Name: Reed Currently Attending: Tulane University Years at Shipley:7 Activities & Positions Held: Student Life (Head), Action Research, Varsity Baseball (Captain), Will Trippley Tutoring, Chess Club, Glee Club.
Reflections on Shipley I came from Radnor Middle School in seventh grade, which has around 300 kids. I felt extremely lost and forgotten at Radnor. I was almost emotional at the end of my first day at Shipley. Shipley made me feel like school was fun, and that I was a part of a community. I was very fortunate to meet my best friends on the first day of school, all 98 of them. The small, dynamic classrooms taught me how to never hide behind someone else, and how to be active in a classroom. Shipley also taught me to never be one dimensional. I am involved in many different types of extracurricular activities. My “aha” moment at Shipley was watching Sam Sessoms, Shipley’s all-time leading scorer in basketball history, dance on stage at our musical. At that moment I realized that there is no push back about trying new things at Shipley. You can make your life how you want to make it, and Shipley has all the resources for you to do so. Risks are worth taking, and I am sure that Sam will tell you he is happy that he took a risk, and Shipley is happy as well.
Who was your most influential teacher and why? My most influential teacher would be Mr. Goren. Honors Chemistry was the hardest class I ever took, and Mr. Goren helped me get through it. Mr. Goren pushed me to do the best of my ability. With his thorough and consistent mentality, the class was often frustrating, but he demanded us to do it right. In that, it brought out the best in all of us, and we were very fortunate to go through that experience with him.
What was your most memorable experience at Shipley? I think the most memorable experience at Shipley was being paired with my acorn, Onieka. Onieka was simply a ray of sunshine. I thank Shipley for giving me that experience of developing a relationship and being a role model for a younger child.
What are your plans for the fall of 2019? I will be attending Tulane University. I will be majoring in economics with a minor in marketing.
What is your future ambition and what led you to this ambition? I hope to go into sales or account management. I have always loved working with people, and I was very happy when I was asked to be on the admission ambassador team. The admission ambassador team led me to the conclusion that I want to be in sales or account management. They taught me how to sell a product to consumers, yet they did it in a way that felt right. They taught me to never lie about Shipley and to point out its weaknesses as well. I am very grateful for the ambassador program!
What does Courage for the Deed; Grace for the Doing mean to you? I believe that motto tells you to take risks and to have a good time while doing it. You will slip a fall, but at least you are trying. The courage to try is all that matters.
What impact or contributions do you think you have made at Shipley and in the larger community? Shipley has taught me to never back down from a challenge, and how to point out a problem. I was at the beach on Memorial Day weekend and saw the trash left behind by all of my fellow teenagers. I started picking up trash and throwing it in the trash can and then was so frustrated by the neglect for the environment, that I asked the police officers for trash bags. I spent the next six hours cleaning up the beach and filled up 33 trash bags. Shipley has taught me that if you see a problem, then fix it.
Complete this sentence: Shipley has prepared me to… always have a positive attitude wherever life takes me, and to be comfortable in almost all situations of learning.
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.