MEET MARK TRAINA

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.”

MEET DIKY & BAWA

PASSIONS: SOCCER, LEADERSHIP

COLLEGE:

BAWA: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

DIKY: GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Bawa made his way to Taft from the Right to Dream Academy in Ghana, a residential school combining elite 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.

Diky is also an international student—raised in the Bahamas, proud of his Swiss heritage. He’d heard about 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.”