Seniors of CatlinSpeak reflect back
Graduating leaders pass the baton and celebrate the impact of student voices.
By Torin Hough ‘24
Seniors on their last day of Dialogue for Democracy, photo by Mrinalini Keskar.
On May 14, the seniors of Honors Dialogue for Democracy (D4D) joined the class for the last time before leaving for senior projects. Seniors are an integral part of the Catlin Gabel School (CGS) Upper School (US), and D4D is no different. Of the 16 students in D4D this year, seven of them were seniors, six of whom were taking the class for their first time.
The seniors listed different motivations for enrolling in D4D. Krystal Wu and George Zaninovich, the previous teachers, had appealed to some of the students. Others named siblings taking the class and having a positive experience as the reason for signing up for the 2021-2022 school year.
Mrinalini Keskar, editor-in-chief of CatlinSpeak, just finished her third year of D4D. She recalled her initial excitement about working on a school newspaper when D4D first resumed after a “long hiatus.” Over her three years, Keskar gained insight into “objectivity, and how it can almost never be achieved, but it’s what you want to aim for as a journalist.”
Liam Dwyer, on the other hand, first engaged with CatlinSpeak as a winter immersive at the CENTER, a hub for youth engagement and empowerment that closed in the spring of 2021. They said that this year was the first year that D4D could fit into their schedule.
Seniors listed varying topics that they feel they learned from taking D4D. Some things are specific to journalism, whereas others can be carried into future pursuits and life. Alexandria Nagy, for example, learned about “how to format things so they could be an objective news piece.”
Emma Song feels that D4D taught her broader lessons “about writing and talking to people outside of the CGS community… and just reaching out to people.” Similarly, Hazel Walrod noted the importance of centering others’ voices and stories when writing news pieces.
Coligny Dana thought even bigger. “[D4D] taught me to not pay such close attention to the news… and [to try] to live in the real world sometimes.”
Many of the seniors described loving the community of D4D, mentioning how they enjoyed the circles that class often began with, being with friends, and getting to know people better. However, seniors also enjoyed the chance to impact the CGS community in a unique way.
Keskar appreciated “being able to write whatever [she] want[ed].” She also acknowledged that, while cliché, she loved the “student voice” that CatlinSpeak provided.
Song remembered the community's reaction to her article on the Tiny Forest Project. “When I wrote about Patrick [Walsh], for his tiny forest, he thanked me… and was like ‘thank you for writing such a nice piece, I feel really appreciated,’ and he wanted to show his family.”
Similarly, Aline Garcia-Rubio’s Humans of Catlin Gabel (HOCG) piece elicited community interaction. “I got a couple comments on Aline’s Humans of Catlin Gabel article, and people talked about how much they learned in that article,” Song continued, adding that the audience reaction was what she felt proudest of this year.
Many seniors had a particular article that stood out to them as a point of pride, often coming from a topic that was important to them, like the piece on anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation by Dana, Dwyer’s interview with Peter Shulman, and Walrod’s in-depth article about racism at CGS, co-written with Ava Yu.
Keskar was pleased with her work from this year in general. “I’ve written a lot of pieces that I care about,” Keskar said, adding that it was nice to hear people talking about them. She also said that she was happy with the improvements that CatlinSpeak made this year.
Nagy agreed and said that she wrote a lot of articles that she was proud of. “I like that I was able to take what I was compassionate about and interested in… and put something out there.”
The seniors of CatlinSpeak were kind enough to offer some parting pieces of advice.
Dana emphasized community, both in D4D and in general. “Try to be connected to your peers in class because that will make it fun,” she said.
Dwyer and Song mentioned the importance of getting a variety of interviews, with Dwyer saying to “do interviews with people that you wouldn’t usually” and Song specifying the value of talking to people outside of CGS. Song also talked about the benefits of getting interviews done early.
Keskar and Walrod believe that making waves could be good. “Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and maybe get in trouble a little bit,” Keskar said, with Walrod adding that one should “do things that are controversial.”
Finally, Nagy’s advice may not be fully applicable once the school year ends, but its sentiment remains. “Don’t be afraid to throw Secretary Aidan Sheeran-Hahnel under the bus,” she laughed.