March 22, 2023
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News A3
Deans change spring college tour itinerary By Sara Segil
scholars on campus for three days to share their expertise. Ghez said she accepted the invitation to become the Scholar in Residence because it was a perfect opportunity to give back to the community. “I’ve had two kids go through Harvard-Westlake and am super grateful for the amazing education that [my] kids get here,” Ghez said. “So, in some sense, this is my way of giving back. We can all have different ways of giving back, but this is a way in which I could do that in a meaningful way.” Ghez, who attended the University of Chicago Lab School, said her love for astrophysics came from her high school science experience and motivated her to inspire today’s high schoolers. “I’ve always felt really strongly about the importance of role models in terms of encouraging a more diverse set of scientists,” Ghez said. “High school is a really critical point for teens in their
education. The main priority is continuing to open up your understanding of what’s possible. It’s really important for young [people] to see that scientists don’t always look the same. By the time I reached [the California Institute of Technology], there were very, very few women in physics, so it became really clear to me that [I needed] to commit to being a visible role model.” At an HW Empower event on March 16, Ghez spoke to students about working in a male-dominated field. Rheanna Vradiy ’25 said Ghez inspired her to explore her interests, no matter what they are. “I’m still deciding on what I want to do in college and I wanted to see in what direction she took her life with this particular interest,” Vradiy said. “I am interested in astrophysics, but I also just wanted to hear about a women’s perspective in a male-dominated field.” • Continued on hwchronicle.com
“I’m really excited to go on the trip and get a better idea The school adjusted the an- of schools I’m considering apnual spring break college tour plying to,” Mashian said. “I’m itinerary, replacing the South- particularly excited for the Uniern college tour with a New versity of Michigan because I’ve England tour. The Midwestern heard so much about the camtour, which is still available for pus but never been.” Preston Yeh ’23, who went students, has also been changed to now include Villanova Univ- on the Midwest tour last year, eristy, Haverford University and said he wished the New Enthe University of Pennsylvania. gland tour was made available The New England tour will when he was signing up for the visit a number of Boston area college tour. “My favorite stops were schools — including Emerson College, Boston University, New York and D.C. since Boston College and Brandeis the city vibes were nice,” Yeh University — as well as Am- said. “I prefer the new itinerherst College, Dartmouth Col- ary, though, since a lot of the lege, the University of Vermont, schools I applied to were in the University of Connecticut Boston, and there seems to be less driving on the new trip.” and Brown University. Emily Malkan ’23, who went The New England tour has not been offered for sev- on the Midwest tour last year, en years, according to Upper said she appreciated the conveSchool Dean Nia Kilgore. nience of the school planning the complexities of Kilgore said the tour traveling to various citwill help broaden stuies and states. dents’ horizons when “Being able to go to considering colleges. that many states and “We want to be able cities in such a short to see schools we’ve amount of time is never seen before, and something I’ll probago back to ones we hably never do again just ven’t in a while,” Kilbecause it’s so hard to gore said. “All while L. Wood plan,” Malkan said. trying to reach the Nia “My favorite part was goal of showing kids Kilgore going to a different different types. New England has so many schools, city everyday, or sometimes even from urban to rural, small to three states in one day. A lot of large that can show students the people didn’t like the long bus rides, but I personally loved them bigger picture.” Kilgore said the change was because I got to just look out the instituted in part as a response window and look at the scenery.” Malkan said though the tour to travel concerns so that Boston could be used as a hub for didn’t solidify her college list, it multiple nights, therefore re- allowed her to learn more about schools and get excited about ducing transportation time. “The long drives on the Mid- the college process. “I didn’t know what I wanted west tour were brutal for everyone, myself included,” Kilgore at all, so seeing a lot of different said. “Students will be able to variety helped me realize what spend more time on campuses, I wanted a little more,” Malkan said. “Though my list still and less in transport.” Savannah Mashian ’24 said she changed for months after the is excited to go on the modified college tour, so it just helped Midwest tour during spring break. me get excited for college.”
periences and better understand the power of pride in our identities and narratives.” Hertz said he has found students’ opinions on culture and religion insightful. “I’ve been very impressed with students’ drive to grapple with very complex ethical and theological issues,” Hertz said. “Our society is going through a transformation as we increase our collective empathy and consciousness of others’ experiences.” Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Associate Director of Admission Janine Jones said students have been open to talk to Hertz, and that she hopes participation will grow in the coming sessions. “The meetings have gone very well substantively,” Jones said. “I was able to attend the last session and students responded to him very well and were very talkative. I hope that attendance will grow since we’ve changed the time to during the school day.” Jones said there are benefits
to the discussion format during the meetings, but that she still believes students need to be supported in other ways. “I wouldn’t say the school settled on this format as opposed to others,” Jones said. “The school decided to utilize this format as one tool in its toolbox to support students. Everyone responds differently to different modalities in terms of support so it is important that we offer multiple opportunities.” Zoe Kramar ’24, who attended both meetings, said Hertz helped her understand that antisemitism is not just a campus issue. “I think the meetings were a productive way to address the issues of antisemitism in general and on campus,” Kramar said. “We’ve been talking a lot about the idea of identity and personal experiences with antisemitism and how that applies to a broader sense of community.” Three more meetings are scheduled for March 21, April 11 and May 3.
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OUT OF THIS WORLD: Kutler Center Scholar in Residence Andrea Ghez poses with EMPOWER. Ghez won the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering a supermassive blackhole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
School hosts Nobel Laureate and astrophysicist Andrea Ghez By Alden Detmer and Mejo Liao
The Kutler Center hosted the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Andrea Ghez (Evan ’19, Miles ’24) as the 2022-2023 Scholar in Residence March 14-16. Ghez spoke at community-wide events and visited numerous physics, journalism, business and various Kutler Center classes. Ghez is a professor of Physics & Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Lauren B. Leichtman & Arthur E. Levine chair in Astrophysics. In 2020, she became the fourth woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Physics after discovering a supermassive black hole in the Milky Way’s galactic center. The Scholar in Residence program, founded by Former Performing Arts Teacher Ted Walch, seeks to enhance students’ experiences by inviting
Administration hosts support sessions with Jewish advocate By Sammy Glassman
Jewish Community Organizer and advocate Brian Hertz begun his monthly after-school presentations about Jewish identity and antisemitism Feb. 23 and March 9. Hertz currently serves as the Assistant Director for American Jewish Committee (AJC) ACCESS Global, empowering young Jewish professionals around the globe to unite with other communities against hate, according to an email from Head of Upper School Beth Slattery. Hertz said some central themes in the meetings are coming together as a strong group of Jewish allies and sharing encounters of antisemitism. “I believe the first two meetings have been critical opportunities to explore how we form our identities and how we exist in community,” Hertz said. “I’ve brought in Jewish texts to guide the conversations, focusing on creating opportunities for students to reflect on their own ex-