He/him
Day student from Needham, Mass.
Previous school: The Rashi School
What are you involved in at CA?
At CA, I am a Head Tour Guide and a member of the following clubs: JSO (Jewish Student Organization), Culinary Arts Club, The Scallion (satire newspaper), PacRats (technical theater), and more! I am also super involved with the arts and theater, on and off stage!
Why did you choose CA?
I chose CA because when I took my tour of CA, something became abundantly clear to me—that CA is not just a school. Yes, there are incredible classes, inspiring teachers, and more. However, as my tour guide explained to me, CA is also a tight knit community with an engaged student body fueled by a love of learning. The entire town of Concord is accessible to you. I chose CA because of all of this; and, I was pretty excited about the arts programming, too.
What is your favorite class you’ve taken at CA and why?
My favorite CA class I have ever taken is 10th grade English with Sabrina (yes, we call our teachers by their first name!). In this class, which is one of the rare courses that is required for every 10th grade student, we read poetry, the novels Citizen, The Great Gatsby, and more. Almost every day in class, we would arrive, say “hi”, and then spend the rest of the class period purely discussing what we had read. One of the reasons I loved this class so much is due to how much room there was for us to share our voices and ideas in class. The discussions we had were student-led, while simultaneously being guided by our teacher, Sabrina, pulling in examples and ideas for the conversation to revolve around. I was also able to implement the skills and knowledge into my life outside of school —from analyzing characters in shows I was performing in, to better understanding myself through the pastiche project. All these reasons, and more, are why this was one of my favorite CA classes I’ve ever taken.
Advice to prospective students?
My advice to prospective students is to just be yourself during the application process. I know it sounds corny, but it really is true. We all know how stressful applying to independent high schools can be. If you are just yourself, then you will find the perfect home for the next four years.
Anything else you would like to share?
As I shared in an earlier question, at the end of the day, all schools are schools. You will have classes, lunch, and coursework. However, at CA, “school” is much more than that. CA is also an active community of students and teachers/faculty that want to be at CA, and want to engage with what they’re doing, weekends full of exciting, and honestly really cool activities for boarding and day students, hundreds of clubs, afterschool time full of truly fun arts and athletics programming, and overall, an experience glued together, in every way possible, with common trust. It’s why I fell in love with CA when I was in your shoes.
