Jonathan Mooney
We should challenge the concept of “normal” and instead embrace the things that make us different, this year’s Talbot Speaker told students. Mr. Mooney, an author and lecturer who advocates for people with learning disabilities and attentional disorders, urged students to draw upon their unique skills and personalities to make their mark in the world. Mr. Mooney, a Brown University graduate who has dyslexia and attention deficit disorder (ADD), did not learn to read until he was 12, and today spells at a third-grade level. While at Brown, he and a few fellow students founded Project...
Read MoreUnsettling, in the Best Possible Way
Immersing myself in a new and uncomfortable situation often comes with some lofty goals. It also, almost always, comes with plenty of trepidation. After all, a “new place” might be geographically distant from anything I’ve known, linguistically mysterious, and just plain intimidating. I know that I perhaps have humbling errors in store and will likely fail often. Yet, somewhere in my head or heart, I know that confronting these challenges is exactly why I chose to put myself out there, and very quickly I start to feel like I’m learning and gaining ground. Studying in Spain when we...
Read MoreRemembering Lefty: Richard Thomas Marr, March 11, 1936–November 11, 2016
At age 21, with a fresh degree from Williams College, Dick “Lefty” Marr joined Milton’s faculty. Dick’s friend and colleague Chuck Duncan says that, in Dick, Headmaster Arthur Perry saw “the model of the New England schoolman, combining the qualities of intelligence and love for the adolescent with the willingness to become involved with all aspects of school life.” At Milton—in the classroom, in the dorm, on the baseball field and ice rink—Dick proved his skills and commitment time and again. For more than two decades, Lefty gifted Milton students in his English classroom,...
Read MoreVisiting Jordan With Students, Connecting, Not Just Observing
Master of the wry understatement, Joshua Emmott (history department) notes that trying to understand people and the way they live and think is a real advantage as you try to learn history. An inveterate traveler himself, Joshua has taken students to India over one March break in the past, and to Egypt during another. This year, Joshua, who teaches History of the Middle East and Globalization and Islam, among other courses, inaugurates a trip to Jordan. Eight students are joining him and will do far more than visit the sights. “If you envision a certain content area in your course, and not...
Read MoreThe New Version of Old
by Andre Heard ’93, Associate Dean of Students I am striving to become a new version of adult. As I’ve witnessed four cycles of students arrive in Class IV and depart after Class I, I’ve learned that being young has changed, and so has being old. I watch in awe as the relationships between Class I and IV students evolve. Class IV students look up to their Class I counterparts, who seem to have found balance in their Milton lives. By senior year, they have figured out what is important to them (at least during this period of their lives) and started to focus their efforts. They make...
Read MoreGoing on Project
Each May, Class I students begin the long-awaited “Senior Project.” A tradition since the 1960s, Senior Projects have evolved, and today seniors’ proposals qualify as: scholarly or academic; community service; internships; or the arts. The Class of 2016 chose broadly—from immigration to the environment, from stem cell research and business startups through working on presidential campaigns. Students painted, gardened, sewed, prepared concerts and recitals, shadowed doctors, wrote and directed plays, tried learning new instruments and languages, and volunteered at sites all over...
Read MoreBook: Dancing With the Tiger, Lili Wright ’82
Dancing With the Tiger by Lili Wright ’82 Putnam Penguin, July 2016 Lili Wright ’82 published her first novel, Dancing With the Tiger, with Putnam Penguin this summer to much acclaim. The novel is a thriller set against Mexico’s epidemic of drug violence, and the global controversy over the repatriation of cultural artifacts. The tale begins when a drug-addicted grave robber unearths an artifact he’s certain is of immense historical and monetary value. His decisions lead to a violent struggle for possession, involving a vicious drug lord, American expatriates, local Mexicans, and...
Read MoreDesign: LAMPO, Lindsay Richardson ’00
LAMPO The lamp that comes in a tube Inspired by the mechanics of threaded wooden toys and the infinite possibilities of origami, Lindsay Richardson ’00 and partners developed an ultra-modern lamp using materials they love. Influenced by designers like Noguchi and Nelson, they ensure every detail is both beautiful and functional. They set out to make LAMPO something they could afford for their own homes. LAMPO is the lamp that comes in a tube—it can go anywhere and light up any room. It’s made with quality materials and is easy to assemble and break down. Marrying age-old techniques with...
Read MoreFood: Mei Mei Boston, Irene Li ’08
Mei Mei Boston Inspired Chinese-American cuisine Irene Li ’08 launched her third and fourth Boston-based food businesses: Mei Mei by Design in the Seaport, a shipping container-turned-lunch counter, and Mei Mei Pantry, a line of Chinese-inspired sauces starring local ingredients. Both enterprises emerged from her and her siblings’ award-winning food truck, caterer, and restaurant, Mei Mei, near Kenmore Square, serving up creative Chinese-American cuisine made from locally-sourced and sustainable ingredients. The food truck opened in April 2012 and was awarded Boston’s Best Meal on...
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