The Taft School 2023-2024 Viewbook

THE TAFT SCHOOL VIEWBOOK / 2023 | 2024

Welcome to

GET READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD. The Taft School opened its doors in 1890 with a broad yet singular mission: to educate the whole student. What does that mean today? A Taft education begins with rigorous academics, but it is so much more. Learning takes place in almost every corner of our campus, and through nearly every interaction—in the classroom, in community gatherings, on the playing field, and one-on-one with students and faculty who have come to Taft from 60 countries across the globe. A Taft education is built on intellectual curiosity, inclusivity, compassion, respect, and integrity.

Our students are engaged and resourceful; they leave us with a sense of self, a sense of place, and a readiness to take on the world.

BRIGHT MINDS

This symbol is an invitation to

experience

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

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

BRIGHT

We asked these questions of ourselves, and worked hard as a community to develop meaningful answers by deeply and thoroughly studying the academic life of the school and the demands of the global community in the 21st century. The result is the Taft School Portrait of a Graduate. It helps shape curriculum and define creative opportunities for reflective learning. It is a living document, one that is continuously examined and adapted as we prepare our graduates for the world outside of Taft. It tells us that Taft graduates are intellectually curious, resourceful, and actively engaged. They are thinkers, doers, and lifelong learners. Taft graduates work cooperatively and collaboratively, putting common purpose before individual need.

They are self-reliant, disciplined, and courageous risk takers who express themselves clearly, purposefully, and creatively in word and in deed. They are technologically adept, and they are innovators. Portrait of a Graduate is an academic roadmap and a moral compass.

It tells us that our graduates will act with honor and integrity, serve others unselfishly, respect authentically, and possess a moral worldview that helps create compassionate, inclusive, and socially just communities.

Taft graduates are self-aware, and they are prepared to take their place in the world.

futures

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WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A TAFT EDUCATION?

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ACADEMICS

heart LIE AT THE

OF THE TAFT SCHOOL MISSION. A Taft education is built on academic rigor, driven by intellectual curiosity, and supported by an ever-evolving and innovative curriculum. Taft students carve out individualized academic paths, choosing from 200 academic courses along the way.

They may also work with faculty to design independent tutorials, or even take classes with students from more than 120 independent schools around the world through the Global Online Academy. Tafties are required to take some traditional core courses, but also choose from classes like these:

3-D Design and Prototyping Programming in Python Performance Engineering Scientific Ethics Forensic Science Literature of the Sea Black Speculative Fiction Honors Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Women in History Honors Topics in Modern Chinese History Media and Identity Principles of Marketing Art History of Spain and Latin America Film I: The Art of Visual Storytelling Theater Technology and Design

and

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more!

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honor code

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Taft’s Honor Code is the practical application of one of our school’s founding tenets and core values: Character, above all else, determines success in life.

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

Learn more about the

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

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

academic assessments Taft teachers deserve their reputation for providing in-depth, thoughtful evaluations. In addition to getting a numerical achievement grade, you’ll also get a more nuanced evaluation— two “habits” grades. One stands for planning and preparation (P/P)—evidence of your organization, communication, and relationship with feedback (mostly outside class). The other reflects engagement and scholarship (E/S)—evidence of your engagement with the teacher, classmates, material, and norms (mostly in class).

Grade reports are issued midsemester, with full report cards coming out twice each year at the end of the semester. Report cards also include detailed, personal narratives from each student’s classroom teachers, class dean, and advisor.

academic requirements

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

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

Taft’s Mathematics Team is an afternoon activity open to anyone on campus with an interest in exploring mathematics through innovative problem-solving, teamwork, challenging programs and activities, and individual and interscholastic competitions. Our mathletes compete in events at the local, national, and international level, including New England Mathematics League, the American Mathematics Competition, and the American Invitational Mathematics Examination. They travel to events hosted by universities—including Harvard, MIT, and Yale—where they continuously excel, keeping pace

with global competitors and outpacing our peer schools.

Team Taft has become a perennial favorite at the annual New England Mathematics League (NEML) competition, an event that spans the academic year and challenges competitors at the highest level through a series of monthly contests. In a field of nearly 1,000 individual competitors from more than 150 schools, Tafties are often among the very small group of competitors achieving perfect scores for the competitive season. As a team, they have consistently turned in the top scores in the region for nearly a decade.

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applied learning

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Portrait

OF A GRADUATE

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

portrait of a graduate

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

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MEET MUFFIN

“I have always loved interdisciplinary 9 topics that connect multiple subjects, mimicking the interconnected nature of our society,” says Muffin.

It seemed natural, then, that Muffin’s Independent Tutorial (IT) should reflect that passion for connection: Muffin has developed a prosthetic arm connecting, she says, engineering, medicine, and entrepreneurship.

“I was immediately fascinated by the idea of designing and building prosthetics,” says Muffin who, after experimenting with things like Legos, pipes, and wooden pallets, soon had a rough design for a prosthetic arm of her own.

That design, coupled with her strong academic background in STEM at Taft, helped Muffin secure internships, first in the prosthetics and orthotics department at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, then at the Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics, the largest prosthetic provider in Thailand.

Muffin’s vision was to create an affordable, functional alternative to high-priced cosmetic arms most readily available to patients. She produced a 3-dimensional-printed arm with six degrees of motion—five fingers and a rotating wrist. It is controlled by electromyography sensors connected to the user’s remaining limb, which detect electrical activity in the muscle.

“The next step I envision for the project is to mass-produce the hand on a small scale, by making the design more modular and interchangeable, allowing me to quickly customize for each patient,” Muffin explains.

“In the distant future, I also hope to incorporate emerging technologies in soft robots, to mimic the flexible properties of human anatomy.”

And while clinical setting regulations and connections with doctors and some patients posed challenges for Muffin in her work, she was able to connect with amputees who were eager to test her prosthetic arm outside of a clinical setting, while providing valuable insight and feedback.

“This was also the most rewarding aspect of my work,” says Muffin, “seeing the smiles on their faces as they opened a jar on their own for the first time, or hammered a nail. On the side, I have also been making hands for children with Leprosy/Hansen’s disease. While far simpler, the outcome was equally, if not more, rewarding.”

ARTS & HUMANITIES CENTER DIGITAL DESIGN COMPUTER LAB HULBERT TAFT JR. LIBRARY B 58,000 volumes

B More than 150 newspapers

and journals in hard copy B Full-text databases with access to

more than 12,000 periodical titles B Home to a 150-year-old Torah scroll from

Tashkent, a 1616 King James Bible, a 19th-century Qur’an from Saudi Arabia, and a Tibetan thangka from the Gomang Monastery in southern India

LADY IVY KWOK WU SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS CENTER B 48,000 square feet

B PCR machine for replicating DNA B Two networked computer labs B Aquatic Biomes Center B Telescope B Smart classrooms and laboratories

LAUBE AUDITORIUM MOORHEAD ACADEMIC CENTER

B Staffed by certified learning specialists B Resources for teachers, students, parents B Advanced learning strategy programming B Instruction in strategic reading techniques,

time management, organization B Peer tutoring

MORTARA FAMILY ACADEMIC WING NANCY AND BEN BELCHER LEARNING CENTER THE PINTO LANGUAGE LEARNING AND RESOURCE CENTER B 32 digital workstations

B Two adjoining smart classrooms/

virtual learning spaces

THE STEM LABORATORY B Three hi-tech makerspaces

B Laser cutter, CNC machine, 3D printer B Advanced, interactive smart tools

VIDEO PRODUCTION LABORATORY AND CLASSROOM WOOLWORTH FACULTY ROOM

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facilities

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ACADEMIC

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View our

virtual tour

at https://vimeo.com/459158772

Uniquely

TAFT

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

GLOBAL STUDIES AND SERVICE (GSS) DIPLOMA

It’s part of our commitment to a global, multicultural education.

The program is all about active citizenship—appreciating the global ripples of everyday, local life and sparking social change.

What are the requirements for this diploma? Demonstrated proficiency in a second language; three semesters of GSS coursework; cross-cultural experiences at Taft, in the local community, and abroad, and a portfolio of written work about them; and a final public project.

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MORNING MEETING

Twice each week, Tafties gather in Bingham Auditorium for Morning Meeting, where fascinating speakers from all over the world offer deep and personal insights into a broad range of issues. Taft students have come to understand the impact of genocide in Rwanda through the words and work of a new generation of survivors.

They have traveled to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts, probed the democratic process with senators and congressmen, seen the world through the lens of a National Geographic photographer, and gone inside a range of racial and social justice initiatives. They have engaged with authors, scholars, activists, and artists, and learned from their peers, teachers, friends, and mentors. Morning Meetings are a Taft tradition, and an important part of school life.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE COLLABORATIVE

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

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SHAKESPEAREAN SPIRIT

There is no discontent in our winter, when all the school becomes a stage (apologies to The Bard), and Tafties take a monthlong dive into the world of Shakespeare.

Lower mids and mids bring the sound and the fury to our annual recitation contests.

Upper school students take it to another level in their English classes, forming acting companies 13 that cut scripts, block choreography, and stage “pop-up Shakespeare” performances around the school.

All of this allows students to experience the joy of discovery and energy that drives revelation.

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM (ISP)

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

RENOWNED ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

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

Learn more about Taft’s

innovative programs

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

MEET THERESA HOMETOWN: ARACAJU, BRAZIL PASSIONS: GLOBAL STUDIES, WOMEN’S ISSUES, BUILDING COMMUNITY INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE: GLOBAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE SCHOLAR Theresa has a talent for not only living each of her passions, but for connecting them, and engendering enthusiasm and support for them among her peers. One of the first things Theresa did as a member of the Taft community was also the most enduring: She co-founded Taft’s Model UN Club; more than 60 students responded to the initial call. The group began attending Model UN events hosted by local universities. Theresa stood out immediately, earning Outstanding Delegate honors at Yale’s annual conference.

“Our experience at Yale and several other conferences were positive and encouraging,” notes Theresa. “So much so that we wanted to take on the challenge of hosting our own, in-house conference. It represented the culmination of our club’s fruitful first year.”

Billed as an “intro” or “beginners” conference designed to help Taft students understand how the United Nations and Model UNs work, the event was an enormous and highly successful undertaking. The UN Security Council topic, International Intervention to Ensure Women’s Human Rights, reflects another of Theresa’s passions: women’s rights across the globe. Theresa has used her platform as a Global Leadership Institute Scholar to explore gender equality in Somalia.

Since its founding, Taft MUN Club has hosted a number of conferences, including a multi-school event on Taft’s campus, and a virtual event co-hosted with a school in Tokyo, Japan, which brought together student delegates from 23 schools in four countries.

Theresa shares her passion and extraordinary leadership skills with a number of groups and organizations on campus, from Taft Girl Up, the Community Service Board, Debate Club, and Amnesty International, to Somos Taft, the Political Awareness Club, and Interact Club, the youth branch of Rotary Clubs International.

“Taft has allowed me to explore interests I never knew I had,” says Theresa.

“Students and faculty are generally willing to help in any way they can, and it’s really motivating for young people who are trying to create positive change to know that they are not alone in their mission.”

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HOMETOWN: SOUTHBURY, CT PASSION: FILMMAKING INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE: NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN INTERN COLLEGE: YALE UNIVERSITY New York Botanical Garden Scientist Dr. Andrew Henderson is one of the world’s foremost authorities in palms, having spent the last 12 years studying them in Vietnam. Through more than a dozen research trips to the country, Dr. Henderson has collected more than 900 palm specimens, and countless hours of Go-Pro camera footage. As an NYBG summer intern, Dylan turned that footage into a short educational film. “It was definitely an incredible opportunity. There were probably 40 NYBG summer interns, but only two of us—the other also a Taft student—were in high school.

The rest were in college, graduate school, or doing postdoctoral research,” says Dylan, who produced his first full-length movie at age 12. Dr. Henderson’s research received attention—and funding— from sources as impressive and diverse as the Fulbright Scholar Program, the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the International Palm Society, which funded a trip along the Ho Chi Minh Highway that lies at the heart of Dylan’s work. “Throughout much of Dr. Henderson’s journey, he was looking for one particular plant species. He actually found it near the end of the trip. It was pretty incredible to watch that happen, and to share that moment on film.”

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MEET DYLAN

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YOU ARE THEIR LIFE’S WORK. Imagine

a video production classroom where your teacher is an Emmy-winning director and producer. Or a Global Studies and Service program that includes a teacher who, as an educator in South Africa, built a democracytraining curriculum connecting student service projects with local NGOs. Maybe you’ll be inspired by the work your science teachers do with a dwindling group of indigenous people in a remote region of the Amazon rainforest.

Perhaps you’ll recognize the distinctive baritone leading your choral music class from the Disney soundtracks you grew up listening to—Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan. Or aspire to win a Stanley Cup one day, just as your hockey coach did. All of this happens at Taft every day. Our faculty not only bring a world of academic experience to our halls, they bring their experience in the world, and put it to work for you—in the classroom, on the playing field, in the dormitories, as teachers, coaches, deans, and advisors. You are, quite simply, their life’s work.

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FACULTY

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Amazing

MEET SHANNON GUIDOTTI SCIENCE Among the things Ms. Guidotti loves most about Taft are the bonds she forms with her students.

“I might be your bio teacher, or your advisor, or coach you in conditioning,” says Ms. Guidotti.

“Or maybe I was your dean, or you live in my dorm. There are so many ways we forge connections here—we’re all fully enmeshed in this composite web that makes up our community.” Ms. Guidotti has been passionate about science since she was a child; her passion for teaching came a bit later, but runs just as deep. “When I step into my classroom every day I get excited. I love the ‘aha’ moments, and I love how rewarding it is to share my knowledge about topics that I am so excited and passionate about,” she says.

“In our department, everyone is here because we truly love science, and that is so inspiring.

I can’t imagine anything better.”

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at Taft are looking for someone to believe in their dream.

I believe in them.

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Students

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MEET THOMAS ALLEN DEAN OF COMMUNITY, JUSTICE, AND BELONGING As Dean of Community, Justice, and Belonging, Mr. Allen uses his experience and skills as a social worker, psychologist, coach, and mentor to help each student reach their full potential. “I firmly believe that students at Taft are looking for someone to believe in their dream,” Mr. Allen says, “and I believe in them. I’m passionate about developing our community and helping cultivate future leaders who will change the world.” For Mr. Allen, it all begins with connection. “The ability to have meaningful and authentic conversations with students and allow them to fully express themselves in ways that they didn’t even know they could is not only essential to growth as individuals and as a community, but something that brings me great joy.” And connection, he says, is the foundation of a critical component of life at Taft: belonging. “Taft is a special community. Belonging isn’t something we just talk about, but it’s something Taft students and faculty actively embrace and engage in. We challenge ourselves to step out of our comfort zones and lean into the discomfort. Growth can’t come without discomfort. As students grow and stretch, they find that they are developing in ways they never thought possible. You will be a different person when you leave here. As Dr. Seuss wrote ‘Oh, the places you’ll go!’”

MEET REBEKAH LOFGREN HISTORY TEACHER Instead of treating the study of history as memorization of dates and events, Ms. Lofgren emphasizes that history is a human experience. In Modern World History, this means that students examine murals depicting scenes from the Mexican Revolution, read accounts from soldiers in World War II, and consider the dilemma of people caught in the tension between tradition and new beliefs in 20th-century Kenya. In United States History, students tie the experiences of others to their own. “I tell students that, more than anything, I want them to come away with a sense of what they believe, what they think is important, and why. I want them to understand that history is not detached from the present—it shapes how we live and who we are today.”

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My ultimate goal

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

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MEET JENNIFER KENERSON ACADEMIC DEAN, MATHEMATICS TEACHER One of the things Mrs. Kenerson loves about teaching is watching students develop as learners. “It’s great to witness their growth in the classroom from the beginning to the end of the year,” she says, “and then to see how much they’ve changed by the end of senior year.” As an advanced mathematics teacher, Mrs. Kenerson often meets students in the classroom later in their academic careers. But in her role as Academic Dean, she gets to know every student from the very start of their time at Taft. She works with them individually to plan and navigate their academic paths, adapting that roadmap along the way as they refine their interests, focus their studies, and discover new passions.

“I love all of the student interaction that I have in my role as the Academic Dean. Each day is different and brings new challenges. My ultimate goal is to get to know what each student is passionate about and then guide them to a program in which they can be challenged but successful.”

SERVICE TRAVEL AND

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

where to go:

SCHOOL YEAR ABROAD AND SEMESTER AWAY STUDY PROGRAMS

The School Year Abroad program includes immersion experiences in China, France, Spain, and Italy.

Our students also participate in semester programs at the Maine Coast Program of the Chewonki Foundation, at the Island School in the Bahamas, and at the High Mountain Institute in Colorado.

Mids and upper mids may spend a full academic year or semester at King’s Academy in Jordan.

CULTURAL IMMERSION

Taft’s World Language Department offers summer immersion programs in Spain and France.

Students live with host families, attend classes, and explore the cultural richness of these regions, with additional opportunities for weekend travel.

VACATION STUDY ABROAD

how to get there: KILBOURNE GRANTS

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

POOLE FELLOWSHIPS

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

MEG PAGE ’74 FELLOWSHIPS

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

Taft faculty members often organize service travel opportunities for students during spring break and immediately following the close of the academic year.

Tafties have built homes in Guatemala, taught English to schoolchildren in the Dominican Republic, designed academic programs in Costa Rica, and worked in Botswana, Hawaii, Mexico, and Nicaragua. We also offer grants and fellowships that allow students to engage with a host of service and educational travel agencies and programs working in communities throughout the world.

Learn more about service

travel

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

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

Bojana is passionate about the environment. She is especially passionate about climate change.

“I knew that the greatest impact of changes in the climate can be measured in the Arctic,” Bojana says, “and that if I really wanted to study and understand climate change, I needed go there.”

And she did. With support from a Robert Keyes Poole ’50 Fellowship, Bojana spent ten days at the edge of the Arctic working with two scientists from the Earthwatch Institute, an international, research-driven, environmental nonprofit built on a citizen science model. The expedition base was Dechen la’, a remote lodge in the midst of tundra. “Dechen la’” comes from an aboriginal word meaning “the land at the end of the sticks,” and indeed, the end of the sticks—the tree line—played a crucial role in Bojana’s work. The lead scientist on the expedition is studying how climate and environmental change shape tree line dynamics. Bojana identified seedlings of firs and spruces and recorded their growth in seeded and unseeded plots to establish reproductive potential.

“The data I collected will be crucial in proving that warmer growing seasons can lead to a greater number of viable tree seeds produced and higher germination success, allowing the tree line to migrate further into the tundra, where it is harder for them to survive because of the harsh conditions,” says Bojana.

Bojana also worked on an ongoing project assessing the region’s permafrost layer, the soil that remains frozen— below 0 degrees Celsius—for more than a year. As temperatures rise and permafrost thaws, the organic compounds in it begin to decompose, producing carbon dioxide and methane. The release of these greenhouse gases will amplify the effects of global warming.

“It is a 30-year project,” Bojana says, “Earthwatch comes back year after year to measure the permafrost in the same locations, which was what I was doing—probing the ground using a 200-centimeter metal pole and recording the permafrost depth. I could see the direct effects immediately. What I measured could really be influential in future research.”

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

YOU BELONG

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B Our three dining halls sit at

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

here

B Abe Lincoln keeps watch

over the school’s main lobby, which also bears his name. Students often gather here before and between classes; they also rub his nose for luck with each passing. Its acoustic sweet spot makes Lincoln Lobby a favorite performance space for Taft’s a cappella groups. The Choral Room and the Faculty Room, two of the most historic spots on campus, flank Lincoln Lobby.

B Bingham Auditorium

sits at one end of Main Hall. It is where the full school community comes together as one for assemblies and Morning Meetings throughout the year.

Bingham is also home to Taft’s main stage theater, and where the head of school welcomes students back to campus at the start of each academic year.

B Some of the school’s most

historic spaces also sit along Main Hall, including the Woolworth Faculty Room. Vestiges of the Faculty Room’s past life as the school library add a sense of place, history, character, and charm to the space now used for community gatherings and receptions, as a cozy study space, occasional classes, and club meetings.

We are what makes Taft Taft:

we are a deeply connected and intertwined community that naturally leads each individual to build treasured and valued bonds. The person assigned to sit next to you in Bingham Auditorium may become the close friend you stay up late talking to in your dorm, your most dedicated teammate, or your talented co-star in the spring musical.

—Maya

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OUR DORMS ARE MEANT TO BE, IN EVERY SENSE,

a home away from home.

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For more than three-quarters of our student body, they are just that: they are places where friendships are formed, faculty becomes family, and comfortable spaces abound. They are where students live together, learn together, and grow together.

For many, it is the first time they are living away from home. Our Residential Life team includes a director, dorm heads, resident faculty, deans, and dormitory monitors, all of whom work to make the transition to dorm life—and everyday living— smooth and successful.

RESIDENTIAL HALLS B Centennial Dormitory

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

DINING & STUDENT LIFE B Centennial Quad B East Dining Hall B Laube Dining Hall B Lincoln Lobby B Oscarson Jigger Shop &

Patio/Student Union B Potter’s Pond B Prentice Dining Hall B School Store B Woodward Chapel

?

WHAT MAKES TAFT TAFT

SIT-DOWN DINNER

Twice each week Tafties sit down with faculty members and fellow students at assigned tables to engage in meaningful conversation around current issues. Table assignments change for each meal, allowing students to connect with different members of our community each week.

RED RALLY

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

SUPER SUNDAY

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

SPIRITUAL LIFE

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

Saturdays are usually class days, and a big day for athletic competitions, but there’s still time in the weekend for movie nights, coffeehouses, dances, rallies, charity walks, and service projects.

There are often club meetings and activities, and special events hosted by campus groups and organizations. There are cultural celebrations, arts performances, game nights, and off-campus excursions. Tafties hang with friends, skate on Potter’s Pond, ride bikes, take trips to the mall, dine out, create music and art, play pick-up games in the gym, go skiing, work out…the weekend options are almost unlimited.

ECOMONS

Monitors—mons—are our student leaders. EcoMons take the reins in ensuring that Tafties think green and live green.

With an eye on environmental stewardship, EcoMons work to keep efficiency and sustainability at the forefront of campus life.

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WEEKENDS!

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THE JIG

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

FEEDS

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

OUR MOTTO

Our school motto, Non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret, means “not to be served but to serve,” and serve we do.

We are a community dedicated to making a difference, both locally and globally. Each season, every Taft student is invited to engage with service partners across the state through their Afternoon Program activities, while working with those organizations to meet their wide-ranging needs.

DEEPLY CONNECTED,

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uniquely

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The belonging

of every member of the community is of paramount importance. We are a community that celebrates and accepts everyone.

Every member of our community can be their full self at Taft, no matter who you love, no matter how you identify, no matter how you worship, the color of your skin, the language you speak, where you’re from, the shape of your body… you are valued.

—Peter Becker ’95 Head of School

DIVERSE

31

BUILT ON relationships Taft is a place that is built on relationships; at our core, we are all connected. Our students live and learn with a common purpose and a spirit of cooperation. They work collaboratively, and care deeply.

They value kindness.

All new Taft students are welcomed to campus by a peer mentor and guide, who becomes a trusted resource, a helpful navigator, and an early link in the chain of support and relationships that develop over time. In our dormitories, students get to know resident faculty—and often their families and pets—through dorm meetings, “feeds” (a Taft term for a fun food gathering), one-on-one chats, and daily campus life. Student leaders, who are selected by faculty and administration and known as monitors or “mons,” help resident faculty make the dorms feel like home. They are role models, cheerleaders, cruise directors, tour guides, communicators, empowerers, and friends. They, along with roommates, teammates, and classmates, all strengthen the relationship chain at Taft.

Our community also includes a vast network of adult role models and supporters. Our teachers are coaches and dorm heads. They are club advisors, academic advisors, and class deans. They wear many hats, and get to know students in all aspects of their lives. New students are assigned an advisor; they may select a new advisor as they build relationships through classes, athletics, clubs, activities, or residential life. Students also work closely with our class deans, who oversee student progress in each grade, and the academic dean, who helps students select courses and set goals.

They may also rely on our head of school, assistant head of school, dean of students, associate dean of students, director of residential life, and counselors for support and guidance. All work to model and instill Taft’s values, and reflect the depth and importance of relationships in our community.

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SENIOR ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS, HISTORY TEACHER “I had great teachers in my private secondary school, one of whom was my advisor,” says Mr. Traina, veteran history teacher and varsity hockey coach. “He taught me American Studies, a course about the connections between literature and history. It was my first experience with truly deep learning, and it made an impression on me. So from the age of 17, I knew I wanted to teach at a boarding school—there’s no better place to teach than at Taft.” Mr. Traina came to Taft right out of college, joining the faculty as a teaching fellow.

“Taft has an incredible mentoring program for young teachers,” Mr. Traina says. And for young children: Mr. Traina lives on campus with his wife, Dean of Faculty Edie Traina, and his daughters, who learn a lot through their interactions with Taft students. “They learn that it’s cool to be passionate, to work hard, and to be kind.

What happens here in our community is really magical.”

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MEET MARK TRAINA

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made his way to Taft from the Right to Dream Academy in Ghana, a residential school combining elite MEET DIKY Bawa soccer coaching with top-notch academics and a character education program. After local tryouts across Ghana, 21 young men were invited to join the Academy. It was there that Bawa first heard about Taft. & BAWA Diky is also an international student—raised in the Bahamas, proud of his Swiss heritage. He’d heard about

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

34

Taft his whole life: His father is an alumnus, and he attended Taft’s summer program after seventh grade.

Diky, too, played soccer.

“The soccer team is kind of a band of brothers,” Diky says. “Once we became teammates, I started to get to know Bawa really well. I noticed that we had the same sense of humor, and told the same kinds of jokes. I feel like that humor really brought us together. Soon I got to know his background and his path here, and about his family and his values.

Because we had this bond over soccer we were able to be open to each other.”

Bawa believes that the playing field is where many athletes reveal their truest selves. They respond to the ups and downs of the game in the moment, he says, and with authenticity. You see how they respond to hardship, and how they celebrate life’s victories, both big and small. That has been especially true for Bawa and Diky. Bawa says that Diky teaches him how to balance hard work with a bit of fun, and that students from all walks of life can face all kinds of pressures in and out of the classroom. Bawa has shown Diky what pure honesty and truly giving one hundred percent of yourself in every aspect of your life can look like. Both say that their friendship has taught them the importance of setting aside preconceived notions about people. They remind each other to be humble, and grateful.

“We’re both very thankful for where we are,” says Diky. “We followed different paths to Taft, but came together with the same goals and the same values. I think we both appreciate the friendship we found here.”

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This campus

35

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

MEET PILAR SANTOS SPANISH TEACHER SENIOR CLASS DEAN Pilar Santos has been teaching Spanish at Taft for more than 20 years. As a native speaker, she brings a unique perspective to the classroom.

“I see both sides of the problem—I know what it is like to decode a foreign language, because I had to learn English.

My biggest goal is for my students to sound authentic. We are very lucky here at Taft to be able to bring people from all over the world to teach languages. I also like to give my students the background.

Comprehension of a language goes beyond the vocabulary. To appreciate a Spanish text, movie, piece of news, etc., you must know about the culture, the history, the music, the politics.”

Ms. Santos has always had a special bond with Taft’s international students, perhaps because she knows what it feels like to be very far from home.

“When I got here it was my first time in America. I was dropped off in this new place with 80 kilos of luggage, knowing no one. And the very day I arrived, I was invited to a birthday party at someone’s house. This campus is a place where people really get to belong. They feel this is home.

That’s what makes Taft different. It is our home, and our students feel at home.”

Taft’s Davis International Scholars

Where

TAFTIES come from 2023–24

U.S. BOARDING STUDENTS California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho

Illinois Indiana Iowa Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Montana

New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania

Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia

voices

WITH STUDENTS FROM

31 60

states and

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

diversity in our student body is unprecedented; it reflects the deliberate efforts of our full Admissions team to build an intentionally diverse community of bright and talented young learners from across the globe.

Each day, students have countless opportunities to consider a range of culturally diverse perspectives, while developing a deeper understanding of what it means to live and learn in a global community— opportunities that present themselves in our dormitories and dining halls, through service work, in clubs and activities, and on playing fields, and perhaps most profoundly, in our classrooms.

—Peter Frew ’75, Director of Admissions

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Afghanistan Albania Australia Austria Belarus Bermuda Botswana Brazil

Bulgaria Cameroon Canada China Colombia Denmark Dominican Republic

Ecuador Egypt Finland France Germany Ghana Greece Guatemala

Haiti Hong Kong Hungary India Ireland Israel Jamaica Japan

Kazakhstan Kenya Lebanon Lithuania Malaysia Malta Mexico Morocco

Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Poland Romania Russia Serbia Singapore

Somaliland South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand

Ukraine United Kingdom United States Vietnam Zimbabwe

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A MULTITUDE OF

The cultural

37

Diversity, EQUITY & INCLUSION

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

38

we are committed At Taft,

to the work of becoming more inclusive as an institution and as individuals.

This work requires effort, thought and care, courage, humility and time. It is never ending, with space for new ideas and understanding, growth, and improvement.

This work helps us prepare our students to be informed, moral, and just global citizens.

PASSIONS: DANCE, EDUCATION COLLEGE: TUFTS UNIVERSITY As a senior at Taft, Pearl completed an independent tutorial in dance exploring the life of Civil Rights pioneer Pearl Primus.

A dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist, Primus used dance to resist civil injustice and advocate for change in the 1960s. As part of her tutorial, Pearl choreographed her own protest piece. She also performed a solo from Primus’s 1945 repertoire piece, Strange Fruit, based on the poem by Lewis Allan.

“Movement is communication— in figuring out movements you are figuring out how best to convey a message,” says Pearl, whose independent tutorial allowed her to speak volumes through dance.

“At the beginning of my Taft career, I was very hesitant to talk about some of the racial and cultural issues our country faces, which are reflected in issues many schools face. By educating myself about those issues, educating myself on how to talk about uncomfortable topics, and advising others on how to live their best life, I have been able to help myself and the community. I would say that is the most important thing I will take away from my Taft education: learning how to better myself while bettering the community around me.”

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

diversity and inclusion at www.taftschool.org/dei

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MEET PEARL

39

DEI

MARIA HINOJOSA Maria Hinojosa is a Latina trailblazer. Her storied career includes reporting for PBS, CBS, WNBC, CNN, NPR, and anchoring the Emmy Award winning talk show from WGBH Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One. Hinojosa was the first Latina to anchor a PBS FRONTLINE report. She is the author of two books and has won numerous awards, including four Emmys, a Pulitzer Prize, the John Chancellor Award, the Studs Terkel Community Media Award, two Robert F. Kennedy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club, and the Ruben Salazar Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAHJ. None of it came easy for a Latina woman; all of it taught her the importance of using her voice and platform to call attention to injustice. “The beauty of activism is that you are chipping away at achieving justice and humanity,” Hinojosa told Taft students. “You are the ones who are going to have to chip away. Our privilege has to light a fire of responsibility.”

in action

A wide range of student-led groups support and celebrate our remarkably diverse student body. Taft’s affinity groups—currently based on race, gender, and sexual orientation—offer spaces for students to gather and converse about their shared experiences at Taft and beyond. Clubs offer students opportunities to share their unique cultures and experiences with our broader community, as do school events and programming, including our annual Multicultural Arts Celebration, held in conjunction with our Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Unity Breakfast and workshops; community service programs; and WorldFest, an evening expo during which students share the customs, culture, food, and traditions of their homeland.

On a broader scale, global diversity comes into clearer focus through our Global Leadership Institute and Global Studies and Service program, as well as our all-school summer reading program, which has included Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; All American Boys

by Jason Reynolds and Brandon Kiely; Mudbound by Hillary Jordan; The Vanishing Half,

by Brit Bennett; and most recently, Once I Was You, by Maria Hinojosa.

Deep and powerful learning and understanding is writ large through our Morning Meeting program. Twice each week, Tafties gather in Bingham Renowned professor, philosopher, orator, author, Auditorium for Morning Meeting, and presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West brought a message of love and its power, kindness, and where speakers from across the aisle community to Taft. “I am who I am because somebody and across the globe grant exposure loved me—cared for me,” Dr. Cornel West told the Taft to new or unique perspectives, community. “You are who you are because somebody and offer deeper, broader insights loved you, tended to you, sacrificed for you. What kind into the world. Recent speakers of human are you going to choose to be in the short move from your momma’s womb to tomb? I come from have included Maria Hinojosa, a great people; a Black people. A people who, in the Helen Zia, and Dr. Cornel West.

DR. CORNEL WEST

face of hatred, keep dishing out love warriors every generation… How? Because I choose to be a certain kind of person…That’s as human as it gets. That’s precisely what community, justice, belonging is all about.”

HELEN ZIA Author and activist Helen Zia’s talk, Asian Americans in the Time of COVID: Challenge and Resistance, was the culminating event of Taft’s celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

“This is what we’re building toward: Communities with unity,” said Zia. “This has been the 21st century challenge, to imagine new visions of lived unity— new visions of openness and dialogue to explore and understand differences, and seek common values, not shut down because of differences.”

Photo courtesy HelenZia.com 40

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THE ONGOING WORK OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION Creating a diverse school where every member feels valued is a top priority. There is much to be proud of. Taft’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Planning Committee (DEISPC) continuously evaluates the school’s DEI work. They create guideposts and assess the impact of DEI initiatives on every aspect of school operations. The Committee, made up of Taft trustees, faculty, and staff, undertook a comprehensive audit—a “state of the state,” if you will—to better understand where we are as a school in an effort to most effectively build a roadmap for moving forward.

The results of the audit help shape Taft’s critical DEI work in six areas: academics, admissions, student life, DEI resources, alumni relations, and faculty recruitment, retention, and training. In each of those areas, the audit revealed tremendous progress and meaningful successes. It also revealed areas of opportunity for continued growth and specific and important actions that we must undertake to keep our community strong and connected—a place where everyone feels welcome, and shares a sense of belonging. If our mission is the education of the whole student, it necessarily follows that we must shape the whole of every student, and more than ever in our history, we are committed to that goal.

RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL

diversity

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

A PLACE TO FIT IN

A PLACE 42

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

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

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

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TO

stand OUT

Taft offers

UNLIMITED AVENUES for

SELFEXPRESSION and countless ways to pursue your

passions.

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

JULIA At the end of her sophomore year, Julia traveled to Ireland to play in the Kerry Cup, an elite competition open to 64 of the world’s top junior golfers.

Not only did Julia lead her Kerry Cup team to victory, she earned low medalist honors, and set a course record. “I’m very interested in science and artificial intelligence,” Julia says.

“I often think about meshing my skills and passion for comp sci and golf—bringing artificial intelligence into golf in some way as a career.”

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

ELEANOR

MIHIR

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

Mihir is passionate about changing the world.

45 He has volunteered with nonprofits across the United States and India, and was the first high school student to win a seed grant from Be The Change Venture Inc.; he used it to research food access and the effects of malnutrition on learning. Mihir’s research was designed to inform plans for remediating hunger among the children of Ahmedabad, India.

The point of his work, he says, is “to shine a bright light on the issue of world hunger.” And he knows something about bright lights: Mihir is also an actor, and his turns on the Taft stage have been filled with as much passion as his work around hunger.

Taft offers more than

50

academic courses in the arts,

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

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

—Bruce Fifer, Arts Teacher

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

The arts ARE ALIVE AND VIBRANT AT TAFT.

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Learn more about Taft’s

arts program at www.taftschool.org/arts

expression It challenges the mind, nurtures the soul, and spurs innovation. The arts play a vital role in shaping the spirit and intellect of Taft students.

Through the arts, they become collaborators, intuitive and disciplined thinkers, imaginative creators, and observers with broad yet unique perspectives in all areas of their lives.

ARTS

facilities B Bingham “Main Stage” Theater B Band Room

B Choral Room B Digital Recording Studio in the

Bristol Music Room B Electronic Music Studio B Gail Wynne Sculpture and Ceramics Studio B Mark W. Potter Art Gallery B Multimedia Computer Lab B Music Practice Rooms B Pailey Dance Studio B Photography Dark Rooms B Printmaking and Fabric Design Spaces B Tremaine Arts Studio B Video Production Laboratory and Classroom B Walker Hall Performance Venue B Woodward “Black Box” Theater B Woodward Chapel Performance Venue

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

ART IS THE MOST ELEMENTAL FORM OF .

49

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

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

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HOMETOWN: HAWTHORN WOODS, ILLINOIS PASSIONS: THEATER, TECHNOLOGY, BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER COLLEGE: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Nicholas loves to write code, often just for fun. He enjoys applied mathematics, and has spent summers working in tech support positions at a pharmaceutical company. But when you see him on stage, you feel like he’s truly found his home.

Nick made his Taft stage debut in Shrek, The Musical, set hearts aflutter as a prince in Into the Woods, and earned a prestigious Halo Award nomination for his comedic work in Chicago—just a few of his favorite Taft roles.

The most challenging one to date: Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, a 15-year-old on the autism spectrum. “It was hard,” says Nicholas. “The character is so different from who I am as a person. It is way out of my comfort zone, and a long way from Shrek, where everyone is dancing and happy all the time.” The role required Nicholas to memorize reams of dialog, including an “afterwards,” of sorts, where he delivered a highly technical accounting of the solution to Christopher’s favorite problem on his “A-Levels” mathematical exams. The key, Nicholas notes, is understanding the character—not to mention understanding the math. “Whenever you do a play or a musical you have to find the balance between knowing every word from rote memory and being able to go on and get past it even if you trip on a couple of words. If you know a character well enough, you know what that character would say in a situation. That helped me a lot in this production.”

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MEET NICHOLAS

51

ATHLETICS

they are about health and wellness, and understanding the importance of a lifelong commitment to fitness. They are also about finding enjoyment through athletic pursuits, and catching the Big Red spirit that unites our community. Athletics are woven into everyday life at Taft. Most students play on a team at some point in their Taft careers, and most will attend a sporting event to cheer on their friends and their school. Athletes can compete in most sports at the Thirds, JV, or Varsity level. Some compete for fun and camaraderie, while others are elite athletes preparing for competitive careers in some of the nation’s top college-level programs.

As one of the most successful athletic programs in New England, our coaches encourage fair play, respect for opponents, a love of the game, competitive spirit, and team loyalty. Our students leave us with an understanding of hard work and good sportsmanship, a sense of responsibility to one’s team and teammates, the ability to set goals, and an overall commitment to healthy living through physical activity.

Learn more about Taft’s

athletics program

at www.taftschool.org/athletics

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ATHLETICS AT TAFT ARE ABOUT MORE THAN COMPETITION;

53

TAFT

offers

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

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

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

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

ATHLETIC MCCULLOUGH ATHLETIC CENTER B 5 Squash Courts

(8 total in our complex) B 4 Indoor Tennis Courts

(resurfaced 2021) B 2 Indoor Basketball Courts B 2 Batting Cages B Indoor Track B Weight Room B Pam McMullen Fitness Studio

CRUIKSHANK ATHLETIC CENTER B 3 Squash Courts

(8 total in our complex) B 2 Hardwood Volleyball/

Basketball Courts B Climbing Wall B Locker Rooms

LOGAN FIELD HOUSE B John Wynne Wrestling Room B Weight Room B Athletic Training and

Rehabilitation Center B Locker Rooms

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

MAYS HOCKEY RINK DONALDSON FAMILY PAVILION AND TENNIS COURTS B 12 Tennis Courts B Player Pavilion B Viewing Pavilion

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

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

56

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

ROCKEFELLER FIELD B Football Field

B Viewing Bleachers

MACMULLEN FIELD (New, 2022) B Boys’ Varsity Soccer B Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse B Ultimate Frisbee

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

facilities

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

OFF CAMPUS

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

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

LAWRENCE H. STONE BASEBALL PAVILION AT ROCKWELL FIELD

57

MEET KAYLA HOMETOWN: BRISTOL, CT PASSIONS: ATHLETICS, KINDNESS COLLEGE: HAVERFORD COLLEGE When you talk about Kayla, it’s hard not to talk numbers: She’s a three-season varsity athlete and a three-sport team captain. And if that seems impressive, try this number: During her senior year, Kayla became only the second basketball player in school history to score 1,000 career points. She says that the many mentors in her life, including her own team captains, helped shape her experience both in the classroom and on the court, giving her the confidence she needed to fulfill her potential within the Taft community.

And she has: Kayla is an honor student, the head of the tour guides’ Admission Council, a member of GSA and of the Step Team, and a powerful voice on the Day Student Council. From her mentors, she learned that she can do almost anything she puts her mind to, and do it well. “They showed me what good role models looked like.

They helped me branch out and find my passions, and then how to balance them as both a student and an athlete.”

58

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

MEET MORGAN MANZ ’13 GIRLS’ VARSITY BASKETBALL AND VOLLEYBALL COACH It was a happy day all around when Ms. Manz ’13 returned to her alma mater. As a Taft student, she was a three-sport athlete, making her mark on the links, and on the volleyball and basketball courts.

Her talents earned her Founders League and NEPSAC All-Star accolades, and two Founders League titles in basketball. As a college player, Ms. Manz was named a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic player, and was a key contributor on a talented team that reached the NCAA Sweet 16 during her senior campaign—one that included a game in which she landed an impressive six threepointers. It’s clear Ms. Manz knows a thing or two about leadership, hard work, skill-building, talent, and what it takes to succeed. And she’s happy to share that with student-athletes as head coach of Taft’s varsity volleyball and basketball teams. “I am grateful to be back at Taft, and able to serve the same community and the specific programs that impacted me when I was a student. I learned a lot from my coaches as a student-athlete; it has been a pleasure to be mentored by them once again, this time in my new role as a faculty member and coach. My goal is to impact my players in the same way those coaches and mentors impacted me.”

In addition to coaching at Taft, Ms. Manz teaches science and is one of the learning specialists in the Moorhead Academic Center.

59

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

Clubs,

COMMITTEES, AND PUBLICATIONS That there are so many ways to get involved at Taft is testament to the fact that our students love to engage, explore, contemplate, collaborate, and create. There are some clubs and publications that are nearly as old as the school itself, including our a cappella singing group, and others that just came on the scene, like our indoor drone racing club.

New clubs pop up every year as students dive into new interests or craft ways to share their passions with the community. There is truly something for everyone— and always the opportunity to create something more.

SOME OF OUR CURRENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:

60

B Community Service Board

B FLIP

B LGBTQ+ Affinity Group

B Creative Writing Club

B FOCUS

B Mahjong Club

B Cruise Taft

B Frisbee Club

B Masque And Dagger

B Current Events Club

B Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA)

B Med Society

B Debate Club

B Geo Club

B More Than 4

B Democrats of Taft

B Girl Up

B Mosaic

B Economics Team

B Girls with Gains

B Multiracial Affinity Group

B Entrepreneur Club

B Hang Loose Group

B Neurodiversity at Taft

B African Affinity Group

B European Affinity Group

B History Club

B One Love

B Amnesty International Club

B Every Mind Matters

B Hong Chinese Alliance Group

B Oriocos

B Asian Alliance Club

B Fashion Design Club

B International Cooking Club

B Pan Asian Affinity Group

B Bike Club

B Female Entrepreneur Fellowship

B Japanese Culture Club

B Prints for the Papyrus

B Chess Club

B Female Financial Literacy Club

B JSO Jewish Student Organization

B Public Health Club

B Climbing Club

B Fleeting Thoughts

B Knitting Club

B RAFA

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

B Red Ink

B T-Rap

B Taft Interact Club

B The Global Journal

B Rhino Reuse

B Taft Book Club

B Taft International Film Club

B The Middle Eastern Youth Alliance

B Rock Climbing Club

B Taft Business Review

B Taft Model UN Club

B The Muslim Affinity Group

B SAC: South Asian Culture Club

B Taft Coding Club

B Taft Poetry Club

B The Political Awareness Club

B Sexual Assault Awareness

B Taft Dance Club

B Taft Quiz Bowl

B The Red Rhino Fund

and Prevention (SAAP) B Shades B Sociology Club B Somos Taft B Sports Analytics Club B Star Wars Club B Start Your Own Business B Student Engagement Council B Sunshineology

B Taft Financial Society

B Taft Radio

B The Republican Club

B Taft Fishing Club

B Taft Radio: Taft Athletics

B The Taft Geography Club

B Taft for Ukraine

Reporting B Taft Religion and Spiritual Life Council B Taft Ultimate Frisbee Club B The Black Alliance Club B The Cheese Club B The French Club

B The Taft Papyrus

B Taft Formula 1 and

Motorsports Club B Taft Freestyle Club B Taft Habitat for Humanity B Taft Historical Society B Taft Illustration Club

B The Wishing Tree Club B UNICEF Club B United Cultures at Taft B Veterans Awareness Fund B We Need a Bigger Table B Yearbook

THE TAFT SCHOOL MOTTO

WHEN YOU BECOME A TAFTIE, YOU BECOME A TUTOR, A MAKER, A MENTOR. YOU TEACH ENGLISH IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES, YOU BUILD HOMES, YOU PAINT FENCES. You nurse animals, work in food pantries and soup kitchens, and build athletic programs in remote villages seemingly worlds away. You run coat drives, and toy drives, and blood drives. You walk for a cause, and give voice to a cause. You support service organizations, and even start your own.

Taft students don’t just talk about the school motto, they live it. It is part of the fabric of our community, and a piece of Taft life that every student carries with them long after graduation. Our motto is a lifetime commitment: Not to be served but to serve.

Non Ut Sibi Ministretur Sed Ut Ministret:

NOT TO BE SERVED

CHAPTER 4 / LIVING OUR MOTTO 63

A great advantage

of boarding school is that it gives opportunities for students to get out of themselves.

They must work for others.

—Horace Dutton Taft

but to serve

Living

OUR MOTTO

A MEANINGFUL TRADITION:

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE Over the years, Taft has formed deep connections with a wide-range of agencies, organizations, support networks, and resource providers that work to keep the community around us vital and strong. Our partnerships with these groups are among the most important bonds students will experience during their time at Taft.

Each season, every Taft student is invited to engage with our service partners through their Afternoon Program activities, while working with them to meet the diverse needs of their constituents.

By connecting community service initiatives to our Afternoon Program, students and faculty alike learn more about our neighbors and the challenges they face in their daily lives. This perspective and understanding not only allows members of the Taft community to make an impact through their dedication to service, it allows them to reflect more deeply on the role of service in their lives. By offering Taft students ongoing and meaningful opportunities to engage in service, we believe they will become stronger and more deeply connected global citizens.

64

Our Community Service Council (CSC) lies at the heart of our community service program. Every Taft student is a part of the Council; its 12-member board is charged with developing meaningful service opportunities and projects throughout the school year.

Students may formally commit to service work as their afternoon activity during an academic term, or simply participate in the many service opportunities scheduled throughout the year, including blood drives, charity walks, and homework help sessions with local students. Our community service program is purposefully flexible, allowing athletes, actors, artists, and musicians to participate while also pursuing their extracurricular passions.

Many Taft students also commit to service initiatives through academic programs. Our Global Leadership Institute and Global Studies and Service programs include strong service and service learning components. (Learn more on page 12.) Other students may engage with hands-on sustained giving though our Red Rhino Fund, an endowed, charitable fund run by a nine-member student board. The group supports programs for children in the Greater Waterbury community by awarding monetary grants and promoting local organizations with a focus on education, literacy, and the arts.

GLOBAL IMPACT

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

Learn more about these

programs

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

CHAPTER 4 / LIVING OUR MOTTO

LIVING OUR MOTTO

65

living OUR MOTTO

AT HOME MEET ADITYA HOME TOWN: NAPERVILLE, IL PASSION: TECH STARTUPS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COLLEGE: VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY Aditya founded a nonprofit organization called Meaningful Summers, and put together a local charity run. The money he raised at the event went to the local food bank, whose cause he first learned about through a random email.

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

HOME TOWN: TAIPEI, TAIWAN

living OUR MOTTO

AT TAFT

living OUR MOTTO

ACROSS THE GLOBE MEET TANIA HOME TOWN: PERSHOTRAVENSK, UKRAINE PASSIONS: GLOBAL SERVICE AND EDUCATION COLLEGE: YALE UNIVERSITY “I never thought that my community service experience could go beyond my home country,” says Tania. “But then I saw a movie where some of the main characters traveled to another country to teach English and thought, ‘Maybe one day…’ Once I came to Taft, I realized that ‘one day’ had arrived.” With support from a Poole Grant, Tania traveled to Sri Lanka where she taught English to a group of young monks in a local Buddhist temple.

“My class was about 15 boys, ranging from the age of 9 to 13,” Tania says. “The monks had not had language lessons on a regular basis before, so I was teaching them basic grammar rules about sentence structure and questions, and teaching them some words, describing food, animals, professions.” Tania also spent her afternoons working in an orphanage for girls, some as young as 6, none older than 18. Through both experiences, Tania came to a deeper understanding about the true nature of service. “I understood that volunteering is not about changing the whole world, but about changing something in the world of a small group of people and, with it, changing something in yourself.”

PASSION: SCIENCE, MEDICINE, PUBLIC HEALTH Fiona has been pursuing her interest in public health and medicine since middle school. Her hope has always been to make a difference while strengthening communities.

The first step, Fiona believed, was to make the science of medicine more accessible. She did so by building an online education community through her science-based, research-driven YouTube channel. At Taft, Fiona has continued her community-building and education work, both online and on campus. “I founded the Public Health Club because I wanted to bring more medical information to the school community,” Fiona says. “The club’s mission is to spread awareness about underfunded diseases, and to share crucial medical information with the school community and beyond.” Fiona and Public Health Club members have partnered with local community health organizations to provide a range of healthcare services to underserved populations throughout northwest Connecticut, including COVID-19 education and resources developed using federal funding secured by a community partner. “It has been so exciting to be able to expand our impact in such meaningful ways,” Fiona says. “I am beyond happy and grateful that the Taft Public Health Club has been so successful and so well-received.”

CHAPTER 4 / LIVING OUR MOTTO

MEET FIONA

67

College

COUNSELING

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

68

The journey formally begins in the late fall of the upper mid year, when each student is assigned a college counselor; parents are always invited to participate in the process. In the months that follow, students and counselors meet regularly: counselors learn about each student’s goals, interests, passions, and strengths during those sessions, while students learn about the nuts and bolts of the process, from standardized testing and essay writing to course selection and how best to present themselves through their college applications. All of this work helps students and counselors enter senior year with a solid list of well-researched, highly-personalized prospective colleges.

Senior year is a flurry of activity: students finalize essays, visit more campuses, and submit applications, while college counselors work closely with teachers, coaches, deans, dorm faculty, and advisors in crafting detailed letters of recommendation for each student. Recommendation letters cover much more than just academics: They highlight every facet of a student’s moral, intellectual, and social development, and present each student in an accurate, nuanced, and compelling light.

DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING As a graduate of Georgetown University, a certified teacher, a former director of admissions at St. Lawrence University, and parent, Alison Almasian has been on all sides of the college admissions process.

“Our mission in the College Counseling Office is to do everything we can to help students and their families successfully navigate the college search, application, and selection process,” Alison says. “We work to find the best match for each student, which is both an art and a science. We do a great deal of questioning—we’re communicating constantly and getting to know all of our students really well. We also use data to inform our conversations.

There’s a questionnaire for students, and for parents. We read every teacher comment, dean letter, and advisor letter. All of this comes together to not only help us find the right match for our students, but to develop written recommendations that tell each student’s story in a compelling way.”

CHAPTER 5 / COLLEGE AND BEYOND

MEET ALISON ALMASIAN ’87

69

MEET JACK HOMETOWN: WATERTOWN, CT PASSIONS: VIDEO PRODUCTION, SCIENCE & MEDICINE COLLEGE: YALE UNIVERSITY Jack got an early jump on the college search process, building a list of schools on his own before the start of his junior year. He was well-prepared when he was paired with his Taft college counselor, Alison Almasian, later that fall.

“Taft does a great job of matching students with counselors,” says Jack. “Ms. Almasian helped me add to and refine my list of schools, and gave me excellent tips for getting the most out of campus visits and drafting supplemental essays. Throughout the process, I felt like she was truly an advocate and supporter.

She took time to get to know me not just as a student, but as a person, and to help me find schools where I would thrive.”

JACK’S

pro tips:

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

OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS (2019–2023), Taft students enrolled at 198 different colleges and universities in 38 states, the District of Columbia, and six foreign countries.

During the same period, five or more students enrolled at each of the following schools:

70

B Amherst College, 6

B Colgate University, 13

B Babson College, 7

B College of the Holy Cross, 7

B Barnard College, 5

B Colorado College, 7

B Bates College, 6

B Columbia University, 11

B Boston College, 13

B Cornell University, 18

B Boston University, 7

B Dartmouth College, 6

B Bowdoin College, 6

B Dickinson College, 5

B Brown University, 18

B Duke University, 12

B Bucknell University, 21

B Emory University, 5

B Carnegie Mellon University, 7

B Fordham University, 5

B Colby College, 6

B George Washington University, 9

CHAPTER 5 / COLLEGE AND BEYOND

MEET NATALIE HOMETOWN: ELIZABETH, NJ PASSIONS: DANCE, MATH & SCIENCE, CULTURAL STUDIES COLLEGE: UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Natalie started the college search process feeling that she didn’t know a lot about what different schools had to offer. What she did know was that her interests were broad, her talents were many, and that her desire to be at a big school in an urban setting was particularly strong.

“I knew I was interested in Penn because I had visited the fall before,” says Natalie. “My college counselor, Mr. McNeill, said it would be a reach—a far reach—as it is for everyone, but he always encouraged me, and never doubted me in any way.

Mr. McNeill spent a lot of time getting to know me and learning about my passions so that we could find schools that would offer me everything I was looking for in a college experience. When I showed him my first application essay he said, ‘Let’s keep working on it. I just need to know more about you by reading it; be true to yourself in those 650 words.’ In the end, I delivered an essay that was very personal, and very true. Mr. McNeill loved it, and had complete faith that those reading my essays would see me not just as a student, but as the full and complete person I am.”

NATALIE’S

71

pro tips:

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

Read more about

college counseling, watch videos, and follow counselors on their school visits at www.taftschool.org/ collegecounseling.

B Georgetown University, 29

B Scripps College, 5

B University of Connecticut, 7

B University of St. Andrews, 7

B Hamilton College, 8

B Southern Methodist University, 18

B University of Miami, 15

B University of Texas at Austin, 8

B Harvard University, 8

B Trinity College, 14

B University of Michigan, 10

B University of Vermont, 5

B Hobart & William Smith Colleges, 7

B Tufts University, 12

B University of North Carolina

B University of Virginia, 11

B Johns Hopkins University, 6

B Tulane University, 17

B University of Wisconsin,

B Lafayette College, 6

B University of California,

B McGill University, 5

Berkeley, 6 B University of California, Los Angeles, 7 B University of Colorado, Boulder, 11

at Chapel Hill, 9 B University of Notre Dame, 9 B University of Pennsylvania, 21 B University of Richmond, 20 B University of Rochester, 5 B University of Southern California, 9

B Middlebury College, 14 B New York University, 17 B Northeastern University, 14 B Princeton University, 8

Madison, 10 B Villanova University, 5 B Wake Forest University, 18 B Washington & Lee University, 10 B Wesleyan University, 12 B Yale University, 18

RANJIT BINDRA ’94 SNAPSHOT:

Physician-scientist, professor, and biotech entrepreneur at the Yale School of Medicine.

Treats brain and central nervous system cancers while testing experimental therapeutics, most based on discoveries from his own laboratory.

Widely regarded as an emerging leader in the brain tumor space.

Photo credit: Peter Baker

EDUCATION: TAFT, YALE

KAREN STEVENSON ’75

TAFT ALUMNI

SNAPSHOT:

Magistrate Judge, US District Court for the Central District of California.

First female African-American Rhodes Scholar; one of the first women admitted to the previously (since 1458) all-male Magdalen College, Oxford.

Named one of the most influential Black lawyers in the country by Savoy Magazine, and now, winner of the Horace Dutton Taft Alumni Medal.

EDUCATION: TAFT, UNC CHAPEL HILL, OXFORD, STANFORD

STEVEN ERLANGER ’70 SNAPSHOT:

Pulitzer Prize winner and chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe for The New York Times.

Has also served as bureau chief in London, Paris, Jerusalem, Berlin, Prague, Moscow, and Bangkok.

Left The Boston Globe in 1987 to join The Times as a metro reporter. Also awarded the Horace Dutton Taft Alumni Medal for living a life of service.

Photo credit: Rina Castelnuovo

LEXI BROWNELL REESE ’92 SNAPSHOT:

C-suite trailblazer in Silicon Valley, Executive in Residence at General Catalyst, former COO of Gusto, former VP at Google, on the board at Gap, Inc. Dedicated to empowering women and underrepresented groups and creating an inclusive workplace culture. Driven by passion, persistence, and a commitment to making an impact by “doing good.”

Photo Credit: Colin Price Photography 72

EDUCATION: TAFT, UVA, HARVARD

EDUCATION: TAFT, HARVARD, OXFORD

SNAPSHOT:

A Taftie at heart and Taft’s sixth head of school. An educator who has devoted his life to boarding schools and has done it all along the way: teacher, coach, advisor, dorm head, department chair, and head of school.

Empathy and caring are the hallmarks of his leadership style, all with the goal of helping students feel valued in ways that allow them to grow and succeed.

EDUCATION: TAFT, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, YALE

NIKKI MAYHEW GREENE ’93 SNAPSHOT:

Associate Professor of Art and the first Black tenured Art History Professor in the century-long history of the Wellesley College Art Department, Visual Arts Editor of Transition: The Magazine of Africa and the Diaspora, published by Harvard University, author, and art historian examining African and African American identities, music, the body, and feminism in 20th century and contemporary art. Passionate about amplifying student voices and preparing our country’s future leaders to think critically, write eloquently, and speak boldly.

Member of the Taft School Board of Trustees.

EDUCATION: TAFT, WESLEYAN, DELAWARE

Photo Credit: Samara Pearlstein

DONALD MOLOSI ’05 SNAPSHOT:

President, The Upright African Movement, advocating for the teaching of African history in the African classroom. Award-winning playwright, actor, and writer. His Black, Blue, and White was the first Botswanan play staged in New York City and, along with Motswana: Africa, Dream Again, was published in the collection We Are All Blue, becoming the first Botswanan plays to go from stage to print. Portrays “dignified and complex African protagonists” through his work.

JOYCE POOLE ’74 SNAPSHOT:

Animal rights activist, researcher, conservationist, scientist, author, and educator. One of the world’s foremost authorities on elephant social behavior and communication. Founder of the nonprofit ElephantVoices. Also awarded the Horace Dutton Taft Alumni Medal for living a life of service.

Photo credit: Petter Granli

EDUCATION: TAFT, SMITH, CAMBRIDGE

EDUCATION:

TAFT, WILLIAMS, LONDON ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DRAMATIC ART, UC SANTA BARBARA

CHAPTER 5 / COLLEGE AND BEYOND

PETER BECKER ’95

73

MAKING A TAFT EDUCATION

affordable

As you browse the pages of this book one thing should become exceptionally clear: Taft is all about people. Our community is made up of really exceptional individuals: students and faculty from around the world and from all walks of life who meet here to live, learn, and make a profound impact—together.

With students from 31 states and 60 countries, we are a dynamic blend of cultures, perspectives, experiences, and talents. It’s what makes us who we are, and what elevates our academics, our athletics, our arts, and our community. We know that diversity is a strength; that being a global community improves every aspect of life at Taft. And we know that to make that happen, a Taft education must be affordable to exceptional students from a wide range of economic backgrounds.

At Taft, 35% of our students receive some form of financial aid. We don’t just look at family income; we consider the size of each family, and other educational costs a family might incur. Most students receiving full scholarships will also receive a laptop computer, free textbooks, and a bookstore stipend. All students receiving financial aid may request financial assistance for off-campus opportunities.

We encourage you to visit www.taftschool.org/affording-taft to learn more about what we can do to help make a Taft education affordable to you.

To learn more about making a Taft education

affordable visit www.taftschool.org/ affording-taft

74

35% Total grants:

$10,500,000

Put very simply,

financial aid allows Taft to enroll the best student body possible.

CHAPTER 6 / ADMISSIONS

Percent of Taft students receiving financial aid:

75

—Michael Hoffman Director, Financial Aid

Aid granted for books, travel learning programs, supplies, and other expenses:

$450,000

205 Number of grants:

Average award:

$58,250 Boarding $34,250 Day 2023–24 Tuition, Room, Board:

$72,000

2023–24 Tuition & Lunch, Day:

$53,500

Endowed Scholarships Supporting Financial Aid:

216

OF THE 205 STUDENTS RECEIVING AID AT TAFT: 78 boarding students and 20 day students pay < $5,000 in tuition, including 51 boarding and 12 day who pay $0–$1,000.

These families generally earn $100,000 or less.

32 boarding students and 22 day students pay $5,001–$22,500 in tuition.

These families generally earn $100,000 to $225,000.

32 boarding students and 21 day students pay more than $22,500 in tuition.

These families generally earn over $225,000.

HOW TO 1 connect STEP

WITH TAFT! Fill out an inquiry form on our website, www.taftschool.org.

This will also create your Taft Admission Portal.

76

2see STEP

COME

3 learn STEP

US!

Schedule a visit by calling 860-945-7700, or emailing admissions@taftschool.org.

ABOUT

required standardized testing at ssat.org.

4 apply STEP

using the SAO (Standard Application Online) at ssat.org or GatewaytoPrepSchools.com.

CHAPTER 6 / ADMISSIONS 77

5 track STEP

your application status online through your Taft Admission Portal.

To learn more about

applying

to Taft and about applying for financial aid, visit www.taftschool.org/ admission/apply-to-taft

Copywriting: Debra Meyers, Kaitlin Orfitelli Photography: Bob Falcetti, Peter Frew ’75, Debra Meyers, Kaitlin Orfitelli, Anne Walluck, The Taft School Community Design: Good Design, LLC

The Taft School admits students of any sex, race, color, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at The Taft School. The Taft School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation or any other legally protected status in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs and athletic and other school administered programs.

THE TAFT SCHOOL 110 Woodbury Road Watertown, CT 06795-2100 860-945-7700 admissions@taftschool.org www.taftschool.org

5:1

31 states

131

200

580

60

97

11

student– faculty ratio

students

countries

faculty

faculty with advanced degrees

courses

average class size