given the rise of antisemitism in the nation in general, the new Upper School a nity group includes conversations about Jewish hatred on college campuses and Jewish hatred on a broader spectrum.

“I think that with the rise of antisemitism there can potentially be some other conversations that happen, that are very sadly necessary but productive conversations,” Fisher said. “ e di erence now is who’s in the room.”

Now that these conversations will be conducted between only Jewish students, new points may be spoken, Fisher said.

Sophomore Lilly Middleman, a member of the Jewish A nity group, said she is appreciative of having a space to spend time with people who share her religious beliefs. She said she is excited that the group exists as an additional outlet for her to express any questions or observations regarding Judaism.

“I love that there is a place I can go where I can talk and connect with my Judaism,” Middleman said. e leaders of the group said they hope to continue to build a stronger Jewish community through awareness initiatives and interactive holiday activities.

“I’m going to be really eager to see how this grows,” Fisher said. “It’s exciting to see there are student leaders who wanted to do this, and I’m happy to support the students.”

Tom Perryman

Gabi Appel

Spencer Simon

Charlotte Purcell

Lilly Middleman

Jenny Fisher

Graphic by Khushi Chhaya

Camila Hanson, Rory Liu

School Year Abroad in Italy

Each year, Upper School students from grades 10-12 have the opportunity to study outside the United States through the School Year Abroad program.

According to the SYA website, the program focuses on creating an in-depth experience that encompasses both academics and culture while preparing students to thrive independently.

Last August, juniors Morgan Ofenloch and Maya Desai traveled to Viterbo, Italy through Student Year Abroad for the yearlong program.

“Coming to SYA gave me the opportunity to be fully immersed in Italian culture, and we have so many opportunities to explore, travel, and interact with locals as part of our curriculum,” said Desai.

Entry Process

e application process includes three teacher recommendations, an interview with a program alumnus, a personal essay of 500 words, a student information form and a transcript. e application is typically due in early February, and the program runs through late May.

“Greenhill prepared us a lot for the application process in general,” Ofenloch said. “I feel like it wasn’t that di cult.”

Sophomore Grade Dean Jason Gajderowicz said that he educated students on the SYA program and guided Ofenloch and Desai through their application process.

“I [give students] an idea of what [the program] is like,” said Gajderowicz. “I act as a little bit of a liaison between Greenhill and SYA.”

One piece of advice Gajderowicz had to those who were applying was to keep in mind the types of experiences that they would be having.

“I think kids who are kind of interested in maybe a little more adventure [and] would like that immersive experience are good for SYA,” said Gajderowicz.

Ofenloch says she was interested in the program because it was di erent from what she was used to in the U. S.

“I applied because I’ve been living in Texas my whole life and I really wanted to get a change of scenery and a change of culture,” said Ofenloch.

Both Ofenloch and Desai said they felt a

sense of excitement when they were accepted into the program.

“I remember feeling really relieved when I saw it because I didn’t even decide to apply until the end of December,” said Desai. “So, I [was] really glad when I got [accepted] and I was really excited.”

Cultural Immersion

When Ofenloch and Desai moved to Italy, they were exposed to new environments and lifestyles.

“I feel like in Italy it’s more of a community than in America and I think [in Italy] it’s more enjoyable,” said Ofenloch.

Although moving to a new country comes with a language barrier, Ofenloch said that the program’s approach to learning a new language made the transition easier.

“It’s just having those language classes every day and also going home and speaking Italian with your host family,” said Ofenloch. “You get to learn the language so much quicker than you would in a classroom.” e SYA sta in Italy comprises both English-speaking and Italian-speaking teachers. However, Desai said she felt as though her elective and linguistic academics were strengthened due to the sta of predominantly Italian teachers.

“I feel like it’s really cool to be taught by non-American teachers because it brings a whole new perspective and a new way of teaching,” said Desai.

Although the Greenhill curriculum aligned fairly well with the SYA curriculum, a handful of courses di ered greatly, the students said.

Ofenloch and Desai had the opportunity to take a science course called Agroecology. During this course, they used more hands-on tactics that are tailored to learning about the natural environment.

“It’s more about learning the culture than the straight facts from the textbook,” said Desai. “Here everything is based on what’s around you.”

As a part of this course, Ofenloch and Desai harvested grapes for wine, picked olives to make olive oil, and tended a garden. eir class periods were 50 minutes long, with ve to six classes a day except for Wednesdays.

“On Wednesdays, we don’t have classes, we have eld work,” said Desai. “So that’s just [when] they give us an activity to do, and we

have assignments for three classes.”

Along with taking di erent courses, students also developed a sense of time management and independence through exploring the city.

“Whenever we don’t have class, you can leave and go anywhere as long as you’re at school for class,” said Desai. “So many times, during breaks, we’ll just go to a cafe and get a pastry and a co ee.”

Confronting Challenges

A major challenge that Ofenloch and Desai faced was the language barrier. Since students are paired with host families that are not uent in English, it impacted how they built relationships in their new environments.

“It’s kind of rough in the beginning because you don’t speak any Italian and they barely speak English,” said Ofenloch. “So, you’re trying to communicate with each other through hand gestures and other little actions.”

ough communication proved to be di cult for Desai as well, she struggled more with her newfound sense of extroversion and independence.

“I used to be super shy when I was younger [but] that totally changed, especially with this program,” said Desai.

Since Ofenloch and Desai don’t have classes on Wednesdays, the two can frequently use their free time to travel around Italy.

“One of the bigger challenges for me was planning things on my own,” said Desai. “When you go [on the trips] you have to speak a totally di erent language and talk to everyone around you in Italian.”

Part of the SYA Italy program involves independent travel where students can take day or weekend trips to parts of Italy and explore other regions with their peers.

“We have the ability to [take] day trips to anywhere that we can get there and back by the end of the day, which is such an amazing experience,” said Ofenloch.

Ofenloch also said moving from a large city like Dallas to a smaller city like Viterbo, Italy, has been challenging. She compares being able to pick out her favorite snacks among seemingly endless options in America to the limited ones in Viterbo.

“Dallas is such a big city and it’s a place where you can nd anything you want in the palm of your hand,” said Ofenloch. at hasn’t been the case in Viterbo, Ofenloch said.

Life Lessons

roughout their rst semester at SYA Italy, both Ofenloch and Desai saw signi cant changes in how they approached their lifestyles.

Desai said she has learned to have a better outlook on life.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself and my attitude toward everything,” said Desai. “I feel like I’ve gotten a much better mindset being here.”

Desai said her changed outlook extends to how she handles failure. She said she now feels that although messing up is normal, she can rebound and nd ways to learn from past errors.

Ofenloch shares this sentiment. She also said she has developed new skills for developing friendships.

“I really want to take that back to some of the people [at Greenhill] who I’ve been with in the grade for so long but haven’t actually had a full conversation with them,” said Ofenloch.

When their time in the program ends in May, Ofenloch and Desai said they hope to keep their many friendships with peers and host families.

“Everybody is really open to the experiences, so friendships here are, like, extremely genuine and extremely amazing,” said Ofenloch. “I hope we can still stay close in the future.”

When Ofenloch and Desai return to Dallas this spring they expect a bit of culture shock.

“‘I’m still excited to go back to Greenhill because it is an amazing school and they are the ones who o ered us this opportunity,” said Ofenloch.

Ofenloch and Desai said they will be returning to Dallas with new skills they’ve developed during their time in Italy.

“I feel a stronger sense of independence being here,” said Ofenloch. Additionally, “SYA is helping me be better at time management, especially with assignments,” Ofenloch said.

Amid their growth and learning, Ofenloch and Desai said they encourage Greenhill students to consider the bene ts that the School Year Abroad program can provide.

“SYA is going to be worth it [and] I can’t think of someone who came and regretted it,” Desai said. “You’re always going to nd something good about it.”

Aman Jaleel, Daniela Hallack

Photo courtesy of Maya Desai

YEAR AWAY: Maya Desai, right, and Morgan Ofenloch are spending their junior year in Italy with the School Year Abroad program. They live in the town of Viterbo.

Photo courtesy of Maya Desai

EXCURSIONS: On weekends, Maya Desai, left, and Morgan Ofenloch take short trips with other students around Italy to explore and sharpen their language skills.

Ron Ivery: e Face of Greenhill

Emily Hu, Pooja Sanghvi

In 1982, 22-year-old Ron Ivery was working a miserable job at the Motor Steel Company in Dallas.

“People were getting hurt and it was cold,” he said. “It was so extremely dangerous and there were no bene ts. I just said, ‘Boy, I know this ain’t where I’m meant to be.’”

Later that same year, he found where he was meant to be. He had just been laid o by the steel company job when a friend gave him a job lead at a private school in Addison.

“I dressed up, put on some good cologne and drove out here,” Ivery said. “ e guy who interviewed me said, ‘You sure smell good, [but] I don’t know how good you can work.’”

He was hired on the spot, and more than 40 years later, Ivery has become a Greenhill institution.

“He can be loud and boisterous, but he also just goes about his work and he’s amazing,” said Associate Head of School for Mission, Community, and Culture Tom Perryman ’81, who has known Ivery for almost 40 years. “It’s just a reminder that showing up and caring about people matters.

at’s just what he does.”

Creating Connections

Ivery quickly became immersed in the Greenhill community. He traveled around campus daily, interacted with students and faculty across all divisions and frequently helped with the logistics behind football and basketball games.

Forty-one years later, Ivery’s positive presence on campus has remained unchanged. He continues to help with setting up for events, moving and repairing things and helping with emergency tasks, such as making sure the renowned Greenhill peacocks stay on campus.

Ivery is one of the few members of his department who interacts with students and faculty every day.

“He always appears out of nowhere and gives you a st bump,” junior Ayne Park said. “It’s like he knows you and he understands you.”

Driving around campus in his golf cart, Ivery hands out peacock feathers to younger students and lights the replace in the Montgomery Library when it’s cold outside. Students say these small acts create a ripple e ect across the community.

Senior Barrett Self has been at Greenhill since kindergarten and still chats with Ivery every time they cross paths. Ivery even gives Self occasional rides to class in his golf cart.

“I’ve always seen Mr. Ivery as the face of Greenhill,” Self said. “Since Lower School, he has been the most generous man I’ve known. Having someone like him on campus really makes this place home.”

Students are not the only ones who interact with Ivery. Faculty across the school see Ivery on a daily basis and have felt the impact of his

presence.

“He was our Baccalaureate speaker when I graduated,” Upper School History Department Chair Amy Bresie ’96 said. “I think he teaches people the value of connection, the value of kindness and the value of forming a community and being a part of something.”

Bresie says that Ivery has impacted her on and o the campus, from the time that she was a student at Greenhill to now, as a teacher.

“He was so kind to my father, who taught here for years,” Bresie said. “And then, when he got cancer, Mr. Ron came to the hospital multiple times to visit him. at’s just the kind of man he is. He doesn’t just smile and say hello, he shows up and helps.” roughout his many years at Greenhill, Ivery has also formed traditions with the faculty and sta

“He comes in every Monday morning a er a Cowboys game to unpack the results,” said Perryman. “It has become sort of a routine.”

Ivery emphasizes that his engagement with the Greenhill community is far from a chore.

“When it’s time to go to work, I get excited to see my kids and my friends,” Ivery said. “I get a joy, when I’m available, to help kids and teachers in whatever situation they may need help in.”

Ivery says that many students in Upper School ask him to go to their sports games. Over the course of many years, students have also invited Ivery to graduation.

“I’m the only one that goes to graduation in my department,” Ivery said. “I start crying sometimes, I’ve been seeing some of you guys grow up. Now I even see the kids of kids that went to school here.”

Changing Times

Having seen a number of changes throughout his Greenhill career, Ivery singled out some notable improvements.

“ ere’s been a much larger increase in diversity throughout the years,” Ivery said.

“It’s not a day that I’m not excited to see what kind of an impact this has on Greenhill.”

Another big change that Ivery experienced took place in 1997, when Perryman introduced the community-wide Heart of the Hill activities.

“Everybody taking time out to mingle and come together was a huge and great idea,” Ivery said. “When I rst started working here, they didn’t have big community activities and it makes a big di erence.”

From very early on, Perryman says he realized that Ivery wanted to participate in community activities, because of his love for the people on campus. is is why, to

Ivery, the most meaningful change was led by former Head of Middle School Lucinda Carter.

Carter acknowledged the maintenance department, paving the way for them to participate in community activities like Heart of the Hill.

“We previously couldn’t participate in certain things that the rest of the faculty could,” Ivery said. “[Lucinda] Carter thought of us and changed that.”

Greenhill Touchstone

When re ecting on his previous jobs, Ivery notes that Greenhill’s unique culture impacted him in ways unlike any other job.

“As a person who just had a high school diploma, I have to say that this is the best job I’ve had,” Ivery said. “I’ve gotten to know so many of these kids, and I’m getting older so I can’t remember their names, but I remember all of their faces.”

From the welcoming community to the comfort that the campus brings, Ivery feels that these little things of Greenhill have made the past four decades a joy.

e people whose lives he has touched over the decades feel the same way.

“I just can’t fathom a universe in which Mr. Ron is not a part of Greenhill,” said Bresie. “Even back when I was here, he was already legendary. And he doesn’t just know names, he knows things about you in a way that I think is kind of amazing.”

Perryman says that when alumni look back on their Greenhill experience, they can never forget Ivery because of his graciousness and generosity.

“He’s a xture,” Perryman said. “He’s a living, breathing embodiment of what the school stands for, and is a touchstone for so many people.”

Greenhill is an integral part of Ivery’s life now, and when he’s away for too long, he misses the school and all the people, he said.

“It’s kind of like my second home now,” Ivery said. “I may be gone soon, and I ain’t gonna see y’all no more, but y’all always gonna be a part of my heart.”

LEGEND ON THE HILL: Ron Ivery is regularly seen driving around Greenhill in his golf cart, bantering with students and faculty - and bringing smiles to the campus.

Photo by Chloe Nguyen

Photos Courtesy of Tom Perryman, Graphic by Riya Kommineni

OVER 40 YEARS: Ron Ivery has served on the Facility Operations and Services team since 1982 and has made many meaningful relationships within the community.

Graphic by Khushi Chhaya

Alumni Pro le: Eric Johnson ’94

Ava Iwasko, Riya

Kommineni

In 1993, Eric Johnson ’94 led the Hornets to one of the most successful seasons in Greenhill football history. Donning a gold and green jersey, Johnson was a skilled running back who was named the team’s Most Valuable Player.

Little did Johnson know that in 2019, he would be tackling a new challenge: becoming the 60th mayor of Dallas. Johnson credits Greenhill with shaping him as a person and instilling in him the work ethic and integrity that have been crucial to his adult success.

Johnson came to Greenhill as a secondgrader in 1983. Prior to second grade, Johnson attended Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gi ed Academy, formerly known as Sudie L. Williams Elementary School, near Love Field, and C. F. Carr Elementary School in West Dallas.

While attending Carr Elementary, Johnson’s former rst grade teacher found a Boys and Girls Club program that helped academically gi ed students nd available spots at Dallas private schools like Greenhill.

Despite coming from a neighborhood and community that were very di erent from Greenhill, Johnson says he was able to adapt well.

“A lot of kids who went through that Boys and Girls Club program I went through struggled with some of those di erences, and I understand why,” Johnson said. “But for whatever reason, I actually really enjoyed it, and I really embraced it. I just had so much fun.”

Johnson says one of his favorite parts of being at Greenhill were the teachers and classmates he met. Johnson described himself as a “very social guy” who made many friends across all grades.

He also enjoyed his experiences playing sports and serving on student government.

In Middle School, he played football, basketball and baseball and ran track. Associate Head of School for Mission, Community, and Culture Tom Perryman ’81 was Johnson’s eighth-grade football coach.

Perryman says Johnson came up to him at the end of his seventh-grade football season and said he would do whatever it took to have an undefeated eighth-grade season. Johnson turned out to be incredibly competitive and a hardworking team player, said Perryman.

“Everything I asked of him and his teammates they did, and they destroyed everybody,” said Perryman. “ at was just the way Eric led.”

Learning to Lead

As Johnson moved through the Upper School, he dropped baseball and basketball but continued competing for Greenhill’s

football and track teams. As a running back, Johnson led the Hornets through a successful season in his senior year with a 6-3-1 record.

Additionally, Johnson served on Greenhill’s rst-ever Honor Council as a freshman and eventually became the council chair as a senior.

e seriousness of the Honor Council’s work is what drew Johnson to serve all four years, he said. is experience proved pivotal for Johnson in being able to reach his aspirations in public service.

“Back then, I was actually already sort of not interested in politics as much as I was interested in getting stu done,” Johnson said. “Back then, the Student Council, in my opinion, didn’t do a whole lot of serious stu [and] the Honor Council was hearing allegations of plagiarism and violating the school’s academic code and throwing kids out of school… [I] fell in love with it and stayed on it the entire time.”

Johnson remembers a particularly tense case hearing that involved a close friend that ended up being found guilty.

“It was our senior year when people were applying to college, when this would be a really high-stakes thing to have an Honor Council violation on your record,” said Johnson. “I remember the faculty asked me, ‘Do you think you can be objective and fair about this given that it involves a friend?’ and I told them, ‘It’s my job, I’ll do my job.’”

Johnson says Greenhill’s academics and sense of community prepared him well for his post-secondary education. Some in uential classes included Nature and Uses of Language with Dick Williams, U.S. History with Tony Torrence and AP English Literature with Christine Eastus. Johnson credits Torrence’s class as his inspiration to pursue history in college.

Perryman, who taught Johnson in both sixth- and 12th-grade English classes, says Johnson was an incredibly engaged student and one of the smartest young men he has ever met.

“He’s intellectually curious and intellectually courageous,” Perryman said. “He wouldn’t just take pat answers. He wanted to know why. I think he pushed us as his teachers, in appropriate ways and respectful ways, but he made us better and I loved working with him. He was a very engaged student.”

At his senior commencement, Johnson gave a speech about his experience coming from the Boys and Girls Club. While Perryman knew Johnson and his family well, he was still moved by Johnson’s words.

“I remember him standing there in the Meyerson [Symphony Center] representing his class as one of the senior speakers and just thinking, ‘wow, this, this young man is going to do some great things,’” said

Perryman. “And he has.”

College and Career

A er graduating from Greenhill in 1994, Johnson attended Harvard University and graduated cum laude in 1998 with a degree in history. He then went on to receive a master’s degree in public a airs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International A airs in 2003 and Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2003.

He’s

Johnson was then admitted to the State Bar of Texas and worked as an attorney for several years. In 2010, he was elected to the Texas State House of Representatives from the 100th District, which encompasses parts of Dallas and Mesquite.

A er serving six terms in the Texas Legislature, Johnson won Dallas’s mayoral election in 2019. At Johnson’s victory party the night he won the election, Perryman –now described by Johnson as a “very close friend” – got to introduce his former student. It was a “goose bump, tearjerker” moment that Perryman still cherishes.

Public Service

Re ecting on his time at Greenhill, Johnson says his experience did not lead him to public service so much as it prepared him for that line of work.

“If I had one thing I’d change about Greenhill from when I was there, I don’t feel like it had as much of an emphasis on leadership per se,” Johnson said. “ at’s di erent than saying it didn’t have an emphasis on community service, which it did, or on being a good citizen, [which] it did.”

Instead, Johnson says Greenhill taught him how to be a good person and a hard worker.

“My work ethic was really honed at Greenhill and that’s served me well in my professional career, both [in] private law practice and in government,” Johnson said.

“[Greenhill] taught me to appreciate di erent viewpoints. Greenhill was always a very, relatively speaking, diverse school, one that valued diversity. I think that’s been helpful. And it gave me a heart for service.”

Perryman hopes that Greenhill challenged and pushed Johnson to be his best throughout his time at the school.

“I think Greenhill broadened his horizons and allowed him to see possibilities that he might not have been able to see otherwise,” said Perryman. “I think Greenhill gave Eric a chance to stretch his own intellectual abilities and try new things.”

Johnson says he has always had a drive to work in public service.

“I didn’t know how I would do it, but I always had a desire to make sure that more people who came from backgrounds similar to mine had opportunities like I had, and even more,” Johnson said.

Part of this dream came from Johnson’s own upbringing and community in West Dallas.

“Greenhill is a small school [and] only has a few openings a year for kids on nancial aid, [so] it can’t provide the opportunity to all the kids who could bene t from it,” Johnson said. “So I always want to work in some way to make that opportunity available to more people, [which is] I guess what attracted me initially to go into the state legislature where you deal with education policy.”

In his role as Dallas mayor, Johnson has focused on improving public safety, delivering economic development and minimizing the impact of COVID-19 on city residents.

In 2019, Johnson appointed Perryman to the Dallas Municipal Library Board as vice-chair. Part of Perryman’s responsibilities are to inform Johnson of library issues. ey still work together and support each other today, Perryman said.

As Johnson prepares for his second campaign for the mayoral election in May 2023, his advice for students who aspire to be public servants is to ask themselves why they want to go into this eld, especially if they hope to serve in an elected position.

“I do fear that we are living in a time when a lot of people are nding ways to feed the social media monster and are looking for notoriety and don’t necessarily care how they get it,” said Johnson. “I think people need to have a motivation that’s outside of themselves before they go into public service and certainly before they run for o ce.”

STAR PLAYER: Before becoming mayor of Dallas, Eric Johnson ‘94 was a standout running back on the Greenhill football team and was named team MVP in 1993.

SCHOOL TIES: Eric Johnson ’94 is friends with his former Greenhill mentor, center, Associate Head of School for Mission, Community, and Culture Tom Perryman ’81.

Photo courtesy of Tom Perryman

Photo courtesy of Tom Perryman

intellectually curious and intellectually courageous. He wouldn’t just take pat answers. He wanted to know why. “

Arts e Singing Dean

Jack Oros Finds Joy with the DSO Chorus

Sophia Li

When most Upper School students think of Dean of Students Jack Oros, they think of the bagel stands at the Student Center, weekly Community Time announcements or the tub of strawberry candies in his o ce.

What is less known, however, is Oros’s favorite pastime: singing.

“I have three passions: singing, cooking and teaching,” Oros said.

His love for singing began when he was just 3 years old a er he started singing at his church Vacation Bible School. From there, he went on to join the campus chorus in middle school and high school. Eventually, he became a member of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club, the principal vocal group of Purdue University.

In recent decades, in search of another singing outlet, he auditioned for the Dallas Symphony Chorus, a branch of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Unlike the orchestra, the chorus is fully composed of volunteers.

“I had been to some [Dallas Symphony Orchestra] concerts and, even though the singers are volunteers, it’s a very professional organization,” Oros said. “I auditioned and made it.”

Holiday Joy

During the 2022 holiday season, his love for singing came to life during the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus’s annual Christmas Pops concert. is performance took place from Dec. 2-11 at the Meyerson Symphony Center and featured nearly a dozen performances. e concert featured a variety of classic Christmas carols, including “Believe” from “ e Polar Express,” “White Christmas”, “Silver Bells” and “Twelve Days of Christmas.” For Oros, his favorite piece to perform was “My Dancing Day, On Christmas Night” by Gary Fry.

“It’s several carols put together and the orchestration is great and the choral part is great,” he said.

To further li holiday spirits, the entire Meyerson Symphony Center features a festive backdrop at the concert, with lines of green garland, lights and two Christmas trees on the sides of the stage.

“It gets people in the spirit of the holidays,” Oros said. “A lot of people show up to the concert and it lls the seats of the Meyerson. It’s sold out a lot.”

Rehearsal Energy

e rehearsal process for the annual Christmas Pops concert involves weekly rehearsals on Monday nights. ese rehearsals take place at the Meyerson and last for about two hours. Closer to the concert, the singers begin rehearsing with the orchestra.

Despite the frequency of these rehearsals, Oros says they serve as a calming end to his day.

I had been to some [Dallas Symphony Orchestra] concerts and, even though the singers are volunteers, it’s a very professional organization. I auditioned and made it.”

“Singing is always relaxing,” Oros said. “Whenever I’m done with

Many Greenhill students have also found joy in working with the Dallas Symphony

“Singing with an orchestra is always super cool because you know that every voice standing alongside you and every single

instrument down on stage is completely uni ed toward one goal: to create and express the music,” senior Vijay Agarwal said. “It truly takes your breath away. It’s especially challenging sometimes working at the world-class standards of groups like the DSO, but there are just once-in-a-lifetime chances to learn and adapt and experience life-changing music.”

Singing is always relaxing. Whenever I’m done with rehearsal, I feel energized.

Junior Michelle Phu agrees, saying the love for music is mutual for everyone there.

“Singing with the DSO is really special, and I’ve had the privilege to do so since Middle School,” Phu said. “I love hearing the musical talent our community has and there’s something so special in being a part of it.” e COVID-19 pandemic posed tremendous challenges to this community, disrupting rehearsal schedules, Oros said. During the pandemic, Oros says he didn’t sing for a year and a half, or he sang with masks in smaller groups. Now, everything is back to the pre-pandemic normal.

Despite any challenges, Oros says that he feels proud of the chorus’ performance.

“I think it went really well,” he said. “I always enjoy this concert.”

Around the World

Junior Dhilan Patel, who watched the concert through the WFAA channel, says that the concert was of great quality, despite not being able to hear the singers live.

My favorite place we traveled to was Israel with the Israeli Philharmonic back in ’87. I’ve also sung in Germany, Spain, France, Scandinavia and Russia. There’s a lot of great opportunities to sing all over the world.”

“I thought it was really well done,” Patel said. “I thought they did a great job of making sure it sounded great on a

telecast, which is sometimes hard to do, and making sure that one section didn’t drown out another. You could hear everything the way it was supposed to be heard.”

Patel also says that the concert served as a great bonding moment for his family on Christmas Eve.

“I convinced my family to watch it with me, so we all sat around the TV when Patel said. “It was one of those moments where we were all having a Christmas Eve dinner and some people watched Christmas movies and other people watched this concert. It kind of puts you in that Christmas mood.” ough a majority of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus’s concerts take place in Dallas, the chorus also travels all across the world. In Oros’s 31 years with the chorus group, he has traveled to more than 10 di erent countries.

“My favorite place we traveled to was Israel with the Israeli Philharmonic back in ’87,” Oros said. “I’ve also sung in Germany, Spain, France, Scandinavia and Russia. ere’s a lot of great opportunities to sing all over the world.” rough the Dallas Symphony Chorus, Oros says he has not only found an exciting outlet to pursue his passion for singing but has also become a part of a community of likeminded singers. rough rehearsals and travels, he was able to form lasting connections with fellow chorus members.

“I’ve met two of my really close friends here,” said Oros. “I’ve known them for 30 years. ere are really good friends that you get and maintain through the years from traveling and the concerts we do.”

As a dancer and member of Greenhill band, Patel says that Oros’s passion for singing speaks to the broader importance of ne arts on campus.

“It just shows how big of an impact the ne arts have at Greenhill, whether or not students go on to pursue it a er high school,” Patel said. “Your Dean of Students is managing the students and bagels and everything, so I think it’s really cool to see someone you see on a daily basis in a non- ne arts setting have a di erent side of him that is more artistic.”

CHRISTMAS CHORALS: Upper School Dean of Students Jack Oros sang in the annual Christmas Pops Concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center on Christmas Eve. Some Greenhill students watched his performance on TV.

Photo courtesy of Jack Oros

Jack Oros

Roll for (Stage) Combat

eater Students Learn Fight Cra for Spring Play

This year, “She Kills Monsters,” Greenhill’s spring play, will feature a total of eight ght scenes. To prepare, the cast is currently undergoing stage combat training.

“It’s been so cool because this is my third show with Greenhill, but we’ve never done anything like this before,” sophomore Shreya Chhaya said.

Chhaya, along with other cast members, is learning the basics of stage combat using dowel rods as standin weapons. ey will then use what they’ve learned to enhance the actual ght scenes.

“We’re learning how to block and how to hit people with swords, and we’re learning how to fake punch and how to stab,” Chhaya said.

“She Kills Monsters,” written by Qui Nguyen, tells the story of a woman learning more about her younger sister through the world of Dungeon and Dragons, a tabletop roleplaying game which utilizes fantasy settings and combat to move the story forward.

e dowel rods are meant to mimic the weapons that will actually be used in the play, said Upper School Drama and eater teacher Valerie Hauss-Smith.

Learning the Steps

For senior Teddy Robertson, who is assisting in directing the play, the ght scenes in “She Kills Monsters” require precise training, so no one gets hurt.

“You can’t give children sharp pointy ends without some rules and regulations,” Robertson said.

“And not only that, but because it’s the theater, [the stage combat] has to be precise and the same every single night.”

To ensure safety and accuracy, Hauss-Smith got in touch with a ght choreographer and a stuntman.

“He came in to do a couple of workshops and some basic stu like footwork and movement,” said Hauss-Smith. “But this show has swords and maces and axes and battle axes and things, actually way bigger weapons to handle, so that’s what we worked on.”

You can’t give children sharp pointy ends without some rules and regulations. And not only that, but because it’s the theater, [the stage combat] has to be precise and the same every single night.”

A er the cast learns basic ghting techniques, the ght choreographer will work with Hauss-Smith to block every ght scene.

“When we go ‘Okay, now we’ll just roll the dice and we have a ght,’ then they’re going to choreograph that and then we’ll pick it up from there and continue to the next thing,” Hauss-Smith said. “So, it’s sort of a divide and conquer.” is is not the rst time a Greenhill play has featured stage combat. e fall 2019 production of “Romeo and Juliet” featured three ght scenes as well.

He came in to do a couple of workshops and some basic stuff like footwork and movement, but this show has swords and maces and axes and battle axes and things, actually way bigger weapons to handle, so that’s what we worked on.”

However, Hauss-Smith says that the style in “She Kills Monsters” will di er from “Romeo and Juliet.”

“In ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ it was pretty realistic,” Hauss-Smith said. “People would die and then we had those blood packs. is style is di erent because when you go on a campaign and you’re playing the game, if you die, you can create a new character and start again. So, it doesn’t have to be so real, the way you die. So stylistically, we’re going to have fun with it. It’ll be more rambunctious and sort of fun versus serious.”

Cast Reactions

Robertson has enjoyed watching the cast members learn stage combat.

“I did not detect any sort of disdain or lack of willingness to take part in it,” he said. “It’s very fun. And I imagine once we actually start with real swords instead of wooden sticks, they’ll probably have even more fun.”

Senior Deeya Bachani, another cast member learning stage combat, has enjoyed learning how to ght.

“We are learning it together which feels very communal,” she said. “It’s also something di erent, so it’s fun to have that other thing.”

Hauss-Smith said the fun atmosphere of the ght scenes helps the students get excited.

“I think that for some of them, it’s like, ‘Holy cow. How’s that going to go? Am I going to remember everything?’”

Hauss Smith said. “But once we have the storyline of the ghts choreographed, we’ll spend time with each student going, ‘Okay, the rst move is this.’ ey will be well equipped by the time we’re actually doing it.”

As an assistant director, Robertson has noticed that the actors’ backgrounds have in uenced their ghting style.

“You can see where knowing the skills they have from other activities they enjoy, it’s really easy to see where it’s helping them in the process of learning stage combat,” Robertson said.

He noted that sometimes, those skills a ect their performance poorly as well.

“If you have a dancer, they pick up the movement and the choreography of it really well. However sometimes their dance skills can paint the combat as more elegant and graceful. So everyone has things to improve on even if they are approaching it with a pre-established toolbox,” he said.

Overall, Bachani said, the stage combat makes the play more engaging for the audience.

Sometimes their dance skills can paint the combat as more elegant and graceful. So Everyone has things to improve on even if they are approaching it with a pre-established toolbox.”

“I think the audience will feel like it’s more real since we’re learning real ght choreography,” she said. “It will keep the audience entertained and engaged while also pushing the storyline.”

Chhaya agrees. For her, the fact that stage combat has rarely been done at Greenhill sets “She Kills Monsters” apart.

“I feel like it would be more bland if we did something else,” Chhaya said. “Being able to be professionally taught stage combat and have everyone take part in it and make a big ght scene is going to make the show come alive so much more.”

Emma Nguyen

SWORDS IN THEATER: Sophomore Shreya Chhaya and junior Alex Peplinski practiced a sword ght while honing their theater stage combat skills. “She Kills Monsters” has eight ght scenes, all meticulously choreographed.

Photo by Evie Kwei

STAGE COMBAT: For the upcoming spring play, “She Kills Monsters,” cast members have been learning stage combat, spending hours on the weekends with an instructor practicing and learning ght-scene choreography.

Photo by Evie Kwei

Shreya Chhaya

Valerie HaussSmith

Teddy Robertson

Centerpiece

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Framing the Debate

In recent months, two legal cases have gained growing visibility as they climbed through the federal courts. e national discourse surrounding these cases has resurrected an issue that has fueled debate in the United States since the 1960s: a rmative action.

In October 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. Both cases take aim at the use of race as a factor in college admissions.

How the Supreme Court rules on these cases in the months ahead could alter the admissions processes of elite educational institutions around the country, although such changes would take time to be implemented and could be met with challenges.

“Even if we did see a very dramatic decision, it would take a long time [to implement] and universities have said that they will ght to continue to be able to cra the kind of classes that they want to,” said Upper School History Department Chair Amy Bresie ’96.

A rmative action is the legal recognition that certain minority groups have historically faced challenges being accepted into higher education and nding jobs in the workforce.

As a result, many corporations and universities consider race, ethnicity and gender as factors in admissions in an attempt to aid historically and systematically disadvantaged groups.

Some groups – including some minority groups who contend they are being disadvantaged by a rmative action policies –are pushing back.

Students for Fair Admissions is a national nonpro t organization that contends that “racial classi cations and preferences in college admissions are unfair, unnecessary and unconstitutional,” according to the group’s website. Much of the group’s funding comes from known conservative organizations, including DonorsTrust, Searle Freedom Trust, and the Sarah Scaife Foundation.

e group has led three lawsuits against institutions of higher education in the last ve years, including the two cases that the Supreme Court is currently hearing and a landmark 2016 case against the University of Texas at Austin.

In that earlier case, Fisher v. University of Texas, the Supreme Court upheld UT-Austin’s race-conscious admissions policy. e decision stated that race as a factor in admissions “promotes cross-racial understanding, helps to break down racial stereotypes and enables students to better understand persons of di erent races.”

Now despite previous rulings, the same issue sits before the Supreme Court once again.

“It is about history,” Head of Equity and Inclusion Marcus Ingram said. “In another way, it’s about what’s happening now and thinking about who has access to certain experiences, resources, etc. [It’s about] what our responsibility is now in order to help address that.”

A rmative action policies rst started in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, a er he passed an executive order prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion or national origin. Following this order, a rmative action policies were introduced in both higher education and the workforce.

e earliest forms of a rmative action came in quotas. Many universities and corporations would set aside a certain number of seats for minority applicants, in an attempt to rectify the legacy of discrimination.

is changed in 1978 when Allan Bakke, a white man who was twice denied admission to the medical school at the University of California at Davis, sued the school, challenging the constitutionality of its a rmative action admissions policies. Amid avid public interest, the case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a contentious 5-4 ruling, the court upheld a rmative action in college admissions. e Supreme Court also ruled that quotas could not be used to diversify the student body of a college or university.

Countless studies have shown that racial minorities have faced discrimination in the United States. at discrimination has manifested itself in multiple ways, including wealth and educational disparities among communities of color.

A 2021 study conducted by the Federal Reserve found that the average net worth of a white household is over three times greater than that of a Black or Hispanic household.

In terms of admissions to highly selective colleges and universities, these opportunity gaps make it di cult for some students to be considered competitive in applicant pools, said senior Madison Rojas.

Senior Ryan Xie said he agrees with this sentiment, but he believes that a rmative action is not an e ective way to help alleviate inequality. In Xie’s view, a rmative action unfairly focuses on more on equality of outcomes instead of equality of opportunity.

“[Harvard is] trying to have the outcome of admissions be more fair, whereas instead they should be focused more on [giving] opportunities,” Xie said. “ ey should ensure that students from all minorities are given the same resources to succeed in their schools and get the same quality education as compared to making sure to give these people who don’t have these opportunities more slots. Focusing on outcomes is unfair to everybody.”

Rojas emphasizes the opportunity di erence between certain communities in America, which decreases opportunities people have of getting into prestigious universities.

“When you are living in a community in which the schools are falling apart, there are no extracurricular activities, you can’t switch to a di erent school district because you live in a certain zip code, your teachers are the same people who are your coaches, you are

not able to take tutoring classes for the SAT or [American College Testing] and you do not have access to adults that can help with application essays,” Rojas said. “All of those barriers make it di cult to become a ‘good student.’”

Advocacy groups say a rmative action serves to “level the playing eld” for groups that have been placed at a systemic disadvantage so that higher education can be diversi ed. Outreach campaigns, targeted recruitment and employee diversity training are at the forefront of a rmative action programs in the workforce.

California was the rst state to outlaw a rmative action in 1996, and the impact on college admissions has been striking. Only 5% of the undergraduate population at the University of California, Los Angeles was Black in 2020, considerably lower than Harvard’s rate, which was 15.8% in the same year.

e move away from a rmative action is a mistake, some Greenhill students, faculty and administrators contend.

“[A rmative action] serves to address and ameliorate the inequalities, historical systemic inequalities, in education and hiring practices that have been caused by systemic racism,” said Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion Monsie Muñoz ’05. “I’ve seen the bene ts to entire communities, not just the individuals, which is why a rmative action is so important. It has been proven that diversifying a community strengthens the whole community.”

“Holistic Review”

Within higher education today, a rmative action policies

“Colleges and universities interpret a rmative-action policies and put them into action in their own individual ways, which are proprietary and not generally shared with the public,” the Greenhill College Counseling o ce said in a written response to questions. Many elite colleges and universities will evaluate applications by employing a “holistic review” of each student. Rather than focusing on any one factor or attribute of the applicant, a holistic admissions process aims to learn about the “whole” applicant, including academics

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

Khushi Chhaya, Lyna Kamgang and Aria Kutty

and extracurriculars, with each component of a student’s application considered in the context of the others.

In 2016, the Supreme Court held that race could be considered as “a factor of a factor of a factor” in a holistic review process with the intention of diversifying student bodies.

“In many cases where you’re talking about elite institutions, their particular [admissions] processes are designed to better understand as much as possible about who individual applicants are,” Ingram said. “ e submitted materials aren’t just quantitative measures like grades and standardized testing scores. ey’re an important folio of this person’s story.”

However, race continues to be an uncomfortable topic of discussion in many spaces, Muñoz said.

“If we are being honest about why a rmative action is before the Supreme Court again and why it’s becoming such a contemporary issue yet again, it’s [because] we’re not comfortable having conversations about race and gender, both of which are socially constructed categories to a degree, and they’ve shi ed over time,” Ingram said.

Muñoz says this hesitancy to explore the barriers faced by marginalized groups doesn’t stop at the personal level, but rather extends to institutions and society writ large. e process of unlearning these habits and bridging historical and systemic divides will take time, she said.

“Most [colleges and universities in the United States] were originally created for a select group of people: those who identify as white,” Muñoz said. “Many of them were not created with the idea of a person that checked o other boxes in mind. And so it takes a while to kind of get into the habit of including those people that were never

included in your community.”

Greenhill Lens

College applications and admissions is a constant focus of many Upper School students, and that has centered affirmative action in ongoing campus conversations.

Some students do not support a rmative action practices, as they contend that raceconscious admissions processes punish some minority students, especially Asians and Asian-Americans.

“[A rmative action] was founded on the basis of trying to provide equal opportunity,” Xie said. “But it has gotten to the point where a rmative action has just become fundamentally racist.”

Xie said that personal success and merit should be the primary benchmark by which students are evaluated in selective admissions,

not race.

“It’s o en not possible to tell anymore whether a given student genuinely deserved admission into a top college, an applicant landing a highly competitive job, someone achieving something great, or whether he or she is there by virtue of tting into some sort of false diversity narrative,” he said.

Junior Aditya Pulipaka agrees with this, adding that the consideration of race perpetuates racial divides.

“I understand why [colleges] are doing it,” Pulipaka said. “ ey want more diversity. But additionally, they seem to be denying more quali ed people entry into their college due to their race, which still feels like an extension of racism. It still distinguishes based on race, which I believe should not be done.”

Other students appreciate the application of a rmative action as a means of undoing past racism and diversifying institutions.

“I see it as a good thing,” Rojas said. “I think that rst of all, there are always deserving people from communities, whether Black and brown communities or other communities who deserve to go to college, who deserve to be on those campuses. And that [a rmative action] is just another tool to make sure that they have access to that kind of opportunity.”

For Bresie, the larger implications of a rmative action and what it stands for should be at the forefront of the conversation.

“I think that sometimes righting a historic wrong is more important than an individual achieving something that they want,”

Bresie said. “ at’s not to say that I don’t value everybody’s dreams, but that is to say that people who are not getting into Harvard still have plenty of opportunities and good things that will happen to them in their lives.

ey have been set up for success in a myriad of ways.”

Several studies have shown that diverse spaces bene t students both socially and educationally.

“Universities are trying to create diverse classes of students by getting people in from all di erent walks of life, from di erences in economic areas, from di erent races and ethnicities,” Bresie said. “And by doing all of that, they are actually creating a better experience for everybody.”

While a rmative action in college admissions has become a contentious topic of debate around the country, it is mainly argued in the context of elite universities whose student bodies account for a small fraction of the total number of students pursuing higher education across the country, Ingram noted.

“When we think about those elite institutions and the number of spots that they have available and the number of people who are actually going to go there and the pro le of students, that’s a really limited sliver of who our population is in this country,” Ingram said. “And the amount of churn in all of the community about this small group of spots, it’s fascinating because people personalize these cases.”

“Model Minority”

In 2018, the lawsuit led by Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions, alleged that a rmative action unfairly discriminates against Asian Americans. In order to support their argument, the plainti s invoked what has become known as the Model Minority Myth.

e term “Model Minority” was rst coined by sociologist William Peterson in a 1966 article he wrote commending the success that Japanese Americans were able to achieve, despite the racist barriers they had to overcome. Since then, this term has grown to become a stereotype that broadly characterizes Asians as a hardworking group that is highly successful in both academic and professional aspects.

In multiple cases against a rmative action, plainti s have argued that because of this stereotype universities hold Asians to a higher standard.

Consequently, raceconscious admissions ultimately harm the chances of Asian students seeking admission to elite colleges and universities, critics of a rmative action contend.

“It goes back to basing everything o of race,” Xie said. “And perhaps, the most tragic side e ect of a rmative action is that the very signi cant achievements of minority individuals can become compromised.”

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, Asian American students on average have higher grade point averages, more extracurriculars and better SAT scores than those of other races. However, a study done by Georgetown University shows that they are being admitted to elite institutions at equal and lower rates than other races, and that’s provoked a backlash from some Asians.

“I think this sort of idea of a model minority in some ways is toxic,” Muñoz said. “It’s just another way for people of color to ght amongst themselves. I do not want to minimize how those students or families feel, but I think that it is a narrative that’s been created to push this idea that ‘forced’ diversity is not good.”

Court Decision

With the current Supreme Court term set to end in June, court watchers expect a ruling on the two race-conscious admissions cases sometime this spring. For universities, this could mean editing their language and admissions policies before a new college application season begins in the fall.

What changes that might portend for Upper School students in the college application process will likely hinge on how the court rules. In the meantime, Greenhill’s college counselors said the high court’s decision won’t a ect how they approach the process with Upper School students.

“[A Supreme Court ruling] would not a ect how we counsel students, as these policies are devised and applied by colleges and universities internally, not by college counselors,” the College Counseling o ce said in its written response to questions. “We would continue to start with individual students and their talents and interests, working with them to identify great college matches.”

It is about history. In another way, it’s about what’s happening now and thinking about who has access to certain experiences, resources, etc.”

originally meant to be

Special Report

Reaching for the STARS

Summer program inspires Upper School students

Every day at 8 a.m. last summer, seniors Nikitha oduguli and Charlotte Purcell waited at the DART Parker Road Station to board a train to the University of Texas Southwestern’s Medical Center campus. ere, they embarked on an eight-week immersive research internship alongside other science-enthused high school students across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

oduguli and Purcell were participating in the STARS Summer Research Program, a non-residential summer program sponsored by UTSW Medical Center.

“ e STARS program is designed to give folks that don’t have connections to the university world and give them a look into the research process,” Upper School Science Department Chair Treavor Kendall said. “Students are able to see what science looks like in action.”

It’s a highly competitive program, and students must submit an application along with teacher recommendation letters to begin the selection process.

According to the Associate Director of the STARS Program Lynn Tam, the goal is to give everyone equal opportunity to participate in research and level the playing eld for all students.

“Our hope is that students from the program will continue to have that zeal for STEM that sparks something for their futures,” Tam said. “Ultimately, many of them end up inspiring the next generation of STEM students, which is really our end goal.”

Typical Day

At 9 a.m. each day, oduguli and Purcell, along with senior Hannah Zhou, arrived at UTSW Medical Center, which became their classroom, research laboratory and work home for the rest of the summer.

Working alongside Professor Douglas Strand in computational biology, oduguli studied the genomic expressions of the female urethra, researching standards and characteristics of urethra samples to inform future medical treatment.

“I didn’t really have a background in urology, but the stu that Dr. Strand was doing was speci c to genomics and computational biology, which were areas that I had already expressed interest in,” oduguli said. “Even though it was a eld that I was not fully aware of, it was still very interesting to get to apply the same techniques to a di erent eld.”

Despite having never taken a urology

course, oduguli remembers learning about genetics in Advanced Placement Biology last year and falling in love with how it allowed scientists to predict o spring genetic traits and markers.

“ is sort of genetic engineering mind was something I wanted to hone some more, and the STARS program gave me a di erent and more expansive perspective on this study,” oduguli said.

Her STARS program aligned with her background in coding with genetics, allowing her to study large data trends in a manner that would be impossible on a human level.

oduguli would start her day with some morning coding. en, she switched gears to staining female urethra tissues using genetic markers from previously collected bioinformatics data, before returning to coding during long breaks in RNAscope, the immunostaining protocol.

For Purcell, the STARS program was an opportunity to get in a lab and see if she wanted to pursue research in the future.

“Research is de nitely a tedious process, and it’s a lot of failing and tweaking small things to try to get a result,” Purcell said. “But I really enjoyed the process experience because when it does produce the results you want, it looks amazing.”

Working with Danielle Robertson, an ophthalmologist with a doctorate in optometry, Purcell focused on the meibomian glands, which are glands in the eye that produce an oil that prevents the eye from drying up. Meibomian gland dysfunction is a leading cause of dry eye, which is what Robertson’s lab was studying.

Purcell worked on producing a staining methodology to help distinguish di erent tissues and cell types from each other. Her work was mostly individual, but she also worked with other members of Robertson’s lab in helping clean samples or collect data.

“In the lab, I had to gure out what I had to do myself and become more of a selfadvocate,” Purcell said.

As someone who has always loved science, Purcell really enjoyed the hands-on lab and research experience.

“It feels like you’re actually doing a lot of important research and you get to work with scientists and Ph.D. candidates,” Purcell said. “It’s really cool because you get to talk to people who know a ton about science and the human body.”

Psychiatric Focus

Zhou chose to focus more on psychiatry, which meant more work in dry labs and statistical analysis. Zhou’s dry lab work

included studying data entries and running them through SPSS, a statistical analysis so ware.

Working with Professor Sherwood Brown, Zhou studied the e ects of depression and mental illnesses on asthma patients.

Zhou ultimately found correlations between performance on psychiatric tests among children and quality of life in regard to asthma-related conditions.

“My mentors worked in pediatric psychiatry and a lot of that does have correlations with asthma and other conditions, so I got to really study the physical impact of these things for people my age,” Zhou said.

Zhou says their experience at STARS was an eye opener to a future career trajectory that they hope to embark on. As a prospective psychiatrist, Zhou says that working alongside research experts and having more exibility in their research topic helped enrich their love for psychology.

“I thought [STARS] was really insightful into the type of research I want to do in the future,” Zhou said. “It was fun going through the experience in a dry lab, but I also hope to branch out and try some other research stu in a wet lab.”

Takeaways

Another part of STARS for students is presenting research results.

“When I came into the program, I was unsure of how pursuing a career in STEM would allow me to explore the same social justice, debate, sort of persuasion activism stu ,” oduguli said. “But it was really nice to hear that those skills could still be extremely applicable within the eld of STEM because of the way that research and grants operate.”

Besides the skills and scienti c inspiration gained by both oduguli and Zhou, they also reaped tangible bene ts from STARS. For instance, Zhou’s paper on the impact of depression on asthma patients is set to be published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

“ e feedback we get is that Greenhill students come prepared and have a solid foundation to begin working on original research questions,” Kendall said. rough the program, Kendall hopes that research-oriented students can open themselves up to the eld.

“Sometimes students love science and nd out that they aren’t excited by research, and I think this experience will help them understand the open-ended nature of research and if they want to continue to pursue it,” Kendall said. “Doing original research is a very di cult and rewarding eld and STARS is a glimpse into that world.

Tam would like to see UTSW Medical Center provide more hands-on STEM opportunities for students in the future.

“I think the program really opens their eyes to so many possibilities that they never could have dreamed of, and I want to bring that transformative experience to more students,” Tam said.

Even though Greenhill has been cooperating with the STARS program for years, Kendall hopes that the relationship will continue to develop.

“What I hope for is a continued, strong partnership with UT Southwestern, with more students potentially becoming involved,” Kendall said. “ ere are other ways to get involved outside of the research arm, and I would like to see our students engage in that as well.”

Evie Kwei, Valerie Xu

HANNAH ZHOU studied the e ects of depression and mental illnesses on asthma patients.

CHARLOTTE PURCELL developed staining methodologies for di erent parts of meibomian glands.

NIKITHA THODUGULI studied genomic expressions of the female urethra to inform future medical treatment.

Graphics by Khushi Chhaya and Emily Hu

SHARING RESEARCH: Seniors Hannah Zhou, left, Nikitha Thoduguli, center and Charlotte Purcell described their STARS experience in a presentation to Upper School students.

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Purcell

Students Share the Gi of Music

When sophomore Aria Kutty rst played the ukelele at All Behaviors Considered, a school for children on the autism spectrum, there was something about that experience that stuck with her. She knew she wanted it to continue, Kutty recalled.

Inspired by the experience, Kutty created Music for a Cause, an Upper School service club that seeks to inspire children through musical performances and handson instruction. Another part of the group’s mission is to raise funds to increase music’s accessibility through providing instruments to underprivileged children.

“We perform for kids around the area to raise money for schools without music programs or instruments that they may not be able to a ord,” Kutty said.

Kutty grew up playing the piano and taught herself the guitar and ukulele. Her love for music and support from other students encouraged her to create Music for a Cause. Joining her in this e ort have been sophomores Brynn Zawadzki, Sydney Chien, Aditi Vikram and Cassie Rosa.

“I would play for fun, and I thought other people would enjoy it as well,” Kutty

said. “I wanted to give people the opportunity to perform and help foster that same love for music.”

Forming the Club

When she was rst shaping her idea for the club last November, Kutty’s rst move was to email Director of Service Learning and Community Engagement Jessica Chu.

“I had a whole two-page document outlining what I wanted to do,” Kutty said.

Another issue was determining the allotment of service hours, a graduation requirement for Upper School students.

“It’s tricky because you don’t want to give hours for planning, but for actual net action,” Kutty said.

Once she received approval, Kutty began her search for faculty sponsors and students to ll o cer positions. Upper School English teacher Andy Mercurio was the rst person she thought of because of his love for music.

“I’ve known Mr. Merc for years, and he’s really into music,” Kutty said. “He was thrilled and suggested [Upper School math teacher Charlie] Janicki as a second adult sponsor.”

Drawn immediately to Music for a Cause, Mercurio was fascinated with how the

club had intertwined music with service to children in need.

“To me, music is an element – it predates humanity,” Mercurio said. “It’s an essential natural – maybe supernatural – force of unity. It’s one of those things that can move mountains, help one individual or a billion. Music and service belong together. You combine those two things and the idea of doing something bigger than you by using something bigger than you.”

Moving forward, Mercurio said he hopes to aid Music for a Cause in its mission of increasing music access and awareness.

“A lot of the time, inexplicably, the rst thing to go [in school budget cuts] is the music program,” Mercurio said. “But by giving these kids back music, we can spread the joy that is so essential to human understanding of self and expression of self.”

Looking Ahead

Kutty said that Greenhill’s built-in club meeting time, cooperation in planning oncampus events and connection with nearby George Herbert Walker Bush Elementary School made it easy to make her idea a reality.

“We are working toward performing at Bush at some point,” Zawadzki said.

A typical performance features casual music in an informal atmosphere, with sets lasting about an hour.

“We’ve done one at [All Behaviors Considered] and we played Christmas and holiday music,” Kutty said in January as the group was planning its upcoming schedule. “But we are planning an event on Jan. 24 where we play well-known songs, sell pizza outside the Lecture Hall and have students from around campus just come listen. We might get to have some teachers play as well. en all the money will go toward our fund, which we send to schools.”

e Jan. 24 event was rescheduled to mid-February, but the goals remain the same: acclimating group members to performing

on a public stage while building student interest in Music for a Cause.

Senior So a Valli, a club member, says the group allows people to bond over a common interest while serving the community.

To me, music is an element – it predates humanity. It’s an essential natural – maybe supernatural –force of unity.”

“For people that aren’t in band or orchestra, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to enjoy music in a casual setting,” Valli said. “I get to see people that wouldn’t normally talk brought together by the joy of music and put it toward something good.”

Music for a Cause is also appealing because of the opportunities for selfexpression and service, Vallie said.

“I was always very quiet, so my way of expression was through music,” Valli said. “Whether I am by myself or in a room with 100 people, it doesn’t matter – it’s my way of letting people know who I am.”

Music for a Cause is also planning to perform through a North Texas Food Bank organization called HungerMitao, which focuses on raising hunger awareness.

“Our rst performance with [All Behaviors Considered] was very early on, like in the rst week of us being founded,” Kutty said. “We were very proactive with that, and I think we are setting a great trajectory.” e end goal of the organization is to spread joy in the community through music.

“We want to expand from doing stu just at Greenhill and move into the Dallas community as a whole,” Kutty said. “I think there are a lot of really talented kids in the Dallas area who have never had the opportunity to use their talent to make a di erence, so expanding [to other schools] would be awesome.”

Ceramics Takes on New Shapes

Fine Arts class enrollments have surged with the new schedule implemented for the 2022-2023 school year, and ceramics classes are among the big bene ciaries.

Ceramics 1, Ceramics 2 and Advanced Ceramics are each semester-long Upper School Fine Arts electives.

Ceramics 1 is an introductory course that teaches students di erent design elements, such as lines, shapes, texture and color. e class gives students a chance to work with pottery and sculpture. It also allows them to learn about notable gures who have shaped the cra

Students are also introduced to handbuilding methods such as pinch, coil and slabs. From this, they move on to work with the cra of wheel-thrown pottery. roughout this course, students work with clay at all stages, wet to red.

“Learning how to use clay and working through a lot of di erent methods when I took ceramics was di cult,” said junior So a Serrano. “Taking ceramics online probably took a lot away from the actual technique that went into it, but it was always fun to learn how to express myself with my hands.”

Once students complete Ceramics 1, they can then take Ceramics 2, which gives students more independence to work on their own with student-driven projects. Like Ceramics 1, Ceramics 2 is a clay-focused course, but students in Ceramics 2 now have more of a chance to showcase their individuality.

“I wanted to take Ceramics 2 last year, but I did not know what it would look like

post-COVID,” Serrano said. “I regret that decision because I think it would have helped me polish my abilities.”

Even though students start to move at their own pace in Ceramics 2, they consistently interact with each other to maintain a healthy classroom environment, said junior Zoë Dzialowski. Because they are a orded more independence, they o en learn to depend on their peers, Dzialowski said.

“ e environment when I took Ceramics 2 was very encouraging and allowed for us to make mistakes and gure out how to x them,” said Dzialowski. “We also did a lot of experimenting with di erent types of ceramics like coil building, slab building and working on the wheel. ose are some key skills I learned, and I also learned not everything has to be perfect to look good and that accidents can make pieces look even better.”

Advanced Ceramics gives students a chance to explore and move completely at their own pace to create art in a more independent manner. Choosing how they express themselves and what they want to focus on a ords students more exibility.

The environment when I took Ceramics 2 was very encouraging and allowed for us to make mistakes and figure out how to fix them.”

“For the advanced class, it’s a little bit di erent where, with each level, there’s more and more independence in what they’re

doing,” said Upper School 3-D Art teacher Erik Tosten. “So, by the time that they’re in Advanced Ceramics, they’re proposing their projects and creating their own portfolios. And I’m really just a facilitator of those goals.”

“We draw sketches before each project in both classes and there are elements of sculpture in ceramics,” said junior Elizabeth Mann. Ceramics also teaches students skills that can be incorporated into other mediums of art. Mann is now in Advanced Ceramics and Advanced Sculpture and believes that there are many points of intersection between the two classes.

For the advanced class, it’s a little bit different where, with each level, there’s more and more independence in what they’re doing.”

Some key di erences between ceramics and sculpture are the materials that are used. In Advanced Ceramics, the primary medium is clay. In Advanced Sculpture, students can use anything from cardboard to wax.

Senior Katie Stone is in both Advanced Ceramics and Advanced Sculpture.

“Typically, we’re working on one of our big projects of this semester… and so, I’m basically just working on whatever process I’m in the middle of,” Stone said. “Today I was cutting out cardboard, and that’s for sculpture.”

ere are many students who are in both courses at the most advanced level.

“Ceramics is a sculpture process,” Tosten

said. “ ey’re just di erent techniques, di erent approaches. Ceramics is very additive and subtractive, whereas every sculpture process we do is primarily additive. So, you’re adding materials, joining them together, but it de nitely gives us a lot more variety.”

As a result, students nd themselves working with a variety of materials while working together.

Ceramics is a sculpture process. They’re just different techniques, different approaches. Ceramics is very additive and subtractive.”

e environment in the classroom was lled with creativity and originality, and it was super fun to watch me and my classmates’ work progress throughout the semester,” said Mann.

Josie Arbuckle

Helina Tedros

PLAYING FOR OTHERS: Members of the Music for a Cause club discuss ways to raise money for schools without music programs or adequate instruments for classes.

Photo by Aria Kutty

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Mann ADVANCING: There are three levels of Ceramics corresponding to skill level.

Montage Showcases Artistic Talents Award-Winning Literary Magazine Celebrates Student Work

Nora Ahearn, Ella Sadka

On the last day of school in May 2022, the eyes of Upper School students were drawn to a vibrant magazine cover – an image of a hand and its shadow reaching across an orange backdrop.

For years, the last day of the second semester has been the moment when students could ip through the pages of Greenhill’s literary magazine, Montage.

Delivered alongside the Cavalcade, the school’s yearbook, Montage, encapsulates the school year through the lens of Upper School writing and artwork. e publication is a culmination of visual arts like photography and paintings along with written work like poetry and short stories.

O en, a common theme is used, aimed at tying together a narrative among submitted pieces. e theme last year was “Perspective.”

“We got a variety of types of work in di erent forms of voice that helped us put together this idea that the variety and diversity and perspective that Greenhill has makes us a stronger community,” said former Montage Editor-in-Chief Julian Iwasko ’22.

e voices depicted within the magazine are something that former Montage advisor and Upper School English Department Chair Joel Garza nds special about Greenhill.

“Montage tells the emotional, intimate story of the campus,” Garza said.

e sta ’s work in telling this story has earned it nalist honors in the annual Columbia Scholastic Press Association Crown Awards. e sta will learn in March whether it earned a Silver Crown or gold, the association’s highest award.

“It’s just an honor, I guess, to be recognized as a crown nalist,” said senior Ela Mamdani, the current Montage editor-in-chief.

Illustrious History

e rst volume of Montage was published in 1965, een years a er the founding of the school. In 1996, Montage won its rst Gold Crown at the CSPA Conference. Since then, the magazine has won nine more.

In 2015, Montage was upgraded from club status and became a Fine Arts elective. Fine Arts faculty member

Leslie Rucker started supervising the magazine that same year, and since then the publication has been a Crown Award nalist every year.

“I feel like a lot of times Montage is not really recognized as much as yearbook, for example,” said Iwasko. “So, it was nice to be working on something with a small group of people that we were all included [in] and could feel proud of at the end of the day.”

e Montage sta currently has 12 people, making it the largest group yet, according to Rucker.

Sta Roles

is year’s editors-in-chief are seniors Dylan Johnson and Mamdani. ey monitor the sta , oversee the publication process, lead meetings in class and help go over submissions. ey also act as representatives on behalf of the magazine.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” said Johnson. “It’s fun to have more of a leadership role this year and teaching people how to use everything.”

Because Montage is a smaller group, there isn’t much of a hierarchy. e editors-in-chief are the only students with speci c roles.

“Ms. Rucker is not as much of a teacher but more of a facilitator for us,” said junior Ethan Strauss. “I think she’s really good at giving us advice and little things. But she still lets us be in control of the process and really puts trust in us.” e English Department plays a critical role in providing submissions, sometimes giving students time in class to work on free-writing assignments or simply nudging students to submit work to the Montage.

“What I will o en say to students who are doing great work is ‘I should not be the only one that is reading this work,’” said Garza.

For three years now, Montage members have also organized haiku contests with an outside judge. Ten of the haikus are featured in the magazine and the top three winners are given gi cards.

ere’s a clear way to determine an average haiku from one that really re ects the challenges and possibilities of the form,” Garza said. “It gives English teachers a chance to give students practice in showing not telling.”

Middle and Upper School photography instructor Frank Lopez said he encourages his students to submit images to the Montage for possible publication.

“I don’t have a personal relationship with Montage, other than asking students to submit,” Lopez said. “Sometimes I will force a student to submit, knowing that speci c images work beautifully within the publication.”

Production

As a second-semester Fine Arts elective, Montage students are focused on producing the magazine.

“I think for the readers and the contributors themselves, there’s a creative process that’s out of their hands that’s really artful and thoughtful and meaningful,” said Garza.

e process is described as a collaborative process by both Rucker and students.

“We do research looking at the old Montage magazines,” said Johnson. “You have to know basic design stu , like where to put things on a page where your attention is drawn.”

Understanding how to use font and color as an artistic tool is crucial to the sta

“So it’s a lot of practice with the technical stu of it,” said Johnson. “And then we just do practice with photos and art, laying it out to make it look like a real magazine.”

Setting a due date for submissions is another priority for students.

“ e rst assignment was to design a poster for students to see, to submit with a due date of when they’re due,” said Rucker.

Sta members then advertise the magazine by scattering posters across campus, encouraging students to submit their work. e hunt for submissions includes several emails from the Montage editors-in-chief.

As pieces start owing in, the sta begins the process of reviewing submissions.

“We vote on the pieces as a sta , and so we put in whatever pieces that we really liked, and then we go from there,” said Mamdani.

During the review process, sta members also discuss ideas for a theme.

e theme is really for the group to work from,” Rucker said. “It is much easier to work with an idea in mind in terms of ‘how do you place visual and written works together? What kind of color palette might it be?’ and that kind of thing.”

Iwasko said that not setting a theme prior to the deadline incentivizes students to submit their work. It also allows students to submit their previous works without worrying about tting into a theme.

“I think allowing people to have no boundaries or limits when they’re submitting their work leads to a much more authentic view of the student body,” said Iwasko. e sta then starts creating spreads, which is artwork laid across two pages. According to Mamdani, each sta member will be assigned a spread, pairing writing with a piece of visual art.

“We go over what everyone’s created,” she said. “We all give each other tips or things that we like about them so we can all improve each other’s spreads.” e sta also reviews Advanced Video Production lm stills shared with them by Upper School Fine Arts Department Chair Corbin Doyle.

“We usually put one to two people in charge of emailing all the AVP lmmakers and seeing who has interest in being interviewed,” Iwasko said. “We create the lm section out of those interviews, which typically highlight four lms.”

Another crucial piece in the production of Montage is choosing the cover for the magazine. e most compelling piece that best encompasses the selected theme is chosen.

“It’s de nitely a re ection of both the theme and just the book as a whole,” Iwasko said.

Once everything has come together, Rucker will print proofs for the class to review. e nal dra is then sent to the publisher, and the nished magazine is later distributed with the yearbook.

“I love seeing people that you didn’t even know did art or did really cool poetry,” Johnson said. “You get to see their submissions, and it’s really fun.”

STUDENT SUBMISSIONS: Members of the Montage sta edit and design the award-winning campus literary magazine that features student art and writing. Montage is distributed to Upper School students every May.

Photo illustration by Nora Ahearn and Riya Kommineni

Photo by Eitan Hahn

Ela Mamdani

Dylan Johnson

Sports Bonding Away from Home

Although most Upper School sports teams spent the evening of Jan. 6 competing in athletic events on campus or at other local schools, the Greenhill swim team spent that night sharing pie at the Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, Texas.

eir trip to Burnet County, about 35 miles northwest of Austin, and their dinner at the Blue Bonnet Cafe marked the fourth year of a Greenhill varsity swim team tradition. e following morning, the swimmers competed in the Tex Robertson Invitational Meet. is year, several team members swam their personal bests at the meet.

the trip. e chatter on the way down [to the Tex Robertson Invitational] was great, but on the way back, it was even better,” Monzingo said.

Road Trips

As a member of the SPC, athletes o en have to pack their bags and prepare for conference matches at distant locations. Common locations for SPC counterplay games, matches or meets are Houston,

Swim Coach Patti Monzingo said. Monzingo says she was able to see how much closer the team was immediately a er

Within the SPC, the conference is split into North Zone and South e North Zone comprises 10 schools, with locations including Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. e South zone is made up of nine schools whose campuses are all located in Houston or Austin. Although these destinations are the most commonly visited, teams might also have the opportunity to attend out-of-town tournaments in other cities in Texas or Oklahoma. ese locations tend

to be much more varied, as they are o en una liated with the SPC.

Last season, the boys basketball team traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the Tarkanian Classic Tournament over winter break. e team made this trip in search of a higher level of competition.

Sophomore basketball player Dillon Watt found that this increased the mental and physical workload of getting ready for games.

We’re all so close to each other in the water, and you get to take it to that next level by hanging out, eating breakfast togther and really just gettting to know each other.”

“Last year, we got to go to Las Vegas, and it was really fun,” Watt said. “We got to stay at very nice hotels. I feel like the process was a lot, though. I’d probably rather go more local just because we had to get on the plane, pack and drive to the location and hotel.”

Travel Bene ts

Athletic Trainer Kasey Zibton says the planning and the pregame work become more complex when traveling. However, Zibton says the added challenges of traveling don’t outweigh the bene ts.

“I absolutely think that the camaraderie and the bonds formed are worth the challenges travel might create,” Zibton said.

Many athletes say that teambuilding through traveling is a vital aspect of Greenhill sports.

“With these team trips, you get to improve that chemistry and go from a team that’s just a group of random kids to a family,” said senior soccer captain Cole Ashley. “Who doesn’t like playing with their family?”

Balancing Act

Traveling for games is something that athletes might never have experienced

before reaching high school. In Middle School sports, teams only travel locally for away games and tournaments, but they never go to di erent cities such as Houston or Austin.

“In Middle School, we didn’t really travel at all,” said freshman swimmer Avery Lonergan. “We had one [swim] meet in Lewisville, but that was about it. I think going down to Burnet was really bene cial for team bonding.” e trip also allows athletes to become mentally prepared for a game, something they might not be able to do if they were playing at home.

“I like playing away games because it gives me circumstances that I’m not familiar with,” Watt said. “When we travel, it gives me more time to think about the game and lock in.”

Although trips are good bonding opportunities, athletes can also miss days of school and note that it is challenging to make up work while competitively playing a sport.

I absolutely think that the camaraderie and the bonds formed are worth the challenges travel might create.”

“Balancing school and sports is a lot,” said Watt. “When we went to Trinity Valley it was a little bit di cult because we got home probably around 10 [p.m.], so you need to do a lot of your homework beforehand. You can’t really wait until the night before; you have to plan for it.”

Many athletes agree that the school needs to nd a happy medium regarding the number of trips. Doing too many will disrupt school life, while not going on any trips does not allow the team to bond.

Regardless, athletes agree that their sports seasons would not be nearly as vibrant without the road trips.

“Team bonding is one of my favorite things to do,” senior girls soccer captain Helen Jackson said. “I also really like traveling to the games as a team, as it’s something that we don’t do in club [soccer]. I really enjoy having everyone on the bus before the game because it sets the tone and creates a really cool environment.”

Payton Blalock, Andrew Mann

BUS BUDDIES: Junior soccer players So a Serrano and Susie Fagelman chat while doing homework on the bus ride to an away game at Fort Worth Country Day.

Photo courtesy of Hayden Goodman

Kasey Zibton

Patti Monzingo

Graphic by Emma Nguyen

State Champs

Greenhill Hockey Players Compete for Highland Park

Getting Started

I just see relentless determination. He has kept a heavy schedule to keep up with his hockey, and there’s a tremendous amount of dedication.”

Finding Balance

It’s the physical aspect and the speed of it. You’re never just standing still, you’re doing something 100% of the time you’re on the ice.”

Dylan Johnson

POWER PLAY: Beckett Thomas looks to receive the puck from his teammate. As number 88 for the Highland Park Scots, Thomas has played hockey since eighth grade.

Photo by Helen Jackson

BROTHERLY BOND: Beckett Thomas and Drew Brekken practice and compete multiple times a week. Thomas has a coaching job on the side assisting younger players.

Photo courtesy of Drew Brekken

Treavor Kendall

Graphic by Khushi Chhaya

Words of Wisdom

Senior and junior athletes have gained experience through the years, from heartbreaking losses to gratifying wins. By overcoming challenges, they have learned many valuable lessons.

“I really look up to the upperclassmen and tend to follow their lead,” said sophomore Kendall Poglitsch. e Evergreen spoke with junior and senior athletes about lessons they would like to share with younger and future teammates.

Do you have any general advice for younger teammates?

You have a lot to learn from your older teammates.”

At some point, you have to start taking responsibility. You got to be the one to step up because you have a lot of people looking up to you as the years go on.”

Making friends and nding my place in Upper School was found through sports for me.”

What are the most important qualities a teammate should have?

It’s very important to be working for your teammates. at de nitely makes you a better individual on the team.”

Don’t focus on trying to shine over other people or force yourself into the starting lineup. Showing perseverance and hard work will get you further.”

You always got to be the teammate that’s there for others.”

Being there for your teammates.”

A teammate needs to be approachable, driven and communicate well.”

How do athletes get into the right mindset for competitions?

You need to have the mindset that you’re going to be pushing yourself as hard as possible.”

If you can trust your teammates in their ability to try their best for you, then you should try your best for them.”

How can younger students make meaningful connections with their teammates?

You can’t be scared of [the older kids]. Build chemistry. Don’t be afraid to talk or practice with older teammates.”

Communicating, talking, and involving yourself will make you a lot more connected to your teammates.”

Any advice you’d give people who fear connecting with older teammates?

You only overcome by doing. ere’s no such thing as getting into a mindset to overcome. When you want to overcome something, you just overcome it. If you push yourself hard enough to do it, it’ll work out for you.”

Ali Mehdi

Chloe Nguyen, Ethan Vicknair

Lexie Stone

Gabriel Rudelman Ze aniah Sadler

Maya Harrington

Senior Spotlight: Aaron Johnson

To some Upper School students, senior Aaron Johnson is an elite athlete. To others, he’s a masterful musician. And to still others, he’s a dynamic student government leader, friend or classmate. rough his multiple roles across campus, AJ–as Johnson is widely known–has built a record of excellence and achievement while earning the respect and admiration of peers.

His resume is a testament to his abilities, work ethic and discipline: a two-sport varsity athlete, earning letters in football and track; principal cellist in the Greenhill Chamber Orchestra; student body vice president and president of the Black Student Union.

“Aaron is a great leader,” said senior Jaden Watt, a football teammate and friend, summing up Johnson’s achievements in a text message. “When I rst came to Greenhill, it was clear that Aaron operated out of love for his community. He leads with poise and puts others before himself consistently.”

Watt continued, “He is also one of the funniest people I know. We always had a good time on the football eld. From the rst game until [the last game of the season], Aaron always fought hard and had a smile on his face.”

Track Star

In his freshman year at Greenhill, Johnson joined the track team so he could build on his football skills. He enjoyed the process of perfecting his technique and developing his speed.

“In track, there are a lot of things that you can do yourself to get better on your own time,” Johnson said. “ at individual element to track is what made me attracted to the sport, because the burden was on me to continue to improve.”

A er this initial attraction, the familylike environment of track made it hard to quit, said Johnson.

“ e atmosphere of the track team is so friendly and tight-knit,” Johnson said. “People are always encouraging others and pushing them to do their best.”

Aaron Johnson said.

Stacey Johnson said that the recovery process was time-intensive, but Aaron’s dedication and meticulous work contributed greatly to his healing.

Aaron Johnson will be a captain for the track team this spring, allowing him to mentor younger teammates.

“AJ is de nitely one of our top sprinters,” said Stacey Johnson. “We are hopeful this year that he grows equally as much as he grew last year, and that he runs some exciting times this year as well.”

Football Force

Aaron Johnson rst developed his passion for football as a child, and it continues to this day.

“I have always loved watching and playing football from a young age,” he said. “Even in Lower School, I was on the agfootball team before progressing to tackle football in Middle School. I love football because of the big team atmosphere and environment that it involves.”

Head Track and Field Coach Stacey

Johnson, who is also the football team’s defensive coordinator, said that from Aaron Johnson’s rst season he has worked hard and smart to accomplish his goals. ose attributes have set him apart from the others on the track team, said Stacey Johnson, who is not related to Aaron.

“AJ is a very versatile sprinter,” said Stacey Johnson. “He can run most races, whether it be the 100- [meter dash], the 200 or the 400. He was also a huge part of our school record-breaking 4x100 relay team. He ran the leado leg and really got us going.”

Last season, Aaron Johnson’s achievements included coming in 10th place in the 100-meter dash and being part of the 4x400 team that placed ninth in the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championship Meet.

Despite his successes, Aaron Johnson has faced challenges throughout his track career, including multiple hamstring injuries.

“To work back from the hamstring injury, I’ve had to do a lot of rehabilitation and strengthening workouts for it to heal,”

Aaron Johnson said he appreciates the emphasis that football places on the team aspect of the sport because everyone is supportive and looks to support teammates. Developing those bonds have always made football more meaningful, he said.

“AJ is by far one of our most talented players,” Stacey Johnson said. “When he’s healthy, he can cover just about anybody out there on defense. On o ense, he’s explosive – when he gets the ball, he can do extraordinary things that not everyone else can do.”

Aaron Johnson’s drive on the football eld led to him receiving SPC AllConference honors last season.

“A lot of it was going to the morning workouts and also attending the summer workouts to be prepared for the football season,” Aaron Johnson said. “ at way, I was able to translate all the work I put in during the o season into results during the season.”

Leadership

Johnson also holds numerous leadership

positions across campus, including student body vice president, president of the Black Student Union, member of the Student Inclusion Council and the president of the Smarter Bites club.

“Aaron has had a great impact on the Greenhill community in a very positive way,” said Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion Monsie Muñoz ’05. “He brings a good balance of respecting everyone’s lived experiences while also pushing our community to always strive to be better by asking questions, being involved and looking to make positive change.”

Among numerous achievements, his contributions to the Student Inclusion Council’s speaker series initiative have been especially important, Muñoz said.

“He shares his point of view with the group and works well with other members of the Council,” Muñoz said. “I think his opinion is respected because the other members in the council and in the larger Greenhill community know his dedication to creating an inclusive environment.”

Johnson said he is trying to bring people together to build a sense of community within the Black student population at Greenhill.

“I feel that there is a lot more that could be done for Black students here,” said Johnson, “Even in the BSU space, I can see that the Black community at Greenhill isn’t as strong as it used to be, and I am trying to change that.”

Johnson speaks bluntly about his belief that the lack of a strong support structure has resulted in some Black students feeling overlooked or ignored at Greenhill.

ese feelings inspired him to become president of the Black Student Union, with the aim of rebuilding the Black community at Greenhill, he said.

“I wanted there to be a brighter future for younger Black students so that there’s a place of comfort for them as they go through high school,” Johnson said.

Music Man

Away from the football eld and track and his various leadership responsibilities, Johnson is the principal cellist for the Greenhill Chamber Orchestra.

“I feel like when you are playing music you can really bring out di erent emotions, whether it be happiness or sadness,” Johnson said. “How I am feeling can impact how I play, allowing me to put my own spin on the music I create.”

is year marks Johnson’s eighth year playing the cello at Greenhill.

His accomplishments include qualifying for Texas Music Educators Association All-Region Orchestra twice and qualifying for the TPSMEA All-State Orchestra once. He has also achieved rst rank in the TPSMEA Solo and Ensemble competition and has played for the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra for a year.

“Aaron is an excellent cellist,” Greenhill Chamber Orchestra Director Nick Paraskevas said. “He is conscientious with his preparation. He is great in rehearsal and plays with an even and pleasant demeanor about him. He is open to feedback, and he is good to take suggestions and act on them.”

Paraskevas said that Johnson is more than a great cello player.

“AJ has been an e ective leader,” Paraskevas said. “He is patient and supportive of the e orts of others in the cello section. He is easy to work with. He keeps the section going and gives his fellow cellists good opportunities to do their best work.

I wanted there to be a brighter future for younger Black students so that there’s a place of comfort for them as they go through high school.”

As one of the two seniors in the cello section of the orchestra, Johnson has had to step up as a leader and take on a bigger role in orchestra, said Paraskevas.

“I have had a lot more responsibilities than I’ve had in years past as the rst chair,” Johnson said. “I have to make sure I am leading my section appropriately and am ensuring everyone is staying on task.”

Paraskevas is already mindful of the void that Johnson’s graduation will leave in the orchestra and the Upper School in general.

“We will miss AJ a lot next year,” Paraskevas said. “His presence and participation have been a positive in uence for many others across campus – including me. We will miss him.”

SET, HUT: Senior Aaron Johnson lines up as wide receiver and waits for the ball to be snapped to make a play. Johnson now starts his nal sports season running track.

Photo by Helen Jackson

BASS CLEF: Senior Aaron Johnson performs with the Upper School Chamber Orchestra at the annual Holiday Sing Along. He leads his section as principal cellist.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Johnson

Stacey Johnson

Varun Mukund

Aaron Johnson

When I first came to Greenhill, it was clear that Aaron operated out of love for his community. He leads with poise and puts others before himself consistently.”

Common Ground: On Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Helina:

Payton:

Helina, where would you draw the line between bravery and bullheadedness? I’m asking for a friend.

Helina:

Well, if that friend is Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, he falls into both camps. In fact, the recent midterm elections demonstrated the lack of a “red wave.” is seems to have caused tension in the GOP, since they could not even agree upon a speaker until the 15th round of voting. e Democrats have historically backed their choice for speaker, so what happened with the Republicans?

Payton:

e division within the party has reached an all-time high. For context, a speaker’s election has not required two or more votes on the oor since 1923. is con ict and lack of unity is likely due to the e ects of former President Donald Trump. An overwhelming number of candidates endorsed by Trump did not come out on top. Unfortunately, I think that this speaker’s election con rms what the midterms ominously suggested a few months ago: you either have to agree with Trump or pretend to agree with him to succeed as a Republican.

Your comment reminds me of the clash between Never-Trumpers and MAGA Republicans. ose are both terms that were coined a er former President Trump’s years in the White House. But having an entire party dependent on one individual as a leader is not what democracy is. At that point, it’s tyranny. Eventually, the lack of unity will lead to a decline in bipartisan bills.

Payton:

I also have that concern. It was disheartening to watch a moderate like McCarthy get bullied by Trump’s cult-like following on a national stage, especially as someone who agrees with many of his views. I feel like the message this polarization sends to moderates like me is that there is no longer room for us to be represented in Washington.

Helina:

What I found most saddening was that McCarthy practically

sold his soul to 20 representatives on the far right in exchange for speakership. Representatives such as Florida’s Matt Gaetz wanted to negotiate a limit on the reach of the federal government, even aiming to change decades-old rules and procedures. McCarthy caved, and he’s now straying away from his personal values in order to gain power. While I understand why he couldn't have appealed to Democrats for those six votes that he needed, it would have created distrust within his party. But this tension is ridiculous – there was even a physical altercation involving Rep. Gaetz on the House oor while McCarthy was negotiating for votes.

Payton:

And this whole situation continues to portray how far American politics have strayed from the class and sophistication that they once possessed. We are becoming far too partyoriented. Forcing someone to change what they believe to align more closely with a political party is demonstrative of the gravity of the dilemma our nation faces.

Helina:

Our political culture is too focused on making sure the other party doesn't get what they want. At this point, governance is more about pettiness rather than changemaking. ese are people's lives that representatives have in their hands. Our Constitution gives signi cant power to the federal government, but right now, the House doesn’t seem to be ful lling its job. McCarthy is third in line for the presidency. Someone at that level of power should not be engaging in closeddoor negotiations to gain votes.

Payton:

It seems like Republicans didn’t realize that this was not the time to be picky, and it certainly wasn’t the time to lose the trust of the moderate conservatives that they need on their side to win future elections. Rather than acting as representatives of the people, they acted as representatives of themselves. I agreed with McCarthy’s own views, not the views assigned to him by the politicians playing with his fate.

Helina:

e problem isn’t that representatives are focused on reelection. at’s part of the job. e issue is that the representatives are prioritizing reelection over political e cacy. e question that should be asked is: “Will my actions positively impact the majority of peoples’ lives?” I hope and want to believe the GOP-ruled House will lead e ectively, as the middle ground is where change happens, but interparty polarization is setting back progress as made clear by the recent chaos in the votes for the speakership.

e scariest thing to tell anyone about myself is that I am a Jew. Because of the posts you share via Twitter, identifying as Jewish is even scarier.

e Jewish community – those who identify as Jewish by religion, family ancestry, or ethnic or cultural a nity – makes up 2.4% of the U.S.’s adult population. Yet at the same time, the Jewish community is the target of 54.9% of religiously motivated hate crimes in the U.S., according to the FBI’s 2020 hate crime statistics investigation. ese crimes are not just in the news – they are occurring in my own community, even to my own friends and family.

To put the severity of your comments into perspective: when you write these antisemitic tweets, you speak of a group of 15 million individuals worldwide. When you post these comments, you share it to your over 32 million Twitter followers.

I think of this statistic as a game of dodgeball. If there are two teams, one with 32 players and the other with 15, the larger team is statistically more likely to win the game, right? e smaller team is outnumbered, unable to defend themselves and their teammates, while the larger team uses their advantage to win the game.

ese crimes have been ampli ed in recent months, at least in part due to your prejudice toward the Jewish people. At this point, there seems to be more individuals who agree with your statements than those who don’t. People idolize you, Kanye. I wish they didn’t.

ese comments a ect the Jewish community more than I believe you realize. I notice far more Jews taking precautions with their daily actions. As I sat in synagogue one Saturday morning, I noticed people observing the exits of the chapel, nding the one nearest to them. In addition, several people, including myself, have stopped wearing their Judaica jewelry for fear of visibly representing their Judaism. People are now choosing to participate in services via Zoom as they are in fear of entering their place of worship.

I ask you, Kanye, is this who you want to be known as for the rest of your career? For the rest of your life?

Personally, letting anyone into the religious part of my life is terrifying. I do not know how someone will react when I say that I am a Jew. Some people are judgmental, others accepting and some even relate to my religious identity.

e best thing I ever learned from my Holocaust-surviving great-grandparents is resilience. ey used this trait to survive the war, move to America, start a family and live the American dream. ough I may not be able to be resilient in the same way they were, I am going to use it to defend my people. I will use this strength and my voice to educate others as to why the Jewish people do not deserve to be mistreated or the target of religiously motivated hate crimes, nor do members of any other faith.

Sincerely, Allie

Schnitzer

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Editorial: Rework Wellness Education Evergreen Sta the

Once every few weeks, Upper School students receive wellness lessons during advisory time. For 25 minutes, we learn about topics ranging from healthy relationships, to coping with stress, to identifying the signs of anxiety and depression.

Typically, these sessions include 20-30 PowerPoint slides that the Upper School counselors speed through to cover as much information as possible before our next class begins. More o en than not, there is little engagement, re ection or retention of the information, simply because we are not given the time and space to fully process what we’re learning.

Organizing wellness programming in this way is not e ective, nor is it sustainable.

Each of these topics is incredibly important, especially for teenagers. ey provide a crucial foundation that will set us up to live the rest of our lives in socially and emotionally healthy ways. As students, we need to know how to set priorities, navigate stressful situations and resolve con icts.

ese 25-minute advisory sessions don’t provide the necessary health and wellness curriculum we need. Trust us: students do want proper sexual health education, they want to learn how to manage relationships that turn abusive and how to have healthy, positive experiences in high school, college, and beyond.

But the way our wellness curriculum currently works does not allow us to cover these topics adequately. It leaves little room for conversations around how they apply to our lives. Bringing up topics concerning mental and physical health in these isolated sessions, among other things, only raises questions that

don’t get answered.

Without comprehensive coverage and engagement with wellness, students must turn to other sources to get answers. is is redundant; Greenhill has more than enough resources to adequately meet student needs and demands. But it also runs the risk of students absorbing misinformation about their own health, which is dangerous and counterproductive to the school’s mission.

To really address student needs, our wellness curriculum requires a multi-faceted approach.

First, there should be a semester-long class required for freshmen that intricately explores these topics.

“A lot of the time that I spend with students is really just providing them skills and guidance on how to make big decisions, and that can be done in a wellness class so successfully and give a really good foundation,” Upper School Counselor Kathy Roemer said. “If we spent more time doing prevention work, we would probably do even less intervention because students would have the skills to manage on their own.”

But this shouldn’t stop a er ninth grade.

We want to see these topics discussed in our curriculum. We know this is

a bit complicated, so here are some ways we see this as a possibility: in chemistry classes, talk about substance abuse; in English classes with content dealing with sexual assault, talk about consent; when discussing reproductive biology in Upper School biology classes, talk about contraception, how to access it and why it’s important.

All of this is already part of Greenhill’s 2025 Strategic Plan, which calls for comprehensively “developing the whole student.” Additionally, the plan says, “Greenhill aims to become a leader in supporting student health and wellbeing.” Under this section, the plan aims to “implement a comprehensive, integrated, PreK-12 student mental health and wellness curriculum.”

Not only is this a more comprehensive wellness program supported by our Upper School counselors and even the upper levels of our administration; it’s also supported by students.

Students need e ective and well-rounded exposure to these subjects. We urge the school to implement the comprehensive, integrated Upper School curriculum that the strategic plan

Guest Essay: We Need Teachers Who Look Like Us

Evergreen Print

Editors-in-Chief

Khushi Chhaya and Ivy Stitt

Executive Editors

Ava Iwasko and Emma Nguyen

Managing Editors - Content

Sophia Li

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Valerie Xu

Managing Editor - Design

Emily Hu

Creative Director

Helina Tedros

Associate Editor

Ria Agarwal

News Editors

Evie Kwei and Christan Park

Views Editors

Gabi Appel and Aria Kutty

Features Editors

Sydney Chien and Riya Kommineni

Arts Editors

Daniela Hallack and Alfred Hoak

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Aman Jaleel and Chloe Nguyen

Sta Writers

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Lyna Kamgang

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Sasha Wai

Noor Zaman

Our Editorial Policy

e Evergreen is an independent, student-run newspaper serving the community of Greenhill School. It is printed six times during the school year. Print circulation is 900 copies. Past issues are archived at issuu.com/ghevergreen.

e Evergreen sta upholds a code of ethics that values honesty, integrity, accuracy and responsibility. Our mission is to help the local community interpret campus, local,

national and international events through articles and editorials written and edited by students.

e Evergreen welcomes letters and emails from readers. We reserve the right to edit submissions for accuracy, grammar and length. e Evergreen will not publish material that we judge to be libelous, obscene, invades privacy or constitutes hate speech. Anonymous letters will not be published.

e sta editorial represents the opinion of e Evergreen sta , not necessarily that of Greenhill School.

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Business inquiries should be directed to Kaden Alibhai: alibhaik24@greenhill.org

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Cross Platform

Chief Sta Photographer

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Sta Photographers

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Opinion? Original Idea? Email the Editors-in-Chief chhayak23@greenhill.org stitti23@greenhill.org

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We pledge to correct our errors. To request a correction or clari cation, please email Khushi Chhaya:

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Khushi Chhaya, Emma Nguyen

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Graphic by Ava Iwasko

& Rants Raves

A RANT to allergy season. We can’t get through one sentence without someone’s sneeze interrupting us, not to mention the constant itchy eyes and noses. Having a box of tissues and a bottle of Allegra handy at all times is our new normal.

A RAVENT to weather that has been more unpredictable than usual. We are always waking up in the morning to a mystery of whether we will need a coat or a tank top. Layers upon layers of clothing reside in our lockers, in case the forecast changes. Don’t get us wrong though, we will take 70 degrees in January anytime!

A RAVE to all the winter athletes putting in the work for counter season. With the Southwest Preparatory Conference championships on the horizon, our teams have had their heads in the game and spirits are higher than ever. As the student Athletics Board says: Support your friends!

A RAVENT to senior festivities. We love supporting our seniors as their Greenhill journey comes to an end. Although the celebrations are exciting, they always remind us that the seniors are leaving us shortly. To all seniors, don’t forget to live in the moment and cherish these last few months before graduation.

A RAVE to the new winter season Spirit Week. From Pajama Day to Winter Olympics day, we had it all. As the semester ramps up, the dress-up week added a little light to our days. Next up, a spring sports Spirit Week…

1. What student originally had the idea to create a Jewish A nity Group? (page 6)

2. Under what U.S. president did a rmative action policies begin? (page 12)

3. According to students who study abroad, what are the bene ts of doing it in Upper School? (page 7)

A RANT to how hard it has become to get concert tickets. Remember the day everyone was scrambling on their laptops to get Taylor Swi tickets? Whether it’s Taylor Swi or Harry Styles, no one can avoid the endless waiting process in the Ticketmaster queue.

4. Fill in the blank: A teammate should be

(page 19)

How to Be Successful... Literature of Human Rights

Justin Wu, Noor Zaman

Literature of Human Rights is a semester-long course for juniors and seniors, o ered as either a history or English elective credit. e class, taught by Associate Head of School for Mission, Community, and Culture Tom Perryman ’81, focuses on past and present human rights movements across the globe.

Perryman says that he was inspired to start the class from lessons he learned while attending the Embrey Human Rights Program at Southern Methodist University.

“I just kept thinking about how Greenhill kids would eat this up, and they’re in a position to go out and make the world better,” Perryman said.

e course begins with students discussing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that establishes the rights and freedoms of all human beings, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. is guides the conversation away from partisan politics and toward more basic human rights, said Perryman.

As the class unfolds, students learn about the civil rights and LGBTQ+ movements and other national human rights movements. Local and cultural human rights issues are also examined.

“I want students to know that these sorts of atrocities aren’t things that happen on the other side of the world,” Perryman said, “ ey happen right here.”

e Evergreen asked Perryman and some current and former Literature of Human Rights students about the keys to success in the class. Here’s a lightly edited transcript of what they had to say:

“My favorite project that we did was the protests poem project. We got to choose a poem in the poetry anthology.

en we analyzed it [and] we wrote an essay about how the poet used gurative language ... to further the message of the poem. at was my favorite project because the poem I chose was ‘Pocket-sized Feminism’ by Blythe Baird, which really meant a lot to me.” — junior Sanjna Kalisetty

“A lot of reading of the texts, a lot of responding to prompts. ey’ll do an ‘I Believe’ speech where they’ll share a personal belief that they have, they’ll do an in-depth literary analysis of a poem. We’ll do a case study presentation of a legal case of wrongful incarceration, so it’s a lot of di erent kinds of things.” — teacher Tom Perryman

“ ey are going to encounter awful, ugly, mean-spirited, unimaginable behavior by human beings in this country. ey are going to see things they can’t unsee and they’re going to read people saying awful things. ere’s a lot of depressing stu we learn about, but ultimately, I try to keep the focus on, ‘What are we going to do about it?’.” — teacher Tom Perryman

“I de nitely would recommend this class to other students. I think it’s important to learn about social and political issues. It’s also very important just to listen to other people and try to understand perspectives that are di erent than your own, because you might be in uenced [by them] and really begin to change your mindset just based o of what other people are talking about.” — senior Aaron Johnson

“If you don’t see yourself as an actor making this world better, this isn’t the right class for you… You’ve got to be a willing and active participant.” — teacher Tom Perryman

“I would say you just have to show up with an open and understanding mind, you have to be ready to listen to other people’s perspectives and really consider them.” — senior Aaron Johnson

1.Lauren Hazan

2. Lyndon B. Johnson

3. Learn new languages and strengthen your independence

4. “Approachable, driven and communicate well.”

N A T I O N A L

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Khushi Chhaya

February is Black History Month, a time dedicated to celebrating and re ecting on the achievements of Black people in America and their role in American history.

Black History Month began in 1915 when historian Carter G. Woodson and other African American activists created a national “Negro History Week.” e week fell in mid-February, coinciding with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which sponsored the week.

Since 1976, Black History Month has been recognized by every American president. Schools, workplaces and larger communities across the country observe the month as a time of re ection and education.

At Greenhill, Black History Month is typically celebrated with a variety of programs focused on promoting awareness around the Black community. e works of featured Black authors can o en be found displayed in the library, lessons about African American history are taught in classes and a nity groups recognize and celebrate the contributions Black people have made to society.

e Evergreen asked faculty and Black Student Union leaders to share their views on the importance of Black History Month and how Greenhill celebrates and centers Black history.

I know gures like Malcolm X, Mae Jemison and Martin Luther King Jr. are important, but I feel like we just drill the same people over and over again into our heads. ere are thousands of Black artists and lmmakers that need attention. We’re trying to talk about role models that Black students are inspired by, whether that be the rst Black mechanical engineer, someone’s grandmother or someone’s mom.”

- Erica Fulbright, senior and Black Student Union leader

[We need to] ask questions, for one, have more interactive conversations. Part of what works really well is having a dialogue. Show up, all are welcome. ere’s not any single way to be Black or to be a Greenhill student.”

- Karin omas, Upper School English teacher

We’re not all just rappers. We should be talking about scientists too, like George Washington Carver. People o en put Black people in a box of pop culture and sports and there’s so much more [to] us.”

- Leah Smith, senior and Black Student Union leader

What I think is important about Black History Month is to focus on celebrations, and the positive impacts our community has had. Sometimes you’ll have a class with no Black people in it so it’s nice to have a month where we can know that you have other people that can be there for you and help you if you need anything.”

- Jaden Watt, senior and Black Student Union leader

We’re currently in this state of transition right now, but this space is simultaneously a place to support our students and to a rm Black history at Greenhill, and also to pass on that legacy. And then that component is just letting people know why Black history is signi cant.”

- Karin omas, Upper School English teacher

Black History Month to me is a time to celebrate how far we’ve come but to also grieve the loss that the past has caused us. Black History Month is also the time come together and celebrate the possible future for Black people as a whole.”

- Karrington Barnett, senior

Graphics by Khushi Chhaya and Emma Nguyen