Westminster News 5/26/17 Commencement Issue

Friday, May 26, 2017

Westminster School Simsbury, CT 06070 www.westminster-school.org

Vol. 106 No. 6

2017-2018 Prefect Board C O M PI L E D BY H Y E O N JO J E O N G '17 CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 2016-2017

Head Prefect

Junior Prefect

Je s sie i s a d ay st udent f rom Longmeadow, Masachusetts. She is part of Student Council, Dance Ensemble, MFA, and SON. As head prefect, she will work to make this school the best place for everyone that goes to it, making sure everyone’s voice is heard and that they feel safe, excited, and motivated about being a part of this community.

Fun fact about Jessie is that she was born with red hair.

Mike is a boarder from Montreal, Canada. He is invovled with John Hay, Hockey, Black and Gold, Grillin’ n Chillin, and Tennis. He will strive to make Westminster a comfortable, hard working environment for all students so that we can all simultaneously achieve our goals. He will promote the importance of being a good person. Did you know that he has never seen a moose even though he is a Canadian?

SK LEE '18

SK LEE '18

Jessie Schuhlen

Mike Fiorini Alex Biedron is a boarder from Far Hills, New Jersey. He enjoys being involved with the Student Council, Soccer, Hockey, Golf, and Grillin’ and Chillin’. As a prefect, he will work to improve the mentor/mentee program, organize more pep rallies for sporting events, and bring the community closer together with more school-wide events. Alex also eats banana every day.

Dallis Alvarez is a

boarder from Brooklyn, New York. She is an active member of John Hay, SON, Black and Gold, OMA, Swimming, GSA, GOTWOT, and Westminster Latino Alliance. She hopes to assure that everyone in the Westminster community has a voice and equal representation.

Did you know that Dallis was named after the Dallas Cowboys football team?

SK LEE '18

SK LEE '18

Lucy Noel is a boarder from Maynard, Massachusetts.

She participates in Black and Gold, Mentor-Mentee Program, John Hay, Squash, and Public Speaking. As a prefect, she will work to maintain a close-knit community and make it a priority for upperclassmen to form stronger relationships with the underclassmen to set a good example as well as give them someone to look up to.

SK LEE '18

Teagan Stedman

Jack Stevenson

is a day student from Avon, Connecticut. He is involved with Westminster News, Model UN, cross country, and swimming.

He hopes to help the community take advantage of campus changes and promote a kind and construtive community. Did you know that he was a Junior Lifeguard at Zuma Beach but only learned how to dive two years later at Westminster?

SK LEE '18

is a boarder from Wilton, Connecticut. He is a member of Black and Gold, John Hay, and MS Walk. He wishes to continue the strong balance between community and academics and he hopes to become one of the most approachable people on campus.

Ask Jack how many card tricks he knows!

SK LEE '18

SK LEE '18

Zach Tarazi is a boarder from Bennington, VT. He is involved with John Hay, Dorm Energy Challenge, Black and Gold, OMA, and Basketball. He hopes to revamp the Mentor and Mentee Program as he feels it is a vital step in uniting our school community.

Fun fact about Zach is that he has been to over twenty countries.

SK LEE '18

SK LEE '18

INSIDE

Elizabeth Casey is a boarder from New Canaan, Connecticut. She is involved with Student Council, John Hay Society, Mentor Mentee program, Black and Gold, SAC, Cross Country, and Tennis. She wants to create an even bigger sense of community and excitement. She thinks it is important to create a sense of excitement and positivity surrounding all the new changes on our campus.

SPACE & Cabaret page 5 Comic: Standardized Testing page 7 Bidding Farewell page 8-9 Spring Sports page 11

Max Torrez is a boarder from Framingham, Massachusetts. He is a part of SON and Black and Gold. As a prefect, he hopes to connect the community as a whole and make everyone feel that we are one big family. He will help raise our school spirit by making an effort to have large rallies before big sporting events. Did you know that Max had brain surgery back in November and our community helped him through tough times?

Spring Formal Photo Collage Check it out! page 4

Where will the Class of 2017 be next year?

Matriculation list on page 12!

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

2

Global News The March For Science

The Street-Drug Epidemic

Protests Against Trump’s Budget Cuts

Increasingly Easy Access to Lethal and Addictive Substances

by N ick W ee '18

by H annah K aye '19

SPORTS EDITOR

CONTRIBUTOR

STREETDRUGS.ORG

It is getting easier to source street drugs.

CNN

People show support for scientific research in Berlin, Germany, residents march behind a sign.

Tens of thousands of scientists and ordinary citizens amassed on a rainy afternoon on Saturday, April 22nd - Earth Day - in Washington D.C. to assert a bold statement against the supposedly anti-science policies and views of our new President and his administration. The Trump administration’s sweeping and steep budget cuts to many agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), skepticism of climate change and vaccination, controversial governmental appointments, and otherwise non-progressive or conservative policies are the primary reasons that sparked this passionate response by people across the nation and the globe. This huge and well-organized march marked a significant departure from the tradition of separating science from politics, and directly sparked hundreds of “satellite marches” in major cities across the nation, and even around the world, notably in Europe and Australia. The March for Science also firmly asserts that it is entirely nonpartisan and not biased towards any political group. As a co-chair of the March stated, “It might have been ignited by society and continuing the support for the science community in keeping our edge.” Scientists fear new governmental policies and budget cuts would not only undermine the importance of science for future generations, but also have a lasting detrimental impact on the future of research and science-based policy, as well as severely limit scientific innovation.

Trump’s budget proposal included a plan to cut over $54 billion dollars of funding to important government programs and agencies in favor of increasing the defense budget. These budget cuts affect virtually every agency other than the defense programs, with important departments such as the Department of Transportation, Health & Human Services, Education, EPA, Agriculture, and Labor all receiving considerable cuts. The Trump administration also plans on completely eliminating or “zeroing out” a number of programs, with scientific research, environmental protection and conservation, and art-related agencies being the common theme of programs being phased out.

The March resembled a peaceful, but powerful protest by the common citizens of America against governmental policies that were viewed as non-progressive and damaging to the future of the country.

Tens of thousands of participants all gathered in support of this movement for Science, and demonstrated unity and cohesiveness in their political statement in defense and support of scientific integrity, evidence, and innovation.

Since 1999, the amount of drug-overdoses in America has quadrupled. Studies show that this pattern is directly related to the increased availability of nonmedical pain-relievers across the country. The concern amongst professionals and healthcare providers is that those using prescription drugs as nonmedical painrelievers would soon switch to heroin, other opioids, or synthetics from the street.

The statistics do not deny this. A University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute study showed that the number of people who started using heroin in 2012 was 156,000, almost double the number of people who started using heroin in 2006. To make matters worse, over half of these new drug users are between the ages of 13 and 20. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that this phenomenon is not just limited to urban areas, as the rate of suburban and rural illicit opioid seizures has been on the rise since 2007. The same NIDA report also indicates that the new customers of heroin tend to be those who have become addicted to prescribed opioid pain medications, such as Vicodin, Oxycontin, and Demerol. The addiction rates for these medications have gone up as well, with NIDA reporting that the number of prescription-opioid-overdose deaths has quadrupled within the

span of 2001 to 2010. Sadly, more and more people are switching to heroin in its synthetic garden varieties because these cost less than prescribed opioids.

With prices going down on the street, and the younger demographic more eager to try what the world has to offer, American and Chinese underground labs have taken to producing cheaper duplicates of prescription opioids, at unpredictable levels of potency. On the street, potency is widely unknown when dealing with these black-market dupes.

The US has seen recently a spike in fentanyl, which is known by law-enforcement (and not always addicts) to be 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin. Fentanyl actually started in use largely as a prescription drug, but abuse spread like wildfire after the black market got ahold of the recipe and started to sell dirty drugs for less than a quarter of the doctor’s price.

Another drug-on-the-rise is synthetic cathinones, more commonly known as bath salts. These are drugs you might have heard of. Stories circulate about the effects of this “new psychoactive substance” (NPS); how people awaken from their drug-induced state to find that they have eaten another person’s face off. Pretty scary stuff. However, at the rate people are consuming synthetic cathinones, molly, and other new

psychoactive substances, they will not be going away anytime soon. In fact, the reason these drugs are categorized as NPS are because they have been around for years, but only recently have gained popularity and widespread appeal among urban- and suburbanites alike. What makes NPSs so threatening to public health is that, because they are relatively new, not much is known about their effects, and there is no antidote.

For most overdoses, there is hope. Before Trump, the Obama administration funded greater public access to naloxene, the “overdose antidote”. Naloxene, when taken at the right time during the stages of overdose, can enable an addict to be saved by a family member, friend, or bystander. The breakthrough of this drug was monumental, and it has gotten cheaper in the last few years of the Obama administration. It is unclear, unfortunately, whether naloxene’s accessibility and cost-effectiveness will continue.

If you know someone who is struggling with substance abuse, don’t hesitate to call 1-877-3990826 For a list of substance abuse symptoms, visit helpguide.org.

Thank you!

The entire Westminster community would like to thank the editorial board of the 20162017 Westminster News for their dedication to print media.

Co-Editors-in-Chief, Hyeonjo Jeong and Jackson Andrews, worked tirelessy to ensure that the articles were of the highest quality and that each paper portrayed the community on The Hill.

Congratulations and best of luck in your future endeavors!

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

3

Community News Marylin Nelson: Preservative Poetry Hidden Historian of the Heart

by A lbert G ao '18 & M ike R iberdy '18 CONTRIBUTOR & OPINION EDITOR

Marilyn Nelson, the 17th Westminster Poet, visited our campus on Monday, April 17th and Tuesday, April 18th. Her reading to the entire school on Tuesday was filled with energy and joviality. Even with this brilliant presentation to the school, there are still parts of Nelson and her mysterious background that entices the audience to explore more about the success of this poet.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Nelson was raised in military bases due to her father’s profession. Nelson was fascinated with creative writing ever since her years in elementary school. She continued this obsession into Universities, and eventually dedicated herself to composing poetry and authoring children’s books after earning a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1979. On top of holding the title of Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Connecticut, Nelson published a rich profusion of collections of poetry and won a variety of awards. For instance, her poem collection The Homeplace was the winner of the 1992 Anisfield-Wolf Award; The Fields Of Praise: New And Selected Poems won the 1998 Poet’s Prize; she was awarded the Robert Frost Medal for her distinguished lifetime service to American poetry in 2012. In addition, Nelson was a finalist numerous times for the National Book Award, and she was elected a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, a national organization dedicated to promoting poets and the art of poetry. With this

countless collection of lifetime accomplishments, Marilyn Nelson added a sense of excitement and honor to our community upon her visit to Westminster School.

As we delve deeper into Nelson’s works, we discover her devotion in immortalizing the historical aspects of her stories and to revolutionizing the field of education. For example, the collection “Faster Than Light,” winner of the Milt Kessler Poetry Award, exhibits a wide range of sophistication in her use of language and communicates her efforts to memoralize the past. The sonnets in A Wreath for Emmett Till, one of Nelson’s proudest poems in her collection, express her great sorrow for Emmett Till’s murder, and her earnest desires to embed the spirits of Emmett Till in her writing so as to memorialize the tragedy. Quite differently, Nelson’s book Ostrich and Lark is written for a young audience and intended to expand mental education from a young age. Nelson is able to effectively manipulate her use of language in her various works to achieve different purposes. Her visit to our community gave many the inspiration to learn the way Nelson’s language is used in her works.

During her reading to the entire school, Nelson displayed the passion that she keeps for her works, especially with regard to their specific pertinence to historical events and the presence of these events in the minds of the living.

Nelson’s delivery was especially entertaining and thought

Editorial Board

2017-2018 Editorial Board

Co-Editors-in-Chief Hyeonjo Jeong '17 & Jackson Andrews '17 News Sports

Connor Seeley '18 Matt Cosentino '18

Technology Layout

Josh Cosentino '18

Assistant Layout John Rao '17

Nick Wee '18 Opinion Features Arts

Teagan Stedman '18 Mike Riberdy '18 Alex Aiello '17 Abigayle Hovey '18 Elena Lie '17

Sean Ryan '18 Ryan Lee '18

Community Sarah Minella'16 Fiona Fan '16 Photo

Global News Sports

Faculty Advisor Lawrence Court

Staff Writers Geena Kim '20 Vermita Zhai '20 Eugene Kim '19

Co-Editors-in-Chief Ryan Lee '18 & Teagan Stedman '18

Katie Kosior '18 Claudia Morgan

Donatella Mancinone '18

Jeevan Palanidy '19 Annabel Bradley '19

Opinion Community

Scott Lee '20 Vincent Wang '19

Connor Seeley '18 Jeevan Palanidy '19 Josh Cosentino '18 Matt Cosentino'18 Vincent Wang '19 Annabel Bradley '19 Jill Parsons '19

Albert Gao '18 Sofia Morales '19

The Westminster News prints between 250 to 500 copies, issued six to eight times per school year. The News is offered for free to students (65 Third Formers, 110 Fourth Formers, 110 Fifth Formers, and 110 Sixth Formers), faculty and staff (150), and is also available online. The opinions expressed represent those of the authors, not necessarily those of The Westminster News or Westminster School.

We invite all members of the community to share their opinions in these pages. Articles

Fiona Fan '18 Donatella Mancinone '18 Katie Kosior '18

Photo

SK Lee '18 Ilaria Quentin '18 Photographers Ian Broadbent '18 Elisabeth Morin '18

Aibgayle Hovey '18 Albert Gao '18

Susie Renehan '19

Science

Jack Murdock '19 Maya Ruffin '19

Sean Ryan '18

Greta Baker '19

Mike Riberdy '18 Yuna Lee '19 Eli Cohen '19

are published at the discretion of The News which reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, clarity, or factual accuracy. Anyone interested in contributing to The Westminster News should contact Hyeonjo Jeong '17 or Jackson Andrews '17, or any member of the Editorial Board for information on how to submit writing, photographs, etc.

The Westminster News is associated with the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

Contact Us: The Westminster News © 2016 Westminster School 995 Hopmeadow St. Simsbury, CT 06070-1880

Student

Teagan Stedman '18 Mike Riberdy '18

Contributors Hannah Kaye '19 Liam Seeley '20

provoking in that her works are rarely didactic; her presentation aligned with this idea. In the few poems she chose to read to the school, and to therefore represent her work as a whole, she was able to communicate demonstratively what Mr. Court, English department head of Westminster, had included in her introduction: that she does not get political, does not act particularly as a teacher, leaving the reader with a selection of information to process independently. Nelson sets herself apart from other poets, writers, and speakers by not telling her audience what she thinks is right and wrong. In the brief, schoolwide Q&A session with Nelson after her reading, she was asked about her use of the first person voice in some of her poems about the lives and thoughts of historical figures, which is common throughout her work. She then explained that for a long while, she had not yet been completely comfortable with writing from the perspective of Venture Smith, a native of Africa who would be enslaved. She explained further that she had to seriously research Smith, and even ventured to historical sites in Connecticut to learn about his life. In answering this way, Nelson showed that she feels a responsibility to accurately represent the perspective of a historical figure, and to use this as a tool to craft emotional images. Fundamentally, this emotional choice is what makes Nelson the thoughtful poet that she is.

Arts

Geena Kim '20 Vernita Zhai '20

Layout

Nick Wee '18

Assistant Layout

Yuna Lee '19 Hannah Kaye '19

Gabe Grimeh '19 Faculty Advisor

Lawrence Court Claudia Morgan

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

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Spring Formal

COURTESY OF WESTMINSTER COMMUNITY

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

5

Community News Spring Cabaret

Westminster Students Showcase some Serious Musical Talent

by V ernita Z hai ' 2 0 & G eena kim ' 2 0 STAFF WRITERS

On the 4th and 5th of May, music and theater converged i n t he a n nu a l We st m i n ster Spring Cabaret, held in Werner Centennia l Center. Directed

by Mr. Chrzanowski and Mr. Rasheed, the Spring Cabaret featured fourteen talented singers and actors, including Maddy Paro '17, Isaiah Preyer '17, Alexa Green '17, Ch ris Ha rk '17, Yifeng Zhang '17, Becca Gavel '18, Mike Riberdy '18, Johanna Hultin '18, Amanda Liu '18, John Kuzminskas '18, Julia Krys '19, Kaitlyn Eddy '19, Curtis Brockelman '19, and Ondine Finley '19.

St udent s per formed a diverse collection of Broadway hits, ranging from ‘Any Dream Will Do’, a heartwarming song from the beloved musical ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor

Dreamcoat’, to ‘Take A Chance On Me’, a comically bold and lively disco tune from ‘Mamma Mia’, a hit musical comprising of songs originally performed by the pop sensation ABBA. The Cabaret was a collision of music, drama, as well as dance, choreographed by Jessie Schuhlen '18.

Performances included everything from powerful solos to romantic duets and grand ensemble performances, and each was charged with talent as well as emotion.

One moment, the entire theater was held spellbound by Maddy Paro’s soul-stirring rendition of ‘Burn’ from the current theatrical rave ‘Hamilton’, and in the next, the entire space was filled with waves of laughter as the audience watched the hysterical, highlyenergetic and almost-too-relatable performance of ‘God, I Hate

Shakespeare’ by Mike Riberdy, Curtis Brockelman, Chris Hark, and John Kuzminskas from the comical Broadway hit ‘Something Rotten!’. The dichotomy in the emotions evoked within the audience is a testament to the eclectic talents and abilities of the student performers. Perhaps what was even more remarkable than the students’ theatrical and musical skills, however, was their love for the art of musical theater : palpable passion emanated from each and every performer. The show’s ensemble f inale, ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’, a hit song from the 1946 Broadway production of ‘Annie Get Your Gun’, provided an especially memorable end to the show, acting as a direct tribute to the glamorous artform of musical theater.

RICHARD BERGEN

Scenes from the annual Westminster Spring Cabaret.

SPACE 2017

An Outsider’s and an Insider’s Perspective on Westminster Dramat’s SPACE Production

by A bigayle H ovey '18 & M ike R iberdy '18 FEATURES EDITOR & OPINION EDITOR

COURTESY OF WESTMINSTER COMMUNITY

Scenes from SPACE.

This year, SPACE put on, arguably, one of its best performances to date. It included various musical, dramatic, and physically impressive feats, with over twenty performers; it was a great part of the spring here on the hill.

To start the show, the musica l group “Wait A Minute”, played the song “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder. The band consisted of Mike Riberdy '18 on the piano and the saxophone and such musical talents as John Kuzminskas '18 on the guitar, Sean Ryan '18 on the saxophone, and Justin Schuster '19 on the drums. The group’s lively performance loosened up the crowd and filled the audience members with anticipation of the acts to follow.

Next up was “Play it Again, Woody”, a one-act play written and directed by Mr. Aber, a member of the Westminster School Math Department and director of the school band. “Play it Again, Woody” is a metadrama centered around two characters, Rick and Louis, played by Leif Fosse '17 and Gary Simons '17, respectively. In the story, Rick presents to Louis his idea for a play, in which Max, played by Curtis Brockelman '17, and Pam, played

by Natalie Fay '19, look back on their youth together. In Rick’s play, Max has always known his true, romantic feelings for Pam, and his dilemma stems from his best friend Bob’s (Jack Detwiler '19) relationship with, and eventually, engagement to Pam. The

play also includes live music, with Simon Aber '18 on Bass, Fiona Fan '18 on vocals (during “100 Years”), Paul McNamara '18 on keys, Justin Schuster '19 on drums, and Johanna Hultin '18 on vocals (during “As Time Goes By”). The act really got some laughs from the audience and was some high quality work.

Tow e r R o om, (a l s o known as “Teagan’s Band”) with members Jordan Gabbidon '17 on vocals, Teagan Stedman '18 on guitar, Cam Gould '17 on drums, J.P. Wade '17 on guitar, Simon Aber '18 on bass guitar, and Mike Riberdy '18 on Alto Saxophone who then came out to play the song “Gold” by Juice, and later “Fly Girl” by Kyle Thornton & Company. Jordan absolutely rocked the stage, quickly getting the audience on his side, and the whole group had two good nights.

Said one audience member, Indira Marzbani '18, “SPACE was one of the best Westminster productions I’ve seen to date! I especially loved the Tower Room with Jordan.”

Ju l ia K r y s’ h i l a r iou s, thought-provoking one-act play, “Foreseen”, was up right after Tower Room’s first performance.

In it, Julia plays a homeless woman named Ana who lives on a park bench, and tries to lure random meanderers into interacting with her using various attractive but vague phrases such as, “True love is right around the corner”, to appear psychic and scam people Continued on page 10

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

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Community News The Crisis in Boys’ Dorm Bathrooms The Potential for Cleaner, Environmentally Friendly dorm Bathrooms by scott lee ' 2 0 STAFF WRITER

Westminster is a school dedicated to protecting the environment. This dedication to the environment is evident from some measures the school has taken to protect it. For example, the newer buildings are equipped with a geothermal heating system which does not require fossil fuels nor produce pollution. Armour’s boys’ bathrooms are even equipped with urinals which do not require any water at all to function. The numerous measures committed to environmental-friendliness imply

that the school has been doing something to help the environment. Unfortunately, this is not the whole case. There is work to be done in the bathrooms of the boys’ dorms.

Before diving into the issue, there should be some explanation regarding the bathrooms in the boys’ dorms. Every single hall in the boys’ dorms has bathrooms with two toilet stalls (with the exception of Cushing). Both of these stalls are occupied with toilets. What makes the boys’ bath-

rooms unique is the existence of a single toilet devoted to urination.

Due to hygiene issues, no boy students dare to use the urinal-toilets for any purpose other than urination. This makes the urinal-toilet basically a urinal only.

The problem here is that this urinal-toilet is basically a urinal in function, but it does not share the excellent qualities that a urinal possess. The urinals in Armour do not require any water to operate, but a urinal-toilet eats up 1.6 gallons per flush. A urinal-toilet

is wasting gallons every time it is flushed, resulting in hundreds of gallons of water being wasted in one hall of a dorm alone. These thousands of gallons of water do not only mean water wasted, but a substantial amount of money wasted as well.

The solution to this problem is fairly simple; the school can just change these urinal-toilets to actual urinals, especially like those in Armour. Westminster should recognize the gravity of the issue and take the approach

towards furnishing boys’ dorm bathrooms with proper urinals.

This change would save water, money and make much cleaner bathrooms. If the school chooses to convert a girls’ dorm into a boys’ dorm or vice versa, it can simply change the toilets, which can be done over the summer without a hitch.

Spring on the Hill

COURTESY OF WESTMINSTER COMMUNITY

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

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Community News Standardized Testing: Merits, Pitfalls, and the Futures

Departing Student: Brandon Slawaska

What is Wrong with Society’s Method for Testing?

A Friendly face that will be Missed

by T eagan S tedman '18

by eugene kim '19

OPINION EDITOR

STAFF WRITER

Comic Strip: idea by Mike Riberdy '18 and drawn by Amanda Liu '18 Visit Instagram, Twitter, or various subreddits during “AP Week(s)”, or following any other mass standardized test, and you will find them ripe with memes jestingly bemoaning the College Board’s seemingly inescapable power over students, or cryptically poking fun at absurdities in some questions seen by tens to hundreds of thousands of nervous students during these tests.

Behind every joke, however, is an implicit truth, and there is a certain shared frustration underlying these jokes with the extent to which a three or four hour test can determine both a student’s academic future, via test scores being at least the baseline or foundation of a college application, and their academic past and present as primary and secondary education is geared toward standardized test performance. These sentiments lead to a set of simple questions: what do standardized tests test, what is their impact, and who and what are they for?

Standardized testing has been a part of the educational status quo for generations: the College Board’s first standardized tests were administered in 1901, and the SAT was first administered in 1926. It has grown to become a much larger part, however, in recent years: test-preparation is a multi-billion dollar industry, up drastically from just rising into the mainstream in the 1970s; participation in these tests has similarly jumped over the past few decades, though nearly all of the growth in the last few years has come from ACT participation. Participation in AP exams has roughly doubled over the past decade. Although college admissions offices insist on the holistic quality of their admissions processes, where test scores are said to weigh little over the rest of an application, for students in general, standardized testing is becoming an increasingly prominent component of academic life.

St a nd a rd i z ed te st s have

intrinsic benefits. They were originally, at least in part, intended to allow students other than those attending elite New England preparatory schools to demonstrate their skills and gain access to college. So, ironically enough, was test “coaching”, or test prep: in the 1940s, Stanley Kaplan began tutoring for the SAT so that students from immigrant families could have a better chance at succeeding on the test. In some meager sense, they might still do that today. Generally, standardized tests allow colleges to differentiate between students, purely numerically, when grading might vary wildly from school to school.

They are not valueless either, as test scores do predict college GPAs reasonably well, especially when combined with a high school GPA. However, there are many things wrong with standardized tests as they stand, and their impact on school curricula is both potent and somewhat negative.

Critics argue that the SAT and ACT measure one’s ability to take a test prep course - often, one’s financial standing - and not academic achievement or ability.

Household income does have a correlation with test scores, and test prep courses, though they may not yield as great of score improvements as many companies claim, still raise students’ scores. In this way, standardized tests are thought to reinforce socioeconomic inequalities.

College Board’s recent partnership with Khan Academy for free SAT preparation materials should reduce this linkage, as should the SAT redesign aimed to reduce the necessity for studying, but it remains to be seen whether these measures are effective; such measures have not been taken for the ACT. C onc e r n i n g i mp a c t on school curricula, AP exams, the SAT and ACT, and other tests restructure school curricula to “teach to the test”. As expressed

AMANDA LIU '18

by Sean Ryan '18, “Standardized tests have made classes too product-oriented”, as opposed to process-oriented, to reference Sarah Hendershot’s winter speech. AP classes must focus on material found on the exam, ignoring otherwise course-relevant material.

Because of standardized testing, classes from elementary to high school place greater curricular weight on reading and math as opposed to other subjects: Common Core assessments in elementary and middle schools discourage subjects like art, music, and social studies, and SATs and ACTs do so to a lesser extent in high schools. Curricula designed around standardized tests neglect development of non-cognitive “soft skills”, such as perseverance on long-term academic work (e.g. on projects) and curiosity, which are strong predictors of later success. Worst, early failures on standardized tests strongly demotivate young students. The charges run on.

To this end, many alternatives have been raised, from “portfolio”-based assessments to social and emotional skills sur veys to modeling of f the UK’s “inspection” system. In Westminster’s neck of the woods, the most prestigious boarding schools, such as Exeter, who benefit in college admissions from their prestige such that they can afford to switch formerly AP classes to non-AP (though advanced) classes, have started on the path of doing so. For now, such drastic changes are unlikely on a large scale, but it seems that measures such as the College Board’s recent SAT redesign indicate that educational institutions of all kinds are taking heed of long-standing criticisms. The landscape may not change much for current students, but perhaps further in the future standardized testing will evolve - as it has - to a much better form for a greater range of students.

COURTESY OF WESTMINSTER COMMUNITY

Portrait of Brandon Slawaska (Top) Brandon Slawaska entered Westminster School as a new, 4th form boarder from Montreal, Canada this year. Towering at a height of 6’2” and weighing in at 200lbs of pure muscle, Brandon might not at first appear to be the most friendly guy you will meet. What people do not know is that Brandon is just a happy, kind 16 year old boy who loves playing hockey. Whether he’s working at a desk, running on the field, or skating on the ice, Brandon brings his best effort everywhere he goes.

Unfortunately, Brandon will not return to The Hill next September as he has decided to transfer to the Groton School.

Q: How was your time at Westminster School?

A: My time at Westminster has come with some highs and lows. I appreciate the opportunity I was given to attend this school, but, in the end, fate has led me down a different road. I will never forget the people I have met and the new relationships I have formed this year.

Q: What was your favorite moment on this campus?

A: My favourite moment was attending the hypnotist show because, though I was very pessimistic about it at first, my beliefs radically changed after I saw the show.

Q: Do you have anything you wish to say to your fellow martlets?

A: It’s been a unique experience here up on The Hill and I wish to tell my fellow martlets to enjoy their time here. I’m free. See ya!

Farewell Brandon. We all wish you luck in your future endeavors.

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

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Bidding Farewell Profile: Mr. Berry A True Martlet

by C onnor S eeley '18 NEWS EDITOR

WESTMINSTER

Mr. Berry coaching for the Westminster Martlets.

R ic h a rd B er r y Jr. i s a Westminster icon. As a new student, he is one of the first people you see when you drive on campus, and you can rest assured that he will learn your name, and the name of every other first year, in a matter of days. Martlets are hard pressed to remember a day in which they were not greeted

by Mr. Berry, whether it be in the dining hall, in Armour, or on the sidelines. Over their Westminster careers, students have gotten to know Mr. Berry through sports, classes, family style dinners, advisee meetings, and simple hallway conversations. His unwavering dedication to his students, and to the community, inspires us to strive for greatness each and every day both on, and off, the Hill. As Mr. Berry moves on to his much deserved retirement, students need not fear that he will be forgotten. It can be guaranteed that Mr. Berry will be spotted on the Hill nearly every day and talked about every other. Whether through his lower team award or through the joy he will continue to spread, the legacy of Mr. Berry will continue to motivate Westminster students for generations to come.

Profile: Mrs. Loveland

by A nnabel B radley '19 STAFF WRITER

WESTMINSTER

Mrs. Loveland and moments from MS Walk -- a great legacy that she left on our community.

After working as a math teacher for eighteen years, organizing the MS walk for the seventeen years that it has been held, and being a valued member of the community, Mrs. Loveland is now in her final year at Westminster School. Mrs. Loveland is dedicated, determined, and hardworking in everything she does, whether it be staying up late to grade students’ assignments, devoting all of her free blocks for either extra help in her classroom or Math Lab, or helping her students improve and succeed in any way possible. She will truly be missed and we will all remember the enormous impact she had here at Westminster.

1. How long have you worked at Westminster?

“I worked at Westminster for 18 years and I have been a part of the MS walk for 17 years.”

2. Did you work at other schools before Westminster?

“No, Westminster was my first teaching job.”

3. How many classes do you teach?

“I teach four classes now. My first year of teaching, I taught one class and got more classes with experience.”

4. What’s your favorite math to teach?

“Algebra II, definitely.”

5. What do you love about Westminster?

“The kids. They really want to learn – they enjoy coming in for extra help and work really hard. The students are polite, nice, and engaged. I love the size of classes because I can really get to know the kids.”

6. Anything you’d like to tell your students or previous students you’ve had? Any advice you’d like to give them going forward?

“Keep believing in yourself. You can do almost anything as long as you put a little time and effort in, and you can do it no matter what the subject or sport is.”

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

9

Bidding Farewell Profile: Mrs. Lamb

by J eevan Palanidy '19 STAFF WRITER

My favorite nights were baking and chatting with the girls about their homes, families, and dreams. It was great to tell ghost stories during the blackout of 2011 when there was no electricity for several days (Mr. Lamb jumped out to scare everyone during story time!)

WESTMINSTER

Portrait of Mrs. Lamb.

Mrs. Lamb, our cherished Latin teacher of eight years, is leaving our school community.

Here are her responses to a few questions I asked regarding her experience here.

What made you choose being a Latin teacher as a career?

My parents told me mythological stories as bedtime stories, so I grew up with a deep love of Greek and Roman mythology and culture. In school, I loved just about every subject, so I wanted to be a language teacher. As a Language teacher, I get to teacher history, literature, grammar, and, most importantly, empathy and compassion for other cultures.

What was your favorite thing about living in the dorms?

W hat a re some of your fondest memories of teaching at Westminster?

I loved taking students to Classics Day at College of the Holy Cross and winning the manuscript and costume contests, students taking paparazzi shots of Mr. Lamb when we were dating, taking students on a tour of Italy, singing in the faculty choir, the Darth Vader bag and the gold coin pecuniary system, helping out with the musical, how excited my students get about Quizlet Live and Kahoot, being Department Head this year with amazing colleagues, and learning so much every year from my students.

I’ve come a long way in my career at Westminster, from an early career teacher to being encouraged to present my ideas at conferences by Dick Adams to achieving my M.Ed. in Latin to being honored as the Classical

A ssociation of New England Teacher Award Winner 20152 016 a nd t he C on ne c t ic ut Language Teacher of the Year 2016-2017. I’m so grateful for the opportunities that have opened to me from my time at Westminster.

Profile: Ms. Shubert and Mrs. Connell

by D onatella M ancinone '18 STAFF WRITER

W hat a re some of your fondest memories of coaching at Westminster?

I enjoyed coaching with Morgan Shipway, my inspiration and mentor in my running career. Running with my students in McLean’s and around local neighborhoods, playing Man Hunt around Great Pond, singing in the woods, doing super hard ab workouts, cross training days doing yoga, HIIT, and strength training, and running in the snow with my winter running club are some of my most fond memories.

What will you miss most after leaving at Westminster?

I will miss my amazing, compassionate colleagues who dedicate their lives to helping students.. But most of all I will miss my students. We become teachers to make a difference in students’ lives, but my students have made an amazing impact on my life.

WESTMINSTER

Portrait of Ms. Shubert (Left) Mrs. Connell at Winter Formal (Right) Over the past two years, Ms. Shuber t ha s worked in t he Adva ncement Of f ice a s the Assistant Director of The Westminster Fund where she engaged alumni in giving back to the community. One of Ms. Shubert’s fondest memories of working with alumni is seeing the excitement on their returning faces during Reunion Weekend.

She has a lso had a wonderful time meeting and getting to know other young faculty members over “sodas” at Plan B and McLadden’s. We all wish her the best of luck with what the future has in store for her. Thank you for all you have done for us, Ms. Shubert, you will be missed by us all, including Zelda (Ms. Danyliw’s dog)!

Mrs. Connell has contributed greatly to the community over the past few years, notably through her dedication to her teaching, community service and SON. Each year, it was up to Mrs. Connell and the rest of the members of SON to coordinate the Halloween dance as well as the Winter and Spring Formals, which were all indeed huge successes. She also ran Community Service Day each year to join the school together to give back to the community. In addition to being devoted to her work in community service, Mrs. Connell also taught French, which allowed her to express and share her love for the language with her students.

Thank you for all that you have done for our community, Mrs. Connell, you will truly be missed next year!

Profile: Ms. Werner

Profile: Mr. Wilbur

ARTS EDITOR

CONTRIBUTOR

by E lena L ie '17

1. What made you come back to work at Westminster?

There are several reasons why. First, I wanted to work in Admissions and interview prospective families. Having played college soccer, I wanted to coach soccer as well as basketball, two sports I highly enjoyed playing during my time at Westminster.

I wanted to live in the dorm with the girls to be a mentor and help them with their high school journey, having had the same experiences. Secondly, I wanted to continue my education by working on my master’s degree and I knew Westminster would help me accomplish that goal. Also, my brother was a student and at the time my dad worked at Westminster so being back and close with my family was definitely a draw. Last but not least, I wanted to work and coach with Scott Berry, obviously.

WESTMINSTER

(Top to Bottom) Ms. Werner with her family.

2. W hat will you miss most about Westminster?

Westminster has been my home for 26 years of my life, so there is a lot I will miss! My

by L iam S eeley ' 2 0

incredible colleagues, my friends, my advisees, the admissions office team, the soccer girls and coaching them, the ladies of Cushing, housing and all you can eat meals...

3. What are your future plans?

I will be working at Carney Sandoe & Associates (a recruitment firm) in downtown Boston a s t he S en ior A s so ci ate of Recruitment and Operations.

4. What is your favorite part of being a Westminster faculty?

I enjoy going to t he Admissions Office during the day, then leaving to go coach, and either hanging with coworkers or students – it breaks up the day nicely! Being able to get outside every day to coach or watch games is very refreshing. Also, watching students grow each year is a pretty awesome experience, and it feels very rewarding to have a hand in the development of great kids!

WESTMINSTER

Portrait of Mr. Wilber.

M r . N i c h o l a s W i l b u r, an admissions off icer here at Westminster, is a member of the community that everyone will truly miss. Whether he conducted your interview during the application phase, was your basketball or lacrosse coach, lived in your

dorm, or was just a familiar face in the halls, he has always been sincere and easy to talk to. Mr. Wilbur personally impacted me as a basketball coach. I can not thank him enough for the ways that he was able to encourage my development both on and off the court. Every day, he came prepared with new ways for the team to improve, keeping things interesting throughout the long winter. It is clear that Mr. Wilbur will continue to positively influence the people that he surrounds himself with in the future.

His absence will be felt here at Westminster, but we all wish him success as moves on to his new position.

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THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

10

Student Life Dorm Energy Challenge Black and Gold goes Green

by V incent wang '19 STAFF WRITER

ECO TEAM

The Dorm Energy Challenge is designed to raise awareness about daily energy consumption in the dorms.

A few years ago, Westminster participated in the Green Cup Challenge (GCC), a nationwide initiative to conserve resources and reduce carbon footprints.

This challenge was initiated by Phillips Exeter Academy in 2003 as a campus-wide energy conservation competition, designed to raise awareness about daily energy consumption. The inter-dorm challenge proved to be successful at various New England prep schools, which helped save thousands of dollars in utility costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Un f o r t u n a t e l y, t h e or g a n i z a t i on(G r e e n S c ho ol

SPACE 2017

Center for day students) as well as coming up with creative ideas.

The competition started earlier this month and will continue until the end of May. The dorm or Armour with with the least electric intake will win a feed.

The Eco Team has also sponsored a Farmington River cleanup activity and is planning to hold an LED light bulb and power strip sale later on.

The mission of the challenge is to educate students on how to form good habits and understand their personal impact on the environment, which can help us live effectively in the real world.

SAC Weekend

Continued from Page 5

for their money. She also pretends to know some of the people who walk by her in order to convince them to give her money, and because she is lonely. The audience sees Ana first encounter a jogger named Linda, played by Johanna Hultin '18, and later, another passerby named Dorinne, played by Maddie Vanech '20. A fourth character, named Adam played by Daniel Pinckney '20, soon encounters Ana and tries to convince her that her that her foolish ways are immoral.

The last person whose attention Ana catches is a gullible and comical character named Robbie, played by Mr. Tawney. Soon, both Adam and Robbie leave the stage, and the audience is left to see Ana, silently realizing her own immorality.

The audience really started to cheer during the nights’ dance number, choreographed by Nathali Madrid '17 to “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé. The production started off with Madrid and Chloe Sealy '18 on stage with no other dancers, but soon hopped in Lucy Keenan '19, Nadia Lee '18, Mia Stevens '18, Annie Ogden '19, and Lauren Nam '18. It was an excellent performance and a memorable part of SPACE.

Kaitlyn Eddy '19 soon performed an excellent baton twirling routine that wowed the audience. This was the only solo act in SPACE this year, and it was quite amazing, as Eddy was able to juggle and twirl up to three batons simultaneously. Many people viewed this as the main highlight of SPACE this year.

To end the show, many students took part in performing “The Sound” by The 1975, under the leadership of Anissa Joseph '17.

Jordan Gabbidon, who sang main vocals, and the rest of Tower Room were featured among such backup singers as Becca Gavel '18, Amanda Liu '18, Mady Paro '17, Fiona Fan '18, Delando Clarke '17, Khalil Walker '19, and Curtis Brockleman '19, in addition to the three amazing dancers Yuki Mitsuda '17, Annie Ogden '19, and Jessie Schulen '18.

At the end of the song, the entire cast of Space came out on stage to bow, acknowledging such contributors as A-men Rasheed, Bill Liebert, Celenah Watson '19, Jordan Clapprood '18, Ozzy Kutluel '18, Dorka Nagy '19, and arranger David Chrzanowski, whose dedication to SPACE and all that it entailed were critical for the show to have happened at all.

All in all, Westminster Dramat’s 2017 production of SPACE involved various intriguing, funny, and amazing acts. Thank you to all of the performers who made SPACE such a success this year, and to all you audience members who made it fun to get up onstage and perform.

Alliance)that ran the competition folded last year and Westminster left even before it ended. The Eco-Team, on the other hand, has been around the past few years despite being exceptionally quiet.

This year, Westminster not only decided to bring back the Eco Team but also initiate a schoolwide dorm energy challenge. The Eco Team, led by Mr.Marco and Ian Broadbent '18, consists of student ambassadors who have a passion for energy conservation and wants to take an active leadership role in the community. They are responsible for encouraging energy saving practices within their own dorms (Armour Academic

Final days on the Hill!

by sofia morales '19 & Y una lee '19 CONTRIBUTORS

HYEONJO JEONG '17

Westminster students are enjoying the music performances and carnival games on a sunny spring Sunday.

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the Westminster community gathered to destress before finals through SAC sponsored activities. SAC brought us an assortment of carnival games including Horseshoe Toss, Hoop Shot, Bean Bag Tic Tac Toe, and Troll Toss. Winners received water guns, rubber duckies, and mini slinkies, while Mrs. Moss handed out candy bracelets to everyone. There were also bubble wands of a various sizes and shapes, which were perfect for Instagram pictures. Alongside the bubbles was the bouncy house

where people bounced t heir stress away. Those who wished for a quick bounce went for pogo sticks. After countless tiring activities, people lined up to enjoy popcorn and cotton candy.

The longest line, however, was for air-brush tattoos with innumerable eager Westminster students ready to add some colors to their formal outfits. The vibrant tattoos were drawn anywhere from ankles to belly buttons. Moreover, ma ny ta lented students performed at the last coffee house of the year that added music to everyone’s fun. Among the per-

formers were Tower Room, Julia Krys ‘19, Curtis Brockelman ‘19, Johanna Hutlin ‘18, Fiona Fan ‘18, Becca Gavel ‘18, Maddie Paro ‘17, Ondine Finley ‘19, and Megan Cournoyer ‘19. When the coffee house was over, Atlas Gray took over. Many sat on the quad while Atlas Gray played energetic songs. Everybody enjoyed their weekend before graduation and finals thanks to the SAC board led by Mrs. Griffith.

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

11

Sports Westminster Girls’ Golf Improving On and Off the Course

By K atie Kosior '18

A Promising Young Squad with Room to Grow

PHOTO EDITOR

SCOTT STEVENS

The team poses for a quick photo during spring formal.

Westminster girls’ golf team is now in the midst of our second competitive season, and all the girls have worked hard to improve their own game and contribute to the team. We started off the season with a spring trip to the Saddlebrook Resort in Florida as a way for the team to bond and get back into the game after a long winter season, with Mr. and Mrs. Stevens serving as chaperones. We

worked intensively with professional players, but Mr. Stevens made sure we also got sufficient time to relax by the pool in the afternoon.

Once we returned to the Northeast, the season was in full swing, despite the fact the course conditions often did not agree with our schedule. The team has shown great overall perseverance in all of our matches, especially in a sport that does not always go your way.

Thanks to support from both alumni and parents, the girls’ golf team has had the opportunity to take lessons with Hopmeadow native pro golfer, Ken Doyle, and has been gifted some great golf gear to add to our already great golf style. Look good, feel good, play good, right?

Recently, eight of our players competed in the Pippy O’Connor golf tournament at Taft School

Team Writeup: Varsity Baseball

against f ifteen other schools.

Although the weather conditions were not great, the girls pushed through and, according to Mr. Stevens, all played very well. The dedication shown by all of our players, even when it required waking up at 5am just to compete in the rain, is something that sets the girls’ golf team apart from other teams. I have personally learned many things from being a part of this team, such as the importance of having patience, as golf balls do not always go in the direction you want them to, and also that I can always rely on my team for support. Of course, none of this would be possible without our dedicated coach, Mr. Stevens, so a big thank you to not only the coach, but also to Mrs. Stevens for making this such a fantastic golf season!

By M att C osentino '18 & E li C ohen '19 NEWS EDITOR & CONTRIBUTOR

Highlights: 10 -5 win vs Hotchkiss; 5-3 win vs Williston; 9-8 win vs KO (walk off single by Sam Leopold in extra innings); Will Leathers has three dingers.

R oster : Jac k Ste ven son, Sean Ryan, Sam Leopold, Josh Cosentino, Will Leathers, Matt C osent ino, Joe Pat rina , E li Cohen, Cornish, Ryan Pineault, Paul McNamara, Jay Powell, S c hopp, Si mon A b er, Wi l l Carlisle, Pat Dawson, Puhala Coaches: Shawn Desjardins (head coach), Bill Sistare (assistant), Will Schifrin (assistant) Team Leaders: Batting Average - Will Leathers: .400; Josh Cosentino: .312 ; M a t t C o s e nt i no/S a m Leopold: .261 Doubles - Josh Cosentino: 5; Matt Cosentino: 4; Will Leathers: 3 Home runs - Will Leathers: 3 Triples: Matt Cosentino: 1

R u n s b at t e d i n - Wi l l Leathers and Josh Cosentino: 8; Matt Cosentino: 5 Walks: Sam Leopold - 8; Will Leathers and Josh Cosentino: 7 Who Usually Pitches (at least 10 innings): Josh Cosentino (6 starts), Matt Cosentino (4 starts, 2 relief), Will Leathers (3 starts, 2 relief), Eli Cohen (3 relief) Outfield: Joe Patrina, Matt Cosentino, Eli Cohen, Sean Ryan, Schopp, Paul McNamara Infield: Sean Ryan (first and third), Josh Cosentino (third), Will Leathers (shortstop), Sam Leopold and Ryan Pineault (second base), Eli Cohen (Utility), Will Carlisle (third base), Paul (first) Catcher: Jack Stevenson.

Spring Sports

SK LEE '18

12

THE WESTMINSTER NEWS, Friday May 26, 2017

CLASS OF

2017

Matriculation

Aiello, Alexandra Elizabeth University of Miami Allen, Fraser Thebaud Elon University Andrews, Robert The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Armour, Nicole Paige Middlebury College Autorino, Sydney A. Colgate University Bellet, Cooper John University of Richmond Bologa, Madeline Joan Hamilton College - NY Brennan, Conor Washington and Lee University Brewer, Elizabeth Dillman Occidental College Brown, Gabrielle Amelia Tulane University Brown, Kendall Harris Trinity College Brown, Stone M. University of Connecticut Burelle, McKenna Q. The George Washington University Burstein, Emily Elizabeth Tufts University Callahan, Timothy Patrick Springfield College Chung, Jason New York University Cirillo, Dominic James Bentley University Clarke, Delando A. Wesleyan University Cornish, Michael Robert Stevens Institute of Technology Costanza, Alec Sloan Cornell University Cuddeback, Brinley Paige Southern Methodist University Cutler, Jeremy Williams Southern Methodist University Eckerson, Katherine Barry Assumption College Enchill, Adrian K. Brown University Ennis, Merlin Oliver Franklin & Marshall College Ferraiuolo, Lauren Elise Endicott College Flanagan, Jack Griffin Middlebury College Forsyth, Kyle Todd University of Hartford Fosse-Greiner, Leif Northeastern University Gabbidon, Jordan A. Colgate University Gould, Cameron Nicholas University of Richmond Green, Alexa Kristina Hampton University Griffith, John Roger Colby College Griffith, Mackenzie Anne College of the Holy Cross Grout, Maxwell Douglas Cornell University Groves, Joel Timothy Wesleyan University Guiliano, Jeffrey William Wake Forest University Hamm, Myles Stewart Harvard University Hark, Christopher Peter Providence College Harris, Timothy Charles Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hicks, Anne Elizabeth Vanderbilt University Hinton, Logan Mickael Gap Year Horsfall, Peter Richard University of Wisconsin, Madison Hunt, John Forrest Hobart and William Smith Colleges Jacobs, Brendan David University of New Hampshire at Durham Jeong, Hyeon Jo (Jo) University of California, Berkeley Joseph, Anissa Skidmore College Kanoute, Oumou Smith College Kirby, William Joseph Colby College Klassen, Leah Mackenzie Mercyhurst University Knowlton, Samuel Crean Kenyon College

Kong, Daniel Leathers, William David LeBlanc, Abigail Marie LeClair, Calvin Ross Lie-A-Cheong, Elena D. Londal, Alexander Douglas Lopez, Benita Ann Lynch, Alexandra Marie Madrid, Nathali Jubilee Mahoney, Elizabeth Healy Mazzaro, Kenneth Edward McCall, Devonte Jasai Meltzer, Matthew Tucker Minella, Sarah Rose Mitsuda, Yuki Monroe, Brenna Nicole Monte, Samantha R. Morel, Shanntal Murphy, Kylie King Nicholas, Cornelius Ogden, Ann Elena Paro, Madison Eliza Peirce, Morgan Corinne Peterson, Liam Powell, Jeffrey Eldon Powers, Max F. Prendergast, Payton Michael Preyer, Isaiah Carl Quinn, Micaela Catherine Rao, Huanshuo Rellinger, Spencer Tristen Renehan, Lawrence Arthur Rivers, Ray Allen Roy, Paul Joseph Sargent, John Enders Seo, Jee Hoon Simons, Gary Kingsly Swanson, Christopher F. Swenson, Matthew James Szopa, Artur Adam Szykowny, Jacob M. Tawney, Sophia Alyse von Stade, Lily Gilbert Wade, Jeremiah Patrick Watts, Wyatt MacLean Weiss, Alexander Conrad White, Cynthia McBryde Zhang, Yifeng Zheng, Chufeng (Chris) Zheng, Yilun

Boston University Elon University Williams College Bowdoin College University of Southern California University of Michigan Union College (New York) St. Lawrence University Wesleyan University Trinity College Lehigh University Franklin Pierce University Duke University Emory University Barnard College Wesleyan University University of Miami The George Washington University Butler University College of Charleston Dartmouth College Babson College Smith College Simon Fraser University Gap Year Wesleyan University New York University University of Connecticut University of Mary Washington Massachusetts Institute of Technology Providence College University of Richmond Tufts University Union College (New York) Tulane University New York University Georgetown University The George Washington University Northeastern University Wesleyan University Brown University Hamilton College - NY Colby College St. Lawrence University Tufts University Sacred Heart University St. Lawrence University Syracuse University Northeastern University New York University