When Kevin Benjamin 鈥�91 arrived at 海角视频 from Queens, N.Y., the academic rigor and dorm setting were new to him, but the basketball court was familiar. Having honed his skills as a kid in New York City, he was the only 9th grader to make the varsity basketball team. 鈥淪ome great players took me under their wing,鈥� he remembers. 鈥�Corwin Allston 鈥�88 was like a big brother to me.鈥� 

His parents and aunt, Karen McAlmon 鈥�75, had encouraged him to apply to 海角视频 through the A Better Chance program, recognizing that his academic potential exceeded the opportunities he was likely to have if he stayed in Queens. At 海角视频, he found the intellectual stimulation he was seeking. Just as important were the social relationships that led to personal growth. 

Outside of basketball, he connected with peers through Harambe, an affinity group for students of color. With them, he felt immediate kinship. 鈥淲e were able to relate to one another and to build some semblance of home away from home,鈥� he says. He also made new friends whose backgrounds were unlike his. 鈥淥ne of my freshman roommates was from Indonesia, and the other was Korean-American,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e all came from very different walks of life. But we became a close-knit group, sharing our cultures and experiences.鈥�

Benjamin captained the varsity basketball team for the next three years, and he upheld the team culture created by those older players who had helped him through his first year. League championships followed, but it was always more about the fellowship than the score, Benjamin says.

Then came a pivotal game. 海角视频 was playing Lexington Christian Academy, whose roster included a young superstar the college scouts were watching. Benjamin scored 44 points, helping 海角视频 pull off a narrow victory. The scouts鈥� eyes turned to him. He was soon drawn to Pomona College in California, where he could continue playing basketball while pursuing an excellent education.

鈥淚 knew I was never going to be in the NBA, so I set my sights on a strong academic institution where I could continue my basketball career,鈥� Benjamin says. He played varsity basketball for two years at Pomona, then completed his degree at California State University, Northridge, where he majored in cinema and TV. 

After 15 years in film production and screenwriting, ultimately in the role of senior manager for distribution operations with Disney Entertainment, in 2025 he started his own company, Razzle Dazzle Entertainment. Currently he is working on a documentary honoring his younger brother, Casey Benjamin, a Grammy Award-winning musician, songwriter, and producer who passed away suddenly in 2024.

Basketball still plays a major role in his life, now through Venice Hoops, a community partnership he co-founded with other weekend warriors that offers drills, tournaments, skills camps, and scrimmage opportunities for basketball enthusiasts of all ages on Venice Beach, near his Los Angeles home.

鈥淪ports have always been a big part of my life,鈥� Benjamin says. 鈥淰enice Hoops is a chance to promote the fellowship and mentorship that has meant so much to me as an athlete. Whether in New York City, in Concord, at Pomona, or on Venice Beach, basketball has helped me learn how to communicate, how to demonstrate dedication and hard work, how to deal with pressure and make good decisions under stress. Those are skills that help in business, in family, in all segments of life.鈥�

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Throughout her school days, she found much that fascinated her. Long stretches at the pottery wheel offered 鈥渂eautiful oblivion,鈥� she remembers. Outside the studio, she played hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. Music鈥攑iano, guitar, and singing鈥攁ccompanied it all. She was equally immersed in academic exploration. In her junior and senior years, she joined an economics tutorial built around conversation and sustained interrogation of ideas.

鈥淵ou could imagine you were Joan Baez with the guitar, and then an economist,鈥� she says. 鈥淲ithout pressure to measure yourself against others, you got to try on a lot of hats.鈥�

The freedom was real, but so was the expectation that each experiment be taken seriously. 鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 fake it,鈥� she says.

Bucknell went on to Princeton, studied English literature at Oxford, then earned her doctorate in English and comparative literature from Columbia University. She built her life in England as a literary scholar and novelist. Her experience in Europe reshaped her perspective. 鈥淎merica is so insular,鈥� she says. 鈥淟iving in a foreign country is both humbling and expanding. That bit of abrasion as you gain a broader understanding is healthy.鈥�

For many years, 海角视频 receded into the background of Bucknell鈥檚 life, but that changed at her 50th reunion last year. She found herself connecting with classmates she had not known well. Listening to their stories, she says, she was struck by how they had 鈥渓ived their lives unafraid and authentic, not flinching from getting older and wiser.鈥�

Having seen how her peers had held to their values, Bucknell grew interested in reengaging with the school. In conversations with Head of School Henry D. Fairfax, she found that 海角视频鈥檚 mission still resonates with her. 鈥淚 recognized it,鈥� she says.

As a way to bolster that mission, she established the Katherine Bucknell Maguire 鈥�75 Study Abroad Fund, which helps students take part in weeklong travel programs or attend school for a semester or year outside of the United States. She especially intends this endowment to support students who might otherwise be unable to afford to study abroad. 

Bucknell hopes they鈥檒l benefit from a balance of freedom and challenge, just as she did鈥攁nd that they鈥檒l be open to seeing where experiencing a different culture might lead them.

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When did your passion for movies start?

I鈥檇 always enjoyed movies, but I had never thought about them in an academic context until I started taking classes with Justin Bull P鈥�25 鈥�28 and fell in love with film at 海角视频. Justin had all of these Film Comment magazines, and I just loved reading the film criticism in those. My best friend, Dani Girdwood 鈥�11, and I did an independent study to make an unscripted hybrid documentary-narrative short film. We were going to grow up and be directors (she just directed her first feature, by the way). My skill set was more in writing, but I applied to college as a film major because of Justin鈥檚 classes. It鈥檚 so rare to have a full film program in high school. When I tell people about it now, their jaws drop. 

How did you break into this field?

When I took a film criticism class in college, I remembered, oh, that鈥檚 something a person can do. I had figured I鈥檇 end up in academia or work in the film industry in some capacity, but film criticism was the dream. I went back to school and earned a master鈥檚 through a cultural reporting and criticism program at NYU. Then I got my first big entertainment writing job at the Daily Beast.

What’s it like to be a film critic?

It鈥檚 lots of fun. I go to screenings and some film festivals and cover for various outlets, not just the Times, though I鈥檝e had a weekly assignment for seven years. I watch a lot of documentaries, but it鈥檚 a total hodgepodge. The more you watch, the more well-versed you are in the current film landscape and in film history, so it鈥檚 been kind of a project: to watch everything I can. There鈥檚 a robust film scene in New York. I see myself in the world of film enthusiasts鈥攖hinking about films, analyzing how one piece works in the larger cultural landscape. 

How do you approach reviewing?

I don鈥檛 think about being a tastemaker. It鈥檚 just my take. I鈥檝e studied film and bring some expert knowledge, but I also bring my own sensibility and biases. I鈥檓 making something when I鈥檓 writing, just like the filmmaker is making something. For the Times, I usually have only 250 to 300 words, sometimes longer for a big movie. I had to train myself to write that short. Now it鈥檚 become a precision exercise to pick the most salient things to say. One of the guiding rules of criticism is to take a movie on its own terms. My voice will start to echo the tone of the film. If it鈥檚 a comedy, I can be more playful. If it鈥檚 a serious drama, I鈥檒l take it more straight. The only movies I really go hard on are huge studio releases. I would never be cruel to a first film or an indie.

What鈥檚 the best writing advice you ever got?

When I was in graduate school, a lot of people were saying there are no writing jobs, there鈥檚 no money. Someone told me, 鈥淭here are never any jobs, there鈥檚 never any money, but there is always a dearth of good writing. So if you have a strong voice, your writing will be read.鈥� That really helped me refocus on improving my writing rather than positioning myself for a job, which was a lot healthier for me. Just focus on the work and what you love doing.

Describe an ideal trip to the cinema.

I鈥檇 watch an Ernst Lubitsch movie, To Be or Not to Be. It鈥檚 an audacious, hilarious World War II comedy. I鈥檇 bring all my friends. From the concession stand, I鈥檇 get Sno-Caps, Junior Mints, and a large Diet Coke. You know, this movie is so underseen. It would make a good 海角视频 class, about how Lubitsch approaches comedy: The Lubitsch Touch. I鈥檓 going to pitch this to Justin Bull.

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鈥淚n my career, my successes have come from making things that should have existed,鈥� says writer and director Adam Goldman 鈥�04. 

An avid theater student at 海角视频, once called 鈥渋conoclastic and contrary,鈥� he realized he was better at creating works than reading parts in plays. Goldman graduated from Bard College with a BFA in theater and has created a web series, a scripted podcast, and, in 2025, a foundation to support the next generation of queer filmmakers.

His first major project, The Outs, appeared on Vimeo for two seasons beginning in 2012. He describes it as a simple story about an emotionally wrenching breakup between two men. More challenging at the time than writing a series featuring gay characters was selling the public on the idea of a streaming series. 鈥淚t was a moment when people were saying to me, 鈥楴o one wants to watch TV on their laptops,鈥欌�� Goldman says. But he and co-creator Sasha Winters disagreed, and they 鈥渕ade a bet that if you make something good, people will want to watch it.鈥�

Netflix launched House of Cards, considered the first major success by a streaming network, a little less than a year after The Outs debuted, and Goldman had his proof. Not only did people watch his show, they also responded to it on a profound level. Goldman鈥檚 early fan mail included a note from a Mormon teen in Utah. 鈥淗e said that watching The Outs showed him a version of life that allowed him to imagine a possible future for himself,鈥� Goldman says.

He soon learned that The Outs had at least one very high-profile fan after stage and film icon Alan Cumming tweeted about it. 鈥淚 freaked out,鈥� Goldman says. 鈥淥nce I calmed down, I tweeted back to Alan, and we made plans to get together for coffee.鈥� Cumming asked to be written into a scene, and the two have been friends ever since. When Cumming co-hosted the Tony Awards with Kristin Chenoweth in 2015, Goldman was a scriptwriter for the broadcast.

Goldman鈥檚 next major project was Hot White Heist, a scripted podcast series picked up by Audible in early 2020. 鈥淩ight after we shook hands on it, the pandemic lockdown began,鈥� Goldman recalls. 鈥淪uddenly, all of these major actors were trapped at home with time to do smaller projects. We put together an incredible cast that included Bowen Yang, Cynthia Nixon, Margaret Cho, Tony Kushner, and Sir Ian McKellen. It started out as a very silly and jokey premise, but underneath it was a serious question about what queerness means and how it is evolving.鈥�

Despite the high visibility of stars like Yang and Nixon, as well as the popularity of series that center on gay relationships, from Schitt鈥檚 Creek to the recent breakout hit Heated Rivalry, a tide of repression has been sweeping through the media and the arts, Goldman says. Major studios including Disney, Amazon MGM Studios, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery are publicly dialing back their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and even critically acclaimed shows from queer creators haven鈥檛 been renewed. GLAAD鈥檚 2025 Studio Responsibility Index reports that the top 10 major film and TV distributors released 250 films in 2024, of which 23.6% include at least one LGBTQ+ character鈥攁 decrease of nearly 4% from the previous year. 

Timing is critical. That decrease in investment in queer film and TV now will impact the next several years of media production. 鈥淨ueer media is in crisis,鈥� Goldman says. 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 enough just to write roles for queer characters. We need to make it possible for young, early-career queer filmmakers to break into an industry that is increasingly hostile toward them.鈥�

This realization led him to embark on his most recent endeavor, the Necessary Foundation, which provides funding and mentorship to emerging filmmakers in the LGBTQ+ space. 鈥淚 was in a state of utter despair after the second election of Trump,鈥� Goldman says. 鈥淎nd then I came up with the idea of starting a foundation.鈥� Cumming signed on as a co-founder, as did Yang and actor, writer, and producer Lena Waithe. 

The Necessary Foundation aims to help creators reflect the full spectrum of experiences for the queer community. It will provide financial support for young filmmakers to tell the stories they want to tell, without worrying about appealing to the mainstream. Grant recipients will also gain on-set production experience. 鈥淲e will help them to get into film festivals and generate publicity,鈥� Goldman says. 

The foundation鈥檚 focus is still on fundraising, but the founders鈥� vision is that the community will rapidly grow into one that can sustain itself, with past recipients helping future ones. Goldman says, 鈥淲e will help these artists grow into industry-leading talents.鈥�

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His interests converge in the intersection of music and artificial intelligence. At NYU, Kundu founded the GenAudio & AI club, an interdisciplinary group that studies the intersection of AI and music technology. GenAudio established partnerships with commercial music tools to encourage creative use of generative AI technologies at the school.

Music technology is also his research area. For his capstone project in NYU鈥檚 Music Technology program, he conducted a pilot blind-listener survey to compare perceptions of human-made and AI-generated music, using songs from one of his advisors, Grammy winner Mr. Sonic, in the genres of Latin trap, reggaeton, cumbia nortena, and garage pop. He also presented the methodologies at Sony鈥檚 technology conference in March. While this research is still ongoing, Kundu found that in certain genres, some listeners may prefer AI-generated music 鈥渂ecause it feels more unique,鈥� but that many still nonetheless favor a touch of humanity. Regardless, he adds, 鈥渨hat we鈥檙e seeing is that people do have ideas about what AI-generated music is going to sound like.鈥�

Will AI overtake artistry? 鈥淵ou have to approach that question with nuance,鈥� Kundu says. 鈥淭here are legitimate concerns, particularly around data scraping and copyright. It鈥檚 a very complicated issue, but there are also creative benefits.鈥�

As a digital music producer, he points to the creative assistance that AI offers, for example, for creating a melody or drum pattern. More important to him is assistive production technology, which extends to mastering and mixing tracks. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e an artist who knows how to compose a song but not how to make it label-ready, let鈥檚 say you use a mastering algorithm that鈥檚 tailored to you, trained on reference tracks you select,鈥� he says. 鈥淪uddenly, you have a near-record-ready release that you can then send out to people who can help your career.鈥� 

Kundu began producing digital music in his 9th grade year at 海角视频, where, in addition to programming and engineering clubs, he was active in the Producers Club. He had been playing piano for years and sang in a cappella groups, but he says creating digital music became an ideal creative outlet as he adjusted to his new school and tried to find his place.

Early on, Kundu assumed he鈥檇 go into computer science or become a mechanical engineer. His trajectory shifted midway through that first year at 海角视频, when he released his first song. 鈥淢y friends would play my song in the Pit, and I鈥檇 get embarrassed, but it was nice. There weren鈥檛 that many people who released music, so I became someone who was known for that.鈥� 

He remembers an influential film scoring class he took with Nate Tucker as well as a class on digital storytelling with Kirsten Hoyte P鈥�22 鈥�24, where he explored how sound interacted with other media. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 sure what I was transitioning into, but I had a lot of support from my friends and the faculty,鈥� he says.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been on the train that music tech is the way to go,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f it weren鈥檛 for getting introduced to Ableton through the Producers Club, I wouldn鈥檛 have developed this skill set.鈥�

He advises students interested in music technology to follow their curiosity. 鈥淭ry to take as many classes as you can, but also don鈥檛 be afraid to explore on your own and show what you鈥檙e doing to other people,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd post publicly about the work that you鈥檙e doing. This helped me a lot in cultivating recognition of GenAudio and the other initiatives I鈥檝e been part of.鈥�

The post Serving on the International Sound Awards jury, Rithik Kundu 鈥�22 Traces His Love for Emerging Music Technology Back to 海角视频 appeared first on 海角视频.

As corporation counsel, Firestone leads the City of Boston Law Department to provide legal services to Mayor Michelle Wu, the city council, and city departments. In that role, he advocates for and defends the city in all legal situations, from everyday issues impacting the city to litigation that involves the United States Supreme Court. 

His office handles legal issues including housing and land use, procurement and contracting, labor and employment, and regulatory compliance鈥攚hile promoting accountability and fair delivery of city services. Firestone explains that the office deals with 鈥渃ore representational issues every day, whether it鈥檚 city maintenance or our obligations to provide an excellent education in the public schools.鈥�

As a current junior at 海角视频 who commutes from Boston, I interviewed Firestone to learn more about his involvement with the city I am fortunate to call home. Throughout our conversation, we spoke about the 海角视频 experiences that led him to become involved with local government, the inspiration he draws from his current role in the City of Boston, and our interests in Boston broadly and in our shared neighborhood of Jamaica Plain. 

At the heart of Firestone鈥檚 introduction to political organizing was the mentorship of a teacher who brought the community to the classroom. He credits former history teacher Bill Bailey, who taught a course on American politics and government. He says Bailey 鈥渨anted us to all get active in politics鈥� and introduced him to the importance of participation in local and national elections. 

Firestone remembers clearly when he and fellow 海角视频 students volunteered for the New Hampshire presidential primary in 2000, which he defines as 鈥渁 really major moment for people of my generation.鈥� That election revealed the importance of civic action, and he recalls learning how critical it was for him and fellow students to be involved in local campaigns: 鈥淭hat was my first experience as a high school student being involved in politics, and I鈥檝e been active ever since.鈥�

Firestone鈥檚 first official role in city hall was as an intern on the Boston City Council for a 海角视频 senior project, where he worked in a councilor鈥檚 office serving the Allston-Brighton neighborhood. His early career experiences included federal legislative work and leadership roles in labor and academic policy organizations. He then held key positions in the Massachusetts Attorney General鈥檚 Office, rising from assistant attorney general to chief of staff. He also managed major political campaigns and voter protection efforts at the national level, prior to serving in senior leadership for the City of Boston.

Firestone鈥檚 commitment to the city is longstanding and authentic. Living in Boston himself, he explains how valuable the city鈥檚 assets are to residents: 鈥淲e have incredible cultural resources here, co-located in Boston because for generations in this community, individually and collectively, we have invested in building and sustaining institutions. Whether it is museums, universities, or hospitals, they have a tremendous impact on the economy of the entire region, and in fact, really shape the economic and cultural life of the entire Northeast.鈥� 

As local institutions face increasing federal funding and policy pressures, Firestone points to ways the City of Boston can support them. 鈥淏oston has a really critical role to play at this moment,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e need to stand shoulder to shoulder with [organizations] and recognize the collective value that we provide for the residents of Boston and for the entire region, and for the world, frankly.鈥�

Firestone is proud of his commitment to the city. As a teen, however, envisioning making a political impact or becoming a catalyst for change can feel distant or intimidating. I asked Firestone how students should approach advocacy and politics, as this involvement can oftentimes seem confined to more experienced political leaders. 

鈥淎t a time when politics globally and nationally can seem so fraught, divided, and far away, there is tremendous opportunity for engaged young people to see their passion and their work and their beliefs reflected in their local communities,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hether that is supporting a candidate for local office or attending a community meeting about an issue affecting your own neighborhood, these are great ways to experience the reality of the political process and ones that are available to students in high school.鈥�

The experience Firestone had with volunteering at 海角视频 is still available to students today. 海角视频 continues to provide opportunities that develop our passion for making change in our communities. From 海角视频 Students in Action (海角视频SA) to the more recent Positivity and Light Society (PALS), 海角视频 supports students who strive to be, as Firestone describes, 鈥渃onnected to the world around them.鈥� 

For Firestone, public service is most meaningful when it remains closely connected to everyday life in the community. 鈥淥ne of the great things about working in local government in a city where you live and where you have kids in the schools is you have a real, immediate connection to the residents and to the work that you鈥檙e doing,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a fulfilling way to practice public service. I feel very lucky.鈥澛�

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This November, Rhee and Hettinger helped organize Reimagining Elite Higher Education, a three-day conference in New Haven, Conn., that brought together around 300 students, alums, and faculty members from 68 colleges and organizations. The event examined how universities could rebuild public trust while addressing inequality. At 海角视频, the discussion connected directly to themes explored in Dasgupta鈥檚 class, including governance and political theory. Rhee, a chemistry major, said he felt disillusioned with the culture of corporate recruiting at college. He expressed a desire for more students to prioritize community impact over maximizing the return on their investment in their degrees. 

After taking a gap year to organize for the 2024 election in rural Pennsylvania, he began thinking more critically about the relationship between elite universities and civic leadership. While canvassing far from his college campus, he realized how few residents had been contacted or engaged at all. 

鈥淚t was really interesting to realize that people graduating from a lot of these Ivy League schools have a disproportionate amount of impact on this country, despite their limited interaction with their immediate communities,鈥� he said. For Rhee, leading the conference became a way to push back against that dynamic and help reshape campus culture. 

He collaborated with co-chair Hettinger, a senior from California studying psychology and education. As the first student from her public high school to attend Yale, she said perceptions of being an Ivy League student often felt polarized. Through co-leading the conference, she hoped to create space for more balanced discussion. 

鈥淚t didn鈥檛 feel like there was this nuance to be critical of the universities and understand their role and responsibility in building a lot of distrust in higher education while also recognizing the value of these institutions as places of learning,鈥� Hettinger said.

Throughout the conference, participants revised a draft document titled 鈥淎n Academic Social Contract for Our Time,鈥� proposing reforms such as ending legacy admissions, providing need-blind acceptance, encouraging investment in local communities, and preventing career funneling鈥攚here students are encouraged to be oriented towards certain types of careers from their first year of college.

Students in Dasgupta鈥檚 classroom raised questions about whether elite education increasingly determines social status in the United States. One student asked what happens to democratic life when educational prestige replaces other forms of status and belonging. 

Dasgupta connected the conversation to Marx鈥檚 critiques of institutions that reinforce class inequality. Students and speakers debated whether universities today continue to function as engines of social mobility or instead reproduce existing social hierarchies. 

The visit challenged students to think beyond higher education as a pathway to individual success and instead consider its broader role in shaping citizenship. Rhee and Hettinger represent a growing movement of student scholars advocating for greater societal accountability within collegiate learning environments. 

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We couldn鈥檛 have asked for more beautiful weather for 海角视频鈥檚 reunion on May 16 and 17, 2026. Around 250 alums returned to campus, most from the classes ending in 1 and 6, which were being celebrated, though alums from all years were welcome to attend. Since this reunion was held during the academic year, alums enjoyed several opportunities to engage with students as well as one another.

Saturday鈥檚 events began with student-led campus tours and a historical walking tour of Concord, Mass. Alums had the option to attend a class with a current faculty member. Science Department Head Will Tucker shared a lesson about critical moments of scientific discovery in the 20th century and their impact on global events, from his course on chemistry and the Cold War. Several generations of alums came to his 海角视频 Labs classroom, in a building new since many of them last returned to campus. Tucker shared that for their final projects in his course, students create a podcast that traces an issue from modern times to its origins in an event they learned about during the semester. Mathematics teacher Shawn Bartok offered a similar sample of a course he teaches about math and politics. In his interactive session, he invited alums to weigh in on a seemingly simple topic: 鈥淲hich is best: french toast, pancakes, or waffles?鈥� Giving them chances to experience many ways voting data can be collected and interpreted, he demonstrated plurality, ranked choice, and weighted voting systems based on the class鈥檚 responses. His students puzzled out weighted voter values to reach particular coalition requirements and simulated the prisoner鈥檚 dilemma, which highlighted the impact of game theory on voting and the conflict between individual self-interest and collective benefit. Alums left with a new understanding of what math reveals about cooperation and how political power can be measured.

The music recital hall in the Centennial Arts Center (C.A.C.) filled for the Alum Association Assembly. In addition to appointing the new 2026鈥�27 Alum Association officers and a vote on revised bylaws, alums heard an update from Head of School Henry D. Fairfax. He recognized retiring faculty and staff members Jackie Decareau, Sue Johnson P鈥�20, Nancy Boutilier, and Christa Champion, and he shared enthusiasm about 海角视频鈥檚 enrollment for next year, which includes students from many U.S. states and from Egypt, Japan, Singapore, Nigeria, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China.

Fairfax also shared about the ongoing work driven by 海角视频鈥檚 strategic plan. Just two weeks prior, the Board of Trustees had approved a campus master plan, which considers every inch of 海角视频鈥檚 campus and provides a flexible framework for future leaders to make decisions nimbly and in alignment with protecting the character of the campus learning environment. He added that he has tried to attend at least one class each week: 鈥淚鈥檓 constantly astonished by our superstar faculty and the incredible students we have here.鈥�

During the assembly, alums also had a chance to talk with current students. Betsy Green 鈥�91, who was celebrating her 35th reunion and facilitated the program, said, 鈥淚 challenge you not to be a little jealous after hearing about their amazing experiences and the amazing facilities and opportunities that they have.鈥� In a panel discussion moderated by Assistant Head for Student Life Grant Hightower, three current students spoke about the importance of senior chapels and other 海角视频 traditions, courses such as the Sitcom Project that they had enjoyed taking this year, and the independence they have in shaping their learning journeys. Alums began reminiscing at the mention of certain favorite local haunts, and they had a chance to offer advice to their younger counterparts. One tip: Always wear your 海角视频 ring鈥攜ou never know when you鈥檒l run into someone connected to 海角视频.

On Saturday afternoon in the Ransome Room, Chris Labosier, science teacher and 海角视频鈥檚 sustainability lead, opened a discussion about sustainability at 海角视频 and beyond by sharing the organizational structure for overseeing this work at 海角视频, which involves students, faculty, staff, and trustees, and he announced the recent publication of the school鈥檚 first annual sustainability report. Then Labosier and Elyn Tao 鈥�27, one of 海角视频鈥檚 student environmental representatives, moderated a panel discussion about driving sustainable change, which centered around the sustainable finance industry and the many uses of public lands.

After beginning her career in commercial banking, Melissa Moye 鈥�76 spent over two decades at the World Wildlife Fund, where she led the nonprofit鈥檚 efforts to create sustainable sources of financing for conservation in developing countries. She discussed how climate change is creating uncertainty around investing and the differing regulatory contexts in the U.S. and other regions of the world. 鈥淓ven though I didn鈥檛 start out interested in science, I always was interested in going to wild places,鈥� she said, and she reflected on the transcendentalist legacy of spiritual engagement with nature she absorbed in Concord, Mass. Also an impact investor, Moye highlighted a project she supported, a seaweed farm in the Faroe Islands, developed as cattle feed to reduce methane emissions.

Like Moye, Nina Callahan 鈥�16 is an investor in a seaweed business, though the business she supports is using it as a substitute for plastic. She traces her 鈥渟ustainability bug鈥� back to 海角视频, when Sonia Lo 鈥�84 visited as the Hall Fellow to speak about hydroponic farming in 2015. A few years later, while Callahan was studying at Middlebury, she interned at Lo鈥檚 farm as a plant scientist. But more than the science itself, what interested her was how Lo runs her business. She ended up studying environmental economics, then working at Barclays as an investment banking analyst, before joining Paine Schwartz Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in sustainable food chain investing. Callahan, who also became a vegan while a student at 海角视频, highlighted the importance of agriculture in addressing the climate crisis. She said working within the firm鈥檚 鈥渇arm-to-fork鈥� purview is  鈥渁 nice intersection of creativity, environmental protection, and a tangible impact.鈥� 

Haninah Levine 鈥�01 shared that he鈥檚 a lawyer with the National Park Service, adding, 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 the coolest job you can possibly have with the word lawyer in the title.鈥� Levine has worked for the Bureau of Land Management and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and he has been with the Department of the Interior for around 11 years. He said he appreciates that his job involves so many disciplines and intersecting interests, from preservation for wildlife habitat and backcountry recreation to historical and culture conservation. 鈥満＝鞘悠� cultivated in me a passion for always finding more about different things, and I鈥檝e been lucky enough to find a career where I get to humor that impulse,鈥� he said. He added that he hoped to see more people trying to get out of their comfort zones and talking with, and listening to, others who don鈥檛 share their assumptions and goals.聽

Later that afternoon, alums filled the dance studio for a special performance of the spring dance concert, Kinetic Echoes. Choreographed by John Patrick O鈥橬eill and the members of the 海角视频 Dance Project, the performance explored memory through movement. Then Linda Coyne Lloyd Performing Arts Department Chair Michael Bennett gave a tour of the C.A.C., highlighting several of its adaptable features, including the adjustable seating in the Hammett Ory Theater, the customizable acoustics of the music recital hall, and the flexible Spencer and Colton Process, Presentation, and Performance (P3) Lab, which can be configured for exhibitions, performances, and multidisciplinary learning experiences.

The schedule also allowed plenty of free time for reunioning alums to chat on the quad, enjoy a lemonade and popcorn bar in the C.A.C., and get out paddling on the Sudbury River. An animal presentation engaged families who had come with children, as well as some 海角视频 students. And a memorial service honored the memories of alums and former faculty and staff whose deaths the school had learned about within the previous year.

Late Saturday afternoon, alums gathered by classes for photos by the Senior Steps. The sun was shining bright over cocktail hour, when alums mixed and mingled in front of the C.A.C. Over dinner in the theater, alums enjoyed music by 海角视频 piano teacher Jonathan Fagan 鈥�11, former 海角视频 music teacher Ross Adams, and Grace Blewer 鈥�11. At the reception, Fairfax congratulated the reunioning classes, highlighted how special it was for alums to have the opportunity to interact with current students this year, and welcomed two alums to share some remarks. 

鈥満＝鞘悠� does many things well, and one of them is teaching students to ask good questions,鈥� said Jamie Klickstein 鈥�86, P鈥�15 鈥�18, who was celebrating his 40th reunion and reflected on his time on the Board of Trustees and the 鈥渋nstant kinship鈥� he feels when meeting a member of the 海角视频 community. 

Former Alum Association President Laura McConaghy 鈥�01, celebrating her 20th reunion, remarked on the 鈥渁mazing community that 海角视频 has fostered鈥� and her ongoing connection to 海角视频 through her relationships with fellow alums rooted, like she is, in common trust, love of learning, and care for each other and the world. She concluded with a toast to 鈥渢he many twists and turns that are still ahead.鈥�

The festivities wrapped up on Sunday morning with a leisurely farewell brunch. This was the final reunion before the first Alum Weekend will take place, according to a new schedule, in spring 2028. In this updated multiclass reunion model, alums from neighboring classes will be invited together, encouraging the deepening of connections across the 海角视频 community.

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鈥淐ancer itself doesn鈥檛 discriminate, but the rest of the world does,鈥� she said. 鈥淟iving with the same disease, two hosts battle the tumor with wildly different circumstances, and their chances for survival can be vastly different. These differences are human-made, and they can be human-fixed.鈥�

Her idealism is grounded in 22 years of experience in treating breast cancer patients. As the section chief of breast medical oncology at NYU Langone Health, a role she began this year, Ko runs a translational research lab that investigates tumor biology and the social determinants of health. Previously, she taught and practiced for 14 years at Boston University and its affiliate hospital, Boston Medical Center. This 鈥渟afety-net hospital鈥� for the uninsured sits just 2 miles鈥攂ut a world away鈥攆rom the renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, she said: 鈥淲e serve wildly different patient populations, and the cancer experiences are as different as if we were in two different countries.鈥�

Ko showed a map depicting the 1930s redlining that codified discriminatory mortgage lending with lasting effects on Boston communities. In largely affluent, white Back Bay, she said, only 15% of residents are enrolled in MassHealth, the Massachusetts state plan that provides free or low-cost insurance to low-income residents. In contrast, more than half to three-quarters of residents use Mass Health in Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester, where two-thirds of Boston鈥檚 Black population is concentrated. Deep structural inequities correlate with a staggering 20- to 30-year difference in life expectancy between the two areas.

鈥淲e privilege the privileged,鈥� Ko said. 鈥淚f you have wealth, you will get great care, and the denial to get care based on poverty, lack of insurance, and racism is the legacy and reality of our current health system.鈥� She showed a graph from the New England Journal of Medicine, charting the survival gap between Black and white women over time. Black women, she explained, have a 40% higher risk of dying of breast cancer.

The factors of these disparities are complex and interrelated, and they commonly contribute to a pattern of patient denial, Ko explained. For women living in poverty, financial instability, language barriers, and the significant challenges of taking time off work or family care to receive medical attention can lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Even once patients start getting care, being treated for cancer can become a 鈥渨atershed moment鈥� leading to financial collapse, she said, sharing the story of one of her patients who could not work during chemotherapy and, no longer able to pay rent, lost her housing. For insured patients whose income barely disqualifies them for assistance programs, high co-pays can also be ruinous.

Ko detailed the systems that health care teams at hospitals such as Boston Medical Center have developed to mitigate these inequities: BMC contains a food pantry and provides robust interpreter, health care navigation, and social work services. 鈥淭hese types of services get really strong because they have to,鈥� she said.

Although well-intentioned individuals keep trying to fill such gaps, she acknowledged, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a much bigger problem to fix than these one-offs,鈥� requiring the development of more equitable systems. In the meantime, she suggested, how we talk about patients鈥� experiences matters.

Through her clinical practice, Ko understands how difficult it can be for underserved patients to keep appointments and follow medication schedules. While patients can often be labeled 鈥渄ifficult鈥� or 鈥渘oncompliant鈥� in their medical records, 鈥淚 see something different,鈥� Ko said. 鈥淚 see a patient who lacks trust.鈥� She said medical care providers have the responsibility to earn that trust, give their underserved patients extra time, help them schedule appointments and scans, and affirm their lived experiences.

Ko explained that many academic studies of health care disparities are hindered by the quality of available data and subject to selection bias; their authors don鈥檛 have a practical understanding of the intersection of societal conditions and treatment outcomes because they don鈥檛 practice in hospitals that serve these patients. 鈥淭he granular experience of navigating the medical system for the underserved is not adequately captured in the literature,鈥� she said. 

Shedding light on this disconnection is Ko鈥檚 current project as she completes a fellowship year at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. At Radcliffe, she鈥檚 working on a book, Seeing the Unseen, to bring public attention to health care inequities through the stories of some of her patients, humanizing the experiences of women diagnosed with breast cancer for whom she has provided care.

Speaking at 海角视频, Ko tied the power of personal stories to her own experience鈥攁s a child of Chinese immigrants, as a 海角视频 student for whom belonging had sometimes been a struggle, and now as a medical professional motivated to help shape a more just health care system. 鈥淚 always felt that this 海角视频 tradition of the chapel was an antidote to that feeling of not having a place to belong,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ecause here at 海角视频, I think our community鈥檚 opportunity to connect with each person鈥檚 authentic self every few days as a ritual in a chapel helped me see people as individuals with multitudes.鈥�

The post Through Her Patients鈥� Stories, Oncologist Naomi Ko 鈥�91, P鈥�21 鈥�26 Makes Health Care Inequities Personal appeared first on 海角视频.

Community work has never been easy. Now, against the backdrop of a hyperpartisan public sphere, listening to learn and engaging in dialogue rather than debate seem like rare skills indeed. What can the people who practice them teach us?

We spoke with three 海角视频 alums who offer their distinct perspectives on communication, ones based on research, community-building leadership, and their own lived experiences. Their common thread is a commitment to creating more equitable and inclusive systems鈥攁nd a focus on how we talk to one another to do so. Here鈥檚 what they鈥檝e learned.

Katrina Pugh 鈥�83

Kate Pugh 鈥�83 has been studying dialogue for 30 years. She鈥檚 seen that facilitated discussions don鈥檛 often change people鈥檚 mental models, which reinforce assumptions and perpetuate othering. So as she was researching what kinds of speech deepen understanding and coordinate meaningful action, she wanted to develop a conversational framework people could internalize and self-facilitate.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you can have a mindset of 鈥榳e鈥� if people haven鈥檛 stood back and said, totally neutrally, 鈥楲et鈥檚 look at what we just said,鈥� says Pugh, a lecturer in the Information and Knowledge Strategy program at Columbia University. Even if people are willing to do that, she adds, they can benefit from a rubric that鈥檚 鈥減ractically defined and quantitatively justified.鈥�

With a Columbia colleague, Nara Altmann, Pugh published a framework called 鈥淐onversation for Civility, Collaboration, and Creativity鈥� in 2024. Based on Pugh鈥檚 doctoral research, this presents five 鈥渄iscussion disciplines,鈥� or conversational features associated with rhetorical intent: courtesy (demonstrating goodwill and respect), inclusion (recognizing another participant or drawing them out), integrity (making informative or declarative statements), integrity-Q (inquiring or seeking clarification), and translation (summarizing or synthesizing what鈥檚 been said). 

Using the framework, Pugh demonstrated that even a small shift in emphasis can dramatically influence conversational outcomes. In her doctoral research, she trained the first large language model, Google鈥檚 BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers), to detect the five discussion disciplines and their impacts. Her research team had trained the model on data from public town halls about proposed aquaculture projects that had been hand-coded with the five discussion disciplines. Using the trained model, the team analyzed around 600 dialogues and evaluated the relationship between the shares of the discussion disciplines and the conversation outcomes.

鈥淪ure enough, we found some really interesting relationships,鈥� Pugh says. For example, when the share of inclusion increases by 10 percentage points, the likelihood of intent-to-act rises by 45%. Just as in 鈥渉elping conversations,鈥� greater acknowledgement and visibility make people more likely to take their roles seriously and commit to action. Similarly, with another dataset the team saw qualitative evidence that increasing proportions of questions and translation results in greater innovation.

These findings led Pugh to her mission to build a movement based on those five discussion disciplines. Even in in-person or online discussions dominated by indirection, disdain, or cynicism, they suggested, a group can move from transactional or defensive interactions to more curious, risk-taking, and forgiving dialogue.

In 2024, Pugh and Altmann co-founded the network, along with Columbia colleagues Eve Porter-Zuckerman and Steve Townsend. Its first meeting drew around 100 individuals committed to overcoming polarization through conversation. 鈥淧eople were genuinely ripe for attending to the features in conversation and how we can influence them,鈥� Pugh says. Now she鈥檚 developing services and workshops for companies, nonprofits, and schools, as well as virtual trainings. Pugh says the framework is particularly applicable to organizations in transition; people in helping professions, such as teachers or hotline staffers; and nonhierarchical networks. But it鈥檚 broadly accessible too. 

鈥淭he goal is that anybody could say, 鈥榃e need more questions in this conversation,鈥� or ask, 鈥業s anyone doing translation?鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淭hese are systems-thinking skills that help us be more versatile. The disciplines create space for us to break habits of disparagement and dismissal and recognize each other as co-creators.鈥�

Pugh grew up in Lincoln, Mass. At 海角视频, she competed in cross-country and tennis, played flute in the chamber orchestra, and took part in a mainstage production. 鈥満＝鞘悠� was a really good, introspective place for me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 could just be whatever I was.鈥�

She majored in economics at Williams College, where she grew interested in understanding group interactions and wrote her senior thesis on the impact of unions on profitability measurement. Later, while earning a combined master of science degree and MBA at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Pugh was introduced to organizational learning and the lens of dialogue: 鈥淚 said, 鈥極h, my goodness, this is the language I鈥檓 speaking.鈥欌��

To every professional role, she has brought her interest in dialogue鈥攖he nucleus of collaboration. Early on, she worked for major firms such as PwC, J.P. Morgan, Intel, and Fidelity before transitioning into knowledge management consulting. When the stock market crashed in 2008, she took time off to write a book, Sharing Hidden Know-How, about how to use conversation to elicit knowledge. Since 2011, she has taught the science of communities and networks at Columbia, where for six years she ran the master鈥檚 program in information and knowledge strategy. 

During the pandemic, Pugh returned to graduate school, earning a Ph.D. in ecology and environmental sciences in 2022 from the University of Maine. She now consults with corporations and organizations on change management and artificial intelligence (AI) design for sustainability. Since its founding in 2023, Pugh has also been a partner in Weaving Futures, a collective designing impact networks to create conditions for human flourishing.

What does she make of our contentious public discourse these days? 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a terrible mess,鈥� Pugh says. 鈥淔irst, we have a political sphere that is all about division and accusation. Second, we have a social media sphere that is all about reinforcing perspectives we already hold or amplifying them to be more edgy or negative. And third, we have AI, which can encourage us to settle for partial solutions and pull us away from social interactions.鈥�

She offers some advice: 鈥淩emember that our conversations really do have an impact鈥攆rom those conversations with a 2-year-old to those conversations with your bus driver. You could be the best thing that happened to them today.鈥�

Even in our fragmented digital environment, she adds, 鈥淧ay attention to the composite of your interactions. You may also find an opportunity to use a new conversation muscle. Because no interaction is too small, you can be the one to sow new forms of civility.鈥�

Turahn Dorsey 鈥�89

Over his decades of leadership and coalition-building to bring about civic change, Rahn Dorsey 鈥�89 has been motivated by curiosity. What new solutions can collaborative approaches to community development yield? How can we better communicate across differences?

As the president and chief executive officer of the Eastern Bank Foundation, Dorsey is driving its vision of building a thriving regional economy and more equitable and just communities in southern New England. With a mission focused on economic inclusion and mobility, the foundation works to improve early childhood education systems; integrate untapped talent in the workforce by lowering barriers to employment for immigrants, parents, and workers with disabilities; support small-business owners, particularly people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community; and increase the supply of affordable housing. 

鈥淚f all those things take a generation to do, what should we be doing that cuts that time in half?鈥� Dorsey asks. 鈥淲here can we accelerate and achieve what some of my colleagues and I have started to call 鈥榚scape velocity鈥�? What can create enough propulsion to help households break free from the gravitational pull of the conditions that entrench poverty?鈥�

Dorsey is particularly interested in ideas that accelerate economic mobility. But as much urgency as he feels, he acknowledges that conversation is as indispensable as financial, political, and institutional capital鈥攁nd that it only moves at the speed of trust.

鈥淚鈥檓 very thankful that I was born in the Midwest,鈥� says Dorsey, a proud native Detroiter. 鈥淔or Michiganders, it鈥檚 not foreign to have long-standing relationships with people you don鈥檛 agree with ideologically, so you鈥檙e used to negotiating on a more human basis.鈥� He says the agency, identity, and sense of belonging he developed thanks to his native city鈥檚 Black Power ethic and blue-collar culture have helped him negotiate boundaries of racial and class identity throughout his life. 

As a teen, Dorsey came to 海角视频 through A Better Chance and Midwest Talent Search, organizations that place high-performing students of color in independent schools. He says growing up in Black-majority Detroit gave him a unique perspective. 鈥淚 actually didn鈥檛 have deep experience with the effects of political and economic segregation, because Detroit was, and is, an innovative place,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 came to Concord with agency, so it didn鈥檛 overwhelm me. I loved being able to reach out across difference, and I loved the challenge. I loved the opportunity to go searching for who I wanted to be.鈥�

At 海角视频, he leaned into music, formed lifelong friendships, and got a crash course in time management. 鈥淚 was notorious for never sleeping and wore myself down every year, but it taught me a life lesson,鈥� he says.

Long before he earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics from the University of Michigan, an apprenticeship began shaping Dorsey鈥檚 career. At 16, he started working for a suburban Detroit firm owned by a family friend, who taught him to be a professional researcher and consultant. By 19, he was managing projects for the state of Michigan and the City of Detroit. In 1995, Dorsey moved to Boston to work at Abt Associates, a global strategy, consulting, and research firm founded by Clark Abt P鈥�90 鈥�93, where for 13 years he conducted public policy research, covering 42 states and, he says, 鈥渓earning a whole lot about community-based influence and what that has to do with systems change and public policy change.鈥�

Dorsey went to work for the Barr Foundation in 2009 before joining the Boston mayoral campaign of his friend John Barros. When Barros entered the Marty Walsh administration in 2014, Dorsey did too. For four years, he served as Boston鈥檚 chief of education, leading, among other initiatives, the design of the city鈥檚 universal prekindergarten system. 

After joining the Eastern Bank Foundation as a Foundation Fellow in 2019, he became its president this summer. He says he believes the foundation has a critical role to play in helping to spur 鈥渁 broader conversation about the civic purpose of wealth and to negotiate for the social contract we need to promote economic justice.鈥�

Dorsey doesn鈥檛 make light of the obstacles to building consensus in these polarized times. 鈥淭here鈥檚 almost a rapid spiral to the basest version of society right now,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is not a moment for sitting on the sidelines. This moment needs every institution to think about its purpose, its relevance, and what it wants to contribute to a different world.鈥�

In New Hampshire, Dorsey is part of a 10-member, Black-owned farm called Movement Family Farm. In their first year growing garlic, they bought seed from an older white farmer who seemed suspicious of them until he realized they needed to learn from him. When Dorsey鈥檚 wife mentioned to the farmer that she鈥檚 a pastor, they bonded over an unexpected connection: The farmer鈥檚 mother had also been a clergy member, at a time when very few women were. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fascinating,鈥� Dorsey says. 鈥淗is background confuses the whole picture, because now if you want to put him in a box based on his political views, you can鈥檛.鈥� 

Dorsey says that encounters such as these鈥攃onversations with individuals with whom, on paper, he might not have a lot in common鈥攇ive him hope for accelerating 鈥渉eart-to-heart work.鈥�

He often reflects on the process of navigating impasses and finding points of agreement: 鈥淵ou aren鈥檛 going to discover the commonalities without having the conversation, so you鈥檝e got to make some level of commitment. I have the great fortune鈥攁nd I actually think about it as a source of wealth鈥攖hat these conversations happen pretty regularly in my life. Now I have a deep curiosity that drives me to pursue them more actively.鈥�

Eric Nguyen 鈥�00

鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to affirm your values in the abstract, but hard to see that you鈥檙e not actually showing up the way you want to,鈥� says Eric Nguyen 鈥�00. As senior director of consulting and training at the nonprofit YW Boston, he works with corporations, organizations, and government agencies to help leaders and their teams understand their cultures and remove barriers to equity and belonging. 

Nguyen and his colleagues conduct organizational assessments, make customized recommendations, and offer trainings on identity and bias, dialogue across differences, and giving and receiving feedback. They also model a highly participatory process of creating more inclusive decision-making structures. 鈥淭he challenge is bringing together a diverse set of stakeholders, who each have their own needs and priorities, to clarify their values and define a shared vision,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e able to help people see things more clearly and communicate with each other in ways that are candid and honest, but also compassionate.鈥�

Clients eager for solutions might request a two-hour workshop on microaggressions, for example. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 really get to that until we do deep identity work,鈥� Nguyen says. 鈥淭he better we understand our own identities, which is where bias comes from, the better able we are to engage in dialogue, which鈥攗nlike debating鈥攔equires vulnerability, grace, and patience for hearing others鈥� perspectives. If we鈥檙e just thinking about being right, we鈥檙e only deepening divisions.鈥�

He鈥檚 concerned that cancel culture has left little room for repair and restoration. 鈥淲hen people are operating out of fear, not wanting to say the wrong thing, you never get to what you need to talk about,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f instead you value a growth mindset, if you say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e a learning organization,鈥� then you can think about putting practices in place to support that kind of culture. Helping people develop new schemas for communication is super exciting鈥攊t鈥檚 radically reimagining what the workplace, educational settings, and our relationships can be.鈥�

Born in Boston to parents who had emigrated from Vietnam, Nguyen grew up in Lowell, Mass., and he watched his parents struggle to assimilate into American culture. He spoke Vietnamese fluently until he was 6, when they began encouraging him to speak only English at home and at school. 鈥淚t came from their own experience of discrimination, of having their intelligence questioned because of their accents,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 want that for me or for my brothers.鈥� 

He regrets losing his first language and that deep connection to his cultural heritage, and he says it took a long time to unlearn the sense of superiority that accompanied his fluency in English.

When Nguyen transitioned from a racially diverse, working-class public school to 海角视频, he experienced culture shock. He did well academically and athletically, but socially, he was on the fringes. Though he says 海角视频 was 鈥渁head of its time鈥� in having affinity groups, none existed for children of immigrants; being steered toward a group for Asian international students shaped his convictions about asking, not assuming, what community members need.

Still, with his advisor, Howie Bloom P鈥�08 鈥�09 鈥�14, he found a second family. 鈥淏eing seen, having adults I could go to, was powerful at such a vulnerable, pivotal time of life,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat relational piece of 海角视频 is something I bring along, and even those moments where I felt like I didn鈥檛 belong have been really helpful for me.鈥�

One Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Nguyen recalls, students wrote down identities that were important to them and wore them on lanyards to start conversations. 鈥淭hat was a moment when I got to define for others who I was,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd I got to see how other people defined themselves in less visible ways.鈥�

After earning a degree in psychology from Amherst College, Nguyen taught at several New England independent schools. Over time, he began enjoying helping colleagues implement more equitable teaching practices. While teaching and working in admissions at Noble and Greenough School, he helped start Achieve, a program focused on closing the educational opportunity gap for students in Boston鈥檚 public schools through summer enrichment and academic-year tutoring.

In 2018, Nguyen began managing a scholarship program at Northeastern University. He was struck by how many students from underrepresented groups faced structural barriers to belonging, which he worked to address. 鈥淲ith some of our most vulnerable students, if they couldn鈥檛 get housing, that was it鈥攖hey couldn鈥檛 continue to be students,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t opened my eyes to the impact we can have if we operate at the systems level.鈥�

After serving as the director for the Center for Inclusive Excellence at Framingham State University, he joined YW Boston in 2023. He recently worked with a nonprofit grappling with community tensions that hadn鈥檛 consciously considered its values in decades, and his assessment of a government agency uncovered rifts between leadership and staff regarding psychological safety, communication, and decision-making. To address such sensitive topics, Nguyen often uses a facilitated conversational framework, LARA (Listen, Affirm, Respond, and Add). 鈥淭here are times it feels kind of forced, but it requires all the parties to agree to using shared language,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hy not remind ourselves that we want to listen to each other and affirm when we find moments of connection before we respond?鈥�

But Nguyen stresses that there鈥檚 no single way to engage with others. In addition to social identities, he asks his workshop participants to explore various change-agent identities. 鈥淪ome people are vocal about articulating needs,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut we also need people who can create coalitions and people who think about solutions. Too often, it鈥檚 the same person trying to wear all three hats, so you see a lot of burnout. That鈥檚 part of building community too鈥攔ecognizing you have something to contribute and you don鈥檛 have to do it alone.鈥�

Since 2022, he has served on the board of the Natick Organic Farm, in his community in Natick, Mass., where he helped staff establish a shared vision for inclusivity. The farm recently installed multilingual signs in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, hiring native speakers to translate the text. This fall, it purchased an all-terrain wheelchair for members of visiting school and corporate groups to use.

Nguyen says the conversations the board and staff had were as important as those visible changes: 鈥淲e鈥檙e all stronger when we鈥檙e able to think more broadly about who our community is and how we can help people feel part of it.鈥�

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