EXPLORING A WORLD OF INTERESTS JUSTIN SOLACOFF ’24

BY MAURA C. CICCARELLI, FREELANCE WRITER

When junior Justin Solacoff takes prospective families on tours of Tower Hill, he loves to share the many ways students can explore a world of opportunities.

Volunteering

He knows the value because he’s lived it: he’s a threesport athlete (football, basketball and golf), is in the ski club and spirit club, and was president of his class in his freshman and sophomore years as part of the Student Government Association (SGA). He’s also been involved in the Delaware Homeless Initiative, which does fundraising and drives to support various shelters in the Wilmington area.

“There are many opportunities for leadership and overall ways you can truly be involved. And, there’s a supporting community behind you to help you delve deeper into any activity or subject that you want to.”

He’s also co-chair of the Green Keys, a group of student ambassadors who help the Admission Office with open houses, tours and shadow days for interested students.

Solacoff says there’s a strong family connection to Tower Hill. He started in pre-K as the youngest of three siblings to go to the school. His mom, pediatrician M. Lynne duPont, went to Tower Hill.

As a guide, he enjoys talking with the students and believes interactions with him and other members of the Green Keys can really change how applicants think about the school.

“The main thing that sets Tower Hill apart is the amount of opportunities you can be involved with in and around the community here,” Solacoff notes. “There are many opportunities for leadership and overall ways you can truly be involved. And, there’s a supporting community behind you to help you delve deeper into any activity or subject that you want to.”

Heads Council

This year, Solacoff was part of the Head’s Council, a group of about 15 students who meet once or twice a month for dinner at the home of Head of School Bessie Speers.

“We learn about the finances, marketing, admissions and enrollment of Tower Hill,” he says. “It’s another program offered by the school to develop leadership and proactiveness within the community.”

On The Academic Side

On the academic side, Solacoff has really enjoyed all of his classes and his teachers. “They really like to listen to you, and they’ve all had a positive influence on me across all five core subjects,” he notes.

He particularly enjoys his physics class, taught by Tom Hoch, a dynamic teacher who uses experiment-based lessons to bring the subject alive. For example, one lab uses a projectile launcher to shoot miniature cannonballs off the classroom’s balcony.

“Each small group had to calculate the trajectories and figure out where they would land,” he says. “It was a lot of fun.”

As for what to study in college, Solacoff says he is still undecided but is leaning toward pre-med.

“Medicine runs in my family,” he says, noting that both his parents are doctors. In addition to his mom being a pediatrician, his father, David Solacoff, is an orthopedic surgeon.

If he does pursue a medical route, he says he wants to keep an open mind about what he’ll specialize in. “I don’t want to get tunnelvision on one major and miss out on everything else around me,” he explains.