Reflecting on Freshman Year

BY Yoonjeong Yang ‘24

Time has flown by so fast, and along the way, we have built memories that will remain deep in our hearts. Although the pandemic has made school life starkly different from what we had looked forward to, St. Mark’s has done its best to provide freshmen with unique and exhilarating experiences. As it is the time for students to remove the freshman label, students need to reflect on their freshman year, reflecting on what it meant and how they grew to prepare for the sophomore year. I would like to share my journey at St.Marks and how the community has influenced my identity in the hopes of inspiring incoming third-formers. 

I experienced a significant change after moving to St.Marks. At the start of the year, I was apprehensive about how people would judge me due to the racism I experienced when I was younger. The memories of those experiences still haunt me. While I initially struggled to adapt to a new culture and social milieu, it was a pleasant surprise that people at St.Marks were sensitive and receptive. I strove to reach out to people with different backgrounds and diverse student groups, expressing my true self while listening to other people’s stories. My goal was to extend my empathy and compassion. Through these meaningful experiences, I was able to form deep and lasting friendships at St.Mark’s that will persist long after high school. Here is the lesson of my story: no matter how tumultuous my inner conflicts are, when we surround ourselves with non-judgemental, supportive people and maintain a willingness to learn from others, we will eventually reach the ultimate destination of self-acceptance and self-appreciation. 

School life was not as easy as I thought it would be. There isn't a specific word that can accurately describe my freshman year because there is simply too much to express with just one word. The year was filled with regrets, failures, and mistakes, but it was also about growth, success, and maturity in retrospect. I did not have a dream or a plan, and I was the student who simply envied others. However, I began to try new things, things I never would have thought of trying. I started by joining new clubs like St. Marker, Students for Sustainability, Women in Stem, Model United Nations, and Academic Peer Tutors. Consequently, I expanded my boundaries and began to challenge myself every day to try unfamiliar pursuits, despite my fear of failure. Dreams of the future no longer held a significant meaning for me because I realized that I was too young to care too much about what we would be. If someone asks me what I want to be in a year or few years, I would simply reply that I want to be my best friends’ laughter, parents’ warmth, and my own haven. And I came to this realization during my year as a freshman. 

If there is one piece of advice I would like to give to incoming third-formers, I would tell them not to hesitate. We should continue to step out of our comfort zones by reaching out to people of different backgrounds and exploring new things in our community. These are the principles I learned during the past year. I’m sure all the other freshmen can relate: the year has been full of regret and excitement. Although this academic year has been highly unusual with the pandemic, we should remember that freshman year was about finding ourselves. If we can remember this, we will be one step closer to a successful sophomore year. As freshman year was about understanding myself, I hope to accomplish during the sophomore year to inspire and motivate the people in our community and listen to the colorful stories of others. We should all be grateful for our pandemic-shortened yet precious freshman year and cherish these memories forever. 

2021 Spring Departing Faculty

By Ivy Li ’23 & Coco Chen ’24 

We are finally at the end of this unprecedentedly challenging 2020-2021 school year! Over the past year, we have learned to navigate our life despite many obstacles and difficulties. However, we could not have done it without the help and support of our fantastic faculty. After this successful school year, we are bidding farewell to five caring and devoted faculty members that have contributed so much to our community with their tremendous efforts: Dr. Bonhomme, Mr. Camp, Ms. Cook, Mr. Corliss, and Mr. Geraghty. 

Dr. Bonhomme: 

Since he arrived at St. Mark’s in 2019, Dr. Bonhomme has been a devoted French Teacher, coach, and advisor. As a teacher, Dr. Bonhomme “strives to use his gifts of empathy and curiosity to make a difference in his students’ lives.” As for his most unforgettable experience in the classroom, Dr. Bonhomme recalls doing a dance activity with his French III class. While the students were following the moves on the TV screen and competing with each other, they also asked Dr. Bonhomme to dance. Under the encouragement of his students, Dr. Bonhomme danced, and one of the students kept a recording of the dance. To this day, he still doesn’t know where the video is, but this is “something that he will keep in his mind.” In addition, he also enjoys “designing engaging learning opportunities for his students and building empathic relationships with them.” As a teacher, he believes that students “give him the necessary motivation to move forward,” and highly appreciates all of his students.  

Mr. Camp: 

Mr. Camp has had a tremendous impact on the St. Mark's community in the last 13 years, serving as English teacher, Department Head, coach, advisor, and most recently as Director of Experiential Learning. 

Upon his departure, Mr. Camp says: “I have such deep gratitude to St. Mark's for the Beijing and Seoul trip. Seeing former students, current students, and prospective students in their home countries was so impactful. That was not only a highlight of my St. Mark's 13-year tenure but also of my life.”

When asked about his plan for the future, Mr. Camp says: “I am moving on to a completely new school, New England Innovation Academy, where I will be a 'Founding Faculty Member' teaching Humanities and helping to build all aspects of the school that is opening its doors in September.” 

We wish him all the best in his future career. 

Ms. Cook: 

Ms. Cook has served as Classics teacher and Department Head, multiple varsity sports coach, House Head of Burnett House, House resident, and advisor over her 11 years. In her interview on her departure, she said she had both exciting big adventures and small yet moving moments at St. Mark’s. Once, she took fourteen students to Greece and ate in a restaurant where a musician came in and expected them to dance. Though they did not feel pleased initially, they enjoyed learning Greek folk dance until the restaurant closed. Another notable moment happened on a typical Sunday in Maple/Elm. She was called to look over some discipline issues, which turned out to be a surprise birthday party. We wish her all the best in her future career. 

Mr. Corliss:

During his four years at St. Mark's, Mr. Corliss has served as Science teacher (Environmental Science, Biology, and Chemistry), House Head, basketball and crew coach (most recently serving as the Girls Head crew coach), and advisor. Caleb has also been an integral part of the school’s Community and Equity work, particularly in his leadership with faculty. 

In his interview, he says that his favorite memory was about St. Mark’s girls’ crew team racing with Groton’s team. Even though they lost to Groton by less than a second, Groton completely changed their team’s line-up the next day, apparently impelled by their narrow win. Mr. Corliss is still proud of this accomplishment despite their loss.

We wish Mr. Corliss the best in his future journey. 

Mr. Geraghty: 

In Mr. Geraghty’s 15 years at St. Mark’s, he was both a dedicated Physics teacher and a hockey and lacrosse coach. Mr. Geraghty’s most memorable experience was when the St. Mark’s Hockey Team won the New England Championships back in 2015 and 2016. None of this success was expected in both cases, but through cooperations and teamwork, the players summed up to be something that “was much greater than the individual parts.” 

Next year, Mr. Geraghty expects to continue to teach and coach in North Carolina. In the future, he also looks forward to moving to the Boston area, where his wife would serve as the president and executive officer of a Swiss biotechnology company. 

Ms. Lee: 

In Ms. Lee’s nine years at St. Mark’s, she has served as the Associate Dean of Students/Director of Residential Life. She lives at SM with her husband Korey and sons Kaleb and Kason. As a passionate, caring, and dedicated teacher, she will be missed by all the students. 

We wish her all the best in her future life.

Mr. Studevan

Mr. Studevan joined the St. Mark’s Community in 2018 as  Assistant Director of College Admissions. During his time here he coached Football and Basketball and served as a dorm parent in Sawyer. We will all miss Mr. Studevan and wish him all the best.

Despite the limitations presented by Covid-19, faculty and students have made the most out of the past year. While we will miss all of the teachers parting from St. Mark’s this year, we will all wish them the very best!