Addressing a hushed assembly for Holocaust Remembrance Day, survivor Kati Preston delivered a message that was as much a warning for the future as it was a reflection on the past.

Her testimony, spanning from the “stranglehold” of 1940s Hungary to a 50-year journey toward forgiveness, served as a stark reminder that history’s darkest chapters do not begin with state-sponsored violence, but with the silence of ordinary people.

The erosion of humanity

Born in Hungary in 1939 to a Jewish father and a Christian mother, Preston was only a child when the world was swept up in war and her happy life turned to tumult.

“I started to see my parents faces change,” she said. “They stopped laughing. They saw that things weren’t the same as before. Somehow, I felt it. Even though I was only a child, I was not even 5 at that time.”

Preston recalled how the atmosphere in her home shifted as laws began to strip Jewish citizens of their livelihoods and dignity.

“The Holocaust didn’t start with concentration camps,” Preston told the students. “It started at the grassroots level. It started with bullying, with pushing people, and laws came. All kinds of laws.”

She detailed the incremental “stranglehold” placed on her community: Jewish doctors barred from treating Christian patients, teachers dismissed, and municipal workers fired. At every step, Preston noted, people comforted themselves with the refrain, “It can’t get much worse than this.” Preston recounted the day her mother sewed a yellow star of shiny satin onto her coat. To a 5-year-old, it was a beautiful ornament. But while walking to get pastries, a stranger stopped her. Expecting a compliment, she instead met “total hatred” when the man spat in her face. “I said to my mother, ‘He hates stars,’” Preston remembered.

“I didn’t even imagine it was me he hated.”

Survival and the cost of silence

As the authorities began the final roundups in 1944, Preston’s life was saved by the grace of a young Christian woman for whom her mother had once made a wedding dress. While Preston spent months hiding in a barn, the world outside was being “obliterated.”

The statistics Preston shared were staggering: 28 of her family members, including her father, died at Auschwitz. Of the 30,000 Jews in her town, only 602 survived. All 52 children in her Jewish kindergarten were killed.

“It didn’t start with the gas chambers,” she said. “It took a lot of people to perpetrate this thing and I think, ultimately, I blame the bystanders. Because it took thousands of people to kill people, but it took millions of people to let it happen. Because they were silent.”

Preston’s closing message was one of hope. She admitted that she carried a heart “full of hatred” and a desire for revenge for five decades before finding peace.

“I worked very hard on that,” she said. “Love is about the only solution to all this. Please, don’t think that just because a tragedy happens it has to exterminate your personality.”

Preston urged her audience to never let the stories of the Holocaust fade away. She ended her address with a plea to remember those who have no memorial or graves, and to prevent the seeds of hatred from taking root in the modern world. “My plea to you is to please try to love each other,” she concluded. “We all have to stay together, because it didn’t just happen overnight.”

Exeter extended its success in the nation’s the nation’s oldest and most prestigious STEM competition, with another Exonian reaching the finals of the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

Celine Zhang ’26 will join 39 other young scholars from across the country to compete for $1.8 million in prizes during the finals in March in Washington, D.C. The talent search, sponsored by the American biotech company Regeneron and overseen by the Society of Science, is in its 85th year.

Zhang’s project is titled “Designing Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Agent Motion Planning.” She explains: “Imagine Peggy wants to prove to her friend Victor that she knows a solution to a game but does not want to reveal to him what that solution is. I developed a zero-knowledge proof for a class of block-pushing games, which would allow Peggy to do just that. My zero-knowledge proof is both efficient and generalizable to a wide class of games. In today’s digital world, zero-knowledge proofs allow for preservation of privacy in a variety of contexts.”

Exeter has a proud history in the competition, including boasting overall winners Yunseo Choi ’21 and Achyuta Rajaram ’24, who each took home a $250,000 top prize. Past competitors include 13 Nobel laureates and 23 MacArthur Fellows.

Along with Zhang, two other Exonians were chosen this year as semifinalists. Congratulations to Sebastien Sobeih ’26 and Andy Song ’26 for earning a place among 300 semifinalists.

Exeter’s next principal formally introduced herself to the community Friday, delivering inspiring remarks at assembly and taking a whirlwind tour of campus.

Jenny Elliott spent the day meeting students, faculty and staff and getting to know her way around what will become her new home next summer when she succeeds Bill Rawson as the Academy’s 17th principal.

“I cannot wait to become your principal, and I’ll work hard to get up to speed as best I can to kick off the 26-27 academic year,” Elliott told the students at the morning assembly. “I will count on you to guide me in our opening months together.”

“I’m eager to join you in the classroom, at practice, in the performance halls and in the dining hall, and I’m looking forward to celebrating your progress in the years ahead. Spending time with you will be the very best part of my job.”

Elliott was named as Rawson’s successor in November after a global search. She will arrive from Choate Rosemary Hall, where she serves as head of student and academic life.

Rawson announced last spring the 2025-26 school year would be his last as principal after eight years leading the Academy. He introduced Elliott to the students Friday, saying, “You all know how deeply I care about this school. I believe we will be in good hands; we will be in the hands of a caring, trusting leader who will build on our many strengths and help us imagine a very bright future.”

Elliott, an Andover graduate, assured her new charges that her newfound loyalty to Exeter will not waver.

“I’ve loved school since I was a kid, so much so that I’ve never really left. I’ve been a student, teacher, administrator, coach, or parent at 19 different schools. I have taught second, third, fifth, sixth, ninth, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. I have four children, ages 14, 17, 20, and 21, who are students at four different schools. I’m still currently a student. My former and current teachers, my former and current colleagues, my former and current students are some of the most important humans in my life, and I’ve had exceptionally wise and generous mentors to whom I turn regularly for guidance. … I feel tremendously lucky these institutions and these school people have become part of who I am.

“I’m also a fiercely loyal person who feels deeply. When we were about to have our second child, in a quiet, private, sort of sheepish moment, I confessed to my mom that I was really worried I was not going to be able to love this next little person as much as I loved our first. And my mom, ever wise and understanding, explained to me that that’s just not the way love works. It’s not the way our hearts work. She shared with me, ‘The more you love, the more you love. Your heart grows.’ And since then, with every subsequent life edition and transition, my mom’s lesson holds. My heart has grown, and I have loved more.

“So, Exeter, get ready, because my heart is coming for you.”

Maya Shah’s first brush with the American health-care system was enough for her to try to improve it.

An allergic reaction sent the Exeter senior and native of India to a local emergency room, where she waited for hours with red hives all over her body. The malady eventually passed; the memories of the experience didn’t.

“That long, uncertain wait, the not knowing if anyone was even aware I was there or whether something could be seriously wrong, really stayed with me,” Shah says.

“When I looked into it, I realized this is a widespread issue: over 130 million people visit U.S. ERs annually, and nearly 30% wait more than an hour for care.”

Even more concerning, says Shah, is that studies show that as many as three out of 10 patients are mis-triaged, often under-triaged, in emergency rooms, which can delay critical care.

“Experiencing this firsthand made me start thinking about how technology could help,” she says. “Could AI take some of the guesswork out of triage, speed up intake and make the ER experience less stressful for patients?”

Her curiosity evolved into an independent study project throughout fall term. With support from Elle Kaplan, an instructor in computer science, Shah developed an AI-powered triage system to help emergency departments reduce overcrowding and long wait times. The system predicts patient urgency using symptoms, vital signs and medical history, assigning a 1–5 urgency score. Shah’s prototype includes a web-based interface for staff and an AI model trained on over 200,000 ED admissions from a dataset from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

The system is not intended to replace the human element, but rather to enhance it. “In the long term, the AI could flag patients who might need urgent attention based on their history or current symptoms, helping staff prioritize care before problems escalate,” she says. “Essentially, it’s about making health care smoother and smarter without replacing the human judgment that is so essential in medicine.”

Shah’s is one of seven independent study projects developed during the fall term. The program allows Exeter students to explore areas of interest that grow from or fall outside traditional course parameters. Interested seniors, with approval from the faculty, design individual or joint projects of comparable value and scope to those of an academic course. The projects sometimes require more time and resources than envisioned.

“By the end, I was putting in long days, but because this was a passion project, it never felt like work,” Shah says. “This is exactly the kind of challenge I want to tackle in college and beyond: building AI tools that directly improve health care.”

The foundation of the Exeter academic experience is Harkness learning. With independent projects, the student in many ways must go it alone.

“I actually love the collaboration that Exeter is built on,” she says. “In fact, on this project, I received invaluable feedback and help from everyone, from .. [Mx Kaplan], to Health Center nurses, to friends interested in AI who helped me debug the model during late nights in the common room.

“But I also wanted the chance to take full ownership of a project. Independent work gave me the freedom to design and build a working prototype exactly how I imagined it. At a busy place like Exeter, having dedicated time to focus on a project I was passionate about was rare, and I loved it. I could experiment, iterate, and actually bring my AI model to life. I loved the process of testing it, refining it, and making it functional, all on my own schedule. Seeing an idea transform from concept to something real and usable was incredibly satisfying.”

Other senior projects during the fall term:

Andrew Boova
Quarterly Stock Price Prediction Through Machine Learning

Wall Streeters often use qualitative data (i.e. earnings call transcripts) when assessing a company’s growth potential and competitive advantages, and use quantitative data (stock price, P/E ratio, etc.) when making precise price predictions. So why do so many existing prediction models only use math? I designed and trained a machine learning model to understand this qualitative data that is often disregarded, as well as the typical numerical data. Can computers invest like humans? Come find out how the model stacks up against professional analysts.

Alex Ma
Genomic and Phenotypic Consequences of Experimental Evolution in Vibrio natriegens under Streptomycin Selection

In a world where multi-resistant bacteria are a growing threat, scientists are interested in the evolutionary trade-offs between resistance and survival in foreign environments. To investigate this process, I exposed fast-growing marine bacteria (Vibrio natriegens) to rising doses of the streptomycin antibiotic, selecting for mutations providing greater drug survival. I then conducted a round of analysis on three strains with different resistance levels: sequencing DNA to discover the precise mutation sites, growth tests in varying environmental conditions, and cross-resistance tests for other antibiotics. My project aims to clarify the fitness costs and vulnerabilities that constrain the development of resistance.

Harini Venkatesh
Inducing Oncogenic Mutations in Yeast using CRISPR/Cas9

Cells can become cancerous through a number of gene mutations. In order to study these mutations, we can use CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to induce precise mutations in yeast. However, a standard CRISPR protocol is lengthy and complicated. My project attempts to use a shortened “one-step” CRISPR/Cas9 protocol to generate strains of yeast with cancer-causing mutations.

Sebastien Sobeih
Springfield Rocket System

Springfield is a fin-guided, computer-controlled rocket platform. Experience the problem solving roller-coaster of dealing with parts machined out of tolerance, telemetry issues, and dealing with uncooperative computers at my presentation. I’ll take you through the process of designing, building, and flying the hardest rocket I’ve ever built.

Mel Benavidez
Ballet Folklórico: A Journey of Dance in Mexico

Ballet Folklórico is a type of traditional dance from Mexico that has been with me for a very long time. In this senior project, I explored the elements of these dances from the designs of the outfits to the delicate footwork that tell stories. Not only to help connect to my culture but to also bring something new to Exeter. There is a performance element for 3 separate regions with research to guide the audience along the way.

Avaninder Bhaghayath
Zephyrus: a Vertical Take-Off and Landing Drone

The goal of this project is to build a 3-rotor autonomous drone, which features tilt-rotor vectoring, mid-air flight mode transition, and solar panels for extended flight duration. It supports autonomous flight using an onboard flight computer with a GPS and magnetometer. By taking advantage of an airfoil, the drone has the efficiency of a fixed-wing aircraft while cruising. The tilt-rotor design allows for tri-copter flight for takeoff and landing, removing the need for a runway. With a two-meter wingspan and 12-inch propellers, the platform has the potential to carry payloads, and stream a live video feed.

Phillips Exeter Academy has chosen Jennifer Karlen Elliott to lead the school’s next chapter and serve as the Academy’s 17th principal.

Academy Trustee President Kristyn Van Ostern ’96 introduced Elliott in a letter to the Exeter community Monday afternoon. Elliott will succeed Bill Rawson ’71; ’65, ’70 (Hon.); P’08, who will retire as principal next spring after eight years in the role.

Elliott is currently the head of student and academic life at Choate Rosemary Hall, where she is responsible for nearly all aspects of the student experience across academics, residential life, wellness and community culture.

“When I learned of the opportunity to lead Exeter, I was immediately drawn to the mission, the core values, and the community,” Elliott said. “I have long admired and respected Exeter’s commitment to academic excellence, Harkness and non sibi.”

The announcement concludes a rigorous search that began in February when Rawson made known this school year would be his last as principal. Elliott was chosen after a global search that connected the committee with over 400 educational leaders. She formally begins her new role on July 1, 2026.

“Jenny is a teacher at heart who, from the earliest stages of her career, has been called to leadership roles of increasing responsibility,” Van Ostern said in her announcement. “In Jenny we have found someone who understands the demands of leadership in residential education, finds joy and purpose in working with adolescents and has indicated a strong commitment to upholding the Academy’s mission while leading us into the future. We are excited to welcome her to our community.”

Elliott’s contributions at Choate include leading efforts that examine how technology influences teaching and learning, progress toward their sustainability goals and attention to student well-being through a new advisory system and redesigned cell phone and social media policy. Each initiative reflects her commitment to student growth, academic excellence, belonging, and meaningful change.

“I gravitate to team contexts where our collective impact is deeper for our shared efforts,” Elliott said of her leadership style. “I love partnering with colleagues who push my thinking, inspire me to ask better questions, and find joy in our work. I am a student-centered leader who has deep respect and admiration for the educators who commit themselves to the growth and care of young people.”

Van Ostern said Elliott has a deep “understanding of the rhythms and responsibilities of boarding school life,” adding that she “listens deeply, collaborates naturally, and brings clarity and focus to complex challenges” and “models the curiosity and adaptability that define great educators and leaders.”

Before joining Choate, Elliott worked for 12 years at her alma mater, Phillips Academy in Andover, where she held several leadership positions, including seven years as dean of students and five years as assistant head of school for residential life, taught U.S. History, and coached varsity girls squash.

A 1994 graduate of Andover, Elliott earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in elementary education from Lesley College and expects to earn a doctorate in education from Vanderbilt University in 2027.

“I love that Principal Rawson’s leadership has invited and celebrated progress,” Elliott said. “Schools are living communities dedicated to the changing needs of our students.

“The dynamism of this present moment will require us to sharpen what is core and lead with courage, integrity, and creativity. Optimistic and energetic, I see the challenges of this moment as opportunities for exciting progress.”