Upperclass Students at Milton:
Looking Out at the Decade Ahead
What do you know about yourself that helps you decide what will be important in your work life: What energizes you; what gets you excited; what's gratifying?
Christine Sanchez
Whatever I do will have to be people-oriented: something people are interested in and care about, something where people are part of the process, or part of the outcome.
I’ll need something that isn’t too narrow, or limited—something that’s open to interpretation, that might change over time, that might be flexible and responsive.
Zachary Moore
My work will need to involve things I’ve never tried. That’s what a lot of theatre and the entertainment world is about in a raw sense. It’s always evolving, there’s always new technology. I need to be able to play with these “new toys.”
I like building up a sense of what’s next, what’s the next big thing. I’m always on the lookout for what I can do that’s tackling a big problem. What stimulates me is challenge: when you’re not sure you’re going to come out on top of the problem and you have to overcome that barrier.
Lizzie Bernstein
Travel will need to be part of my work life—the opportunity to be in different places and have the time there to get to know different people. I can’t imagine myself behind a desk.
I have worked with my parents’ business (they move subway cars from where they’re made to where they’re used) and I enjoyed it. My parents are leaving lots of plans to expand the business to my sister and me, and the business ideas are attractive.
Massimo Soriano
I’d like to have opportunities to do lots of out-of-the-box things, opportunities to branch out in case things get too repetitive.
It’s hard to figure out what I’m good at, as opposed to what I’m interested in.
Emily Rider-Longmaid
Languages are my thing; the learning process involved works well with my brain. Speaking a different language, being in a different country and culture, is so worthwhile and is a great way to learn how to communicate outside of your comfort zone.
I’m on the Community Service Board, and the idea of making connections and helping others motivates me. I’m so aware of our resources here, and want to give back—emotionally, physically and with my time.
Jasmine Reid
Mastery of work: I get so excited when everything clicks, when it makes sense and I know it so well that I can teach it to someone else.
Making connections: I’m more into long-term learning. Those connections are my study guide.
I don’t want people to confine their sense of me to a single strength; I would rather they see that I’m multifaceted.
I’m also eager to understand other people’s motivations. People fascinate me, how they think and process. I may study psychology.
Abby Bok
I’m interested in the outside world, now as it is realized and expressed through current events and politics. The focus may change, but looking outward is important to me.
I get satisfaction from the variety in my life—from Honors Bio to club meetings—and from the opportunity to do very different things, but at the same high level. Maintaining that takes lots of energy, though.
In terms of places, I love Boston and Milton now, but being in new places and communities—urban or rural—will give me different things that I need, and hopefully I’ll be able to give something back as well.
I don’t think I’ll be a scientist, but I take Honors Bio because I don’t know what I’ll need to know, and science is central to current events. I want to experience the value in it, now.
Spencer Gaffney
I know what I don’t do well: I don’t do the blood thing well. In spite of the fact that every Jewish mother wants her son to be
a doctor, that’s not what I will be doing.
I don’t want to pigeonhole myself into something that someone else would do
far better. I want to find the thing I would
do best.
What excites me right now is reading “the real thing,” the primary sources, the works behind the theories and the references to ideas, reading the actual “originals.” Grappling with
real work is exciting and energizing.
HoChan Lee
My first childhood dream was to be an archeologist and study anthropology. Studying history, you find all these patterns. It’s interesting how history repeats itself, despite the places, despite the time.
Knowing yourself energizes you. Learning something about yourself that you didn’t know before: why I do what I do, how I got there. The result is important, but that’s only part of it. I find a lot of enjoyment in the process. The process is what makes you feel more joyful, or more serious, about what you’re doing.
Tori Aiello
I’m very interested in languages. My whole family is: My sister [Caroline] speaks French; my mom speaks French, German and Italian. I’ve taken four years of Latin and I’m in Spanish 3 now. It’s not necessarily that languages come easy to me, but in this day and age it’s important to be able to communicate with all kinds of people, and knowing their language is the most basic way of doing that.
Sotonye Bobojama
I’ve always been into math and science, especially chemistry, which I plan to major in at college. I like classes that challenge me more than those that come easily. I feel like I’m getting more out of them. I plan to become a pediatric surgeon, since it combines my love of science with my desire to help people, especially sick children.
Allan Jean-Baptiste
Playing music is gratifying for me, and it will definitely continue to be part of my life. It’s a very distinctive feeling to become engrossed in an entire orchestra, playing at the same time that you’re listening to the other musicians, being absorbed in all the sound around you. It’s not a sensation you can find anywhere else.
Ten years from now, as you look back on your life, what will you want to be able to say about how you spent your time?
Christine Sanchez
—that I’ve tried everything I possibly could that I found interesting
—that I was able to take risks. This is really important; you learn so much about different things and about yourself.
I hope I still have Milton friends that I’m seeing and sharing memories with. I want to be happy with the people I’ve surrounded myself with.
Zachary Moore
—that I’ve kept working. In my field (theatre design), you’re hired for a single project, a month or two long, generally. You have to do well enough to keep getting hired. You have to stay on the ball. To be working for a number of years means you’re competing and keeping up.
Lizzie Bernstein
I’ll be happy if I’ve reached a sense of what I really want to do. If a journey is involved in figuring that out, whatever it is, that means I’m still evolving.
Massimo Soriano
Junior spring and senior fall have been the hardest semesters so far. My question, looking back, will be whether everything is always this intense. What’s so much fun now is that it’s intense in literally every direction.
Emily Rider-Longmaid
—that I’ve tried different things, put my best foot forward, and made a difference. I want to have done more than find a career.
Jasmine Reid
—that I was true to my faith, in sadness or in joy
—that I was true to my friendships. I’ve learned so much about myself through my connections with others.
Abby Bok
—that I had done something to an extreme, and not chosen the middle course—that I had been passionate and had put all my energy into something.
—that I had done more than make money; that I had had a positive impact on someone other than me
Spencer Gaffney
—that I knew myself better; not only what makes me happy, but why
—that I have a better idea of how the world works; that I’ve studied things like economics, political science, philosophy and physics, to help me with that. If I can figure out more about the world, maybe I can figure out my role in it.
HoChan Lee
I’m planning on majoring in engineering, so I know that will play a big part for me in the future. Building the technology to go places that humans can’t go themselves, because it’s too dangerous, is important to me. I want to create or research something that no one has ever done before; I want to make something innovative, structurally, that combines the aesthetic and functionality in a way that hasn’t been done.
Tori Aiello
I like interacting with people. I couldn’t be involved in something solitary, or that’s completely cut off from people.
I don’t think you have to “save the world” to be able to contribute. You don’t have to donate a million dollars, or join the Peace Corps, but doing the small, kind things that motivate others to want to give, to help—that’s important.
Cynthia Situ
I hope to make my parents proud. I’m the first American-born person in my family, the first to graduate from high school, and the first to go to college. That’s an accomplishment right there, and I know my parents are proud of me, but I hope to be a good example to my little sister and brother. I want to continue to work hard and not take things for granted.
Olivia Woollam
I want to work for an intelligence agency that will help respond to global situations in a culturally sensitive way. I think a lack of sensitivity in dealing with things like the Iraq war has exacerbated the problem. This comes from my interest in the idea that history repeats itself. Globalization in Islam is an incredible course that has changed the way I think about things. For instance, the C.I.A.’s historical analysis department sent the first anthropologist to Iraq only a month ago. I feel that disconnect in communication has added to the problems.
I want to have alleviated some suffering, present or future.
Sotonye Bobojama
Pursuing a medical career, schooling will definitely be a part of my next ten years. I also know that I will continue to be very active in my church, and I hope to continue dancing. Both my church and dancing are big stress relievers for me. They help me take care of myself, and that’s important.
Allan Jean-Baptiste
I hope to combine my interest in the arts with community service. I’m doing that this year at Taylor Elementary, where I’ve developed an arts program for 100 first graders, since the school couldn’t afford full-time art education. Milton students volunteer their time once a week to do visual arts projects with the children. At that age, you need an artistic outlet. Growing up without that exposure is unacceptable. In the next ten years, I hope to do something along those lines, but bigger—raising more funds, affecting more children.
What are the most important life lessons you’ve learned?
Christine Sanchez
Milton taught me to be open and to interact with people. It’s worth it to make the effort to get to know people, to talk with everyone. I’m more independent, more confident.
—that my opinions are relevant. Here, it’s important to know that your opinion is important and recognized.
—that I like a mix of challenge and control over what I’m doing. I want both.
Zachary Moore
—that I learn a lot by doing. “Okay,” I say to myself. “This is the problem; I’m going to try this solution.”
—that you shouldn’t be afraid of taking on something. Chances are you will be able to do it. What’s key is knowing what you have done, and building on that. And you have to trust yourself to handle what’s coming at you.
—that you need to know who you’re working with, that part of leadership is knowing your people and asking them to give what they’re capable of giving.
—that you have to keep your sense of humor
Lizzie Bernstein
—that it’s nice, if you’ve been all over the place, to come back to a stable base, to a place where you know the terrain and where you have roots and you have a role
—that I didn’t realize how much my leadership role would entail; I’ve learned how much I can handle and when to go to faculty for help; I’m learning how to delegate; and I’m learning how to support students in fairly complex ways. In the past, I’ve always had support making decisions, but now I have to make decisions based on what I think is right.
—that seeing the correlations between Modern Comparative Literature and U.S. and the Modern World is great. I like thinking about the ways writers think about the world. They use art to portray a view of the world at a point in time. I learned a lot about the community of human beings throughout history, about life and the struggles of humanity.
Massimo Soriano
—that I know a lot about how I learn: I know exactly what it will entail for me to get different projects done, and I’ve developed a work style that is based on different phases that I fit in between my activities.
—that I can run on very little sleep
—that few decisions are easy. There’s a wide range between what’s correct and what’s wrong. It’s not black and white.
—that there are so many players in any decision; that is, a decision has an effect on many people. Listening to others when you’re trying to make a decision is important, but almost everyone has an agenda behind what they’re saying.
Emily Rider-Longmaid
—that extracurriculars at Milton allow you to expand your perspective on life; they keep you from a narrow viewpoint
Jasmine Reid
—that you must be true to yourself
—that you need to set aside time to think and to care about things important to you. That introspection leads to action.
—that I have many personal connections, with a diversity of characters, and diversity is important. It helps you realize that not everyone is all good, and not everyone is all bad.
Abby Bok
—how to write
—how to be wrong, and not have that derail you; you’re challenged here, and there’s a certain amount of failure involved in that. From being wrong, you learn how to be resilient and how to change.
—the inherent value of and need for hard work: Hard work is not a bad thing.
—that people are very complex. You can easily see what people say or do, but occasionally you’ll get glimpses of what they’re feeling, and it may surprise you. That doesn’t change your own perspective on a person or idea, necessarily, but it informs that. You begin to see people as multi-dimensional.
—how to see “difference,” not as an intellectual concept, but day to day, living with you, in action. How to accept difference, rather than just live with it, or be stressed by it.
—learning how to find out something possibly astounding about your classmate and still be able to value them; this applies to politics today, where false delineations are drawn along party lines. People and issues are more complex than that.
—that being a generalist is important. I don’t know what will ultimately be necessary, and I will probably need to use many skills and attributes.
Spencer Gaffney
—how to write
—a bit about how the world works: My six Milton years have been very turbulent, inside and outside of school (2001–2008). I’ve been a witness to controversy, and have had to listen to others with very strong opinions, and I’ve had to sort out my own feelings.
—that being part of the editorial board of The Milton Paper, part of the team that puts this paper out every week, is energizing, draining, and the source of the fiercest pride of ownership of anything I have ever turned in. The expectation, each week, that I can contribute—something funny, something opinionated, something researched—is fantastic. It’s taught me about meeting a challenge within a tight timeline with a team. It’s taught me to respect and trust the work of others. It’s taught me that it’s unrealistic to micro-manage everything, to be the last person to check everything each week.
—that stopping the station-to-station operation of life, to focus on where you are and what you’re doing in that moment, has value. I learned about focus from football; on the field you have no choice but to stay in the moment or else you end up flat on your back.
I learned about the team thing from football as well. Football provides a most tangible measure of personal success: It’s measured instantly by the people behind you. I’m not necessarily the strongest individual athlete, but I’m part of a great offensive unit.
In football, 27 things all have to go well to succeed. Therefore, sometimes just being average, or worrying about not making a mistake, is okay on a play. But the minute you stop thinking about just avoiding mistakes, you can go to the next level of ability, and that’s when it really starts to be fun.
HoChan Lee
I’ve learned that as soon as I sense I’m about to get stressed, I stop right there. I take a break—I rest, I play, I watch TV for half an hour, because I know I won’t be productive going forward if I’m stressed.
Tori Aiello
I’ve learned how to work with people who are and aren’t my best friends—both can be equally difficult, in different ways. I’ve learned how to concede to someone else’s point without compromising my own—to see their point of view as valid, but to successfully express my own views as well. Developing those skills—listening rather than just hearing—makes for a much better dialogue and much more effective way of solving problems.
Cynthia Situ
At Milton I’ve learned how to connect with adults. The relationships I have built with adults at this school would never have been possible at my public school, where there were 30 students in a class. My teachers have gotten to know me as a person, and that makes it easier to go to them, knowing that they care about me and my life beyond the classroom.
Olivia Woollam
I’m a perfectionist, and I have a hard time not doing things to the highest, most complete level. Something I’ve learned is that I have to figure out for myself what’s truly important, what discussions are worth putting off schoolwork. If you want to do everything, you have to sacrifice something. You can’t spread yourself too thin, because you’ll end up doing nothing to your best potential.
Sotonye Bobojama
—that I can’t always expect people to be informed. It’s been hard for me as an African American to deal with and discuss a lot of racial issues. It’s hard for me to see how people can misconstrue things. I’m realizing that I can’t expect people to come to the same conclusions as me, but I need to be patient and help them understand rather than get angry or belligerent.
Allan Jean-Baptiste
Milton is extremely detail-oriented, which is a good thing, but it can also make you infatuated with every minute detail. Things that are stressful and seem
huge might carry a lot less weight in the overall scheme of things. I’m realizing that I have to keep the bigger picture in mind. Having that perspective keeps things in check for me and helps me sort out what is really important.
I’ve also learned how to support my opinion. People at Milton have very strong opinions, and defending that position, while being open to others’, is something you learn—no, are forced!—to do here.
Are you generally optimistic about the future?
Christine Sanchez
Milton made me optimistic. I became a special person here. The experience I’ve had here I couldn’t have had anywhere else. I see my future in terms of what I know about myself now, and it’s different than it might have been. I can really see myself advancing, becoming successful.
About the country? I’m optimistic. America is such a young country. It’s kind of like a Milton kid. We’ll discover what we need and learn from our mistakes and overcome what we’ve done. It’s important for everyone to be optimistic, because that’s crucial to our ability to overcome our challenges.
Zachary Moore
I always try to stay optimistic. I have to be optimistic, not only for myself but for everyone else, because it’s no fun working with whining, unhappy people.
Let’s face it. Our generation is at a particular point, which is a predicament. It’s hard to say what will happen. We’re going to have to make something happen.
Lizzie Bernstein
With the great education and privilege that we’ve had, it’s hard not to be optimistic. There are so many different challenges, though. Which battle are you going to pick? Which is most important—AIDS, or climate change, or the need for water, or another issue? That can make you pessimistic.
Massimo Soriano
I’m generally optimistic; I agree with Lizzie that with an educational experience like this and a privileged upbringing, it’s hard not to be optimistic about carving out your own path. What’s hard is figuring out which challenge you should contribute to.
Emily Rider-Longmaid
I’m optimistic about my own future. I’d love to be optimistic about our nation and our generation’s future, but that’s unrealistic. I hope that people in my generation can fix some of what’s broken: wars; the world’s perspective on America; health care; attention to the homeless and the poor; the idea of the United States being the world police; keeping Roe v. Wade.
Jasmine Reid
People around my Thanksgiving table were talking about how passion is missing from my generation; that people don’t know who they are and what is important to them anymore, that we’ve lost our way.
I hope leaders from my generation can rise up and make sense, get people charged up and moving. It’s important to generate optimism, because pessimism will kill opportunity.
Abby Bok
I’m generally optimistic, but there are many things to worry about: the environment; the United States’ position in the world—how we interact and how we view ourselves; the predictions about the economy; the speed of change.
HoChan Lee
When people get into a group they have a tendency to see things in black and white, which almost always exacerbates the situation. Often there’s an “if you’re not one of us, you’re one of them” mentality. Thinking that way prevents all other possibilities from emerging. I worry about that.
Tori Aiello
Sadly, I’m increasingly less optimistic about the larger world. Things like the decline of the natural world; regression from religion, so that people don’t have anything to turn toward; AIDS/HIV; global warming; the threat of nuclear war—these things are terrifying. But older generations tend to deny that all of this is going on. That’s scary as well. My generation is good in that it doesn’t deny that these situations exist, and that’s a step in the right direction.
Cynthia Situ
All of my friends are very passionate about the things they care about; they’re all determined and focused on what they want to do. Not only that, but they’re resourceful in finding things out and getting the tools they need. I think our generation is going to be making some big changes.
Olivia Woollam
Sometimes I see the world as going down the inevitable path to World War III. But then I see the people around me as willing and supportive and ready to take action. That gives me hope.
Allan Jean-Baptiste
While there are major problems in the world, a lot stemming from globalization and the interconnectedness of countries, every generation has problems to overcome. Having problems isn’t unique; working through problems is the nature of society, and it’s the only path to solutions. My generation didn’t necessarily cause the problems we’re facing now, but we are becoming well equipped to solve them.
Allan Jean-Baptiste ’08 (Milton, Massachusetts) has played the viola for many years, as a member of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and in Milton’s Chamber Orchestra, the latter since the eighth grade; he was the viola solo in the 2007 Winter Concert. Allan is also the student director of Milton’s Host Family Program, a Speech Team member, and the founder/director of the Taylor Elementary School Art Program, connecting Milton student volunteers with first graders in need of art education.
Christine Sanchez ’08 (Newark, New Jersey) is the dorm monitor of Hathaway House. She is head of the Latino Association, is involved in the Spanish Club and the Dance Club, takes voice lessons, and sings in Milton’s gospel choir. Christine is also part of the Multicultural Association, which she describes as people from all the culture clubs on campus working to create meaningful connections.
Elizabeth Bernstein ’08 (New York, New York) is the dorm monitor in Hathaway House. She is active on the board of Model UN, writes for the Spanish newspaper,
La Voz, and is secretary of the History Club. Lizzie claims to be better at math and science than her other subjects. She is excited about the new science elective she is taking, Issues in Environmental Science: Climate Change.
Massimo Soriano ’08 (New York, New York) is the dorm monitor in Norris House, a member of the varsity soccer team, captain of the sailing team, and at this writing is trying to decide between skiing and trying out for a play. He is a peer group leader and a SECS (Students Educating the Community about Sexuality) trained teaching assistant. Massimo drew plenty of applause during the final exam of his Improvisation for the Theatre course, a live performance for a student-faculty crowd in King Theatre.
Emily Rider-Longmaid ’08 (Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts) has taken a broad approach to the many opportunities at Milton. One of her most fulfilling commitments, she’ll tell you, is as co-head of the Community Service Board, where she finds the necessary opportunity to “give back.” A lover of languages, Emily writes for the Spanish newspaper, La Voz, and is a member of the French Club. She plays on the intramural soccer team, danced in the Winter Dance Concert, tutors math students and plays the organ. Emily is also a member of FLAG, the Democratic political group on campus.
Jasmine Reid ’09 (Stoughton, Massachusetts) is intent on being all that she can be, and does that in class and out, splitting her time between varsity volleyball, track, her a cappella group Three for Each of Us, and the gospel choir. Jasmine serves on the board of both Community Service and Christian Fellowship, and she is an active member of her family’s church in Jamaica Plain.
Abby Bok ’09 (Boston, Massachusetts), committed to keeping up with both global and national current events, is co-head of FLAG, which describes itself as the politically progressive student group on campus, and co-head of the Public Issues Board. In 2006, Abby was active in campaigning for now-Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick ’74. She also writes for the opinion section of The Milton Paper and performed in the winter play, No Mother to Guide Her.
Spencer Gaffney ’08 (West Newton, Massachusetts), big on team collaboration, spends his fall afternoons on the football field and his spring on the baseball field as a member of both varsity teams. He plays bass in the jazz combo, and is the editor-in-chief of The Milton Paper, which he finds alternately “draining and energizing, but always satisfying.”
Cynthia Situ ’08 (Long Island City, New York) is one of Milton’s Teak Fellows; the Teak Fellowship program “helps talented New York City students from low-income families…succeed at top high schools and colleges.” Cynthia is on the Dorm Council representing Centre House. She is also an SECS leader, a board member of the Asian Society, and on the business staff of The Asian publication. During her time at Milton, she has played volleyball, ice hockey, and has been a Ranger, one of the students who helps others with technology and computer problems.
Tori Aiello ’08 (Milton, Massachusetts), a committed athlete, incorporates sports into several of her extracurricular activities. Tori has been a captain of the tennis team for two years and played varsity field hockey in her Class III and II years; as part of her community service work, she volunteers for Milton-hosted Special Olympics tournaments; and she is a sports editor for The Milton Paper. Tori is also a member of Orange and Blue Key, giving campus tours to prospective students and their families.
Zachary Moore’s (’08) (Newton, Massachusetts) unique contribution to the Milton community has been professional-level theatre design from the moment he started in Class IV. Zach began to specialize in lighting and theatre design in elementary school, when a mentor taught him the basics of light and design for four years. When he reached the middle school grades, he was a solo consultant for his school and for other groups near his Newton home. Outside of Milton, Zach is the associate producer for a quiz show on National Public Radio called “Says You!”
HoChan Lee ’08 (Seoul, South Korea) expresses his literary side as yearbook editor-in-chief. He has achieved his fame, however, on the science side of the house. He was a member of the Milton team that placed third in the 2007 Tests of Engineering, Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAMS) competition, a national tournament of over 1,200 high schools competing to solve real-world engineering problems. His other team is Milton’s remotely operated underwater vehicle team (M.A.R.O.V.); the team members and the vehicles they designed have achieved impressive records in regional and national competitions in recent years.
Olivia Woollam ’08 (New Orleans, Louisiana) is the co-head of both Common Ground and Amnesty International, and she runs the costume loft in the theatre department. She likes that her involvement in these activities helps in different ways to “enhance the experience of individuals in the community.” Olivia also occasionally writes op-ed pieces for The Milton Paper and for The Issue, which is the online publication of the Public Issues Board.
Sotonye Bobojama ’08 (Randolph, Massachusetts), one of this year’s senior class councilors, is a member of the varsity field hockey team and—having taken dance lessons from a young age—has performed in the Winter Dance Concert since her Class IV year. Committed to health education and informing her peers about health-related issues, Sotonye is also an SECS senior, leading an Advanced Human Sexuality and Relationships class this winter. She is an active member of Onyx, Christian Fellowship, and is a photographer for The Milton Measure.
Back to Magazine
