Meet Benjamin Kimmel ’16

 
Benjamin Kimmel ’16
Currently Attending:
Princeton
Years at Shipley:
14 years

Activities & Positions Held: Strings Ensemble, Shipley Singers, Glee Club, Fall Plays, Winter Musical, Spring Shakespeare

Prepared for College & Life
I have been at Shipley for most of my life, 14 years, and the Shipley community has shaped my life and my growth as a person. Shipley’s supportive and advanced environment has challenged me at every level of my learning, but also has lifted me up when I have stumbled along the way. The faculty as a whole is so incredibly talented and intelligent at all grade levels that I attribute to them my success in school and how ready I feel for college next year and my life beyond that.

Immersed in the Arts
Besides academically, Shipley has provided tons of opportunities in many disciplines and activities. I have learned how to play several different instruments from teachers and tutors at Shipley and I have had the opportunity to participate in the string and vocal ensembles in Lower, Middle, and Upper School. I have participated in theater and the arts at Shipley, for which I have been able to take theater classes, be part of productions during the year, and engross myself in the discipline.

A Force in the Classroom
My most influential teacher was Mr. Goren as my 10th grade Chemistry I teacher. He is an engaging and inspirational force in the classroom that pushed me to utilize my love of science towards higher levels of learning and to consider it as a career. He made me aspire to continue learning science at all levels and to want to become someone who can spread the knowledge that I learn as well as he does.

Breaking Superstition
Recently, I starred in our Spring Shakespeare production of Macbeth. It is a very challenging play and we incorporated a lot of technical aspects. The show of Macbeth has a superstition surrounding it that if one were to say the name of the play while in a theater, the production and the cast would have bad luck. Many people accidentally said the name of the play throughout the rehearsal process, so right before the show, we did what William Shakespeare had said to do to break the curse and went outside, spun around three times, and said a line from Hamlet. It was a bonding experience for the cast, got us pumped up for the play, and really embodies the energy and passion that Ms. Gibson, our Shakespeare director, brings to the entire process.

Plans Fall 2016
I will be attending Princeton University, where I intend to major in physics.

Future Ambition
I still have a lot of time in college to specify my ambitions, but I aspire to study either theoretical physics or astrophysics and to go onto a career in physics research as a professor at a college or at NASA. I have always been interested in researching the sciences, specifically the physical sciences, and I have found that I enjoy and am good at teaching others. I am fascinated by current physics research and discoveries and would love to be a part of that.

Shipley has prepared me to follow my aspirations, knowing that there will be difficulties along the way, and to work hard to conquer those difficulties.
Back
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.