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CA Curious

Lightbulb moments

September 9, 2021

A puzzled voice from the back: “Can we just leave our kid home alone?”  

Said with a sigh from another seat: “Maybe we don’t need health insurance; it is too expensive.”  

A third chimed in, frustration evident: “No, our kid can’t have ice cream. We can’t afford it.”  

I sat quietly, watching the wheels turn as our 6th graders maneuvered through the process of SPENT, an online simulator that walks users through a month of spending on a limited budget, of balancing necessary expenses like rent, health insurance and medical care, groceries, utilities, childcare, and more. 

Of course, the students knew they should never leave a sick child home alone, but they also knew that their fictional job did not offer the flexibility to take a day off and their childcare funds were . . .  well, there were no childcare funds. They understood that they would never want to go to school with dirty clothes, but they also recognized that a laundry mat costs money they did not have. 

Our students struggled with these difficult challenges plucked from the real world; impossible choices that must be made. Do you pay high health insurance premiums or risk devastatingly costly emergency medical bills? Do you take a new job with a higher salary but longer hours that increases costly childcare needs?  These are, of course, the difficult and nuanced decisions–the realities–faced by many in our own community on a daily basis.  

Later, students embarked on field trips to local stores, including Dollar Tree and Walgreens, to see just how far they could stretch their limited grocery budget dollars. New realizations, new questions emerged: where was the fresh produce? How do you eat healthy if you live in an urban food desert? How do you meet your grocery needs if you can only shop at stores where stock is limited and overpriced? Why are there food deserts? Why aren’t grocery stores available to everyone? 

Across these activities you could see the thoughts forming, lightbulbs clicking on all over the room.  Nebulous concepts were rendered into stark and uncomfortable realizations: not everyone in our community can afford the basics necessary to survive. Many are engaging in impossibly complicated balancing acts simply trying to keep food on the table. Just a half mile down the road, students our ages don’t have adequate access to food.  

I watched as students sat in these uncomfortable realities, thinking deeply, realizing that not everyone has their privilege; many children go hungry at night. Importantly, in their newfound empathy and awareness, I saw the initial sparks of resolve, of wanting to be part of a solution. 

For me, this is the power of experiential learning: those “lightbulb” moments—transformative epiphanies when students move beyond learning simple facts to understanding complex concepts and systems. And nowhere are these more important than in service learning.  

Our service-learning focus in 6th grade is Backpack Buddies, which helps address food insecurity in our community by sharing food with local elementary schoolers. Backpack Buddies is a wonderful and important program, and one supported by many local area schools, often with canned food donation drives.  

These drives, organized and led by our Middle School students, are crucially important to our local Backpack Buddies chapter. But, at CA, they are only one piece of the service-learning puzzle; our incredible Service Learning Director, Maggie Grant, is using this program as a springboard to help our students understand that our responsibility to addressing local food insecurity doesn’t begin and end with the donation of a few canned goods.  

Instead, we want our students to understand food insecurity—the sad truth that 1 in 5 American children deal with hunger—on a systemic level. We want them to think critically and complexly about the conditions—social, economic, geographic, political, and more—that are creating and exacerbating food insecurity. We want them to develop empathy for those whose experiences are vastly different from their own. And we want to prepare them to use that knowledge thoughtfully, ethically, and in partnership with our community to help create new, better systems that allow everyone to have equitable access to healthy food.  

If that seems like a heavy lift for 6th graders, sixth-grade language arts teacher Katie Taylor would like to assure you that it isn’t! Consider these reflections that her students shared with her: 

“I learned today that no matter what, people should get enough food; there are invisible challenges for people dealing with low incomes or poverty . . .  we can come together to help many hungry people out there.”  

“At the store, we realized that a lot of the items we found were not quite as nutritious as we hoped they’d be. Most of the items we found were not friendly to those allergic to nuts!”  

A third student wisely reflected that “Having food on the table is harder than it sounds. You can’t just snap…. There are a lot of things that you need to think about.”  

As Ms. Taylor says, “these students have all found a lightbulb moment; we’ll work together this year to help them keep the lights on” as we encourage them to look outside themselves, to solve community problems, and to think deeply with empathy.  

Written by Danielle Johnson-Webb, Director of Equity & Community Engagement

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CA Curious

The power of purpose

September 2, 2021

Coach Pullen is a genius.

We had been watching our 65 middle school cross country students struggle through an early-season workout. A few students dutifully completed the warm-up jog. Still, most had quickly defaulted to walking — all the while grumbling about the heat, sore ankles, and assorted other tribulations associated with physical activity. 

“OK, runners,” Coach shouted as they came in from the first loop of the field. “Those of you who are one of the top 15 to 20 runners on the team — my best runners — you can go out for another loop. The rest of you, go ahead and stop for a water break.” 

I watched in amazement as at least half the team looked at one another, trying to assess the situation, themselves, and their friends… and then headed back out for a second loop. This time, at a full run. 

Coach Pullen’s motivational technique got me rethinking about something I shared with Upper School students at their opening convocation this year. 

There is a growing body of research on the positive impacts of having purpose in life. As Cornell University psychologist Anthony Burrow recently explained on an NPR podcast: “There seems to be accumulating evidence that one of the benefits of feeling a sense of purpose is that it can help us remain even keel in moments of stress or challenge, and sometimes even uplifting experiences.”

The challenge for all of us — but especially young people — is how to “find” that purpose. 

Professor Burrow would be quick to point out that this might be the wrong way to look at it. 

Purpose, he would say, is “cultivated,” not found. This happens by creating an environment where you establish a sense of identity and self-understanding, are exposed to new things, interesting questions, and challenging ideas, and then have some self-determination in where you go in life. 

Fortunately, as I told the students in August, research shows us three potential ways to cultivate purpose. 

  1. Proactive: A gradual, sustained attempt to engage in a topic or opportunity. Think of a hobby that morphs into something more, sometimes without even realizing when the transition happened. 
  2. Reactive: Responding to something that happens in life, which can often be negative, that nonetheless gives somebody a newfound sense of purpose or direction.  
  3. Pro-Social: Cultivating a sense of purpose through interacting and learning from other people and their passions or purposes. Like a hobby, this type of purpose acquisition may grow gradually over time — but it comes from our natural desire to share experiences with others. 

We can see opportunities to cultivate purpose in all three ways here at Cary Academy, but certainly more clearly in ways 1 and 3. As we move further down the path of our strategic plan, we seek to build more opportunities to grow student interests and passions through coursework, extracurricular programs, and new experiential learning pathways embedded in X Days. 

Which brings me back to Coach Pullen and seeing first-hand the power of pro-social motivation. None of our new runners are really experienced enough to know if the sport will be for them or if it will lead to a life-long association with running or fitness. For now, though, the experience of being together and of trying on the identity of “top runner,” is a powerful motivator and a positive experience. 

That’s ultimately how the race is won—one step at a time.

Written by Mike Ehrhardt, Head of School

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YES!

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Follow the leaders: Spotlight on Youth Engagement Summit

September 1, 2021

Some might consider the task of planning and pulling off a virtual summit with more than one hundred attendees a daunting task, but once a group of CA students saw the chance to create a powerful learning experience for their peers and classmates, they couldn’t help but say “YES!”

In mid-January 2020, a group of six Upper School students attended the Youth Forum Switzerland (YFS). Hosted by the International School of Zug and Luzern, YFS was modeled after the World Economic Forum, which was occurring at the same time an hour away in Davos. YFS brought together ambitious and energized students the world over to brainstorm ways to confront the challenges facing the next generation of leaders­—moving communities to zero waste, gender inequity, digital privacy, and mental health—and build connections between contemporary experts and teenage scholars.

The CA students returned to North Carolina empowered and emboldened but also very aware of the elite nature of the experience. Rather than become de facto leaders of a series of new initiatives, they wanted to democratize the experience, expanding the opportunity to their peers and classmates.

“We were the first overseas students to attend YFS. All the things they were doing to empower youth, seeing kids our age really making a difference in their communities and around the world, was so inspiring,” beams Ryan Azrak ’21. “We wanted to bring that back to CA but also to branch out even further and transfer that sense of empowerment to students all across the United States.”

According to Entrepreneurship Director Palmer Seeley, who accompanied the students to Switzerland, a plan to democratize the YFS experience was in motion before the plane landed back in the United States.

“Our students kept talking about how they wished everyone in their ENVIRO class had heard that speaker, or that the robotics team could have attended this session, or that there was a video of a panel that they could share with their club or affinity group. It was at that point that I heard them ask, ‘Would this sort of conference be something we could do back at CA?’”

Despite the emerging disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the students presented a plan for a global youth summit to be held at CA. The focus would be on connecting peers to explore some of the world’s most pressing issues, from racial justice to climate change to the pandemic. Knowing that building a global forum from scratch was quite a leap, they formulated instead a plan for a smaller-scale virtual forum. Thus, YES!—the Youth Engagement Summit—was born.

Though the pandemic forced a shift to virtual learning, the students behind YES! carried on planning their forum, working on their own time, at first, and later also during Flex Days, when the new academic schedule was adopted in the fall. Their dedication and hard work paid off. With the guidance and support of the Center for Community Engagement, YES! would take place during Discovery Term—CA’s two-week experiential education period that closes out the school year—and exclusively open to the sophomore class.

“The biggest challenge they faced was time,” says Seeley. “They found time to meet as a group every week since they got back from Switzerland—even when CA was on break and all summer—and they worked on their own, as well. For most of them, they had only been to one conference—the one they’d just returned from—and they knew putting together a four-day conference like this would take a monumental effort. It took a huge amount of trust on the part of the school’s leadership that these students could make it work.”

Challenge is another word for opportunity

In case you were wondering, the ambitious task before the YES! leaders didn’t dampen spirits. “It was a really fun process for us,” smiles Sydney Tai ’22. “We had multiple meetings where we just brainstormed ideas about dozens of topics, based off what we had learned at YFS. Then, we sent it to the sophomores for their input and feedback. Through that, we were able to expand the list tenfold then narrow it down to three plenary foci (youth mental health, racial justice, and confronting anti-Asian sentiment) and four deep-dive tracks: ethical inquiries, the future of environmentalism, gender and sexuality, and the accessibility of the American Dream.”

With a lot of collaborative hard work, the YES! leaders built a program of more than 40 (!) individual panels, discussions, activities, and opportunities for CA sophomores to find their sparks, while engaging with more than three dozen guest speakers, including experts from Harvard, Johns Hopkins, UNC, Wake Forest, faith leaders, and even a representative from SpaceX (just to name a few).

“I’ve really enjoyed figuring out how to get the sophomores more personally engaged in activism,” shares Allie Chandler ’22. One of the goals of the Youth Engagement Summit is to let youth find different topics that interest them. In Switzerland, we got the opportunity to explore all these different topics and then figure out what interested us and what we could take back to the community. It’s been a really transformative experience to go from being the person that was trying to learn, to trying to figure out how to help other people find something that they’re interested in.”

The YES! leaders wanted to give their peers more than just information sessions and the chance to hear from experts—they wanted their classmates to have the same transformative experience that they’d had, but without the jet lag. “The [YES! leaders] realized how powerful the experience of being in the room was, the value of their interactions with the experts at YFS, and—most importantly—how critical it was to share those experiences with other students,” says CA’s Director of Equity and Community Engagement, Danielle Johnson-Webb. “The excitement and personal investment that develops when a student is able to follow their passions and explore their interests is absolutely transformative. And not only as students—these experiences are life-changing.”

“It was truly amazing, watching the students develop important soft skills,” notes Seeley. “They figured out not only how to brainstorm topics, reach out to potential speakers, and handle the logistical challenge of taking a swarm of rough ideas and turning them into a workable conference schedule, but how to communicate honestly with each other. They knew that they all had the larger effort’s best interest at heart, intrinsically understanding the pros and cons of whether or not to establish an organizational hierarchy. They learned how to learn on the fly, adjusting based on what was and wasn’t working. More than anything, they developed the skill of confidence.”

Teaching to learn

For the YFS alumni, the process of building YES! wasn’t simply about producing material to be consumed by the sophomore class, but to elevate members of the Class of 2023, like Jacob King and Brianna Liang, to become leaders themselves.

Liang, new to CA this year, fell into the role by accident—not realizing that she was responding to a call for leaders by volunteering to provide further input when ranking her preference of topics—rose to the occasion. “I thought I was helping to inform how the workshops would be created, but I didn’t realize I would be leading a workshop on my own. And then I ended up leading two. I’ve learned so much in the process, both about my topics—gentrification and upcycling—and about how to keep people engaged.”

“I can’t sit through a boring workshop,” says King, who became fast friends with Liang over the course of the year, often helping her overcome her self-described shyness by introducing her to other CA students. “I jumped in at the last minute when I saw that other sophomores were leading workshops. By helping Brianna teach, I’m helping everyone learn—including myself. I’ve had a few leadership experiences in the past and what I always find amazing and engaging about it is the sense that, as you’re teaching something, you’re learning it even more deeply.”

“Learning to teach is as much a part of the experiential education process as taking part in a seminar or participating in a field trip,” agrees Johnson-Webb. “Not only is it a fantastic way to ensure that the students have mastery of a subject, but it also helps them build confidence in their ability to connect and communicate with each other—to bridge differences in learning styles and experiences.”

Establishing connections

A common experience that Chandler, King, Liang, and Tai all had in building different parts of YES! was the opportunity to grow their own network of connections—whether within CA, or with subject matter experts on everything from manufacturing upcycled furniture to colonizing Mars. They hope that YES! helps their fellow students similarly build their networks.

“What we really loved about YFS was that they had all of these experts that we could actually engage with personally. We could ask them questions,” shares Chandler. “And that’s why we had students interviewing some of the experts at YES. Even though it’s virtual, we built in opportunities for students to have unstructured time with the presenters.”

“Watching students connect with young presenters—including alumni like hip-hop educator Kevin “Rowdy” Rowsey ’09, mental health advocate Ceren Iz ’19, Activist Collab co-founder Meirav Soloman ’21, and space advocates Abe Weinstein ’19 and Orlin Velev ’13 of SpaceX—was truly exciting,” says Seeley.

Excitement, it seems, is contagious. A dozen rising juniors are already brainstorming the next YES! experience. Spurred by the examples set by their peers, they can’t wait to build upon what they’ve learned, passing along their lessons and impassioned opportunities to the next group of CA students.

Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager

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Leadership During Crisis

Community Conversations

Follow the leaders: Spotlight on Leadership In Crisis Program

September 1, 2021

Late last summer, as our nation grappled with the longstanding effects of institutionalized racism and racial inequity, CA’s leadership posed bold questions: how can we empower and encourage our students to delve deeper into the complex issues playing out so vividly in the headlines? How can we inspire and develop the next generation of leaders who might help move our country towards a more equitable future?

From our Center for Community Engagement came one answer: a new, year-long, experimental, and expeditionary cross-grade program—the Leadership During Crisis Program—designed to experientially and intellectually immerse students in the complex intersections of history, inequity, social change, anti-racism, and leadership.

“We wanted to drop students into the middle of a deep, wide complex debate about what this country is, what it wants to be, and how leadership can help it move toward those ideals,” explains Dr. Michael McElreath, CA’s Director of Experiential Learning.

“I sketched out an idea to use the pandemic and the fight for Black justice as focal points—as windows into other crises in American history—to better understand how leaders reacted. We’d investigate how those reactions shaped the ‘story of America,’ and what this next generation of leaders—our students—could learn about leadership from those choices, both good and bad.”

As students would be grappling with traumatic histories and events, creating an atmosphere of trust—one in which students felt comfortable sharing their authentic selves and experiences—was paramount, but not without challenge.

“For our students to get the most out of the experience—to be able to thoroughly explore some nuanced and difficult moments and have the chance to learn from each other’s perspectives and experiences—I knew they had to meet face-to-face,” McElreath shares with a sigh. “But at that moment, given COVID, it was obvious that we were not going to hold in-person classes any time soon.”

Putting it together

The solution was something radical: program members—students and faculty alike—would become a distinct and mobile learning community. They would meet on-campus for multiple periods, multiple days each week, and participate in expeditionary field trips (with careful COVID protocols in place, of course), while their Upper School peers remained virtual.

“A self-contained ‘school within a school’ was an exciting idea we’d talked about but never tackled before now,” says McElreath. “It seemed the best way to give the students the chance to dive deep into all of these experiences, make meaningful connections, and come out of the class with a sense of purpose.”

Partnering with Upper School English teacher and Entrepreneurship Director Palmer Seeley, McElreath and Seeley crafted an ambitious interdisciplinary curriculum that spanned social studies, social activism, art as a social practice, and English literature (students still attended regular math and science classes, which fell outside of the program’s scope).

In collegiate seminar-style discussions designed to amplify peer learning opportunities, students explored a variety of works of non-fiction and historical fiction. Together, they unpacked American history from multiple viewpoints—including their own—and discovered narratives that were often at stark odds with the sanitized and simplified story often presented as the American experience.

The group delved into the racial violence woven throughout American history with Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me. They gained rich insights into the complexity and intersectionality of race, gender, and class relations in America via the 17th century slave trade in Toni Morrison’s A Mercy. Ibram Kendi’s personal tale of racism’s toxic effects—How to Be an Antiracist—offered a call to action for systemic change. These and other books provided critical context for the events and places the students were exploring and experiencing firsthand.

Indeed, beyond books and classroom discussion, expeditionary firsthand learning was a crucial element of the program. The group frequently traveled within North Carolina, visiting the State Capitol grounds to see where recently-removed Confederate monuments once stood, to Civil War battlefields, and the site of the 1898 Wilmington coup by white supremacists against the elected leaders of the then-majority Black city.

“Getting out of the classroom and to the places where history happened makes the events and their effects on American society tangible to students. It was critical to the program experience. Being in those places allows us to develop a personal link to history and empathy for the people who lived it—it’s no longer just a fact in a book or an image on a screen; you can imagine what it would have been like to live it yourself,” says McElreath.

“We also visited several sites where later generations have marked historical events in a variety of ways—and not always honestly,” he continues. “Discussions about why and how those with power sometimes attempt to weaponize history in the service of maintaining power was an important part of our discussions about leadership this year.”

Leaning in

In all aspects of the program, students were encouraged to take the lead—to investigate, interrogate, and draw connections about what they were learning through the lens of their own varied experiences and perspectives. “Being forced to make the connections ourselves helped us better understand exactly what happened in the past and how it came about,” shares Maris James ’23.

“Going into this class, the only thing we had in common was that we all went to the same school. We all brought our different experiences and perspectives into this class, which definitely shaped the way each of us analyzed history. While the course was based on a common set of facts, what we learned about leadership traits and how we can implement those into our own lives was drawn from our own experiences and what we—as individuals—see every day.”

Peer learning and peer mentorship opportunities were carefully and purposefully cultivated, down to the very organizational structures and assignments chosen for the program. Students often assumed the role of teacher, conducting independent research projects on historical events and figures and then teaching it to their peers as formal lessons.

“These student-led sessions were a vital part of the program concept,” says McElreath. “Preparing to teach a lesson requires mastery of the topic. Peer teaching ensures that students are engaged and invested in the shared experience of learning.”

And, it worked. More often than not, the students were so caught-up in their conversations that discussions spilled out of the classroom, onto the Quad during lunch, and into the after-school hours. “There was one day, early on, when we all just sat together at lunch and kept the conversation going,” shares Clay Thornton ’21. “From that point on, we all started eating together so we could keep talking about what we had said in class.”

“Peer mentorship was critical for the program. It’s not enough for the students to learn about leadership,” offers Seeley. “They needed the opportunity—and the environment—that let them lead the conversation. It had to feel organic, relevant, and have the right balance of guidance and agency. It was important that Michael and I be part of the community but to do so by guiding discussions, not leading them.”
That “guide-on-the-side” approach was well received by students and faculty alike, solidifying the bonds amongst group members. “We felt like a community. Dr. Mac and Mr. Seeley were in the class with us—even if they were sometimes 200 pages ahead in the book,” laughs Sydney Ross ’23. “It felt so good to have the teachers involved. The chance to be real when we talked about these really difficult events was so helpful.”

The strategic decision to make the program cross-grade—comprised of sophomores, juniors, and seniors, many of whom had never been in the same room—was similarly instrumental in fostering an engaging peer-led environment.

“The seniors had two years’ more knowledge, experiences, and skills to draw upon, but the sophomores were at a point in their high school careers that they could take more academic risk,” explains Seeley. “Taking those risks can provide them opportunities to expand their understanding of the world in ways that most people don’t get until college or later.”

Purposefully including students at different moments in their respective learning journeys proved lucrative, encouraging personal growth and reflection as students became sounding boards and learning resources for each other. Together, they developed a more nuanced and multifaceted understanding, not only of the historical and contemporary moments they were exploring and experiencing, but of each other.

“The year let me get to know the voices and perspectives of my peers in the class on a much deeper level than in my other courses,” says Kate Sandreuter ’23. “I gained confidence for speaking up in class and got to explore issues on a deeper level by listening to the different perspectives of other people experiencing the same thing.”

The year-long format allowed the students time to develop crucial nuance. “You might think that our opinions over the year would have become more homogenous,” reflects Eli Weinstein ’21. “As the class went on, however, I realized just how different each of us was. And that, in turn, changed the way I saw the American story. I realize now how it has been co-opted time and again; the fact is, the American story isn’t one thing.”

The flexible, experiential format also supported different learning styles. “As someone who struggles with memorizing facts and dates, this is one of those courses where—because we’re so discussion focused—we get to move beyond the what and when, and focus more on the who and the why, and how it connects with the things that we’re living through,” shares Lexie Davilla ’23.

Living history

It was that relaxed, flexible structure that allowed the class to pivot as history unfolded during the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. “When January 6 happened, it felt like it was the logical next part of where the discussion had to go,” says McElreath. “It brought home, in realtime, just how quickly a single event can affect the course of history. And it gave the students the opportunity to lead informal discussions with their peers who weren’t part of the program.”

“In that moment, it was almost like Dr. Mac and Mr. Seeley were in class with us,” says Thornton. “But they were also guides—helping point out the things that we, as high school students, might not have the life experience to pick up on or contextualize. It helped me process all the questions I had swirling in my mind, and it’s helped, since then, when talking to my friends from outside the program.”

While the academic year and formal program might have drawn to an end, the work begun in the class is far from over. “Ultimately these debates, these conversations about American identity are not going to end,” offers McElreath. “But that’s true for the nation, as well. We had that conversation for nine months. We may have finished the class, but, hopefully, the students are not finished with the conversation.”

They certainly aren’t. Already, McElreath and Seeley’s students have been incubating ways that they can turn their newly honed leadership skills to personal interests, both on campus and beyond. To name just a few: Eli Weinstein and Jared Seidel are exploring a re-branding of anti-fascism in hopes of helping to effectively stem the rising global tides of fascism; Bela Chandler and Jenna Pullen have created an animal wellness awareness campaign that aired on the Middle School’s CAST News; and Lexie Davila utilized educational resources about LGBTQIA+ issues created by Leadership During Crisis classmate classmate Christina Polge to facilitate the “Introduction to Gender & Sexuality” workshop during YES! (What’s YES! you ask? Just read on to find out.)

Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager

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CA Curious

Learning by doing

May 27, 2021

For Upper Schoolers, the last two weeks of the school year are filled with lots of opportunities for experiential learning courtesy of Discovery Term (DT), Work Experience Program (WEP), and the Youth Engagement Summit (YES). These programs, coordinated by our Center for Community Engagement, help students to flex their leadership skills, explore new areas of interest, and take their learning to another level—whether in the lab, wilderness, halls of justice, local markets, studios, or beyond.  

Enjoy these student voices as they share just some of what they are exploring / making / and experiencing in WEP and DT, and look for a wrap-up later this summer on YES. (To hear from other students, check out blogs.CaryAcademy.org/cawep/ and blogs.CaryAcademy.org/discovery-term/ where all students are blogging their learning journeys): 

Work Experience Program 

I’m working with the Town of Cary Public Works team with a focus on turf/facility management. . .  I have gained lots of insight on techniques, processes, the science that plays into creating high quality turf for the playing surfaces. I have been surprised by the precision in every action of the industry and hope to continue to learn more about the industry and management processes. 

— Lawson Wheeler, Town of Cary Public Works 

I’m job shadowing at Osceola Studios. I’ve gotten the chance to work with several incredibly talented artists to turn their ideas into polished tracks. Dick Hodgin, the audio engineer, is (for lack of a more descriptive term) a wizard. Not only in his musical expertise, but the way he connects with each artist, seemingly understanding the songs better than they do.  

— Alex Lim, Osceola Studios 

I am helping Homestead Sage build an online presence (website, social media, etc.). Right now, I am working on a resource library on UV-C light technology for their website. It’s been really eye-opening! 

— Sophia Liu, Homestead Sage 

I am researching and exploring the different parts of Senate Bill 300, which focuses on adding new law enforcement requirements, decriminalizing certain local offenses, as well as addressing constitutional issues with satellite-based monitoring. I got to meet Professor Markham and hope to attend a general assembly meeting and listen in on a court case. 

— Gabriella Cicuto, Criminal Justice Reform with Professor Markham at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

So far, we have spent the time learning about how to put together presentations and pitches by researching an emerging technology called NFTs. NFTs are digital assets that use blockchain and crypto-wallets to function. We are researching how they work, how to make them, their environmental impacts, and their potential future applications.  

— Sarah Haddix, Lenovo 

I’m shadowing Guilford County Public Defender ShaKeta Berrie. I spent most of the day toggling between district court and superior court. I assist Ms. Berrie in finding her files, locating, and organizing her shucks, calling out the names of her clients to make sure they are there, calling clients who failed to show up to court, and watching other court cases. I learned about how important the 4th amendment is specifically to the work Ms. Berrie does in district court and how important a public defender’s job is to help protect and serve the public. 

— Sierra Nesbeth, Guilford County Courts 

At French West Vaughan, we have been given the wonderful opportunity to shadow several producers, managers, and executives in the different departments of French West Vaughan, an accredited public relations and marketing agency. The Creative Team, Media Team, Account Team, and Social Team all focus on different areas of the marketing process, and I have enjoyed learning the responsibilities and strategies of each department. It amazes me how, in the end, the teams collaborate to execute campaigns, design websites, and build successful brands.  

— Kendyl George, French West Vaughan 

Our group is currently doing research on the effects of Permethrin (a chemical commonly found in mosquito nets) in Sub-Saharan Africa, to understand the benefits of Vector Textiles’ net which is produced without chemicals. It is fascinating to connect both the direct impact of the pesticide on humans (ingestion/contact) and how the environmental effects indirectly affect humans. So far, the experience has been wonderful as it gives me a better sense of what a future in STEM-research may entail. 

— Vinith Upadhya, Vector Textiles (Environmental Modeling) 

These past few days, I had the pleasure of witnessing our judicial system first-hand. My host, Judge Davidian, has been kind enough to allow me to witness proceedings in his courtroom, and I was able to see cases of all varieties, from civil domestic violence cases all the way to felony pleas. Not only did I gain more of an insight into the laws and workings of our judicial system, but I also was able to learn more about Judge Davidian’s past career as a Navy JAG, which was very interesting as well!   

— William Su, Wake County Courts 

My WEP is with Representative Grier Martin and his Legislative Assistant Chris in the NC House of Representatives. So far, my experience has been very eye-opening. It’s very cool to see the bills come to life. I have attended a committee meeting, a press conference, some constituent meetings, and visited the DMVA. Tomorrow, I get to attend session. I hope to learn more about representative and lobbyist interactions in order to get bills passed. 

— Bella Nesbeth, NC State Legislature 

I’m working with Dr. Tarek Aziz, a professor at NCSU who is doing research into the viability of using white rot fungus to treat pesticide contamination in water. The work we are doing involves us tweaking the code of an agent-based model to add additional features to make it more realistic.  

— Ethan Chou, Aziz Lab, North Carolina State University 

I’m working in the writing industry with a publisher, authors, and a bookseller. I’ve gotten the chance to meet with Mindy Quigley, a Virginian author of cozy mysteries who has given me lots of great advice and connected me with some of her colleagues in the writing field. . . I’m also meeting with Abby Muller from Algonquin Publishing and to prepare, she’s given me a manuscript to read and write a reader’s report (a standard publishing task done by interns that tells the editors whether they should read the book or not) including feedback and a general plot summary. Then, I will be working at Flyleaf Books for a day. I’ve learned a lot about being an author and an editor and I look forward to the rest of the next couple weeks seeing different experiences in all parts of the industry.  

— Christina Polge, Author and Publishing House 

So far, we have learned about all the different architectures at Cisco from security (Umbrella/Duo) to Meraki and AppDynamics. It has been incredibly interesting to see all the amazing things that these Cisco products can do to simplify and streamline all aspects of a business or company.  

— Grace Jaeger-Sandruck, Cisco 

My work experience is with the North Carolina Symphony as a Performing Arts Management intern. I will be exploring and working with all the different areas under arts administration (marketing, philanthropy, education, communications and more). I have played violin very rigorously for almost all of my life, so I was curious to learn more about other behind the scenes aspects of the arts and music that allow the music to ultimately be heard. So far, I’ve met with a handful of prominent people to discuss their work and have conducted some research and created archives. I look forward to the end of WEP for a live concert at Koka Booth that I will help run! 

— Kali Bate, North Carolina Symphony 

My group and I are figuring out the Unreal Engine, the game engine that EpicGames created and uses to develop and design its games, and working on Unreal Engine projects.  By the end, I hope to have my project up and running (but not necessarily done because it simply isn’t feasible to prototype a whole game in two weeks), to have a better understanding of C++ code, and to have a little experience designing my own avatars and scenes.  In the future, I’d love to use the skills I acquired to learn more C++ and explore digital art further. 

— Julia Huang, Video Game Development with Steve Polge, an EpicGames senior programmer 

Discovery Term 

I think the best experiences and takeaways in the Health and Fitness DT so far would be understanding the underlying ingredients in foods that we commonly enjoy and how all ranges of exercises can prove to be both challenging physically and mentally. What initially drew me into this DT was wanting to get a head start on a healthy lifestyle through and for the 2021 summer, but within the few days of this DT, I can almost certainly say that I will continue to use what I’ve learned in this DT for the rest of my high school career, hopefully taking some aspect of it to college.  

— Jared Seidel, ’22, Health and Fitness Leader 

My DT is all about trying new things— by learning about global cuisines from either informative videos or classmates, and then getting a firsthand experience by going around the Triangle and tasting different foods from different cultures. . .  I think I am most surprised by how similar certain things are across some cuisines. There is a lot of difference— be it in the types of food, the tradition surrounding how you eat, when you eat, and even how much you eat per meal; however, the similarities are there too, from curry being popular in both India (as a dish) and in Germany (as a snack— currywurst, which is sausage in curry sauce), to cultures all across the board having some type of flatbread special to their cuisine. 

— Jasmine, ’24, World Cuisines around the Triangle 

Currently we are making an escape room in virtual reality (VR), and learning how to use Unity VR software to make a VR game, and how to set up VR. . . I signed up to do this because many of my friends are into coding and computers and I wanted to give it a try; I thought this would be the perfect way. Also, I wanted to do this because I wanted to know if I wanted to do something with VR or video games in the future.  

— Adora Koonce ’24, Into the World of Virtual Reality 

As I am new to the school, this is my first time ever experiencing a course like this. In general, my DT has been extremely fun so far. As there are no homework and tests, being able to learn freely without worry has opened a new perspective on learning for me. Going to school every day has felt like spending time pursuing my interests instead of attending mandatory classes. I am thoroughly enjoying this course.  

— Kayleigh Ko, ’24, Fashion Frenzy  

Our Discovery Term has touched on fashion throughout different cultures, discovering our personal preferences in clothing and design, and learning about the differences between high and fast fashion. We have taken excursions to the Gregg Museum of Art and Design and a local thrift store to compose outfits with our personal style. We look forward to continuing to learn about how fashion can be demonstrative of traditions and local climate, as well as acting on our understandings through a variety of fun and creative projects.  

— Caitlin Smith, ’24, Fashion Frenzy 

So far, I have learned how to canoe and steer a canoe the way I want, how to flip a canoe back over and get in safely without filling it with water, how to make a tent out of a tarp, and a lot about fish hatcheries and their effect on evolution and the populations of wild creatures. I hope to get more comfortable in natural bodies of water, and more comfortable in knowing how to safely maneuver in these bodies without putting myself or others at risk. . . .  I’m actually going on a pretty long hiking trip this summer, so this course will really help me prepare for that and help me know how to do things like leave no trace, be safe in the backcountry, have fun, and take care of the environment. Something that has been surprising was how quickly you adjust to living or existing in nature, and I’ve learned that something very small can have a huge impact. Humans often try to control the wild because we want reliable, predictable safety. The truth is, however, the wild is best left wild, and the environment is best left untouched.  

— Katie White, ’24, Waterpalooza 

One thing I hope to get out of the trips is to get out of my comfort zone. During my experience so far, I have done many things I wouldn’t have done. For example, hiking, cliff jumping, and swimming out in the open. I learned how to face my fear of heights, being stranded, and snakes. Finally, I hope to learn more about how to camp overnight in the woods and to grow my mental strength through hiking and swimming. 

— Ben Coley, ’24, Experiencing Wilderness 

I have learned a lot about the format and processes behind making a film or screen play. I have learned how to write a script the right way and what goes into it, like the intention and obstacle. I have learned many new and different types of camera angles and shots, as well as how they affect the scene. We made our own mini film that lasts about 1-3 minutes, and we wrote our own scripts. We are about to start on the final project which is a 10-minute film.  

— Josh Hanson, ’24, Filmmaking 

I’m the course leader for Grease Monkeys, an automotive-focused DT. Though we have only had two days so far, we’ve been very productive. . . So far, they have learned how to find information about a specific car, use that information to find parts for the car, change brake pads, and change oil and oil filters. During downtime, between working on cars, students have been able to try their hand with a racing simulator. They have been practicing their racing techniques and putting their best lap times up on the board in preparation for our go-karting outing next week. 

— Cy Reading ’22, Grease Monkeys Leader 

So far, we have used short PowerPoints to educate the students about different East Asian countries and their cultures, and also performed hands-on activities. These included inviting in a calligraphy instructor to help us make ink paintings and calligraphy, doing chopstick relay races, making dumplings, sampling tea, and watching Asian movies. We also participated in many kahoots that introduce us to holidays, religions, and practices of East Asian people.  

— Ella Zhang, ’24, East Asian Culture Leader 

Franchise Mode has been just as much about discovery for me as a leader as it has been for the ’24rs taking the course. Our Discovery Term focuses on the components of media and marketing that enable a sports organization to be successful. We look at how things like branding, journalism, merchandising, and media creation all work together to create a cohesive identity for a team. Our most eye-opening experience came this Wednesday, when we had recent UNC graduate and Morehead-Cain Scholar Luke Buxton come and share his experiences with sports media with us. Luke talked to us about a non-profit he created called Uncut, which gives collegiate athletes a platform to discuss issues they’re passionate about, with subjects ranging from mental health to social injustice. Luke’s perspective was invaluable, it demonstrated how someone so close to us in age could make a meaningful impact within a field like sports media. Luke’s relatability left us all with a feeling of unprecedented inspiration and motivation to continue our two weeks of discovery. 

— Hagan Aderhold, ’22, Franchise Mode Leader 

In the past two days, we have played and discussed several strategy games, watched a movie, and gone on a field trip to an escape room. . .  I hope to develop a new and better understanding of math in the world around us, which may help me see the real-world applications of the math that we’re learning at school.  

— Eric Ye, ’24, Math Adventures 

We are learning a lot about how to improve our health in all aspects—physical, social, and mental—and doing a mixture of activities that emphasize total health, such as kayaking, taking a yoga class, attending a cooking class, and going whitewater rafting. We were even able to hear from a speaker about neuroscience behind emotions. It has been really eye-opening to realize how much our mind affects ourselves. I will definitely use the calming techniques from grounding exercises, meditation, and yoga in my daily life when I get stressed. All in all, this course provides an outlook for emphasizing the importance for embracing our emotions and steps we can do to live BETTER. 

— Tanya Sachdev, ’24, Live BETTER (Balanced, Exercise, Transform, Thrive, Experience, Relax) 

We’ve been exploring the connection between art and emotion, the different techniques used to convey specific feels such as sadness, happiness, loneliness, and love. So far, it’s been a fairly relaxing process, while also being a great way to use the creative side of my brain that I don’t always get to use in other classes. Talking about reflection and incorporating that into art is a great way to relieve any built-up tension and a nice way to get out of your head.  

— Renn, ’22, Feel the Art in Your Heart 

So far, DT has taught me what it is like to be a leader and helped me explore what that entails. For example, I’ve had to schedule things on a larger scale, manage everything going on, and stay accountable for both our schedule and the kids in our DT. It’s been a lot of fun to learn and grow as I work. In the future, hopefully after this experience I can feel more confident in my capability of handling larger-scale events and leading them.  

— Zoe Koo, ’23, Reuse, Recycle, Recreate Leader 

Written by Mandy Dailey, Director of Communications

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CA Curious

Walking the Bifurcated Walk: Urban Design for Social Justice 

August 29, 2019

By Kathryn Chao, Hannah Gordon, Clay Thornton, and Michael McElreath 

urban-design-for-social-justiceThis summer, CA’s Center for Community Engagement offered a new intensive experiential course: Urban Design for Social Justice. Designed, organized, and sponsored by CA, the course was a pilot initiative to explore authentic opportunities for CA students to collaborate in impactful ways with their peers at other public and private schools on challenging community issues.  

Over the course of two weeks, three CA juniors—Kathryn Chao, Hannah Gordon, and Clay Thornton —collaborated with nine of their peers from Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy, Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy, Enloe High School, and St. Mary’s. In partnership with local nonprofit Passage Home, they researched poverty, gentrification, and the affordable housing crisis in Raleigh and collaborated on real-world solutions. 

Like the students, I was grateful for the opportunities presented by this course. While my colleagues—Coach Kimberly Shaw from CA and Alison Chernin from St. Mary’s—and I mentored the students on things like effective group method, the solutions they researched and proposed were their own, and we all learned a lot from them.  

This course reflects CA’s deepening commitment to experiential learning that deeply engages learners as co-creators of knowledge. It also illustrates how we are finding ways to reach out into our community to learn with our neighbors; the social justice focus underscores the value we place on equity, diversity, and inclusion.  

Read on for an account from our student participants on their experience and its impact. And, stay tuned: there will be more such efforts and opportunities in the coming years!   

____________________________________________________________

urban-design-for-social-justiceThe first morning of our Urban Design for Social Justice course, we walked in baking heat through a variety of neighborhoods in East Raleigh. We saw new apartments and condos in some areas, businesses on main streets, and a few city parks.  

About an hour in, we noticed an abrupt change in the sidewalk. From a pristine, wide, white, stretch next to brand new apartments/condos, we stepped onto a cracked, narrow, dingy section adjacent to older and run-down homes. Appearing to not have been replaced in years, the walkway grew increasingly more dilapidated after we crossed the street. It seemed like another neighborhood entirely. 

In a snapshot, this bifurcated experience set the tone of our course for the next two weeks.  

The 12 students in this program were from five different public and private schools in Wake County. Coming from diverse neighborhoods, from Brier Creek in the West to Zebulon in the East, we met each day in downtown Raleigh.  

Each of us shared a passion to make a positive difference in or community. Together, we worked with Passage Home, a non-profit striving to break the poverty cycle and mitigate the negative impacts of gentrification on its neighbors in Southeast Raleigh, where two of us live.  

Learning about that area alongside peers who knew it well, we worked in three teams to dissect problems posed by Passage Home. Specifically, how to attract a diverse set of residents to affordable housing it will build next year; how to enhance or repurpose two community gardens; and how to better unify the rapidly-changing community.  

While it seems that little could be accomplished in a span as short as two weeks, the program concluded with each group pitching their proposed research-based solutions to the CEO of Passage Home. It was tremendously fulfilling to explain the potential tangible effects of our ideas. This hands-on approach was a great way to learn about both the social issues explored as well as the skills required to work in a field like urban design.  

While we each had different expectations going in as to what we were getting ourselves into, in hindsight, we all agree that it was ultimately one of the most interesting and beneficial experiences we’ve ever had.  

We’ve included some of our personal reflections below.  

Hannah:  

“This course taught me so many things, not just about the issues in the Raleigh area. I came out of it feeling much more passionate about helping my community, and I also learned valuable lessons that can be applied to real life. 

“One of the main things being teamwork. We were put into teams with people that we didn’t know and diving into complex issues with a bunch of strangers was difficult. However, through team bonding (planned and unplanned) we were able to get to know each other better and come up with feasible solutions.  

“Another important lesson I learned was about professionalism. We were meeting with professionals and it was important that we presented ourselves in a way that allowed us to be taken seriously.” 

 Kathryn:  

“This course gave me the opportunity to understand how to approach conducting research through interaction. Often at school, research is synonymous with reading about a topic online. In this case, however, the forefront impacts of gentrification include significant disruption within the community. Consequently, going out to see the area and survey residents was the only way in which we could comprehend the problem and its repercussions.  

“Throughout the two weeks, we interviewed locals in the neighborhood, sat down with professionals in the realms of both social justice and urban design, and we gained a richer, broader perspective. I have come away from this experience with a deeper appreciation for the complexity of urban design and nonprofit work, as well as the assurance that a desire to incite change can be achieved with the application of deepened perspective.” 

Clay:  

“While I have participated in social justice work both inside and outside the Cary Academy community, I have never had an experience quite as unique as the Urban Design for Social Justice course. In it, I was able to build an understanding on the impacts of gentrification in my own backyard.  

“This course was unique, in that we turned our research and understanding of this issue into tangible plans for resolution. By partnering with Passage Home, our passion and creativity were given a pathway to create change in our own community. To me, that is extremely powerful.  

“The process we underwent to reach our final pitches has given me tools that I can use for the rest of my life. The opportunity to solve real-world problems is lacking for most high school students. I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to take this course. I will always remember my time spent with amazing students and teachers who share my passion for equity and social justice.” 

Written by Michael McElreath, Experiential Learning Director

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Learning to Make a Difference

April 18, 2019

Members of the Community Engagement Class tend the community garden at Alliance Medical Ministry in Wake County.

How do students at a private school understand and respond to the critical needs in their community? One way a group of us tried to break out of our CA “bubble” was in an innovative class that began this year. 

In January 2018, Dr. McElreath offered the junior class the opportunity to create a new Community Engagement class at our school, and he said we could choose the topic we wanted to explore. Five of us met weekly until we eventually chose the broad but important theme of poverty and inequality in Wake County.  

During Discovery Term, we met with experts from academia, nonprofits, and governmental agencies to learn more about this issue. At the beginning of this school year, using the knowledge we amassed during DT and with 4 new classmates, we split up into 4 subtopics: inequalities in housing, criminal justice, healthcare, and education.  

Throughout the year, we continued researching—identifying major problems and potential solutions to these pressing matters. By January, we presented some of our ideas for improving inequalities to students, parents, and some of the experts we had interviewed earlier. We still hope to speak with some decision-makers in government and corporate settings before we’re through! 

This last trimester, however, we have mostly shifted into advocacy and volunteer work. We’ve identified several organizations working hard to alleviate inequalities, and we’ve spent time learning from and supporting folks at Habitat of Wake County, the Alliance Medical Ministry, and a phenomenal preschool called Learning Together.  

Learning Together’s mission is to “meet the developmental, educational, and health needs of young children of all abilities.” Primarily serving lower socioeconomic individuals with a variety of learning differences, Learning Together bridges the gap between where students are and where they need to be, making their matriculation into Wake County Schools with their age-peers possible and successful. This past year, 27 of their 32 students who finished the pre-school were able to begin regular kindergartens in Wake County with their friends. This is an incredible place!  

LT’s work addresses successfully some of the essential inequities we have been studying in education and healthcare, and they do so with many children in families that are housing insecure. In ways that may seem less immediate, their work may even prevent their students from ever becoming involved in the criminal justice system.  

We’re so impressed by Learning Together that we have joined an effort to support the school’s Bridge Gala fundraiser on May 9. If we are successful, we will help Learning Together families maintain access to healthy food this summer. Without our help, LT may have to shut down from June to August, depriving children of their most consistent source of healthy meals.  

By the way, you can help!  If this school’s mission and results impress you like they did us, we hope you will learn more and contribute to this effort.  

And if you can, we hope you will join us for the Gala on May 9!  

——————————-

Alisha, Grace, Izzy, Jaishree, Leksi, Madi, Mesha, Michael, Ryan, & Dr. McElreath  

The Community Engagement Class 

Written by Alisha, Grace, Izzy, Jaishree, Leksi, Madi, Mesha, Michael, Ryan, & Dr. McElreath

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Student Perspectives

When the world changes you.

September 15, 2017

Liz Jones ’18 was waist-deep in snow, facing a mountain in the middle of the Colorado Rockies. Well, it was more like a really humongous hill, but with the 60-pound sled of camping supplies strapped to her, it was practically a mountain. There was no going around, only through.

“I turned to our advisor, Jacob, and said, ‘Tell me we’re not going over that.’”

He looked back at her and told her, “You got this, Liz.”

She’d felt weak, like her body was crumbling, but she made it across, pulling a pack half her weight up and over a mountain to set up camp on the other side. “It was a reminder that I could accomplish anything,” she says.

That was Liz’s second two-week wilderness expedition with High Mountain Institute, an independent school in Leadville, Colorado. (Her first and third were hiking through canyons in Utah.) Its specialty: semester and summer programs focused on interacting with the environment.

Every year, Cary Academy invites a variety of semester programs to speak to sophomores about the wealth of opportunities beyond the CA campus. That’s how Liz became curious about High Mountain.

“I’ve always loved the outdoors. I have such a strong connection with nature – it’s where I’m most comfortable. So when High Mountain came to campus, I was so excited to apply,” Liz remembers.

Though she was nervous about going for it – she’d never left home for 12 weeks before, and she’d been going to school with the same people for six years – Liz saw High Mountain as just the thing she needed to push herself. In fact, most students who explore these experiences do so for the same reasons: It’s a challenge and a way for them to grow into better people.

Liz is just one of nearly a dozen students over the last nine years who’s picked up her life in North Carolina and dropped it miles and miles away for a whole semester.

KatE Sanchez ’19 will follow in
her footsteps – and make her own way
to High Mountain later this year.

Sonum Tharwani ’14 is another. A few years ago, during an Affinity Group discussion, a CA alumna pegged Sonum as a perfect fit for The School for Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL) in Washington, D.C. A champion of ethics, Sonum jumped at the chance.

For months, Sonum lived and explored and learned to be a vocal activist in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol. She wrote a speech critiqued by Hillary Clinton’s speechwriter. Tackled global issues with classmates from all different kinds of backgrounds. And helped draft a nuclear policy that she presented to real D.C. leaders and lawmakers. As Sonum puts it, from start to finish, SEGL transformed her into an empathetic citizen.

“SEGL challenged me and changed my way of thinking. To write better policies, we have to empathize. We have to first change ourselves to become the effective leaders we want to be and that the world should have.”

It also redirected her path. As a high school junior, Sonum had viewed her passion (becoming a doctor) on a micro level – treating patients. But SEGL opened her eyes to a whole world of macro-level problems that she wants to take on. Now, she’s a senior at Emory University, about to embark on a
two-year post-grad stint to work in hospitals and focus on global/public health and policy.

“I turned to our advisor, Jacob, and said, ‘Tell me we’re not going over that.’” He looked back at her and told her, you got this Liz.”

It’s that kind of self-awareness and self-assuredness that Mairéad O’Grady, Associate Head of School for External Affairs and Sonum’s former advisor at SEGL, loves seeing in students.

“Students meet 23 other people who aren’t like them – who are on different sides of issues. By living and thriving together, each person learns where they stand. Having that confidence and strength in an ethical framework will push them to make better decisions as leaders,” says O’Grady.

That’s because, for the bulk of these programs, content and curriculum are only half the lesson. Some of the most memorable learning and experiences happen through interaction, through existing and coexisting, through being an active part of their surroundings. And, as Heather Clarkson, Head of Upper School, says, through being slightly uncomfortable at times.

For Rachel Lee ’17 and Kyle Lerch ’14, that meant spending a year immersed in German life with the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX). After graduating from Cary Academy, each made the trip abroad to dive into a culture they’d always felt drawn to. (Kyle’s family is from Germany; Rachel’s parents’ international work sparked a love for travel.)

Though Rachel and Kyle lived in different parts of Germany, their experiences gave them insight into the lives of others – the similarities and the disparities.

Kyle, in the rural village of Niese, struck up deep conversations about his host grandfather’s childhood in Poland and chuckled at the American country line dancing subculture that other host family members enjoyed. (Think American flags, country music, cowboy boots, and parties in a barn.)

In Sprockhövel, Rachel, who is only a couple of months into her German journey at press time, settled into a life with a host mom who teaches circus and acrobatics classes. During her short time there, Rachel has already stretched her comfort zone by trying new things, from climbing aerial silks to shooting a bow and arrow. And she, too, was surprised by her classmates’ take on American culture.

“To them, being an American is the coolest thing. And they’re really into the clothing brand Hollister. If you’re in head-to-toe Hollister, you’re cool.”

Despite brushes with “American life”
and the similar day-to-day motions of German society, things weren’t quite
the same as they were back home. For instance, Kyle picked up on nuances of
the German “work while you work, play while you play” outlook.

“Having lived in one place all my life, I’d had a narrow sense of what is ‘normal.’ But being in a place where things were slightly different showed me what was
par for the course most everywhere and what was specific to where I was from,”
he muses.

That eye-opener helped Kyle when he enrolled in Harvard after his CBYX trip. Not only did Niese help him appreciate the comfort of home, but it also built up his comfort with being in new situations. He was more independent, more flexible, had more agency, and was more in tune with people from an array
of backgrounds.

These programs have a way of expanding students’ boundaries, exposing them to new people, and revealing their truest selves. Of changing their views, their worlds, and the way they move within them. Because that’s what happens when you submerse yourself in an uncharted experience.

Liz, Sonum, Kyle, and Rachel all either found their “thing” or uncovered a
better sense of who they are (or both).

Emily KeadY ’19, who’s joining CITYterm in New York City in
spring 2018, is also hoping to discover her passion.

How? New experiences and activities like the Brooklyn Bridge Project, in which students do an intense research dive into the Brooklyn Bridge, create an artistic response to it, then showcase it in a gallery with 29 other original pieces. Or the Neighborhood Study, when they spend weeks learning about a New York neighborhood however they can, then give walking tours to their teachers and peers.

CITYterm’s intentional focus on experiential learning means students spend most of the week exploring New York in person, supplementing what they’ve learned in a classroom.

“We’re all about metacognition here – thinking about thinking,” says Cotter Donnell, CITYterm’s director. “We’re teaching students how learning happens so they can better understand themselves as learners. When we empower them with those skills, they come out of CITYterm with a strong sense of how they learn best.”

In other words: CITYterm wants students to own their learning. Which, as Heather Clarkson says, is exactly what Cary Academy wants each of its students to do every single day.

That’s why CA has been growing its experiential programs – like Work Experience during Discovery Term and offering more experience-based options for required classes in the summer – in addition to continuing mainstays like the sophomore World Language Exchange. And it’s why faculty push students to apply to semester and post-grad programs. It’s not just about doing something cool or different or challenging; it’s about students exploring interests in ways they can’t on campus.

“I wanted to take a really big risk. I didn’t know much about myself at the time. I needed High Mountain to learn about and reflect on who I am.”

“We know we can’t fit everyone’s needs here in four years. So there’s incredible power in students saying, ‘I want to try this,’ and in going out on those big adventures. They get to learn about themselves and learn from others,” Clarkson says.

To her, that newfound ownership and self-discovery is rewarding for both students and CA. Students who go on these journeys, she notes, “are braver and know how to step outside of themselves and ask questions from multiple viewpoints. When they come back, they have a new ability to see beyond the frame of Cary Academy and to really understand experiences different from their own.” And that thinking spreads from student to student to student.

Just ask Liz Jones. After High Mountain, she would encourage her friends to turn off their phones, so they could enjoy living in the moment with one another. For her, the main goal for enrolling in the program had been to challenge herself in a way that she never had before.

“I wanted to take a really big risk. I didn’t know much about myself at the time. I needed High Mountain to learn about and reflect on who I am.”

All that happened – and then some. And she’s sharing her knowledge with others and carrying it with her through the rest of her high school years and beyond. Liz is now more thoughtful
about the way she affects the world around her, and she’s no longer afraid
to be openly curious.

Plus, as she puts it, “I try to think more about things that actually matter, that are truly important. There’s no need to turn something really small into something
big – chances are there are bigger obstacles to face.”

After all, spending six weeks trying to survive the wilderness has a way of giving you some perspective.

Now, it seems, there’s no mountain too high for Liz to climb.

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