When the north carolina council of teachers of mathematics awarded john noland the 2019 state math contest coach’s award, no one was surprised–except, maybe, john noland. Social media posts announcing the award were flooded with dozens of comments and well wishes from students, parents, alumni, and colleagues alike.
It’s a good bet that if you ask most people what their favorite subject in high school was, few will say “math.” For many, high school math was something to survive, an abstract concept typified by memorization and regurgitation and absent a link to the world beyond the classroom. However, no one who has learned math with Noland, during his 12 years at Cary Academy, would share that opinion.
The son of an environmental engineer and an accountant, math was always present in Noland’s life, its impact on the world around him apparent. His father’s work illustrated the importance of data collection and developing predictive models, while his mother’s fluency with finances showed him the relevance of math to everyday life. An avid chess and board game player, he saw mathematical influence in the games he played every day.
Ironically, though, Noland didn’t see a future in math for himself. When he began work on his undergraduate degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Noland felt the need to capitalize upon his parents’ investment in his education. Concerned that a career in math might not be lucrative, he pursued an interest in computer programming and embarked on a computer science degree.
He soon realized, however, that the program’s heavy emphasis on electrical engineering—something he didn’t love—meant that he would be “blowing a lot of things up, and not in a good way.” In the end, he returned to math, realizing that the lifelong pursuit of his passion was value enough.
An unexpected value
It wasn’t until grad school at the University of New Hampshire that Noland found his true calling, while working as a teaching assistant in night school classes for adults. Though not the advanced multivariable subject matter that typically interested him, working with this group stirred a passion for teaching—and for making a tangible impact on his student’ lives.
His greatest enjoyment came from removing the discouraging stigmas and anxieties that students often encounter if they struggle with a math course.
“Many of my students didn’t think they were good at math,” explains Noland. “I realized that if I could help them overcome that— if I could help them to believe in themselves— it could open so many doors and make a real difference in their lives.” He adds, “That’s what keeps me going. It is what I still try to do in every class with my students at CA.”
Noland quickly found that rote memorization, while perhaps leading to better test scores, didn’t necessarily lead to true understanding. Instead, he found the key to helping students succeed was to relate math back to real life, to things that people could picture being useful.
“Anyone can learn rules, but to understand why and how math is useful in day-to-day life is the key to ‘getting it.’” A prime example plays out in Noland’s Calculus II class, where he challenges students to model the impact of various retirement savings strategies, teaching real-world financial literacy alongside the value of scenario modeling.
“What really excites me is showing how to use math to model something that students might not understand. The process of using math as a language to interpret what’s going on in the world around you—it is really powerful.”
Harmonic Progression
When Noland arrived at CA in 2008, after teaching in Wake County Public Schools for a decade, he focused on teaching that skillset—using math to decode the world and solve problems—to boost CA’s extracurricular math competition and chess club programs. “The tools were here; it just needed better utilization,” he offers.
An avid player, Noland sees chess as a way to teach both short-term problem solving and how to develop longer-term strategies for success. His successful opening gambit for improving CA’s chess club—which possessed talent but lacked focus—was to encourage more student participation in competitions and recording their moves to analyze later, collaboratively.
By shifting the math competition program to a formal class held during the school day, Noland reduced conflicts with other extracurricular competitions, such as debate. He created a space for students interested in problem solving to grow their skills and acumen, via games and collaboration.
Whether teaching advanced math, chess, or computer programming, Noland’s game-centric approach underscores his core teaching philosophy. “I think the more students can view hard math problems as something like a hard puzzle to solve, the more easily they are able to find a level of challenge where it feels fun to push themselves,” explains Noland.
“When you enjoy something and you’re willing to do it, it’s amazing how much you can grow and accomplish. If something feels like a chore, no matter how smart you are, it’s really tough to get it done.”
Games aren’t everything, though, and Noland is constantly refining his approach to meet students where they are. He recalls that his favorite Middle School math teacher’s game-centric approach meant that students like him, who exceled at quick response games, received more attention than his peers.
“I saw students—often the more thoughtful kids—get discouraged when they were left behind by rapid-fire teaching. It made me love math, but it also made me think critically about how we teach it. I realized that perspective really matters.
“No matter how well you think you’ve explained something, you have to understand that students don’t see things the way teachers do. Communication has to be both ways. My students have definitely helped me see problems and solutions in different—sometimes better—ways.”
Noland’s 2017 Discovery Term class, Math in the World Around Us, showed how math is useful in solving everyday problems, including escape rooms.
Multiplicative Identity
Noland’s time at CA has been defined by collaborative learning opportunities. He cherishes learning new math skills and teaching insights at the annual Teaching Contemporary Mathematics conference. Team teaching Calculus I and II alongside his US math colleagues, Craig Lazarski, Kristi Ramey, and Shelton Shepherd provides him new perspectives. Co-teaching advanced computer programming with CA seniors helps him rethink the classroom experience—offering opportunities to even learn from his students to improve his understanding of machine learning.
Across all his endeavors, Noland is committed to creating personal, flexible, and relevant learning opportunities for his students. The innovative Advanced Calculus III course that Noland pioneered at CA and co-teaches with North Carolina State University faculty is just one such example.
In Calculus III, CA students pursue collegiate level mathematics while benefitting from the hands-on attention found in a high school classroom. “It helps divert some of the difficult collegiate experiences to a place where students have support, rather than facing them on their own,” explains Noland.
And that student support is crucial to Noland. He credits his children, Jack ’21 and Emma (a 9th grader at Enloe High School) with developing his empathy for the stress and workload that Upper School students sometimes carry across classes. For Noland, modeling understanding is as important as meeting goals: “I try to balance flexibility and accountability; sometimes life intrudes. It’s more important that they get to the point of learning the lesson, even if means missing a deadline or metric.”
Mathematics aside, what does Noland most hope his students take away from his classes? Resiliency, perseverance, and an enduring belief in themselves.
“Learning how to learn, how to change your perspective, how to persevere, focusing on what you want to achieve, even if it takes patience, learning how to face and rise to challenges—those are game-changers,” smiles Noland. “I want them to remember that someone encouraged them to keep going and believed in them, even if they didn’t think they would succeed—that’s what teaching is all about.”
Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager
When reflecting on events of the last academic year, many well-worn phrases spring to mind. Unprecedented challenges. Uncharted territories. Unpredictable futures. Amidst so much uncertainty, however, an unwavering absolute: CA’s enduring resiliency, creativity, and commitment to our mission—to discovery, innovation, collaboration, and excellence—to each other, and our broader community.
Discovery
At CA, we teach our students to lean into discomfort. To look for the learning opportunities. To own and leverage their strengths. And to embrace challenge and adversity as an opportunity for further discovery, growth, and positive change. It is through this same introspective lens that we—as an institution and community—have approached the challenges presented by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Success in the face of the crisis—with its requisite shift to virtual teaching, learning, and working; a decrease in face-to-face instructional time; loss of in-person social interactions; and a heightened focus on wellness in all its forms—demanded new perspectives and insights into our traditional programming and curriculum. It led us more quickly down the path to creating the competency-based learning environment envisioned in our strategic plan.
“The need to pare down our curriculum to essential learning goals jump-started the process of establishing core competencies for our students in each content area. And the challenge of securely testing in a virtual environment led many teachers to experiment with more project-oriented ways for students to apply their learning and demonstrate their mastery,” points out Dean of Faculty Martina Greene. “Both represent major strides toward our strategic goal of transitioning from a content-driven to a skills-based approach, and that makes room for a lot more student voice and choice.”
Sheer necessity helped to cultivate an increased sense of flexibility, openness, and tolerance of change that would prove remarkably productive. Guided by our mission, we made fruitful discoveries—uncovering unique opportunities to advance our strategic plan further and benefit our students and community. What could have been a stagnant period became, instead, one of creative and lucrative experimentation, showing us new—perhaps even better—ways that we could teach, work and learn together.
“Change is only as difficult as you want it to be,” offers math department chair Craig Lazarski, reflecting on one of his key takeaways from the last year. “Often, we are paralyzed when thinking about what possible changes may do to our existing paradigm. This has taught us that we can try new things, to not be afraid of the unknown.”
Unfettered by conventional constraints and open to change, a laser-focused discovery process lent momentum and new urgency to a host of forward-thinking ideas—many of which had been long under consideration as part of our larger strategic plan. The later start times and new hybrid schedule that will debut in the fall are just two such examples of pivotal and promising changes on the horizon.
Designed to maximize student wellness, the new schedule reflects lessons learned from our pandemic experience and is informed by research around stress reduction and student wellness—including the importance of sleep and the need to ease cognitive load by reducing transitions and task switching throughout the day. Blending synchronous on-campus learning with asynchronous and synchronous off-campus virtual and experiential learning opportunities, the new schedule also offers a full “flex day” to provide students and teachers alike unscripted, dedicated time to pursue various projects.
“Our new weekly schedules in both divisions actually improve on our prior schedule and enhance opportunities for experiential learning,” enthuses Experiential Learning Director Michael McElreath. “The flex day and what it can do for teaching and learning at CA is huge—I can’t wait to see how we use it!”
Innovation and collaboration
Innovation has always been at the heart of CA, denoting the vital role that technology plays in our learning community. Without question, our existing technological infrastructure and fluency played an integral part in our successful virtual pivot.
Information Services agilely launched a new institutional platform for teleconferencing—Zoom—that would be instrumental in our virtual learning efforts, while simultaneously grappling with heightened demands around online security and access. Students and faculty alike experimented with transformative new digital tools like Flipgrid. And faculty delved into the advanced features of OneNote and Microsoft Teams to find the best ways to engage students, foster personal interaction and connection, and provide feedback online.
While crucial, CA’s pandemic innovation did not start and end with technological implementation, however. Rather, it was the driving force behind a highly collaborative effort to create an engaging curriculum that sought to translate all aspects of a well-rounded CA experience into an engaging virtual one.
Recreating advisory programming and student club experiences. Organizing virtual field trips, guest speakers, and online cultural exchanges with students from across the world. Improvising makeshift sporting equipment to create agility and obstacle courses at home for PE classes. Figuring out how to design art projects around the unconventional and natural materials students might have at home. Devising socially-distant ways to support student emotional and physical health (Zoom yoga, anyone?). Honoring important milestones with meaningful and heartfelt digital celebrations. And countless other examples—far too many to list here—illustrate the many ways our community rose to the occasion with bold, outside-of-the-box thinking and adjusted on the fly with remarkable resilience and good humor.
Despite these numerous virtual “wins,” we developed a more profound appreciation of the in-person relationships that form the heart of our community—and which ultimately grounded and facilitated our virtual efforts. However, the crisis also demonstrated that our bonds are strong enough to sustain us while we are physically apart.
“The bonds we formed with our students allow us not just to persevere, but to flourish when we are only together on computer screens,” offers Upper School science department chair, Heidi Maloy.
Whether Zooming in for community lunches with leadership, participating in a virtual alumni meetup, getting the family out for the first-ever virtual 5K, or donning Charger gear for online Spirit Week, innovative virtual community-building efforts helped to nurture that important sense of connection.
And, as is the CA way, our innovative and collaborative energies did not end at our virtual campus. They were also channeled into helping others, particularly as the virus lay bare the stark inequities, heightened needs, and challenges facing our broader community.
Prohibited from in-person service-learning opportunities, Delta Service Club—the Upper School’s service-learning club—collaborated to compile a list of socially-distant ways to make a difference (https://bit.ly/DeltaServiceClub). Using CA’s 3D printers, Middle School math teacher Leslie Williams partnered with North Carolina State University to print much-needed, FDA-approved personal protective equipment (with many others in the CA community following suit). And stories shared by alums highlighted the many ways Chargers collaborate and innovate for the greater good even after they leave campus—from working on the frontlines of the crisis to launching fundraising campaigns to support their community to developing new technologies that address COVID-related challenges.
Excellence
While we can say that our experimental virtual pivot was a success, our enduring commitment to excellence demands that we not rest on our laurels. Instead, we continue to push the envelope, to strive for improvement and growth, and to flex further to meet our students’ needs.
That’s why, this summer, our hard-working faculty dedicated three weeks of their well-deserved vacation to intensively redesign their curricula for a hybrid approach to course delivery, building a strong digital core that serves as a virtual home base for learning, whether students are on-campus or off. Developed using the same design thinking approach we teach our students, the digital core incorporates lessons learned and newly-discovered best practices gleaned from recent months. It is designed to offer all CA students a high-quality virtual learning environment that complements our physical learning environment and reflects the academic rigor, innovation, and holistic, personalized, relevant learning for which CA is known.
Our commitment to excellence also demands ongoing efforts to evolve into the best versions of ourselves individually, as well as the best version of our community. In the face of adversity and undeniable evidence of the division and inequities within our broader community—it demands we find ways to work across differences, to work for equity, and to support each other and our broader community with inclusivity, empathy, and kindness.
To that end, over the next year, we will also be actively engaging in ongoing anti-racist and equity work as a community. Together, we will work to ensure all members of our community feel valued and known for who they are, and can fully participate, lend their voice, and be heard with respect and compassion.
As we prepare to welcome students back to campus and attempt to plan for the unknowns of the next year, we rest assured not only in the lessons learned from recent months, but in those reaped from a twenty-four-year tradition of discovery, innovation, collaboration, and excellence. We are well-prepared for the challenging opportunities that lie ahead. And, with clarity of vision, mission, and values, we will continue to learn, grow, persevere, and thrive, together, no matter what 2020-2021 brings.
CA FUND KEEPS D.I.C.E. ROLLING DURING T3
Our commitment to discovery, innovation, and collaboration in the pursuit of excellence never wavered during the spring trimester. Our ability to lean productively into our mission and find success was made possible, in large part, by the generosity of our community and the unrestricted resources of the CA Fund.
Flexible CA Fund dollars granted us the freedom to think creatively and outside of the box while still preserving CA’s fiscal health during these unforeseen circumstances. It allowed us to seek out, unhindered, the most innovative and student-centric solutions to challenges wrought by the pandemic.
As a result, we were able to seek out the best technological and digital tools to foster secure, easy collaboration—whether advancing group projects, sketching out curriculum, hearing from the Head of School, or participating in a virtual variety show. And support a technological upgrade for Berger Hall that allowed us to better live stream events, such as Baccalaureate and the Upper School End-of-Year Awards, to your phones, laptops, and tablets.
The CA Fund supported our community by protecting our faculty and staff’s job security, alleviating stress, and allowing for unwavering focus. It allowed us to launch a new program—the CA Emergency Tuition Assistance Program— to provide financial support to those families that were negatively impacted by the crisis.
Written by Mandy Dailey, Director of Communications
What do you get when you combine design thinking, tenacity, resiliency, and agile problem-solving with the pursuit of innovation in the name of social change and global good? For a group of enterprising CA students, an eye-opening and award-winning foray into one of the most prestigious youth entrepreneurship challenges in the world: the international Conrad Challenge.
Last fall, rising seniors Sarah George, Ritvik Nalamothu, and Clay Thornton approached the Center for Community Engagement with a big idea to support budding entrepreneurs. Their goal? To launch a club that nurtured student innovation and business acumen by facilitating participation in global entrepreneurship challenges.
A natural extension of CA’s existing Entrepreneurship Initiative, the students’ proposed Startup Challenge Club earned a quick approval, with Entrepreneurship Coordinator and English teacher Palmer Seeley signing on as faculty mentor. The nascent club would go on to attract an intrepid group of 18 Upper School students who immediately set their sights on the prestigious international Conrad Challenge as their target competition.
While ambitions and excitement were high, as first-time competitors entering alongside a field of over 300 teams the world over, many seasoned veterans, no one was quite certain what to expect for CA’s inaugural teams. But, after a tumultuous year of trial and error, ups and downs, and virtual pivots, a fantastic display of CA ingenuity and collaboration brought impressive results: one finalist team and one alternate finalist team, one well-deserved award, one patent pending, three student-led burgeoning businesses, and countless lessons learned.
Rising to the Challenge
Sponsored by the Conrad Foundation, the Conrad Challenge is a prestigious annual, multi-phase, global innovation and entrepreneurship competition for students aged 13-18. Named in honor of Apollo 12 commander, astronaut Pete Conrad, the Challenge asks students to work in collaborative teams to create products and services that address pressing global and local challenges.
According to Seeley, “The beauty of the Conrad Challenge is that its whole mission is to empower students to become entrepreneurial problem-solvers—to design the future with a hands-on approach that addresses challenging scientific and societal issues. Like CA’s on-campus entrepreneurship initiatives, such as the Drink Cart Challenge and forthcoming Café and Student Store, the key to success is utilizing creativity, critical thinking, and thoughtful problem-solving skills.”
Challenge teams tackle any number of issues across a series of established industry categories, including Aerospace and Aviation, Cyber-Technology and Security, Energy and Environment, Health and Nutrition, Re-purposing Farmlands and Tobacco Crops, Eliminating and Reducing Teen Vaping, and Transforming Education through Technology.
Innovation is the name of the game. Teams are encouraged to think outside of the traditional box—the Challenge touts its “no-box toolbox” approach—and to start with a “clean sheet approach.” In other words: the sky’s the limit, and no solution is off the table (provided, of course, that you’ve got a well-researched pitch to back it up).
The first phase of the Challenge requires teams to craft just that: a detailed proposal outlining the issue they seek to address and a proposed solution. Successful pitches offer a broader situational analysis of the larger market landscape, providing insights into anticipated challenges, strategies to overcome them, and how the idea is unique.
For Mila Patel ’21, Natasha Sachar ’22, Sonia Shah ’22, and Ella Gupta ’23—the driving force behind Team Nexkap, it was a daunting first step.
Initially overwhelmed by the expansive list and blank slate model, Team Nexkap opted to cast a wide net of research across all the industry divisions. Ultimately, they settled on the Repurposing Farmlands and Tobacco Crops category, which had personal resonance for the native North Carolinians.
Rather than simply falling back on an existing or preconceived product idea from the start, they took a problem-first approach and set out to develop a nuanced understanding of the market and challenges at hand.
“Tobacco is North Carolina’s longtime cash crop, but health concerns and changes to the tobacco economy have put tobacco farmers in dire straits,” explain the four members of Nexkap. “USDA data shows a greater-than 50% decline in the tobacco economy; a decline which disproportionately affects small family farms and a considerable number of farmers of color.”
THE BEAUTY OF THE CONRAD CHALLENGE IS THAT ITS WHOLE MISSION IS TO EMPOWER STUDENTS TO BECOME ENTREPRENEURIAL PROBLEM-SOLVERS—TO DESIGN THE FUTURE WITH A HANDS-ON APPROACH THAT ADDRESSES CHALLENGING SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIETAL ISSUES.”
With a clearer understanding of the problem they were solving for, the team shifted focus to investigate possible solutions. After a few weeks of research, a breakthrough arrived when Patel—Nexkap’s CEO—discovered an article about tobacco seed oil while researching old wives’ tales. It suggested that tobacco plants could reduce inflammation, heal wounds, and soothe skin irritation.
Intrigued, the team began investigating the biology of the tobacco plant. They soon discovered that the oil from a tobacco plant seed contains a large amount of linoleic acid, a compound recently approved by the FDA to treat common skin issues, such as eczema, hypopigmentation, blisters, sunburns, and acne.
A product idea began to form.
“We started to see how an all-natural, tobacco seed-based cream was unique in the skincare market and how it could solve a significant economic problem in our community,” says Shah. “Bringing to market a cream with a high concentration of linoleic acid will create a new export opportunity for tobacco farmers and will ultimately reinvigorate tobacco communities.”
Encouraged, the team turned to consider their audience, only to realize that their product could also address an inequity in the marketplace. As women of color, they were familiar with the limited number of products available to treat the unique skincare needs of darker-complected people, who are more likely to experience acne and hypopigmentation and react adversely to corticosteroids.
Thus, Nexkap—a universal body cream developed with the skincare needs of teenagers of all skin tones in mind—was born.
“By intertwining the cosmetic and tobacco industries, we felt that Nexkap encompassed our backgrounds,” says Patel. “We chose the name Nexkap—derived from the Greek word for tobacco, καπνός—because we see this as the next chapter for the tobacco industry.”
Meanwhile, their peer teams were similarly making progress. Setting their eyes on the Health & Nutrition category, Team Boxide focused in on a solution for on-site surgical equipment sterilization in remote parts of the world. Team CannStrips looked to reduce the lethality of cannabis vaping with the development of a pH-like strip that users could use to test their bootleg electric cannabis cartridges for Vitamin E oil, a deadly inhalant. Team WrappedUp, set out to transform sexual education with a mobile app that coupled sex-ed curriculum with geo-location, providing users with information on where to find condoms near their location.
From idea to invention
Ultimately, first-round judges advanced all four CA teams to the next round. Invited to submit a strategic business plan, the teams turned their attention to fleshing out their ideas to determine what it would take to bring their product to market.
Initially, Nexkap encountered struggles that often come with blazing a new trail. Incorporating tobacco seed oil in cosmetics was a novel idea in skincare, requiring the team to delve into complex scientific concepts to better understand the scope of their product concept and its feasibility.
“The unconventionality of our product is what made it unique,” says Patel, “but it also forced our team to go through a seemingly eternal discovery process— a process that at times made us feel as if we were writing a research paper.”
In the end, after numerous trips back to the drawing board and countless revisions, their efforts paid off. In February, the team received a short email carrying a big message: they had been selected as Conrad Challenge finalists, alongside 36 teams from Australia, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and across the United States.
“It was surreal,” agrees Sachar and Patel. “At that moment, the significance of the Challenge started to sink in. Nexkap had moved from being an idea to an invention.”
Team Boxide—comprised of Jay Sagrolikar ’21, Vibhav Nandagiri ’21, Kathryn Chao ’21, Paul Ibrahim ’21, and SCC Co-President Nalamothu—also received good news. They were named alternate finalists in the Health & Nutrition category.
As part of their preparation for the third and final round, Nexkap started provisional patent applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Center for Community Engagement collaborated with the NCCU Law School Intellectual Property Law Clinic to provide guidance and feedback to the team as they prepared their patent applications. Nexkap is officially patent-pending, which Gupta describes as “a unique opportunity that was extremely cool.”
Going virtual
As finalists, the teams were scheduled to present their final pitches in April at the Conrad Innovation Summit at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Unfortunately, as they prepared for the intense Q&A sessions that awaited, the coronavirus began sweeping across the United States. The Summit was delayed until the end of May, shifting from an in-person meeting to virtual sessions.
“Although this was a set-back, our team adapted,” says Sachar. “We learned a lot about the patent process and how to produce a persuasive, virtual marketing pitch,” notes Shah. Their pitch was so persuasive, in fact, that they won their category’s Power Pitch Award—presented to the team that makes the best presentation.
Award aside, and despite the less than ideal conditions, the opportunity to connect virtually with fellow entrepreneurial students, industry experts, and forward-thinking and experienced mentors from across the globe proved invaluable for Team Nexkap.
“It brought the exhilaration and creativity we had longed for,” explains Patel. “With our pitch video, an executive summary, and a patent, we were bringing our product to a small part of the world. After meeting virtually with lawyers and CEO’s, I no longer felt like just a student, but truly an aspiring entrepreneur.”
“The opportunity to meet other students from all around the world was amazing,” adds Gupta. “I now have connections in the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and other states, from California to Virginia. Talking to, and learning about, my fellow finalists was extremely inspiring. I wouldn’t trade my Conrad experience for anything.”
Team Nexkap isn’t resting on their laurels. As Gupta explains, “we are in the process of finalizing our formulation and establishing test groups for our product,” with Shah adding, “I’m excited to see what the future of Nexkap looks like.”
Similarly, the future looks bright for the other members of the Startup Challenge Club. Team Boxide continues to develop a business model for their plan to expand access to on-site surgical equipment sterilization in remote parts of the world. While Team WrappedUp, encouraged by feedback from Conrad Challenge judges, sees potential for a considerably expanded initial market, given the changes wrought by COVID-19 and increased demand for cost-effective, digital education opportunities.
“When I look back on what has grown out of that pitch to start a new student club and see where it has taken not only Nexkap, but all the CA students interested in entrepreneurship, I’m amazed, but not surprised,” reflects Entrepreneurship Coordinator and Student Challenge Club coach Palmer Seeley.
“Giving students the opportunities to explore what challenges are out there and the guidance to help them discover new paths and solutions is at the heart of what we do. And it’s exciting to see how the connections they’ve made and the fresh perspectives they provide have sparked new ideas and energy.”
Indeed, student-driven learning opportunities have always been a hallmark of the CA experience. CA’s extensive and diverse roster of student clubs—all the product of student interest, advocacy, and leadership—is an integral part of campus life, offering ample opportunities for students to connect, pursue passions, broaden horizons, explore interests, build relationships, and take calculated risks in the name of learning.
In 2019-2020, Cary Academy offered more than 40 clubs in the Middle School and over 70 clubs in the Upper School. From intersectional affinity groups such as the Gender and Sexuality Alliance to the Christian Affinity Group, to step team, to Science Olympiad, and many in between, student clubs are all made possible by financial support from the CA Fund, which picks up where tuition dollars leave off.
In Middle School clubs, a student might opt to produce the daily CAST News broadcast; strengthen community in Student Leadership; get moving in Just Dance; learn All About Animals; stay flexible and fit with Yogalates; enjoy Tea Time; explore the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, tend the Community Garden; or make a green difference through Upcycling—just to name a few.
Upper School students might get prepared with emergency first responders as members of the Community Emergency Response Team; explore culture and imagination in World Building; promote authentic learning by Shifting the Educational Paradigm; ensure that Charger athletes benefit from the X-Factor of fan support; Share the Music with members of the on- and off-campus communities; take the pulse of campus with The Campitor; and serve the community in meaningful ways through Delta Service Club.
Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager
CA’s largest-ever Model UN team makes strong showing at conference
Welcome to academic year 2020/2021—an admittedly not-so-typical year.
Under the best conditions, this is a busy time of year for the PTAA. Typically, we would be arranging face-to-face events to welcome parents and students to campus, hosting welcome dinners, and handing out popsicles as a treat after the handshake ceremony. Our goal? To set the foundation for our collective year, to connect with each other, to build our community, and to support each other—our fellow parents, students, faculty, and staff.
While COVID has undoubtedly brought many changes—requiring significant modifications of our behavior for our safety and the safety of our community—it has not altered our mandate. In fact, I would argue that the PTAA’s inclusive community-building efforts are now more important than ever. The pandemic has showed us how very much we need each other.
This year our entry will look a little bit different. Rest assured, however, we will collectively rise to the occasion and, together, figure out how to navigate and thrive in this new reality.
After all, we’ve already proven that we can.
Last May, as our seniors were faced with missing out on traditional events–Prom, Graduation, and Baccalaureate—the CA community rallied. Leadership, employees, and volunteers worked together tirelessly to figure out innovative ways to celebrate and honor, not only our seniors, but our milestone classes. Videos were assembled, congratulations signs were secretly delivered, yearbooks, roses, certificates, and swag were placed in car trunks during celebration parades as teachers, employees, and administration cheered on the students from socially-distanced positions. Air high fives and the obligatory mic drop signified the beginning of summer with the anticipation that school would begin in August.
Was it easy? No, it wasn’t.
Navigating a pandemic safely while trying to connect a community is not easy, but it can be done, and done well (and with fun and–dare I say it–joy). Just as we did last spring, we’re leaning into the remarkable resilience and creativity of our community to find new ways to interact and connect.
Flexibility has been our operating system these last few months. And the requisite outside-of-the box thinking that COVID has necessitated has unearthed a silver-lining: there are now more ways than ever to participate in the CA community and to do it on your own terms, in ways big and small, that feel safe and doable for you and your family.
Will you join one of CA’s parent affinity groups to share your perspectives and experiences and lend support to each other? Or participate in a virtual book club, unpacking a text and discussing themes that are particularly relevant to our community and times? Perhaps you’ll Zoom in for a Town Hall to stay abreast of how our community is adapting or submit questions for our new “Keeping Chargers Connected” bi-monthly discussion series (stay tuned for more details on that front). Maybe you’ll tap into a personal passion and volunteer to lead a Health and Wellness sub-committee or propose an altogether new initiative.
Not finding something that speaks to you? Suggest something; we’re all ears. In fact, our two most recent committee offerings—CA Connected and Environmental Sustainability—were proposed by passionate parents that saw a community need that aligned with their interests.
The bottom line? It requires all of us to uphold our community. This year, I invite you to tune in. Be present. Jump in as you are able. Change, inspiration, resilience, and a thankful community await. Together, we can do more than weather this not-so-normal year—we can thrive.
Last year marked a monumental milestone for Cary Academy, as numerous, long-planned campus improvements came to fruition. Made possible, in part, by generous private support of our first-ever capital fundraising effort—the Campaign for Cary Academy—each renovation, addition, and upgrade reflects our strategic plan and vision for student-centered, future-oriented learning.
LIBRARY FOR THE FUTURE
As CA works towards creating more personalized and flexible learning environments, it seemed obvious to prioritize a library renovation in the Master Facilities Plan. Construction began in summer 2019, and the community celebrated its completion last winter at the PTAA’s Taste and Toast in January.
The approach to the library renovation reflects a reconceptualization of the library itself. In addition to being a quiet spot to conduct research or study, the library is now also an inspiring hub for collaboration and community-building with functionally-diverse spaces that meet a variety of student needs and personal learning styles.
Want to work together in a group? Pull together the plush seats under the rotunda and collaborate with your peers. Need some peace and solitude to study? Choose from the solo seating options in the new designated quiet area on the second floor. Ready to put design-thinking to work and take a team project to the next level? Head for one of the glass-enclosed conference rooms that now line the second floor and tap into built-in screens for easy sharing or whiteboards for brainstorming.
That flexible, forward-thinking vision is one that parents Greg and Dana Hinn could get behind. Greg fondly recalls his own quality time spent studying in Philips Hall at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Upon learning their family could contribute to providing a similarly valuable community space for CA students, Greg and Dana jumped at the chance.
“While touring Cary Academy last fall, we learned of the planned library renovations, including the study rooms that allow small group collaboration.
We decided to donate to the Campaign for Cary Academy to assist the school in offering a quiet, beautiful study environment to students. Between 2016 and 2025, we will have seen three children graduate from Cary Academy. We consider our contribution as a legacy in their honor to benefit all CA students.”\
A “LATTE” NEW SPACE
Arguably, one of the most exciting features of the newly-renovated library is CA’s new café and store. In addition to offering a community-building hang-out spot, the cafe and store will serve as a learning lab for entrepreneurial students.
Rather than studying marketing and branding, human resources, and supply- chain economics in an isolated classroom, our students will have opportunities to gain expertise by participating in real- world business decisions in the café or bringing their products to market in the store (under the supervision of a manager and teacher, of course).
A bonus of the renovation? You no longer have to traverse campus to pick up the latest CA swag. The Charger store is located within the café, giving visitors— whether parents, alumni, or community members—a chance to sip, shop, and purchase CA branded t-shirts, mugs, and, eventually, student-developed products.
MAKING MAGIC IN THE MAKER SPACE
Featuring state-of-the-art laboratories, an enormous maker space, greenhouse, versatile working spaces, and classrooms, the construction of the 24,000 square foot Center for Math and Science (CMS) might be the most transformational infrastructure project undertaken during the Campaign for Cary Academy.
Michael and Melissa Colantuoni are two of the many parents who recognized how the CMS would enhance the hands-on scientific inquiries and mathematical modeling that prepare our students for college and careers.
“We love that CA is still new, its history still being written by the students, faculty, and parents,” notes Michael. “Giving to CA’s first capital campaign was an impactful way to directly support and provide unique learning opportunities, not only for our children, but for their classmates, and for graduating classes for years to come.”
Joe and Sevanne Epperson were also moved to make a difference in the CA community. Inspired by maker spaces they saw during college visits, the Eppersons were intrigued by the potential of establishing a similarly-outfitted space at CA—one centered around interdisciplinary discovery and innovation. Working with Director of Technology and Innovation Karen McKenzie, and Upper School Design and Programming Teacher Betsy McDonald, they developed a plan to equip the 2,400 square foot maker space with the equipment, tools, and supplies needed to conduct research, design machines, and even create art.
“We were excited for the opportunity to contribute to the maker space and to help fund the incorporation of advanced technology into the hands-on learning environment,” offer the Eppersons. “Students from across CA—from the arts to robotics— now have a resource similar to what they would find at the university level.”
Last year, these state-of-art 3D fabrication tools—including 3D printers for high-quality, high-fidelity, rapid prototyping, and an abrasive waterjet and laser cutter for precision cutting and engraving—were put to good use. CA’s robotics team has flourished, designing, and building (and sometimes tearing apart and rebuilding) robots that have performed well in competitions across the region. CA even hosted our first FIRST Tech Challenge Tournament last winter—sure signs of more expansion to come.
Per the original vision, the maker space also supports multi-disciplinary and cross- departmental projects. This year, it served as a backdrop for set design for theater arts, a collaborative data visualization project that bridged visual arts with statistics and calculus, and even the creation of CA-branded keychains for the Admissions department.
FUNCTIONAL, FUN FITNESS
The Campaign for Cary Academy touched nearly all areas of campus, not just our dedicated learning spaces. Thanks to the financial contributions of Ralph and Gizelda Willard, we now have a top-notch strength and conditioning center where students, employees, and alumni alike can pursue their personal wellness goals.
“We were watching a baseball game with Dr. Ehrhardt after a tour of campus, which included the weight room. He mentioned that more than 85% of our students are involved in interscholastic sports,” says Ralph.
“With a campus as innovative and thoughtful as ours, we couldn’t believe that our students’ only outlet for fitness and wellness was in a crowded, windowless room with antiquated equipment. We saw a need for all students to have ready access to quality training and fitness instruction in a modern, spacious environment. We knew this was an area we would be excited to support.”
Today, visitors will enjoy a vastly different experience than that witnessed by the Willards on their first tour. Capitalizing on the unused real estate of an adjacent office and storage closet, the expanded strength and conditioning center offers users ample space for coordinated, sport-specific workouts. An astroturf floor and new state-of-the-art equipment provide everyone the tools needed to achieve their whole-body wellness goals. And a separate glass-enclosed sports medicine room allows for treatment and rehabilitation of injuries in appropriate privacy.
TRACKING OUT
Our track underwent a significant upgrade over the summer of 2019. CA is now home to one of the best tracks on the East Coast, featuring an Olympics-quality MONDO surface.
“The older I get, the more I appreciate how my time at Cary Academy positively impacted my life,” explains Bryan Fisher ’03, who made a significant contribution to the project. “And my experiences with Coach Hall and fellow teammates and running cross country and track were probably the most impactful. For that reason, I was excited to be able to support the construction of the new track.”
Offering a uniform dynamic response to runners, the technologically-advanced MONDO surface is designed to help athletes go faster and farther without as much wear and tear on their bodies.
Made of all-season performance material, it also means that environmental and climate factors—like the rainy spring season—will no longer impede our athletes’ ability to practice and compete.
IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT
CA is fortunate to be supported by a generous community. Together, they helped to bring our Master Facilities Plan to life, moving it from blueprint to drywall, brick, and mortar. And while infrastructure projects may not always seem as enticing as other programmatic impact opportunities, they are crucial. They allow our programs to flourish and our students to reach their fullest potential.
When we are able to safely welcome everyone back to campus, we invite all our community members to stop by to enjoy all that your support has made possible. Visit the Charger store and pick up gifts for family—or yourself. Try the special Port City Java roast blended exclusively for CA. Or get a tour of the CMS building and maker space. We look forward to showing you around.
CAMPAIGN FOR CARY ACADEMY CROSSES THE FINISH LINE
When construction for Cary Academy broke ground in 1996, the entire campus was built and opened within a whirlwind 18 months. With classrooms designed around personal desktop computers and labs featuring state-of-the-art equipment typically reserved for collegiate spaces, it reflected innovations that were, at that time, ground-breaking; it was a school like no other.
Impressive as it was, the all-at-once construction revealed a challenge. As our campus buildings and equipment aged on the same timetable, needed improvements emerged simultaneously—from routine maintenance needs like new roofing, carpet, and furniture to more substantial technological and infrastructure upgrades required to keep us on the cutting- edge of innovation.
Thus, almost twenty years after our campus opened, as the 2015 strategic plan began to take shape, so too did CA’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign. The Campaign for Cary Academy was born, comprised of two related fundraising efforts. The first, a capital campaign, sought to raise a lofty $10,000,000 to support mission-driven capital improvements. The second, an annual giving effort, aimed to increase CA Fund giving to $2,000,000 over five years.
Over the past five years, parents, grandparents, alumni, employees, board members, and members of our extended Cary Academy community have stepped forward. Thanks to this effort, we officially crossed the Campaign finish line this spring, not merely meeting our fundraising goals, but far exceeding them in a truly inspiring display of generosity.
In total, the Campaign secured an astonishing $13,205,692— reflecting more than 10,000 individual gifts, 45 of those representing commitments above $25,000—for capital improvements, including new and renovated campus buildings, as well as upgraded educational and technological equipment, and an expanded financial aid program. CA Fund giving yielded $2,598,661 in flexible dollars that have enabled us to remain responsive to our community’s needs.
“We are truly humbled and deeply moved by the success of the Campaign for Cary Academy. Our community’s dedication, commitment, and generosity have helped to secure the future of our campus and community, ensuring that our physical environment continues to reflect and support our mission,” reflects Director of Development Ali Page. “From all of us at Cary Academy, we extend our deepest heartfelt thanks. We look forward to seeing the fruits of your generosity reflected in the exciting discoveries, innovations, and personal, relevant learning experiences that our students and faculty will enjoy in the years to come thanks to your contributions.”
Written by Mandy Dailey, Director of Communications
As Jared Carson learned at CA, when it comes to sustainability, it’s often the little things we do as individuals that add up to the biggest community impacts. At CA, our efforts to reduce our environmental footprint and increase our sustainable practices come from every corner of campus.
The newly formed Middle School Green Club is looking at ways to reduce campus waste. They aim to reduce printing by at least 25 percent through an information campaign that advocates utilizing smaller fonts, double-sided printing, and electronic distribution of materials.
The Sustainability Committee of the Upper School’s Delta Service Club has worked with Upper School science department chair Heidi Maloy to revitalize the garden behind the Center for Math and Science; volunteered with NC State to help realize their goal of a zero waste football gameday; screened the documentary An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power for interested students; and spun plastic yarn from plastic bags to create sleeping pads for distribution to local non-profits that support people experiencing homelessness.
The CA SEEDS Club has been working to increase the amount that we compost and reduce trash and recyclable use. The club has created new signage and re-thought the arrangement of waste bins in the Dining Hall to reduce bottlenecks and promote better waste practices. From the beginning of the school year to February, CA has diverted 20,287 pounds of food waste to the compost pile, avoiding 2,368 pounds of methane production (nearly as much as 400 cars produce in a week).
Sustainable dishes and utensils are already in use in the Dining Hall, but their use is becoming more widespread throughout campus. The new café features paper straws and compostable cups. And all CA employees have been provided reusable tumblers in order to enjoy their beverage of choice with a minimal environmental impact.
For the first time, Taste and Toast utilized 100 percent reusable drinkware and dishes. And Ubuntu’s International Café used compostable materials, diverting more than 2,700 plates, 1,700 utensils, and 325 gallons of waste from the landfill. For future events, the PTAA has stocked 40 reusable table covers that will reduce the use of single-use plastic tablecloths for events of all sizes.
When we return to campus, a joint effort between the PTAA’s new Green Committee and CA’s Business Office will encourage parents to turn off their car engines while waiting to pick-up or drop-off students during carline.
Finally, our Business Office has worked with Wake County’s Habitat (Re)Store and the Public Schools of Robeson County to provide furniture from classrooms and the Dining Hall for reuse, rather than disposal.
Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager
A sustainable energy advocate, Jared Carson (’08) is in the future-selling business—one major corporation, one bank of electric vehicle charging stations at a time.
Currently, Carson works for sustainable energy giant Enel, in their Enel X e-Mobility division. There, as an account executive, he helps corporations think broadly about their ecological footprint with an aim of helping them to future-proof their operations.
Carson’s commitment to environmental sustainability is a passion that he traces back to his time at Cary Academy. More specifically, he credits Upper School science teacher Heidi Maloy’s Advanced Environmental Studies class as inspiring his future career path.
“I didn’t fully realize it at the time, but that class connected the dots for me between the actions we take as individuals and the ecological world around us. It made me understand that small impacts matter—they add up. It made tangible the many impacts the built environment has on the world,” muses Carson. “It was definitely a launching point to my career.”
His CA launch would ultimately set him on a trajectory that would result, first, in a degree from North Carolina State University in Environmental Technology and Management, and later, a graduate certificate from the University of Boulder in Renewable Energy.
After graduation, Carson jumped into his job search, only to discover a remarkably volatile industry. “Clean energy was still in its early days; the industry was emerging and disruptive,” he explains. “Even with IPOs, companies’ corporate strategies weren’t baked. I had to change jobs multiple times. And after every leap I made, shortly thereafter, the team I had been on was dissolved.”
Leveraging primarily wind and solar power, Enel is one of the largest sources of renewable energy in the world and a major electric utility in Europe. Enel-X is their North American-based venture arm, focusing on retail sustainability solutions for consumers. “Enel-X is focused on distributed-energy solutions on the retail side of the electric meter,” explains Carson.
And just what are distributed-energy solutions? Carson says they are disruptive innovations—including solar arrays, battery storage, and electric vehicle charging stations—that have shifted how electricity is both generated and delivered. Together, they point to a more sustainable energy future.
“Energy was once mostly produced at large power plants, using unsustainable sources such as coal and nuclear,” explains Carson. “Electricity had to travel great distances across the grid before arriving at the point of consumption.” And that translated to unsustainable, polluting, inefficient, and expensive energy. Increasingly, however, more sustainable, green, distributed solutions are allowing for the decentralization of energy generation, spreading it across the grid. “Like, solar panels on a roof,” Carson offers as an example, “they generate electricity close to where it is consumed.”
And that proximity is important. It’s both greener and more efficient. Thanks to a reduction of electricity loss that would otherwise occur during long distance travel across the grid, as well as decreased infrastructure and upkeep costs, distributed solutions help to lower energy costs. The result? Smaller sustainable solutions that are increasingly scalable to new markets and affordable to new audiences.
Within Enel X’s e-Mobility division, Carson’s personal focus is on sustainable transportation. He’s responsible for lead generation and account management among Fortune 1,000 companies for Enel’s electric vehicle charging stations. It’s an exciting, future-oriented position that is not without its challenges.
“As much as vehicle charging stations are innovative—they aren’t always the most intuitive solution. People don’t get out of bed thinking about them, about why they might be important for the future,” he continues. “Where some of my clients are located, they may not even have electric vehicles on the road yet. Regardless, my role is to convince them that they need to plan for them, that they should take action now.”
He does so through a mix of storytelling, education, and salesmanship, crafting pitches that paint a compelling vision of the future, that offer connection to municipal programs to offset costs, and which relate green solutions to topics that are relevant to the target companies. That picture is getting a bit easier to paint thanks to some exciting new entrants to the electric automotive market.
“In the near future, there are innovative electric cars coming into the market from major automotive makers—from Ford, Chevy, Audi. It isn’t just Tesla anymore. And it isn’t just confined to California and the Northeast,” explains Carson. “Electric vehicles are on the cusp of turning mainstream.”
It’s an exciting time, with every pitch, every sale representing one of those small impacts that, together, add up to something transformative: a reframed conversation around energy use and the opportunity to carve out a better, more sustainable future. And that’s Carson’s true motivation.
“I don’t see a future scenario where we aren’t talking about electric vehicles. And that means we have to retrain people in thinking about how they get electricity and power” offers Carson. “We can’t continue to sustain conventional models of providing energy for the billions of people on the planet. We must become more innovative, more sustainable. Candidly? It’s just the right thing to do.”
Written by Mandy Dailey, Director of Communications
Community
ICYMI: What might social distancing look like in the fall
Death rays & grains of sand: The sweet science of a physics fight
April 20, 2020
Upper School physics teacher Dr. Matt Greenwolfe has a lot of faith in his physics students.
Even so, when he founded Cary Academy’s U.S. Association for Young Physicists Tournament (USAYPT) team five years ago, the idea of winning a USAYPT Championship seemed a far-flung dream. But after years of hard work, perseverance, and teamwork, he and his team of talented students can count it as a dream finally realized.
In early February, 12 members of CA’s USAYPT team*—Will Aarons ’20, Anna Cheng ’20, Colin Frazer ’22, Paul Ibrahim ’21, Myla James ’21, Owen Kadis ’23, Andrew Lake ’22, Matthew Modi ’20, Obinna Modilim ’22, Jay Sagrolikar ’21, Brian Wei ’22, and Colin Zhu ’20–traveled to the annual tournament in Exeter, New Hampshire. Led by Greenwolfe and fellow faculty members Charlotte Kelly, Dr. Robert Coven, and Dick Mentock, with assistance from Rachel Atay, and Betsy MacDonald, they were crowned USAPYT champions.
Greenwolfe is still smiling. “When the second-place team was announced, we all erupted. I had a physical, whole-body reaction, and a huge grin on my face. After trying for so many years to keep improving, we had done it.”
The U.S. Invitational Young Physicists Tournament is a prestigious international physics research competition and science debate tournament. Over the course of the year, competing schools research solutions to four complex physics problems, coming together to debate their solutions in front of a jury of professional physicists.
For 2020, the USAYPT problems involved measuring the length of one Astronomical Unit (the distance between the Earth and the sun), investigating Archimedes’ Death Ray, designing stable arrangements of spherical magnets, and exploring the physics of the apparent weight of an hourglass.
“For the students who fully commit themselves, the amount of physics learning that takes place through this program can dwarf what is learned in class,” offers Greenwolfe. “Plus, they get the experience of undertaking a legitimate research project–with all its ups and downs and frustrations–for a whole year. We have to learn from each setback, each surprising result. We have to persist—and that’s just what we did.”
Tournament competition consists of rounds called “physics fights.” A student from the reporting team presents a summary of their research into one of the tournament problems. Next, a student from the opposing team is charged with helping the audience understand the strengths and weaknesses of the report by means of a series of discussion questions. After this conversation is complete, jury members question the presenting students directly. USAYPT teams are judged as much on their ability to ask and answer questions in the physics fight, as the quality of their research and initial presentations.
After facing reigning champions Phillips Exeter Academy, perennial powerhouse Phillips Andover Academy, and a team from the Republic of Georgia, CA stood in third place after the first day of the tournament, securing a spot in the finals. When the dust settled at the end of the second day, CA stood atop the standings of the six finalist teams—besting Phillips Exeter and the Nueva School for the championship–on the strength of their original research, presentations, and questions.
In addition to top-notch mathematical physics, Greenwolfe credits his team’s hard work, teamwork, and deep engagement with the problems as contributing to their success. Rather than relying on simulations developed by professionals or online data sets, the team worked hard all year to gather their own data. They tested it against their theories and their own simulations, discussing and debating it amongst themselves every step of the way.
Ultimately, those efforts resulted in a deeper conceptual understanding of the problems and left them well-prepared for tournament debate. “We could reason and answer unexpected questions without going back to a reference or equation,” explains Greenwolfe.
“We were professional in our questioning of other teams; we were always respectful, persistent in trying to have a deep conversation about the physics. We never intentionally tried to expose flaws or embarrass the other team,” he offers.
And now that they’ve reached the pinnacle, what comes next? The team is already gearing up for next year’s tournament, which CA will host at North Carolina State University. And they’re already pondering next year’s problems and are ready to get to work.
*In addition to the 12 members of the traveling team, fellow team members Russell Burns ’21, Ryan Chen ’21, Felipe Chiavegatto ’20, Harrison Coman ’23, Dane Fekete ’20, Allen He ’21, Sedef Iz ’22, Grace Jaeger-Sandruck ’22, Marvin Koonce ’21, Max Li ’23, Sophia Liu ’22, Scott Matton ’20, Rin Mauney ’22, Ashleigh Smith ’22, Eric Wang ’20, Oliver Wang ’22, Leah Wiebe ’23, Eric Xing ’20, and Han Zhang ’21 also made contributions to the problem-solving efforts.
Written by Dan Smith, Digital Content Producer and Social Media Manager
Equity, inclusivity, and diversity have been core commitments at CA since the school’s founding. These commitments are resonant not only the school’s diversity mission statement and statement of community values, but are refected through the work of our strategic plan, our approach to programming, and, of course, by our diverse community itself.
This July, the CA community will welcome its frst Director of Equity and Community Engagement. Housed within the Center for Community Engagement, the role encompasses and expands the responsibilities of the former Director of Diversity and Inclusion.
The shift in title from diversity” to equity and community engagement is purposeful. It refects the shifting landscape of equity and inclusivity work and a more nuanced recognition that diversity alone is not enough; a diverse community is not necessarily an equitable one. The change signals CAs ongoing commitment to creating a truly equitable, inclusive, and diverse community where everyone has an opportunity to have a voice, be heard, and thrive. As we look to the future and the work ahead, some faculty and students had the opportunity to sit down and refect on some of the key moments and ways that CAs commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusivity has been manifested for them this year.
Student Perspectives
Cary Academy counts diversity and inclusion as one of the key tenets in building its programs, but how does that shape the experience of students, in and out of the classroom?
“It’s interesting to learn new things about other people’s experiences and passions… it creates, not only a deeper appreciation of your own cultural group, but an understanding where others come from… it helps you understand how you can connect.”
OM NAPHADE
For many students, participation in affinity groups — organizations that bring students together around a shared identity, be it race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or ethnicity — is one of the ways that equity and inclusivity work manifests on campus.
For Kaela Curtis (‘20), Om Naphade (‘20), and Clay Thornton (‘21), participation in CA’s affinity groups has been transformative, shaping their sense of self and community, providing
crucial support networks that help them navigate their world, and even shifting their ambitions and long-term plans.
“Affinity groups are an opportunity to connect and socialize with other students who look like you and get it,” explains Curtis, who serves as secretary
for the African American Affinity Group. “When I transitioned to CA, there was a major culture shock. Having peers who understood my experience and identity was extremely helpful.”
“At school, I had never been able to really talk about this part of who I am, until last year when I was able to join the Gender and Sexuality Alliance,” notes Clay Thornton, vice-president of the GSA. “I’m thankful that we have such an open and diverse LGBTQ community on campus. Some schools don’t have a GSA, or aren’t allowed to have a GSA, whereas we have 30 or more students who show up at every meeting.”
The size and diverse makeup of CA’s student body allows our affinity groups to be as varied and inclusive as the communities and identities that they encompass. Thornton expressed relief to find such diversity within the LGBTQ community at CA, noting that “a shared identity doesn’t mean we’ve all had the same experience or interests.”
Naphade, the event coordinator for the Indian Subcontinent Affinity
Group (ISAG), echoes that sentiment. He underscores that affinity groups are anything but monolithic; the cultural diversity within ISAG has led to a better
understanding of himself: “It’s interesting to learn new things about other people’s experiences and passions… it creates, not only a deeper appreciation of your own cultural group, but an understanding where others come from… it helps you understand how you can connect.”
In CA’s affinity groups, allies — students who do not share the same core identity as the affinity group, but respect, celebrate, and support their identity
and equality of rights — are welcome. Allies often bring different perspectives, insights, and backgrounds and can play a critical role in deepening dialog, building further connection for member students.
Curtis notes that inclusion of allies can spark discourse — around topics like conflict and microaggressions—that might not otherwise occur. “Sometimes, people will say something about you
to an ally [who looks like them] that they wouldn’t say to your face. That’s led to some tough conversations and
realizations that wouldn’t otherwise have happened,” she offers.
Recounting his experience at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), Naphade recalls being surprised to learn that some students of color at other schools had encountered obstacles in building affinity groups at their own schools: “I met students at other schools where they might be the only member of their identity group at their school. That made me realize how thankful I am for CA’s diverse community and for our allies. I ended-up mentoring students from other schools about my experience at CA.”
“UNDERSTANDING HOW LAWS AND INSTITUTIONS AFFECT OUR DAILY LIVES — IT’S HARD TO TURN IT OFF. ONCE YOU KNOW, YOU FEEL COMPELLED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.”
— KAELA CURTIS
Curtis, Naphade, and Thornton all lamented that sometimes equity and diversity work is perceived as “something you do, like a club.” “People don’t always understand that it’s bigger than that, that it is about being better people, making all of our lives better. That’s why we’re thankful for COEXIST; it does a lot of that work,” offers Thornton.
COEXIST, an intersectional student organization that advocates for diversity, inclusivity, and equity for the entire Upper School student body, is comprised of the leadership of all of Cary Academy’s affinity groups. Curtis explains that COEXIST serves as “bridge across different identities.”
It is a link that Thornton credits with strengthening campus-wide equity efforts, ensuring that students who don’t identify with an affinity group still have a voice in the conversation about diversity at CA. “If we are all only active in our own affinity groups, not knowing what else is happening on campus, or other groups’ perspectives, we might not be able to have a uniform push for issues of diversity and equity,” he explains.
CLAY THORNTON (‘21)
CLAY THORNTON (‘21)
OM NAPHADE (‘20)
COEXIST has supported the student body in times of crisis, working with affinity groups to foster campus-wide conversations about contemporary needs and concerns. Most recently, COEXIST is partnering with the Muslim and Jewish Students Associations to give students the opportunity to process the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. “It was really wonderful to see so many students from across campus at the talk,” beamed Curtis. “It felt great to be able to talk about white supremacy and have people understand how I felt.”
For Curtis and Thornton, the experience of being part of an affinity group has altered their course. “In Middle School, I was very much interested in STEM subjects, but being involved in all of this diversity work has me thinking much more about [working in] government and politics. I’ve been enjoying my history and English classes more,” says Thornton.
Curtis agrees, “I definitely want to be involved in issues of political science and public policy as a result of these experiences. Understanding how laws and institutions affect our daily lives — it’s hard to turn it off. Once you know, you feel compelled to do something about it.”
Last November, Upper School Dean of Students Donna Eason and Experiential Learning Director Michael McElreath were part of a CA team that attended the National Association of Independent School’s People of Color Conference (POCC) in Nashville, Tennessee; the group also took five students with them to the simultaneous Student Diversity Leadership Conference. Recently, they had an opportunity to sit down and reflect on their experience and why the POCC has become such an important professional development opportunity for CA faculty.
EASON: What I liked best about the conference was being in such a welcoming environment. While I was in the physical space, I could feel my body and emotional state relaxing. I didn’t feel like I had to be reserved or guarded; I didn’t have to “put my mask on.” There was such a sense of freedom. What was your favorite thing about the conference?
MCELREATH: It was being with people who were friendly and outgoing and a little less “buttoned-up.” I felt very included and welcomed in that space as well, even though it was made clear that if you were there and not a person of color, you were welcome as an ally, but this conference was not “about you.” In most places, I feel included automatically; I am glad that you had a chance to feel that way also.
EASON: I felt like my culture was being presented in this space, which is not always something that I get a chance to experience. In fact, remember the first day when they had the Tennessee State University marching band? I enjoyed it immensely because that is such an important part of an HBCU experience. You could just look around and see that everyone was enjoying it, not just people who were already familiar with it. It was something that I don’t often get a chance to celebrate in this kind of setting, especially at an NAIS conference.
Another instance that was very important to me, and I don’t know if this would be difficult for you to understand: in some situations, when it’s a particular ethnic or minority group, sometimes when you are experiencing something that’s so specific to your culture in a setting where your “group” is not the majority of the people in attendance, there is this worry that you’re going to feel embarrassed or that others will not understand it and ridicule it. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling and a very unfortunate one, but it does happen sometimes. At this conference, however, there was just a sense of comfort and acceptance among everyone.
MCELREATH: That’s part of what privilege is — never having to second-guess yourself or be ashamed about aspects of your culture.
EASON: Another thing that I found very interesting and could apply here at CA was a great workshop about African- American, African, and African-Caribbean differences. It was so eye-opening. Oftentimes, there are not enough people to divide up like that; we are usually placed in the “black group.” At the POCC, we were able to dialogue with each other and truly show that there is no singular “black experience.” We are not a monolith — we have differing concerns and interests. I learned about situations and ideas that I hadn’t even considered that were high priorities for others from different countries. And although we were grouped by countries in this session, we understood that these were individuals speaking, not spokespersons for countries. This helped me because we have the African-American affinity group at CA that includes many students whose parents or the students themselves are immigrants, and we need to make sure we maintain an atmosphere that is attentive to and addresses the needs and interests of all.
MCELREATH: Speaking of affinity groups, it was interesting to be in a space where we had the affinity group gatherings and one of the affinity groups was “White European Heritage.” There were over 1,000 white people there; still, it was something just to be labelled in a way that said, “Here’s the salient thing about you. You’re a white person — go over there!” That was a turning of the tables.
EASON: I was just wondering about the experience for you — when you did have an affinity group — because a lot of times at conferences you’ll see groups based on race, but the groups in the majority are not labelled by race as “white.” Did that feel different to have an actual affinity group that had a race label?
Some of the conversations we need to have in our community and our world require some level of discomfort to get to honesty, to get to improvement. Being uncomfortable some of the time is a necessary part of the journey. But, I do think that CA tends to feel like a safe space for me as an adult, and hopefully for mostof the students as well, to do that hard work as we try to model respect, integrity, and compassion.
— MICHAEL MCELREATH
MCELREATH: Well, you know my background studying race, so, no, it didn’t weird me out. However, it was striking that in one of those sessions I was with three colleagues from schools in Alabama and Virginia. They gave a litany of reasons why they felt like they had no chance of taking back things they were learning at the conference to their schools. It made me sad for them. It gave me the impression that CA—although we have many things we still need to work on—has actually come quite a way towards making our community fully inclusive. I heard some professionals basically saying, “I feel silenced because my institution does not want to hear what I have to say.” I have never felt that here, but I’m sure there are some at CA who may feel that way.
EASON: That happened to me too, when talking to other people. One thing that came up several times was affinity groups. I was pretty surprised at how amazed they were with what we have. I’ve always thought affinity groups are a great idea, and I do love the way we have incorporated them into our community. But to hear how other schools were in awe of how we’re able to do it — they might say, “well we might be able to get away with this, but not be able to do that”— like you, it made me sad, but also a little proud of what we’re doing. And I know we’re forever growing, but the fact that there is the opportunity to have something like affinity groups or discussions or things like that — it made me really want to join forces with other schools, to mentor schools in some areas, and be mentored in turn.
MCELREATH: That’s a good point. I think there are definitely things that we may know and could share, and then there’s also a lot that we could learn as well. I’m glad that we are a part of the Triangle Diversity Alliance. We do the yearly conference with them, but we could do more, and maybe we should make it a more regular collaboration. I’m excited to have our new Director of Equity and Community Engagement help us figure out how to do that.
EASON: And I’m excited about us really incorporating more discussions. Sometimes we shy away from certain topics, and I think with us having opportunities like the POCC & SDLC, and with both faculty and students coming back and sharing what we learned, we will start to have conversations that are difficult. But, it feels like we’re in a safe space to attempt it.
MCELREATH: I agree that we have to create the space for those kinds of things to happen, and also for them to be productive. I think sometimes people confuse being safe with being comfortable. Some of the conversations we need to have in our community and our world require some level of discomfort to get to honesty, to get to improvement. Being uncomfortable some of the time is a necessary part of the journey. But, I do think that CA tends to feel like a safe space for me as an adult, and hopefully for most of the students as well, to do that hard work as we try to model respect, integrity, and compassion.
Community Conversation
WELCOME, DANIELLE JOHNSON-WEBB
Danielle Johnson-Webb joins the Cary Academy community from the Montessori School of Raleigh, where she served as the Director of Enrollment Management. There she worked to create equitable recruiting policy and procedures to increase diversity within the MSR community. In service of that goal, she leveraged her equity and inclusivity training including her participation in programs like Deconstructing White Privilege, (Un)Privileged: The Cost of Being Poor at an Elite Institution, and From Diversity to Plurality to develop and implement training, curriculum, and programs in the areas of equity, inclusion, and justice for all employees. In addition to her experience with MSR, Danielle has a long history of working within independent schools including Duke School and Davidson Day School in various roles, ranging from faculty member to senior administrator. In addition to equity and inclusivity work, her varied experience includes teaching, enrollment management, development, and communications. Altogether, her experience affords her a unique and holistic understanding of independent schools that will undoubtedly inform and beneft her work at CA.
Outside of her independent school experience, Danielle returned to her alma mater, North Carolina Central University, as a commentator for the NCCU Sports Network and Time Warner Cable. In college, she was a member of the North Carolina Central University championship women’s volleyball program and the women’s basketball program. You’ll likely fnd her on the court and cheering from the sidelines next year as she gets to know our community.
In anticipation of her arrival, Chief Student Diversity Officer Lily Levin (’19) sat down with Johnson-Webb to discuss her perspective and vision for her new role.
WHAT IS YOUR MAIN PRIORITY WHEN WORKING WITH STUDENTS?
I want to know every student. I’d love to be able to walk down hallways and, even if we don’t have a daily exchange, know who you are. I want to get to know the school not just [in terms of] academics, but the social- emotional piece as well.
My first year I like to go to everything. I’m in the concerts, the sporting events, the clubs, the robotics competitions. That’s important to me, to be part of a community. It builds trust when students see that you’re not just there from 8am to 3pm, just for the job, but that you want to be part of their community.
One thing that’s also going to be important when working with students is grace. I think we’re in a time where students are so far ahead of adults that sometimes there’s not a lot of grace given to us. And, I think that that’s going to be one of my big topics… really working with students to say, ‘Give us a little grace, we’re learning, we’re not as advanced as you all, we’re not in it as deep as you all.
HOW WILL YOU ENGAGE INDIVIDUALLY WITH OUR VARIOUS AFFINITY GROUPS WHILE EMPHASIZING BOTH INTERSECTIONALITY AND FUSION?
Intersectionality is such an important thing. We often look at people one- dimensionally and we have to look at all aspects of an individual. Because each aspect can bring a different experience and we have to honor that.
I think it is important for you to have a group that you identify with and to have time with them, especially when you’re in a place where you may be the minority. But, I also want to have those bigger conversations of ‘let’s all come together, sit together, and talk and see how we can progress forward.’
WHAT UNIQUE AND PERSONAL ASPECTS OR EXPERIENCES DO YOU BRING TO THIS ROLE?
I started out in independent schools as a teacher. I was the only African- American teacher on staff; the other African-American adults on campus were janitorial staff. I remember thinking ‘Who do the black girls have to look to? Who’s in leadership?’
It’s always been my goal to be one of those people — someone that, not only African-American girls can look up to, but others as well — to say we have people of color in leadership in independent schools.
I’ve seen independent schools as a teacher and I’ve seen them as a mid-level and senior administrator. I’ve been in many different roles — my focus hasn’t just been diversity or equity or justice. I can see the school as whole. I think that perspective is a good one and it really helps when you’re doing equity work because it can be messy.
HOW WOULD YOU STRUCTURE THOSE IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT LEADERSHIP LOOKS LIKE AND YOUR ROLE WITHIN LEADERSHIP?
For me, when you have to have really hard, tough conversations, you have to build trust first.
You can’t just come in full force — I wouldn’t want anyone to do that to me. It’s about learning about the community. What is Cary Academy? How does it work?
I can’t just come in and say it should work this way — I need to observe . . . when you show interest in what others are doing and what they’ve done in the past, I think you build that trust. And then you can start having those conversations: What does leadership look like? Who should be involved? Are we doing enough? Are we represented enough?
Intersectionality is such an important thing. We often look at people one- dimensionally and we have to look at all aspects of an individual. Because each aspect can bring a different experience and we have to honor that.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH IN FIVE YEARS?
Looking five years out, I’m really excited about the community engagement piece. Cary Academy has done a ton of work in the community; it’s impressive. How can we continue that work? How can we expand it?
Also, the [student body] diversity numbers are higher here than most [independent schools], so focusing on making sure people feel good when they’re here. From the students I’ve talked to, they do. We need to continue that work.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION?
Cary Academy is a school of choice. It is a school and community that people want to be a part of. I love that aspect. I’ve always admired the fact that Cary Academy is not afraid to be bold and I really want to be part of a community where you can have these conversations and do this kind of work. I mean, [during the interview process] when I sat down with a group of students, I was blown away… I’m still thinking about it. I can remember every conversation that I had around that table.
ANYTHING YOU’RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT?
I’m excited about joining a new community and meeting new people. I’m really excited about the equity piece, what that will mean for students, and for those partnerships. And, I think that being part of an independent school and being able to engage the community and having the resources to do so is really big.
I’m also excited for the seniors that I interviewed with to come back and see me because you were all so impressive. I’m happy to be a part of this school that has amazing alumni and that we can see how you all do as we move forward. That’s most gratifying to me — when students come back and they’re just amazing beings.
Written by Mandy Dailey, Director of Communications
CA Curious
Welcome to the 25th Anniversary Year at Cary Academy!
