Beaver Reflections:
I graduated from Beaver in 1987 and I had a tremendous time there. It was a very tight-knit community and I loved the eclectic vibes that ran throughout the school.As far as I remember, everyone got along well with each other and it was such a warm and welcoming environment. I am fortunate to say that once I got to college, I believe I was ahead of the curve because of how well Beaver prepared me for the next level of education. I had amazing teachers that helped me develop my skills while also having fun inside the classroom. I remember my English teachers, Ms. Zucker and Ms. Moulding, because of the way they taught us how to think analytically while diving into the deeper meanings of texts. My brother had passed away earlier and it was in English class where I had the chance to process that loss and put it into writing. They were such amazing teachers and helped me progress as a writer.

What is #happeningnow in your life:
After graduating from Beaver I went to Clark University and studied psychology. After that, I worked briefly in the field of human services. I was working at an in-patient psychiatric hospital for adolescents and decided that I really needed to go back to school to get my master’s. I went to Simmons and graduated in 1996 with my master’s in social work. After I received my MSW, I decided to leave Massachusetts and move to Dallas, Texas, because I had family there. There I was introduced to the WARM Place, which stands for What About Remembering Me, which is a children’s grief center for children who experienced the death of someone close. This was important to me, especially as someone who lost someone very close to them. The director of the WARM Place actually trained me and I came back to Massachusetts and was doing a lot of educational courses on the topic of grief and loss. With a network of people, we developed FRIENDS Way, which stands for Families Reaching Into Each New Day, in Rhode Island, with a similar structure and ideologies found in the WARM Place. I was the director there for a number of years but travel became too much with family so I stepped back from my role there. After that, I founded Jeff’s Place (https://www.jeffsplace.org/), a children’s grievance center. We provide educational training and workshops for schools, crisis prevention, and some individual counseling.

“Beaver is a school that does very well in helping kids with their mental health and putting the students first, before a test or exam. When I was there the support system through the faculty and staff was excellent and I can only imagine how great it is now.”
– Jen Kaplan ’87

Advice to Beaver students:
In today’s society there is a lot of pressure surrounding academics and how much stress kids can put on themselves. It is important to prioritize yourself whether that is your physical or mental health. Although it is good to do well in school, a letter grade will not define you.