In-person visitors were not allowed on campus this past year, but our alumni stayed engaged by virtually visiting and connecting with current students through Zoom. Here are just a handful of the alumni visitors we saw this year.
Conor Savoy ’01 spoke to Mr. Adjout’s Moral Dilemmas class about moral dilemmas in politics. As the executive director at Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, he deals with the tension that exists between morality and self-interest on a daily basis.
“The idea of morality and struggling with how to apply it is at the heart of foreign policy,” Savoy told the class.
He introduced the two schools of thought in international relations theory: liberalism (cooperation) and realism (the belief that conflict is the natural state of order). He touched on the Leviathan, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Obama Administration’s Iran negotiations
He probed the students on their opinions on the matter, challenged their ideas, and made the students feel like politicians themselves. He also reflected on his time at Beaver.
“At Beaver, I loved history. I had so many great teachers,”
Joddy Nwankwo ’18
Each year, the Middle School Social Justice Retreat has continued to grow and develop to meet our Middle School students where they are and help them think about themselves and the impact they can have on this community and beyond. This year’s retreat took place at the end of January 2021. It was a day of workshops and inspiring speakers, including alumna, Joddy Nwankwo ’18 (Stanford University ’22), as the keynote. Her speech, Because You Matter: The Importance of Identity + Personal Care talked about the relationship between identity, self-care, and social justice. Joddy also reflected on her BVR Middle School experience—a time when she often asked herself “who am I?”. Joddy helped MS students think about:
- What factors shape their identities?
- What happens when others view them differently than they view themselves?
- How do their identities influence the choices they make about how to treat people in our communities?
- How do they feel parts of their identity connect to the BVR community? Are there ways they feel disconnected?
You can watch her speech here.
Margot Amouyal ’20
Margot Amouyal ’20 joined an 11th-grade Rhetoric class to discuss her post-Beaver experiences living and studying at the Hevruta School in Israel. In addition to being a full-time student, Margot recently co-authored an article that was published in the Jerusalem Post—Israel’s most-read English newspaper—giving a personal perspective on Israeli-Diaspora relations. Margot has also continued writing and producing her own podcast titled “Voices of Hevruta,” a History class project that has now turned into a career. Margot’s passion for journalism served as inspiration for students in the class as they pursue writing investigative articles of their own. (You can also check out some of the podcast work Margot did while at Beaver here.)
Devin Martin ’19
Devin Martin ‘19 also visited the 11th-grade Rhetoric class and he discussed his post-Beaver experiences studying at Dublin City University in Ireland and working for several news publications. In particular, his work as an Economy and Trade reporter and Newsletter Editor with The New Federalist has given him an international platform to explore issues relating to global politics.
Karlenis Castillo ’01 & Aneesah Dambreville ’01
Karlenis Castillo ’01 & Aneesah Dambreville ’01 led a workshop discussion for the BVR Faculty Institute titled “Prisms of Identity.” The workshop asked the questions “How do societal lenses shape + mirror our identities? How does our environment attempt to define us?” Faculty and staff then explored how intersectionality and markers of identity shape perceptions of themselves + others. Karlenis and Aneesah facilitied activities and a dynamic discussion where they invited faculty and staff to reflect on their identities, their curriculum, and the population they serve. Earlier in 2021, they also worked with students at Beaver’s MS Social Justice Retreat.