Name: Carly Currently Attending: University of Pennsylvania Years at Shipley:4 Activities & Positions Held: Glee Club (4 Years), Shipley Singers (3 Years), Upper School Choirs (President), All Theater Productions (4 Years,) The Compass (3 Years, Editor-in-Chief for 2 Years), Positive Paws (3 Years), SpeakUp! (4 Years), Varsity Swimming (2 Years), Baseball Photojournalism (3 Years).
Reflections on Shipley My parents travel for work, so before coming to Shipley in ninth grade, I had been homeschooled along with my four siblings for my entire life. Having never gone to a traditional school before, I was terrified walking into my first day of high school; I was scared I wouldn’t make friends, scared I wouldn’t be able to keep up academically, and scared of not being able to do all of the many different things I wanted to do in high school. However, I quickly found Shipley to be an incredibly welcoming environment: every student was warm and sincere and so many of them were interested in me and where I had come from; all of my teachers genuinely cared about not only my academic success but also my personal wellbeing; I found an opportunity to delve into the activities I had always loved such as science, music, theater, and service, and even get a taste of some I had never really tried before.
Although of course, I had failures throughout my four years of high school, I have truly found those struggles to be some of the most important learning opportunities I have experienced. Being able to fail whilst being surrounded by people who want more than anything to help you get back on your feet makes you really want to, too.
Who was your most influential teacher and why? My most influential teacher throughout my time at Shipley was Dr. Gillin. History has never been my strongest suit, and I never thought that anyone could spark a love of history in me like Dr. Gillin did as my U.S. History teacher in my junior year. An incredibly vibrant and interesting teacher, Dr. Gillin made me understand why we study figures of the past and, more importantly, made me want to. If you had told me two years ago that I would be doing an independent study in history during my senior year, I wouldn’t have believed it; Dr. G, a hardcore feminist, inspired me to do an independent study on the history and science of women’s studies this year. Not only this, but she came to one out of three of my class periods every rotation to use her historical and feminist expertise to help me learn more about my passion for women’s rights and history. While I may have always been a feminist, I don’t know if there is anyone who could have brought the feminist out in me like Dr. Gillin.
What was your most memorable experience at Shipley? At the culmination of my independent study on the history and science of women’s studies, I decided to hold a gallery walk for a number of faculty members to share my findings and to do a little more data gathering from the adult generation. I extended invitations to more than a dozen adults in the Upper School; I think it is very significant and a wonderful representation of Shipley’s community that almost every single person, however well they knew me, attended my gallery walk. Shipley’s message, from teachers and students alike, is to form a community of people who genuinely care about and support each other; the fact that so many teachers, including our Head of School Dr. Piltch, came out to learn about my study and to help in my research is exactly what Shipley is all about.
What are your plans for the fall of 2019? I will be starting school at the University of Pennsylvania this fall as a Biological Basis of Behavior major on a pre-veterinary track.
What is your future ambition and what led you to this ambition? Throughout my life, I have always had a deep appreciation for animals; not only did I always think that they were cute and cuddly, but I have also always been amazed by the bonds animals form with each other and the bonds we form with them. I think that there is so much that we as humans can learn from other animals. I am also fascinated by science, so I hope to combine my interest in science with my passion for animal wellbeing as a veterinarian.
What does Courage for the Deed; Grace for the Doing mean to you? Courage for the Deed to me means be strong, be confident, and be brave. The first part of Shipley’s motto inspires me to believe in myself, to take the risk, and to never back down. However, you have to remember to do it with dignity and respect for yourself and others. Grace for the Doing demonstrates how crucial it is to be humble.
What impact or contributions do you think you have made at Shipley and in the larger community? I think that the biggest differences I have made at Shipley are in the music and theater programs. I feel like I have helped the theater and music communities at Shipley grow and thrive not only as a leader in my upperclassmen years but also as a freshman and sophomore simply by making the communities even more diverse and unique.
Complete this sentence: Shipley has prepared me to… pursue my wide range of passions with determination and enthusiasm.
Carlos Casilla is Shipley’s Director of Choirs, PreK- Grade 12 Performing Arts Department Chair, and Class of 2021 Co-Dean. As a Black Dominican man, he is proud of his heritage, but also acutely aware of how those identities impact others’ perceptions of him, especially when he speaks Spanish in public. Learn more about Carlos and his experience as a person of color in our new series, Centering BIPOC Voices at Shipley.
Inspired by their reading of A Long Walk to Water in English class, sixth graders Lilla Tsvetkov ’27 and Adam Hornberger ’27 have organized a fundraiser aiming to raise $5,000 towards the cost of building a well with the organization, Water for South Sudan. "We aim to inspire our community that no challenge is too big to be resolved or fixed, as long as you try to make a difference, big or small," they say.
The Shipley School is proud to announce Elektra Ballas '21 and Sebastian Fras '21 have been nominated as candidates in the 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.
As Social Studies Department Chair and Equity Liaison at Deer Park Middle Magnet School in Baltimore County, Maryland, Brianna Ross ’10 says, “I’m focused on interrupting teacher biases, beliefs, and practices that perpetuate inequities while working to build teacher capacity to create inclusive classrooms that reflect the strengths and interests of our students.” Learn more about Shipley Changemaker Brianna Ross ’10.
Lee Stuart ’71 has dedicated her life and career to improving the lives of others by providing access to food, housing, education, and a caring community. From the Bronx, NY, to Duluth, MN—she has lived Shipley’s motto, Courage for the Deed; Grace for the Doing. “I’ve been in some really challenging environments and situations, and it’s a good guidepost,” she says. Learn more about Shipley Changemaker, Lee Stuart ’71.
As founder and Chief Executive Officer of Keiki Capital, Dan Lichtenberg ’99 marries his technical and financial expertise with his passion for developing creative solutions to global problems—global warming and climate change, food and water insecurity, income and wealth inequality—and transforming data into actionable intelligence.
Shipley senior Emma Lo has been recognized as a 2021 National YoungArts Foundation Winner in Classical Music (Piano). Through a rigorous audition process, she joins over 600of the most accomplished young visual, literary, and performing artists from across the country.
West Collection: Recent Acquisitions of Diverse Voices This exhibition focuses on nine visual artists who through their work are commenting on world issues ranging from the climate crisis, immigration and migration, and exposing human rights violations.
The Shipley School Performing Arts Department will present Beautiful Trouble to audiences everywhere on Friday, November 20 at 7:30 pm via the School's YouTube channel. The production replaces the traditional Fall Play and is a performance protest piece comprised of scenes, monologues, poetry, short films, and more. Beautiful Trouble hopes to raise awareness for issues that matter to students.
A Shipley Young Alumni Award-winner and one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Generation, Sarah Megan Thomas ’97 has just released her third film, A Call to Spy. “I hope my films not only entertain and enlighten but also have a long-term impact, prompting viewers to ask themselves what they might have done in a particular situation and what they can do to help make this world a better place,” she says. Learn more about this Shipley Changemaker.
The Shipley School, The Episcopal Academy, and The Haverford are proud to present a three-part virtual series focused on building and sustaining healthy multiracial communities at our schools, and exploring how families of all racial backgrounds can discuss race in order to contribute to a healthy and inclusive community.
Upper School English teacher John Hornung believes that literature can make a positive impact in the world by helping people develop empathy for others. He teamed up with Hope in a Box, an organization dedicated to making rural classrooms more LGBTQ+ friendly, sharing a study guide for the Laramie Project, which he teaches in his Modern American Drama English elective.
Shipley’s eighth graders participated in a murder mystery whodunnit role play as part of their mystery genre study in English class. Teachers Lila Corgan and Kirsten Small hope the activity deepens students’ understanding of some of the literary devices that define the mystery genre in a fun, social way. The activity wrapped up a two-week study of the Mystery genre, which also included a virtual talk-back with the cast of the Hedgegrow Theater’s Tales from Poe film production.
Shipley seventh grader Natalie Tran ’26 placed 25th in a national Science Olympiad Competition on Epidemiology in September. She is the Middle School team’s first ever national medalist.
Shipley's Middle School science teaching team wanted to find meaningful ways to make their curriculum more inclusive, highlighting diversity in a discipline that has historically been dominated by white men. Their goals? To show the positive impact that diversity can have on the scientific process and to allow all students to view themselves represented in science.
The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.