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Scholarly Endeavors

What is the fellowship program?

Established in 2013, the program provides advanced doctoral students who might not otherwise consider careers in a residential secondary school the opportunity to gain experience in such a community while working on the completion stage of their dissertations.

Who are the 2022-23 fellows?

Dominique Branson is a Ph.D. linguistics student concentrating in sociolinguistics at the University of Pittsburgh. Her dissertation topic, “Sounding Guilty: Criminalization and Black Racialized Speech,” investigates whether speakers who are assessed as “sounding Black” are also criminalized. “In my linguistics courses, I learned about the many ways that African American English (AAE) differs from standardized American English, or what we usually call ‘proper English,’” Branson says. “Since then, I’ve wanted to know whether Black Americans who speak AAE experience negative outcomes in our criminal legal system because of how listeners hear their speech.”

Maya Singhal is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at Harvard University. Singhal teaches courses on anthropological research at Harvard and a writing course on business and labor in fiction and film at New York University. Singhal’s dissertation is a historical and ethnographic study of African American and Chinese American collaborations, solidarities and mutual aid in New York City from about the 1960s to the present. Singhal says, “I’m interested in how criminal and criminalized activities work as sites for a variety of pragmatic collaborations, from the African and Chinese counterfeit designer goods sellers in Chinatown to extralegal community defense patrols working to prevent anti-Asian violence.”

How do the fellows benefit the community?

The fellows teach online seminars and connect on campus with departments and students interested in their fields. They also make themselves available in an informal way to students interested in and student organizations related to their fields.

What do the fellows hope to accomplish?

Branson: “I hope to learn how I can better make my research relevant to youth. …I would also like to know what connections students see between language and justice and how they can use their voices to promote justice. I’m excited to work with diverse students and learn from their perspectives at Phillips Exeter Academy!”

Singhal: “I’m excited to see the really urgent political and social movements we’re faced with, especially since the pandemic, through students’ eyes. It strikes me that a lot of students see their generation as the ones who need to save the world, and I’m excited to think about the histories of social movements and our political issues in the present with people who feel this kind of urgency.”

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the winter 2023 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.

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Scholars in residence

A message of gratitude

As we begin the new year, it seems a good moment to reflect on some highlights from our fall term. This year we welcomed the first wave of new Exonians admitted under the school’s need-blind admissions policy announced last November. In all, 341 new students sat in the gymnasium for Opening Assembly, which began with a procession of students bearing the flags of the 37 countries of origin represented among our student body. In my remarks that day, I told students what I tell them every year: You can do the work. You will make lifelong friends. Absolutely, you belong here.

This fall, we also saw the opening of New Hall, which provides a home for 60 girls and five faculty families as well as a new academic space for our Health and Human Development Department. The dorm has brought a new liveliness to its corner of campus, and I am especially appreciative of the flexibility the building gives us to renovate other residence halls, starting with Merrill and Langdell and the construction of a new dining center on the site of Wetherell, which will begin this spring. 

At The Goel Center for Theater and Dance, we saw a stunning fall dance performance, “Moments In Time,” featuring original choreography from our students and faculty, and a thought-provoking interactive theater production of “Everybody” by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Audiences filled the Forrestal-Bowld Music Center for the start of our 2022–23 concert series, including performances by the Concert Choir and Symphony Orchestra and our fall student soloist concert.

We headed to Andover for E/A Weekend, where the predicted rain held off long enough for a trio of decisive wins by our boys soccer, girls volleyball and football teams, valiant efforts by all of our athletes, and an impressive display of Big Red spirit by our students and all Exeter fans, led by our new Pep Band and the irrepressible Red Bandits. Girls volleyball capped off a perfect 14-0 regular season, while boys cross-country captured a third straight Division I title. 

Being able to welcome visitors to our campus in ways we could not do a year ago added excitement to the fall term. We heard words of inspiration from distinguished alumni on the Assembly Hall stage, including Veronica Juarez ’00, Tomi Suchan ’08, Lt. Cmdr. Jean-Paul Christophe ’00 and Dr. Sasha Kramer ’94, winner of this year’s John and Elizabeth Phillips Award, along with other visiting speakers. Over Exeter Leadership Weekend in September, we welcomed trustees, members of the General Alumni Association and alumni and parent volunteers, all of whom relished the chance to meet in person for the first time in three years, including a Friday night dinner with the senior class. We also had a terrific Family Weekend in October, during which families were thrilled to be able to attend classes with their children again.

These are just a few highlights from the fall term. During the Opening Assembly, I proposed starting the academic year in a spirit of deep appreciation and gratitude for the opportunities and privileges we all enjoy as part of the Exeter community. In that same spirit, I want to say how grateful I am for the support of the alumni, parents and other friends of the Academy who help make it all possible. Thank you.  

Editor’s note: This column first appeared in the winter 2023 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.

A lesson in non sibi

Jean-Paul Christophe ’00 shares his story in a gripping assembly address.

Lt. Cmdr. Jean-Paul Christophe ’00 stands on the Assembly Hall stage, recounting his journey since Exeter. He tells of his philosophy classes at Yale University, then his decision to apply to Officer Candidate School; of his inaugural march across a parade deck as a commissioned naval officer and his first pilot training flight over the Oklahoma plains.

His story reaches the coast of Somalia and the cockpit of a Navy Seahawk helicopter hovering 5 feet above the Indian Ocean. Below bobs a tiny lifeboat full of pirates holding the merchant mariner Capt. Richard Phillips at gunpoint.

“Turbines and the rotors screaming, saltwater spray kicking up all around the aircraft,” Christophe says. “It’s like your own little personal hurricane.”

The crowded Assembly Hall is still.

“That lifeboat was making a run for the Somali coast for the territorial waters, and we were doing everything we could to stop it,” he adds. “We were flying so low that I was nearly at eye level with pirates, and I saw out of the corner of my eye them looking right back at me from behind an AK-47.”

Exonians don’t often share such harrowing tales, but Christophe is far from the only member of the Exeter community to serve in the military. To honor those veterans and all who serve, the Academy plays host to Exeter Salutes. Now in its fourth year, Exeter Salutes features a speaker and other events to celebrate those who exemplify the spirit of non sibi through their service and to raise awareness of the effect their service and sacrifice has on our community and beyond.

Christophe’s Navy career has included two dozen postings, from the Arizona desert to the Persian Gulf. Along with his training as a helicopter pilot, he has served in Navy Intelligence. He assumed his current duties as the joint staff deputy director for analysis and warning at the Pentagon in 2020.

He opened his assembly address in November with a disclaimer: “I am here in my personal capacity. … I am here as one of you, as an Exonian. I’m not a recruiter, I’m not a cheerleader. I didn’t even put on my uniform because I didn’t want you to see it. I wanted you to see yourselves.”

> Watch Lt. Cmdr. Christophe’s assembly address

He tried to convey to his student audience why he chose his path and why the concept of non sibi he was taught at Exeter laid the foundation for his views on rights, responsibilities and duty. “Rights are what everybody else owes to you,” he said. “Responsibilities are what you owe to everyone else. You can’t have the first without the second. When people act collectively out of a sense of responsibility and duty to one another, that’s when rights are preserved.”

Christophe closed his remarks by relating the ultimate sacrifice of his service to the lessons his audience encounters daily at Exeter: “It seems to me there’s no greater way to show one’s dedication to anything or anybody than to give blood for it; to give that which supports one’s very life. There is no more potent display of love or any higher sacrifice that a mortal can make.

“In other words, non sibi.”

More than 700 current Exeter alumni, faculty and staff have served or are serving in the U.S. armed forces. Scores more have died in combat or in active service to the country. Please add your military status to Exeter’s official record at www.exonians.exeter.edu/veterans.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the winter 2023 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.

Advanced artistry

Daylight falls evenly through a vaulted skylight into Room 107 of the Frederick R. Mayer Art Center. Showered in the glow are eight of Exeter’s most dedicated student artists, immersed in creation as part of ART408 Advanced Projects: Painting Portraits. Having filled their sketchbooks with ideas earlier in the term, they are well into their portraiture work, which will occupy their class time for the remainder of the term.

“The hurdles and complexities of portraiture are real, and also rewarding,” says Clowes Chair in Art and Instructor in Art Tara Lewis. “There is wisdom in working on one large piece for an entire term and evolving as an artist through a series of aesthetic decisions, critical thinking and feedback from fellow portrait ‘colleagues.’”

The expansive room is quiet, save for the sounds of brush bristles on canvas, paints being mixed or the occasional words of encouragement by Lewis or between classmates. “I often feel that for them, it feels less like a class at school and more like a professional studio experience,” Lewis says. “When they arrive to the studio for class, they dive right into their easel space with fantastic focus and a love of the process, no matter how tricky or simple it may be day to day.”

As colors swirl, figures are coaxed to life, with subjects ranging from the dearly departed to the unfamiliar. Ariana Thornton ’24 glances up, then down, then up again at a photo taped to the top of her easel. The snapshot shows Thornton as a 4-year-old in the arms of her beaming grandfather on a visit to China. Next to them, her grandmother, in a late stage of Alzheimer’s disease. The painting takes on a linear gradient from light to dark, a deliberate choice by the artist. “The brighter colors symbolize liveliness and youth,” she says. “I wanted to use more muted tones with my grandmother to represent aging and disassociation.”

Minjae Suh ’25 unfurrows her brow and relaxes her concentration slightly as she leans away from her canvas to consider her progress. “It’s supposed to be me, but I’m not worried about it looking exactly like me,” she says. The larger-than-life-size doppelgänger is posed evocatively, head tilted back, mouth open, tongue pierced by a fishhook. Suh says she was inspired by themes of freedom (or lack there of ), disability and speech, but she delights in subjectivity and the feeling that she has offered only part of the equation. “The viewer has a huge role in making art,” she says. “They finish the piece in their head. It’s up to them to make sense of it, however they want.”

As the period draws to a close, the students are that much closer to presenting their pieces as a finished product. “At the end of the term,” Lewis says, “the class installs a final exhibit, which provides a professional exhibition for the artists and a fabulous event for the school community to attend and celebrate.”

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the winter 2023 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.

'Create a new direction': Exeter honors MLK

Exeter students, faculty and staff commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, the Academy’s annual celebration of the life of the civil rights leader and his enduring message of social progress.

The tribute began with a keynote address by Anthony Davis ’69, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer of the opera The Central Park Five, and his brother Christopher Davis ’71, a social researcher and educational reformer who worked with Anthony to create the opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.

Principal Bill Rawson ’71; P’08 preceded the Davises to a stage in Love Gymnasium and challenged Exeter to learn something new about King and form a better understanding of his life and legacy.

“I turned 15 the day after Martin Luther King was assassinated,” Rawson told the students. “His words are as powerful and relevant to me today as when they were first spoken more than a half-century ago.

“I urge you to slow down over the next several hours and open your minds and hearts to the words and life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. And together, as a community of students and adults, reflect on the meaning, relevance and importance of his life and legacy to your lives today.”

Exeter’s commemoration, in its 33rd year, included small discussion groups and interactive workshops under the direction of the MLK Committee.

Speaking to the time

Following a performance by student dance groups Precision and Outkast and a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” commonly known as the Black national anthem, by Exeter’s Concert Choir, the Davises delivered a joint keynote. The brothers spoke of their experiences as young Black men at Exeter during the turbulent years spanning 1967 to 1971. From an early age, Anthony Davis channeled his political sensibility into his creative work, starting with a desire to upend the traditional white Western canon of classical music.

“I wanted to find out what my music was, what my music could be in response to the civil rights struggle of the ’60s,” he said. Later, he remembered thinking: “If someone could combine and bring a fusion of the African diaspora and jazz and improvisation with this formal structure of European opera, one could create a completely new form — a dynamic form that would speak to our time.”

The brothers also spoke of their efforts to tell stories through opera, and to re-cast operatic works with Black musicians and performers who were often missing or marginalized in the traditional opera world.

While reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X in college, Christopher recalled, it struck him that “there was a parallel in his evolution from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X to el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, to the development of Black music, and jazz in particular, in the ’60s.” He served as a storywriter for X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Anthony Davis’ first major opera, which had its world premiere in 1986 at the New York City Opera. Their cousin Thulani Davis, a poet and playwright, wrote the libretto. In November, a revised version of the opera will premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, becoming only the second opera by a Black composer in the Met’s history.

“There’s a whole generation of singers that have heard about this piece, but have never actually heard it or seen it,” Christopher Davis said, after playing an excerpt from a recent recording of X, which has been nominated for a Grammy Award. “When Anthony wrote The Central Park Five, and he won the Pulitzer, and George Floyd was murdered on the streets of Minneapolis, doors that had been closed for over 30 years for this piece reopened.”

Near the end of the keynote, Anthony Davis offered a challenge for current Exeter students in the audience, inspired by his own career breaking barriers in music as well as King’s inimitable legacy.

“I hope you all think about … how you can change the narrative, change the story, [and] make your own path to create a new direction,” he said. “I think that’s what Martin Luther King envisioned for us — that we could have this potential to transform the world through our art, through our actions, through our activism.”

Making change

The MLK Committee’s robust program included workshops like “Looking Toward Paradise: How Do We Get There?,” a discussion on nonviolent protest in the face of white supremacy shepherded by Kelvin Green ’17; and “Writing for Justice: Spoken Word and the Movement,” led by English Instructor Willie Perdomo.

At “The Racial Wealth Gap and Its Impact on Education,” visiting speaker Stephanie Harvey explained to two dozen students on the top floor of the Class of 1945 Library about how systemic and generational disparities in wealth among white and people of color perpetuate inequality.

“So much of this disparity stems from the era of slavery,” said Harvey, a Ph.D candidate at the University of New Hampshire. “I know a lot of people are tired of hearing that … but we have to start there if we want to have an honest discussion.”

Four floors below Harvey, English Instructor Ellee Dean ’01 and Science Instructor Fran Johnson ’82 spoke to students in the workshop “Making Change at Exeter,” using as an example the successful effort to create all-gender housing at the Academy.

Dean acknowledged that inertia prevents change in most places. She said an important moment for her in the all-gender dorm movement came when she stopped “expecting people at the top to do something for me.” She recalled working closely with former colleague Alex Myers ’96 in writing the case statements that eventually were used to turn Kirtland and Williams houses into all-gender housing. “I didn’t have to wait for someone else to do the work.”

The workshop asked students how they may have contributed to promoting change. Advay Nomula ’24 spoke about his ongoing effort to expand the name of Phillips Church to Phillips Church and Multifaith Center to better reflect how the building serves the campus community. “It’s not enough just to call it a church,” Nomula said.

The day student from Dover said he was thrilled to hear Principal Rawson refer to the Multifaith Center in his opening remarks Monday.

“That’s progress,” he said with a smile.

Despair to dedication

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on the evening of April 4, 1968, outside of room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. In that moment, the inn on Mulberry Street instantly became connected with one of the most consequential and tragic moments of the civil rights movement. Years later, Memphis-born attorney D’Army Bailey, had a vision to preserve the site, not as a landmark for grief, but as the hub to carry forward MLK’s message.

Monday at Exeter, Bailey’s son Justin shared with students in the Elizabeth Phillips Academy Center Forum, how his late father established National Civil Rights Museum on the exact spot of King’s killing. “My dad thought that the movement shouldn’t die with Dr. King at that site,” he said. “He felt that it was hallowed ground and carried too much significance to just wither away. He envisioned a future of activism from that site.”

The elder Bailey purchased the Lorraine Motel in 1981 and a decade later the museum opened. Since then, millions of visitors, including around 90,000 students annually, have passed through the museum’s rotating exhibits and immersive experiences dedicated to the civil rights movement.

Among the dozens in attendance for Bailey’s talk was Jenny Drevitch ’23. “I took away the fact there was a positive that came out of Martin Luther King’s death and it’s something that continues to benefit the community,” she said.

 

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Fall team awards and NEPSAC honorees announced

The Exeter Athletics department is excited to announce individual team-award winners and those student-athletes who have been honored by the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) for their contributions during the fall season.

These student-athletes were impact players on their teams throughout the season. They are highly skilled athletes, dedicated leaders, and have proven to be among the best in New England. Below is the list of Exeter team awards and All-NEPSAC honorees.

 

Boys Cross Country

Most Valuable Member:
Byron Grevious ‘24

All-NEPSAC:
Byron Grevious (Division I champion)
Max Lacombe ‘24
Oliver Brandes ‘23
Mateo Bango ‘23
Jack Hutchins ‘24
Pearce Covert ‘25

Honorable Mention All-NEPSAC
David Goodall ‘24

 

Girls Cross Country

Most Valuable Member:
Tenley Nelson ‘24

All-NEPSAC:
Tenley Nelson ‘24
Daria Ivanova ‘24
Annika Finelli ‘24

Honorable Mention All-NEPSAC
Kayla Hyett ‘25
Sophie Zhu ‘26
Sophia Green ‘23

 

Field Hockey

Kathy N. Nekton Field Hockey Trophy, Most Valuable Member: 
Grace Puchalski ‘23

All-NEPSAC:
Grace Puchalski ‘23

Honorable Mention All-NEPSAC
Eden Welch ‘23

 

Football

Robert C. Mason Football Trophy, Most Valuable Player:
Xaviah Bascon ‘23

All-NEPSAC
Xaviah Bascon ‘23
Brandon Wong ‘23

Honorable Mention All-NEPSAC
Chris Gill ‘23
Tommy Dunn ‘23

 

Boys Soccer

Ransom Hooker Soccer Trophy, Most Valuable Player: 
Atticus Ross ‘23

Austin Family Leadership Award. Awarded annually to the player(s) on the boys varsity soccer team, who has demonstrated leadership and selfless play throughout the season:
Cameron Guthrie ‘23
Atticus Ross ‘23

All-NEPSAC
Atticus Ross ‘23
Griffin MacGillivray ‘23

All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention
Clark Pearson ‘23
Cameron Guthrie ‘23

 

Girls Soccer
Most Valuable Members: 
Ryan Pate ‘23
Samantha Smith ‘23

Austin Family Leadership Award. Awarded annually to the player on the girls varsity soccer team, who has demonstrated leadership and selfless play throughout the season:
Ryan Pate ‘23

 

Girls Volleyball
Ashley Birkholm Chase ’95 Volleyball Most Valuable Player Award, awarded annually to that player who embodies leadership, team spirit, and excellence in performance:
Sofia Morais ‘23

Tei F. Carpenter ’01 Volleyball Award. Awarded to the girl with at least three years’ experience in the volleyball program and who has contributed to the success and advancement of volleyball at Phillips Exeter Academy:
Jacqueline Wood ‘23

All-NEPSAC:
Sofia Morais ‘23

All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention:
Coco Barton ‘23

 

Water Polo
Daniel E. Fowler Memorial Award, Most Valuable Team Member: 
James Faulhaber ‘26

All-NEPSAC
James Faulhaber ‘26
Patrick McCann ‘23

Honorable Mention All-NEPSAC
Nate Puchalski ‘23
Charlie Gao ‘23

A conversation with Dean of Faculty Eimer Page

Longtime English teacher and Global Initiatives founder takes on new challenge.

 

Music has been an integral part of Eimer Page’s life since she was a child in Northern Ireland, when she traveled the country playing the viola in youth music ensembles. At the time, the country’s vibrant social music program was the rare space where young people of different religious backgrounds were allowed to interact, and Page got to know her future husband and many of her close friends by playing together. “It absolutely changed the course of my life,” she says of the experience.

Page had another life-changing moment in 2004, when she interviewed for a job teaching English at Exeter and saw the Harkness method in action for the first time. Since earning her doctorate in post-colonial literature from Trinity College Dublin, she had been teaching for four years at a school in England, but was immediately struck by the difference. 

“The freedom that both students and adults had to follow the lines of inquiry wherever they chose to take them was just shocking to me,” Page says. “It fit my style as a teacher, but it wasn’t something I had ever seen elsewhere.”

Now a veteran instructor in the English Department, Page also served as Exeter’s first director of Global Initiatives, overseeing the growth of the program over the past decade to its current slate of 31 program destinations in 11 countries around the world. In 2022, Page was named dean of faculty. We caught up with her for a conversation during her first term in her new role.   

What do you see as the most important parts of your role as dean of faculty?

I think the most important part of my role is just being there for the faculty. Being aware of how they are being impacted by whatever’s going on, whether it’s a global pandemic, changes to our policies and procedures, or the things that might happen in the life of a faculty member when they’re here with us over decades. Being the person who is able to help someone…if they need a leave or FMLA, and also being there to support and champion them at times when they’ve done something that we should be letting the whole community know about and giving them the honors that they are due.

What are some of your goals and/or focuses, short and long term?

The thing that I’m really trying to work on this year is a sense of belonging and community, after the difficulties and challenges of separation, isolation, and the need to be distant. Figuring out how we come back to be together and trust one another and work together is really important to me this year.

How does the faculty mentorship program help cultivate that sense of belonging?

Each new teaching faculty member is assigned a mentor, and the official relationship is a two-year relationship. Having that mentor assigned as you come means you’ve got a point person you can go to, and they also are involved and informed in the welcome. The first year is very much a supportive relationship where the mentor is visiting the mentees classes very frequently. They’re meeting weekly, talking about the rhythms of the school year, and everything to do with the departmental work. It’s a lot about explaining what we’re doing here, providing resources, and then also possibly being an advocate as needed, if a new colleague is having difficulty figuring out where to go with an issue either in or outside the classroom.

In the second year [the mentors] step back slightly. There’s not quite the same level of expectation for meetings or visits, but it’s still a very strong resource and there are still class visits built into the mentorship program. I think for many of us that relationship lasts long beyond the official two-year program.

Could you talk about the importance of equity and inclusion when it comes to the faculty community?

We have to figure out ways to allow people to really and truly feel that they are seen and valued here, and that we are supporting their specific needs. We also need to make sure that we are truly representing our student body and our faculty. When you have a small number of, say, faculty members of color or faculty members of a particular sexual orientation or whatever, an additional burden falls on those faculty, because students will understandably seek them out and want to talk to them. We need to make sure that the workload is evenly distributed, that it is not falling disproportionately on the shoulders of some of our colleagues and not others.

I’d say this is among the most fundamental work of the dean of faculty. It’s one of the reasons why [Director of Equity and Inclusion] Stephanie Bramlett and I do our hiring interviews together, because that gives a message to our colleagues as they come into this community that this is something that we truly value. We have our school commitments to being an anti-racist institution, and we want to make sure that that’s really at the heart of what we’re doing when we’re hiring and retaining faculty.

You were a longtime dorm head in Dunbar Hall, but you’re not living in the dorm and you’re not teaching any classes right now. How have you maintained connections with students?

I’ve been affiliated with Dunbar since year two here, so I have a lot of knowledge of that dorm’s history. My children [Oscair ’22 and Cormac] grew up in the dorms. We moved out after year 10, so my younger son didn’t live in the dorm all that long, but that’s still their early childhood. That’s what they remember. The thing that for me truly distinguishes working in a boarding school is the residential piece — actually living among the students.

Our interview is happening as I’m just coming off advising time, where I was with my advisees. I think both the fact that I meet them over in the English Department and the fact that they are young people with their own concerns and things going on — it really does help to ground me to still have those interactions with advisees in the dorm community. I miss and will continue to miss the teaching. I love teaching and look forward to a time when I perhaps might be able to roll that back in.

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Athletics celebrates college commitments for class of 2023

Exeter Athletics celebrated the first wave of college commitments for the class of 2023 this week, honoring 28 seniors who have received a National Letter of Intent, Likely Letter, or early admittance to their play their respective sports at the collegiate level. The Athletics Department will hold another ceremony as more student’s make official decisions.

“This was a great night to celebrate and honor what has taken years of dedicated training and hard work by our students to reach their ultimate goal of playing their sport at the NCAA level,” Director of Athletics Jason Baseden said. “It was great to see students supporting their classmates with their family, friends and coaches in the crowd. We look forward to celebrating the rest of the senior class later this year.”

 

The 28 students celebrated this past week will go on to compete at programs in some of the top conferences in the nation, including the Pac-12, Ivy League, ACC and NESCAC. The full list of students is listed below. Click here to watch the ceremony on-demand.

Rollie

Castineyra

Boys Basketball

University of Massachusetts

Michael

Loughnane

Boys Basketball

Davidson College

Weiyi

Huang

Boys Crew

Cornell University

Nico

Berger

Boys Lacrosse

Amherst College

Drew

McClutchy

Boys Lacrosse

Bates College

Ryan

Nagle

Boys Lacrosse

Williams College

Casey

Realini

Boys Lacrosse

Fairfield University

Atticus

Ross

Boys Soccer

Williams College

Henry

Liu

Boys Swimming

Amherst College

Grace

Puchalski

Field Hockey

Amherst College

Uber

Ajongo

Football

Wake Forest University

Dylan

Almeyda

Football

Harvard University

Xaviah

Bascon

Football

Harvard University

Joshua

Johnson

Football

Dartmouth College

Aaron

Morris

Football

Stanford University

Delaney

Miller

Girls Crew

Skidmore College

Kate

Nixon

Girls Crew

University of California at Berkeley

Izzie

Riccardi

Girls Crew

Cornell University

Lassiter

Foregger

Girls Cross Country

Babson College

Shauna

Vadeboncoer

Girls Hockey

Brown University

Samantha

Smith

Girls Lacrosse

Wesleyan University

Eden

Welch

Girls Lacrosse

University of Pennsylvania

Ryan

Pate

Girls Soccer

U.S. Air Force Academy

Amy

Benson

Girls Swimming

Trinity University

Coco

Barton

Girls Volleyball

Colorado College

Morgan

Smith

Golf

Georgetown University

Nate

Puchalski

Wrestling

Johns Hopkins University

 

Assembly lineup a mix of art, analysis

 

A blend of artists and analysts will grace Exeter’s Assembly Hall stage during winter term as guest speakers.

Each term, the academy hosts a variety of voices and perspectives to share at all-school assembly. Past speakers have included Nobel laureates, Pulitzer winners and civil rights pioneers. Although this winter’s roster may not feature any one speaker as star-spangled as that, the list promises to engage, entertain and push students past their comfort zones. All Exeter assemblies can be viewed live or on-demand here.

Among this term’s assembly speakers are:

  • Adolphus G. Belk, Jr., a political analyst and professor of political science and African American studies at Winthrop University and a leading researcher of white nationalism in American government and politics. Jan. 13.
  • Safia Elhillo, a Sudanese-American poet known for her written and spoken poetry. She is currently a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Jan. 20.
  • Jane Holl Lute, an American diplomat and national security expert and a former deputy secretary of Homeland Security from 2009 through 2013. Jan. 27.
  • The Whiffenpoofs, Yale University’s famed all-male a cappella group, the world’s oldest. Jan. 31.

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Alumna: ‘Show up with your whole authentic self’

Exploration, service highlight fall-break trips

As the school year calendar turned from fall to winter term, dozens of students spent their Thanksgiving breaks scattered across the country for immersive experiences as part of Exeter’s Global Initiatives program. From Philadelphia to Maui, Phoenix and New Orleans, each location provided the perfect backdrop to explore a specific area of study and for hands-on-learning opportunities.

Students in Arizona spent time at a local refugee shelter as part of this community service-centric program. Supplementing the service work, students attended seminars about topics especially important in the region — immigration and sustainability. Highlights from the trip included a stop at the Heard Museum, “the world’s preeminent museum for the presentation, interpretation and advancement of American Indian art”; and a hike through the rugged dessert terrain. “The nature was different from anything else I have ever seen. We saw lots of different kinds of cacti, and other native and exotic plants that can only be found in Arizona,” said Laurie Chung ‘24.

In Philadelphia, the city with the highest incarceration rate of any large jurisdiction in the country, Exonians explored the structure and pitfalls of the American prison system. Throughout the week students learned about demographical disparities of the incarcerated and met with nonprofit organizations working to establish criminal justice and prison reform in Pennsylvania.

“It was inspiring to watch our students grapple with the idea of Justice in American,” said chaperone and Instructor in Physical Education Kerry McBrearty. “They were constantly confronted and in turmoil over two conflicting theories. One, the justice system is working as it is intended to work and needs advocates to in fact break the system and change it. Two, the justice system is broken and needs to be reformed.”

Student pose in Hawaii

Over 2,000 miles from the contiguous United States, eight students spent the week exploring the geography and biodiversity of the Hawaiian island of Maui. The group spent time hiking, snorkeling, visiting cultural sites and studying endangered plant and bird species.

“We all got to learn by talking with native Hawaiians who are fiercely proud of their heritage and wonderfully generous in sharing it with young people. The kindness and hospitality of Hawaiians of all races have made a deep and abiding impression on us,” said chaperone and Instructor in Science Townley Chisolm.

Synonymous with the American South and New Orleans, the roots of jazz and blues music can be traced back through past of slavery and segregation. Students traveled to the “Big Easy” to learn more about these alluring musical genres and their sordid pasts. Accompanied by Instructor in Music Marcus Rabb and Instructor in Modern Languages Diego Ardura, the students took in live performances and saw iconic sites like the National Civil Rights Museum.

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Photo of eight Exeter students who traveled to Arizona and the desert Southwest for a weeklong trip featuring hiking and wilderness camping.

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