From practicing medical procedures and caring for animals to producing films and developing climate action plans, Beaver students took their interests beyond the classroom this summer through the Hiatt Summer Fellowship.
The Hiatt Summer Fellowship provides financial support for students to pursue leadership and civic engagement opportunities with nonprofit organizations. This past summer, 110 Middle and Upper School students worked with more than 30 organizations, gaining hands-on experience in areas that interested them while contributing to their communities.
Students recently shared highlights from their summers at Middle and Upper School meetings—including skills they’ve learned, things they’ve discovered, and experiences shaping what they want to do next.
For senior Chelsea Allen ’27, three summers at Harvard Medical School helped solidify her decision to pursue biomedical engineering in college. What began as a technology internship grew into opportunities to contribute to medical research, biotechnology development, and even programming a voice-commanded AI surgical assistant.
“I’ve made a huge impact on the development of the program, but the program had a huge impact on my development as well,” Chelsea said.
Ruby Parker-Geller ’31 explored an interest in medicine through Boston Leadership Institute’s Mini Med School. She also volunteered at Community Servings, preparing and packaging meals for people in need.
“Though it was tiring standing for hours packing food, it was so rewarding to know that it would show up at another person’s door, so we always made sure to pack them with intention or write a short note while labeling bags,” Ruby said.
Other students took on hands-on responsibilities in different settings. At BINA Farm Center in Sudbury, Mass., Avery Thompson ’31 spent her summer cleaning stalls, feeding animals, and learning about daily animal care.
“Working at the farm taught me so much about responsibility, hard work, and what it really takes to care for animals every day,” Avery said.
Closer to home, Mason Baker ’29 worked alongside Beaver’s Buildings & Grounds team through BVR CampUs, helping prepare campus for summer programs. Having participated since sixth grade, Mason encouraged other students to get involved.
“This gives you an opportunity to meet the Buildings & Grounds team that helps Beaver in ways that sometimes go unnoticed, simultaneously building connections that can help you in the future,” Mason said.
For Meara Gross ’27, the fellowship gave her a chance to share her interest in filmmaking. At Boston Film Academy, she worked with younger students to write a script, hold auditions, and produce a short film that they screened for families.
“I really liked Hiatt Summer Fellowship because I was able to use their funding to support and create a plan based on my interests,” Meara said.
And for Nirmeen Mohamed ’29, the experience is continuing into the school year. At the C-Change Summit at Harvard Chan School of Public Health, she explored the intersection of climate change and public health and developed a community action plan to expand green spaces in Chelsea.
“I plan to expand my community action plan through an SDP next term!” Nirmeen said.