In 1926, radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie was an international celebrity, and glow-in-the-dark watches were the latest rage. Then, the girls who painted those watch dials began to die. Based on the true story of the women and men who worked for the U.S. Radium Corporation in Orange, New Jersey – and the factory girls who made labor…
A veteran English teacher and novelist, Alex Myers noted that he “frames the whole world in terms of story.” Speaking to the School on October 27 – between Coming Out Day on the 11th and Trans Awareness Week in mid-November – he eloquently told his own story of coming out as transgender right before his senior year in high school.…
While back on campus to attend his first Middlesex Board meeting, new Trustee Freddie Pantoja ’85 addressed the school community on September 29 as this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month speaker, generously sharing his own journey to the School, his experience as a student, and his career path in the pharmaceutical industry. Along the way, he also gave students great advice…
Now an annual autumn event, the School’s Community Life Symposium is an early opportunity for students and faculty to consider, discuss, and address different ways in which Middlesex can be a more welcoming, inclusive place for all its members. This year, on September 23, veteran educator and consultant Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee talked about microaggressions, giving many examples of these…
An appropriate first exhibition for the start of the academic year, when connections that will last a lifetime are just being formed, Befriend: Work by Meghan Morris and Eva Zasloff opened in the Ishibashi Gallery on September 14, 2023. Members of the Middlesex community, along with the artists and many friends, gathered at a well-attended reception that evening, giving students…
The power of community and the importance of being present and supportive were resonant themes at Middlesex’s 120th graduation exercises on May 28, 2023. In sharing their own experiences – whether at school or beyond – speakers touched on these ideas, highlighting the need to build and nurture relationships, to persevere through challenges, and to be there for others in…
A molecular biologist with a Ph.D. in genetics and genomics, Zakiya Whatley has been a researcher, professor, and podcaster during her scientific career – or her “episodic journey,” as she called it. “It’s more like Netflix’s ‘Are you still watching?’” she laughed, making the point that there really is no set STEM career path that must be steadfastly followed. “It’s…
As a youngster in Indiana, Chris Kang belonged to one of only a few families of color in his town – and like most children, he wanted nothing more than to fit in, “not to be picked on for my slanty eyes and for kids not to make fun of the way my parents spoke.” Once he crossed the threshold…
After a national search that drew nearly 150 applications, Interim Head of School Karlyn McNall was pleased to announce in March that Craig Najarian will join the community as Middlesex’s Director of Athletics beginning this July. Since 2015, Craig has served as the director of athletics at Catholic Memorial School, guiding one of the most successful athletic programs in Massachusetts.…
With her signature pink style and positivity, Elle Woods enrolls at Harvard Law School, determined to prove she is the serious kind of girl her ex-boyfriend Warner says he can marry. As in the book and movie of the same name, things don’t go according to plan for Elle as she discovers that her happiness lies more in her own…