Building Community

Coming from the public school system in Quincy, Massachusetts, Doan ’22 immediately felt the difference in her educational experience upon entering Milton. “There was a huge shock because there were so many teachers who were willing to be there for me and meet with me one-on-one, and that was different from what I had in middle school. I also had access to resources and courses that I never really experienced before.” Doan observed, “Milton really encourages you to ask for help, which is great because Milton is a very rigorous school. I think Milton helps you realize the community around you is really important.”

Doan and her classmates were able to participate in a variety of learning opportunities thanks to philanthropy. Doan shared she appreciated being able to choose her own path in addition to taking core courses. Doan spent time pursuing her interest in volunteerism and service work through the Community Engagement Office and was involved in Invest in Girls. She shared, “Invest in Girls empowers women in the business field. We know that finance is sometimes a very male-dominated field, and when you think about people in power in that field, you might think of men in business suits. What our club tries to do is create a space for girls to come in and learn about things like investments or scary topics like stocks in a non-intimidating way so that they can pursue their passions with other girls who are interested in that as well.”

Doan plans to take a gap year, immersing herself in the French language and committing to volunteer work. She will be attending the University of Chicago in the fall of 2023.

Financial Aid

“Everything was made possible due to financial aid,” shared Sam ’22. “There was no way my family would have been able to afford coming to Milton without the gift of financial aid.” From living in Norris House—where he was later chosen to be House Monitor—to joining the varsity football team, Sam felt deeply connected to Milton and its community as soon as he stepped onto campus his sophomore year. Sam appreciates the variety of opportunities that Milton offers. He shared, “One of the things I absolutely loved about Milton was how it allowed me to be more than one thing. I was able to be football captain and then sing a cappella in my free time. In the spring, I was able to be track captain and then cook for my entire dorm.”

Financial aid gave Sam access to opportunities where he was able to pursue his passions for music and football. Sam believes without this support and his Milton experiences, he would not have been prepared to attend Williams College, where he will be playing football and minoring in music in the fall.

Finding a Home

A “lifer” at Milton, Olivia ’22 has had a breadth of experience throughout her 13 years at the school. Having grown up in a handful of different towns throughout her childhood and teenage years, Olivia considers Milton her home. “Home to me is Milton due to the fact that I have spent more time here than elsewhere.” Once a day student, Olivia eventually transitioned to boarding life. “Living in Hallowell House made my busy life much more efficient given my heavy workload and extracurricular commitments.” Some of the activities that kept her busy when she wasn’t in class included her role as co-head for the Caribbean Students Association and the 898 Step Team, serving as Sophomore Class Representative, and being a member of the DEIJ Student Soundboard. She also founded the Diversity in Athletics Student Board and was a member of the Girls’ Varsity Squash Team, leading as the captain for one of her years. 

Olivia credits Milton for supporting her medical pursuits while in the Upper School. She shared, “My Honors Biology teacher, Mr. Carvalho, was extremely supportive and even offered to help write letters to various potential mentors in medicine.” She also explored the medical field through conferences and internships. As a sophomore, Olivia interned at the Tufts TAHSS program and was accepted into the Harvard Medical School Biomedical Science Careers Program as a junior. Olivia plans to attend Columbia University this fall on a premedical track, aspiring to one day be a dermatologist.

In the Classroom

Patrick Owens is grateful to be involved in and witness to the many talents and passions of Milton’s students. “I love all the ways in which I get to interact with students. From the classroom to the sports fields to the dorm, the students inspire me to be a better teacher, coach, and dorm parent, and I enjoy being a part of their journey at Milton.” 

From the time Patrick first arrived at Milton eight years ago, he has seen the number of students taking statistics exponentially increase, growing from three sections in 2015 to eight sections in 2022. He has had the freedom to be responsive to students’ interests, designing a new course, Advanced Statistical Methods, for students who wanted to learn beyond the introductory course. This year, an exciting development for Patrick was being able to teach in one of the newly renovated classrooms. The upgraded space gave him a glimpse into how it will look and feel when the building is fully renovated. “I am confident that our math program will thrive with this investment.” 

In reflecting upon donor support, Patrick is thankful that he is able to pursue a career that he loves at Milton. “I appreciate that, as a community, we are always looking to improve. We constantly reflect on what we are doing and why we are doing it, we set goals for future growth, and we make intentional efforts to achieve those goals. Things at Milton are never settled; we are a dynamic community that is always looking to grow, adapt, and enhance.”

Learn about the many campus improvements currently underway thanks to donor support.

Professional Development

Phil Robson is one of the many teachers at Milton who benefits from professional development opportunities funded by philanthropy. Thanks to donor support, Milton was able to cover the cost of Phil and several other teachers’ enrollment in Harvard University’s Instructional Leadership Certificate (ILC) program. “The program is not discipline-specific,” explained Phil, “it’s about having more leaders in the community because there’s a lot more you can do with that. Some of us might go on to be coaches, and this could be something for department chairs.”

Phil found the module, Articulating the Intangibles of Teaching, to be powerful. “It was about finding purpose, our goal, our mission, and how what we are doing in the classroom relates back to that. We defined for ourselves what’s near and dear to us and why are we here.” Donors’ investments in professional development help build the capacity in instructional leadership roles at Milton, directly impacting the student experience both in and outside the classroom.

Building a Better Milton

At Milton, there is an intentionality and focus on what it means to be a positive, contributing member of our community. Upper School Director of Equity and Inclusion Melissa Lawlor, explained, “One of the pivotal pieces to that is faculty and staff, and what we can do to really bolster their personal and professional growth in this area. We are thinking about the ways in which our adult community can engage in the same discussions that the students are having around identity. There’s so much potential for, and so much great energy around, what it means to be anti-racist and a good listener from the faculty and staff. They really want to understand how their identity impacts the space and how they can be culturally responsive to the kids who are in front of them.” Melissa believes that, unique to independent schools, faculty and staff pay attention to not only the students in front of them but who they appear to be to the students. Thanks to donor support, Milton’s important work around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) is an ongoing educational journey among members of the Milton community.

This year’s DEIJ training opportunities included a multi-day intensive DEIJ training for all employees through VISIONS, Inc; book discussions; an Equity and Inclusion Speaker Series featuring six speakers; employee affinity gatherings for several identity groups (ethnicity, ability, gender, race, citizenship, sexual orientation, religion); and whole-school professional development about identity-related mistakes.