Community Shines Through

Abby Remis ’23 and Amber Banks ’23

Amber Banks’ LA Story

by Kate Engstrom

When Amber Banks ’23 toured the Lawrence Academy campus on a snowy day in January 2020, she had no idea that her first months at the school would be much different than what she had observed on her first visit.

After considering several other private schools that also touted “community” as a core value, Amber felt that LA was the only school where she actually saw people on campus putting that value into action. “I felt like I was part of something before I was even accepted,” she says, and that was, in large part, what drew her to Lawrence. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amber’s first months at her new school in the fall of 2020 were tougher than she anticipated. With various social distancing measures in place — a maximum of two people per lunch table, for example — she found it difficult to meet people and feel at home.

In pursuit of that sense of community she first experienced at LA, Amber quickly got involved with activities about which she was passionate. Right away, in addition to running cross country, Amber joined the Astronomy Club, which met remotely once a week. She appreciated the crossover between student leadership and her cross-country team, and she found the club’s activities intriguing. She also stepped onto the Community Service Advisory Board, through which she helped start Spartan Notes, a group that coordinates the creation of birthday cards for children through Give Kids the World by making fliers and giving out addresses.

These groups of people welcomed Amber with open arms, and LA started to become more than remote Mondays and classes in masks; there were friendships to be had and fascinating topics to be explored together. During the spring of 2021, Amber joined the Environmental Sustainability Club and has since become a leading member who, according to club advisor Rob Moore, has “given countless hours of volunteer time to projects that have an impact on the community at large”.

This school year, Amber worked with a donor to provide water bottles for new students and with the administration to install water bottle refilling stations in Elm Tree and the library. “Amber’s strong suits are her determination and her belief in the cause of Lawrence Academy doing a better job with sustainability and educating our students and faculty,” says Mr. Moore.

This school year, Amber carried a challenging academic load, including five honors classes, but she was still committed to pursuits that not only sparked her interest but also reflected LA’s spirit of community. She used her Honors U.S. History research assignment to learn about the school’s history around the time it returned to coeducation, which gave her a deeper appreciation of the myriad ways in which caring adults have worked hard to bring Lawrence to where it is today. “I enjoyed learning about the start of the Judiciary Committee, Winterim, the girls coming,” Amber says, “and in doing so, I gained even more respect for the school.”

As warmer temperatures arrived and masks came off outside last spring, Amber found herself experiencing the community that drew her to LA in the first place, and she continues to feel it today. Her efforts to learn about and give back to the school have yielded meaningful connections with a variety of people. Whether meeting with dining hall staff to talk about recycling initiatives or interviewing former faculty about their experiences at Lawrence, Amber’s appreciation for people’s different contributions across the community has grown deeper. She now sees, she says, that there are even “more opportunities at the school than she realized; you just have to ask.”