CA Magazine
Spring 2020
FEATURES
The Promise and Perils of Artificial Intelligence
The dizzying rate at which AI is being adopted, mostly behind the scenes, has meant that wariness has accompanied increasing public awareness. In this article, four CA alumnae/i discuss the technology’s potential, as well as the urgency of considering human outcomes and unintended consequences as it develops.
Concord Academy in the Age of Coronavirus
This spring, much of the world stopped. This historic moment required CA to adapt quickly (one of our strengths, as the chameleon teaches us), and we have benefited from being guided by our mission during a time of fear, sorrow, and great uncertainty. Learn about how CA is maintaining community and mission across physical distance.
ALUMNAE/I PROFILES
Naomi Ko ’91, P’21: Treatment for the Whole Person
Growing up in an immigrant household, Naomi Ko ’91, P’21 observed what it meant to her Chinese-born parents to be American: hard work and a steadfast commitment to integrating into American culture. As a senior at Concord Academy, Ko took a class with Kevin Jennings called American Culture and Identity.
Ben Mirin ’06: Listening to the More-than-Human World
A scientist, artist, educator, presenter, and National Geographic Explorer, Ben Mirin ’06 travels the globe recording animal sounds for research, which he also samples to make music that inspires conservation. In addition to creating and hosting the digital and television series Wild Beats on National Geographic Kids and Nat Geo Wild, he is a graduate research fellow of the National Science Foundation and a graduate student at Cornell University.
Eliza Miller ’94: A CA Alumna on the Pandemic’s Front Lines
“We are all Covid-19 doctors now,” says Eliza Miller ’94, M.D. The vascular neurologist and clinical researcher is also an attending neurologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, where the neurological intensive care unit and stroke units have been filled with Covid-19 patients.
2020 Centennial Hall Fellow Anita Lo ’84 Shares Insights on Food, Culture, and Community
On January 22 and 23, Concord Academy honored acclaimed chef Anita Lo ’84 as the 2020 Centennial Hall Fellow. At the Boston Public Market, Lo offered a cooking experience for fellow alumnae/i, and in her Hall Fellow Lecture at CA, she told her life story and discussed the importance of food to culture and in creating communities where people can belong as they are.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES
A Look Inside CA’s Classrooms, Online
The closure of CA’s campus in March presented a challenge for CA’s admissions cycle. To help welcome a new class in the fall, CA faculty and students have recorded videos about the courses they teach and activities they’re involved in. They have also shared course syllabi, examples of student work, and current senior projects.
Sustainability Spotlight: Prof. Robin Wall Kimmerer on What the Earth Asks of Us
In a down-to-earth talk with the CA community, Professor Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, spoke about what the earth asks of us in exchange for the gifts it provides. This inspiring discussing was part of the school’s focus on sustainability.
Elizabeth Temin ’86: A CA Alumna on the Pandemic’s Front Lines
Elizabeth Temin ’86, M.D., M.P.H. is an attending physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine in Boston. She is also an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is now treating Covid-19 patients at Mass General.
Concord Academy Welcomes Alumnae/i Back to Campus for the Annual Alumnae/i and Students of Color Conference
On February 22, Concord Academy hosted its annual Alumnae/i and Students of Color Conference. More than 20 individuals — 12 students and 11 alumnae/i — took part in the event. A panel discussion took up the topics of race and equity at CA across decades, and in small group breakout sessions, alumnae/i and students discussed the influence of a CA education on the college experience, considered a sense of belonging at CA, and reminisced about what drew them to this school. View a group photo.
CA and the 1619 Project: Contemplating the Enduring Legacies of Slavery in American Life
In fall 2019, the CA community took time to consider the significance of the arrival of slavery 400 years ago in what came to be the United States, and how that history continues to shape American life. A student-led assembly and an evening panel discussion engaged attendees in grappling with this most difficult legacy and offered a window into some of the impactful ways history is taught at Concord Academy.
CAMPUS STORIES
Identity Matters in Language Learning
The Spanish for Heritage Speakers course, which launched in fall 2019, offers students language instruction tailored to the specific needs of students who grew up speaking or hearing the language at home.
Playing Hard, Playing Kind
CA’s boys varsity soccer team captures EIL and NEPSAC titles. This was the third NEPSAC championship title in the past four years for CA, following recent championship wins for girls squash and boys cross-country. The boys varsity soccer team has advanced to the NEPSAC tournament in five straight seasons, seven times in the last eight years. It won EIL titles in 2017 and 2019.
“Origin Stories” Exhibition Showcases Creative Work by Alumnae/i and 30 Years of CA’s Photography Program
Origin Stories, an exhibition at the Concord Free Public Library in February, curated by CA photography teacher Cynthia Katz, included recent and retrospective work from 22 Concord Academy alumnae/i, all of whom were students in CA’s photography program and now work as professional artists.
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