Students in the Upper School celebrated peers for their accomplishments last week, at the School’s first Professional Dress Day Assembly of the year. Eleventh and twelfth grade students gathered in Brauer Auditorium while ninth and tenth grade students watched via Zoom in their advisories.
First, Interim Chair of the JK-12 Science Department Paul Zahller shared some information about the Students and Teachers as Researchers and Scientists (STARS) program. The STARS Program offers academically-talented students who are entering their senior year of high school a rare opportunity to work within a laboratory research setting with top scientists at Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis College of Pharmacy, Saint Louis University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the host institution, the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
For six weeks, participants joined a community of investigators working under the supervision of practicing research scientists. More than 60 scientists who work in fields such as biology, chemistry, earth science, engineering, environmental science, medicine, psychology, and public health shared their experiences as they and their research team direct students in research projects.
The major focus of the program is a research paper which will be presented at the end of the program. Other activities include lectures by nationally known scientists, information concerning the higher education admissions process, and social activities.
Zahller then called the five STARS participants from MICDS forward to receive their awards:
- Siri Battula ’22
- Shelly Bhagat ’22
- Ellie Gira ’22
- Emma Scally ’22
- Sasha Shanker ’22
Next, Matt Essman, Director of College Counseling, took the podium. He said, “It is my great pleasure to recognize the eight members of the MICDS Class of 2022 who have been named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Competition. Last fall, over 1.5 million high school juniors in more than 21,000 different high schools entered this competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The 16,000 semifinalists recognized nationally represent the highest-scoring entrants from each state and make up less than 1% of each state’s high school seniors. They will each be moving forward to see if they achieve Finalist status and to see if they qualify for one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarships that will be offered.”
Here are this year’s semifinalists:
- Shelly Bhagat ’22
- Aishani Chakraborty ’22
- Ellie Gira ’22
- Thomas Hall ’22
- Nina Hamilton ’22
- Emma Scally ’22
- Sasha Shanker ’22
- Alexander Winski ’22
Sally Maxwell, Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning, concluded the program. Here are her remarks:
Good morning, I am happy to be with you today. Since this is my first year at MICDS, I have been meeting all of the students, but I started in JK and I’m only up to 5th, so I don’t know most of you yet.
I moved here from Seattle and so far, I am really enjoying St. Louis. I love the architecture, sunsets, Kirkwood, and the turtle banana split at Andy’s. I am also thoroughly enjoying the community at MICDS. I appreciate how much teamwork there is among the faculty and staff. I meet a lot of educators around here who are passionate about their work and care so much about you.
You may not realize how much you are loved by the people who give you a look and a little bit of a lecture when you ask for another extension or bend a rule. They have high expectations for you because they care about you and because they are imagining what your best self, and your future self, might want them to do for you now. They probably seem tough, but you should hear the way they talk about you—like you hung the moon. They see a future for you that’s full of happiness, success, and service to others. I love school—because it’s all about hope and appreciating each other’s gifts and accomplishments.
That’s what brings us together today. So, to the students who were recognized: I offer you my congratulations. We gathered together to celebrate your success. It can be a curious thing to be honored. It can leave one wondering what is next. It can leave one worried that a new expectation has been created, a pressure to continue collecting honors.
When I was in high school, I got the University of Pennsylvania Book Award. My parents were thrilled. I was thrilled. The actual book was a dictionary that I never used. When I later went to Penn, I told a few people that I had a University of Pennsylvania Book Award, but it just didn’t seem as important as it had in high school. Now, years later, I think it’s the goal-setting that still matters to me. To have goals and try to reach for them. To feel like other people are rooting for me, and to root for them. So I’m rooting for you. We all are.
Also, in high school, I sat in many audiences and saw other people be honored. It can be a curious thing to sit in the great majority recognizing a small group of people. It can leave one wondering what is next. It can leave one worried about not measuring up. In high school, I dreamed of being the valedictorian, but I never got close. I was 52nd in my class. I had always loved school, but I could also see how all of my little choices—skipping quiz redos and rushing through weekend homework—had paved the road to 52nd place. And being 52nd turned out fine.
Our performances and outcomes are moments on a long and interesting journey. We are not locked into our past decisions. Getting an award or not getting one doesn’t mean that we will or must get the next one. I have a quote that I love from Ralph Waldo Emerson that I am going to leave you with:
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. Begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I encourage you to leave today unencumbered by your previous nonsense.
Congratulations to all our honorees!