Class of 2015 Looks to Bright, Hopeful Futures
For the members of the class of 2015, their final Spring term at Exeter passed in a flurry of endings: the last climbs up the academy building’s marble steps, the final tugs at the Harkness table sliders before a test or the last carvings of names into their wooden surfaces. But as the seniors say goodbye, a wave of firsts also awaits them. Whether their plans for the future entail travel, gap years, internships or beginnings at colleges, the seniors will have experience from their time at the Academy to support them as they begin the next stage of their lives.
“I'm going to see places I haven't seen and hear things I've yet to hear."
After four years at Exeter, many of the seniors are excited to take a break from work and start seeing the world outside of the confines of academics.
Senior Hannah Fuller is excited to take a “pause” with her friends and family in Oregon this summer before attending college. “I think it is important to celebrate what an accomplishment an Exeter diploma is and everything we all will continue to do with our lives,” Fuller said. “There are pressures for students to continue internships, large trips and other work after graduation, but I need to take the time to respect this transition in my life.”
Senior Zoha Qamar is most excited for her travel plans during the weeks after graduation. Accompanied by Senior Liddy Ambler, the two will travel to Paris, Munich and Budapest.
The seniors who will be taking gap years also stressed a need for a period of rejuvenation. Senior Elsa Chinburg’s decision to take a gap year came from a need to experience things she felt she would never have a chance to do in school. In the fall, Chinburg and senior Harry Tibbetts, who is also taking a gap year, will embark together on a “500 mile stroll,” hiking the New England Trail and Vermont’s Long Trail. Before attending the University of Edinburgh in the fall of 2016, Tibbetts will also spend time in Japan and hike the 2,650 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in the spring.
“I wanted to give myself time to think about my life and the way I wanted to continue it,” Tibbetts said. “Hiking the PCT is the kind of undertaking that I have always wanted to test myself with. This is the time of my life where I feel it would be the most valuable to me.”
After parting from Tibbetts, Chinburg will travel to Ireland to stay and work in the Ballytobin Camp Hill community, where Exeter sends students every winter term. The community is a therapeutic farm for children with multiple disabilities. Chinburg is excited for the community because of its stark difference from her past experiences. “I have no idea what to expect, and I love that,” she said.
Senior Rosie Hutton is also spending her gap year at the same Camp Hill community. When the director of Camp Hill, Patrick Lydon, came to Exeter, Hutton approached him in hopes of making plans.
“A few months ago I was in a really rough place. I didn’t know where or if I was going to college, and I was terrified of graduating,” Hutton said. After talking to Lydon, “everything fell into place.” Hutton's plans in Ireland revolve around activism and social change, especially in the way mentally disabled people are treated. “I think it would be hypocritical of me to think I can somehow change the world without any experience,” Hutton said. “I hope the people at Camp Hill will teach me how to be a better advocate and a better member of society.”
Also taking a gap year before beginning her time at Columbia University, senior Alice McCrum will venture a spring semester backpacking across Australia with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). In order to fund her trip, McCrum will spend the first four months of her gap year working at her old school in London as a teaching assistant for kids ages five to eleven.
“College has the same level of pressure and work as Exeter. I need a year off from schoolwork, tests and the fast pace of life,” McCrum said.
Because of senior Scott Hermenau’s passion for creating sound, his Kesler scholarship-funded gap year will be spent traveling around the U.S. gathering field recordings and stitching them together into a sound piece.
“I'm going to see places I haven't seen and hear things I've yet to hear,” Hermenau said.
Senior Augustus Gilchrist’s gap year will be spent participating in the National Security Language Initiative program, entirely sponsored by the government. Gilchrist will stay a year in Moldova, taking intensive Russian classes and living with a Russian-speaking host family. “I am hoping to become fluent in Russian but also to absorb elements of another culture that I wouldn't get from a short visit,” Gilchrist said. “I'm excited to get a chance to experience something like this before the renewed pressure of college begins.”
Before beginning her first year at Parsons this fall, senior Millie Dunstan will be spending her summer working as an intern in the consular section of the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. Although Dunstan is more interested in fashion and business, because she has moved so much in her life, Dunstan is “excited to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes of an embassy and how the U.S. handles its relations with other countries.”
Although the future for the graduating class is exciting, many seniors stressed that the pressure of being an Exonian continues after receiving a diploma. “We are constantly told that we are the future leaders of our generation so we are automatically expected to be successful. That's a huge pressure,” Dunstan said. “People feel like when they come back for reunions they need to have accomplished something so their classmates will be impressed.”
Hermenau agreed that there is a level of expectation for success that Exonians feel as they graduate. “There is a quota of prestige, surprise or exclusivity that many people who ask seniors what their plans are salivate for,” Hermenau said. “Some people get disinterested or disappointed if the quota is not met.”
Although students may leave Exeter feeling a pressure to succeed, senior Joe Platte emphasized the importance in communicating gratitude to the people who made Exeter what it is. “We have to thank the people who helped us keep our heads up and figure out who we wanted to be,” Platte said.