Beyond Garden Hill: Winter 2018

Beyond Garden Hill
Winter 2018

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Exploring Possibilities

The Alumni Committee is always looking for new ways to bring Mountain School alumni of all ages together. At our fall 2017 meeting in Vermont, we brainstormed about how we can meet more of the varied interests, needs, and desires of alumni. We've discussed hosting more social events in conjunction with our fall and spring meetings in different cities, expanding on the success of the Garden Hill Fund with additional programming, and ramping up career networking efforts. The possibilities are numerous, which can be overwhelming for a small committee of volunteers, but we're open to exploring as many ideas as we can to best serve our alumni. After all, good things happen when Mountain Schoolers get together.

One project that we are working diligently on with the School is planning the new Summer Session, slated for the weekend of July 27-29. The concept of a weekend of learning and fun for all alumni and their families developed from a combination of input from graduates and passionate ideas from Committee members. We are very excited to add this new offering to the slate of events in 2018.

​The Alumni Committee's spring meeting will take place in Washington, D.C. in early May. We'll be reviewing the spring round of the Garden Hill Fund, planning for Summer Session, and working on a more concrete plan for career networking. 

If you have ideas for us to consider, please contact us; we would love to hear from you. 

Warmly,
The Alumni Committee​
​

P.S. Last call for applications to serve on the Alumni Committee! Apply by January 31 to be considered for joining this spring.

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2018 reunion schedule:

In this issue:

Introducing
​Mountain School Summer Session

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Garden Hill Fund update

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​Big Idea Day 2017

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Take note:
• Alumni recruiting 
• Snowshoe-a-thon in VT
• May 5 in Washington, DC 

1-Year Sugaring Reunion: Reunions March 16-18, Fall '16 and Spring '17
Summer Reunions: 
  June 8-10:  5, 10, 15 years (Fall '12, '07, '02 and Spring '13, '08, '03)
  August 3-5:  20 and 25 years (Fall '97, '92 and Spring '93, '98)

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Make plans for Summer Session, July 27-29

In an effort to expand learning and connection opportunities for all alumni, the Mountain School will offer a new program called Summer Session to take place from Friday, July 27 through Sunday, July 29. We invite graduates and their families to spend a weekend on campus attending workshops, demonstrations, and discussions and enjoying outdoor experiences together.

Rally your Mountain School classmates and friends to join you in Vershire for Summer Session! Dorm and camping accommodations will be available, and childcare will be provided.  

* Registration open: February 1 - May 1 
* Cost: 
   $200 per adult age 17+/weekend
   $100 per child age 4-16/weekend 
​      ($500 maximum for a family/weekend)
   Free for children age 3 and under 
   $75 per adult, $50 per child for Sat. only

​Do you have a passion or expertise in an area to share
with other alumni?
Consider leading a session! 

Please contact Annie Janeway, Director of Alumni Relations,
to discuss your idea for a
Summer Session workshop.
Volunteer leaders will receive a discounted rate for the weekend. ​

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March 1: spring Garden Hill Fund Grant deadline

If you have an endeavor that focuses on the common good in your community and/or the larger world, then consider applying for a Garden Hill Fund grant. The Garden Hill Fund program not only supports the work of alumni, but also engages current Mountain School students, who, along with the Alumni Committee, carefully select grant recipients. 

NOTE: The spring round of the Garden Hill Fund now has an application deadline of March 1, changed from previous years' deadline of February 15.​

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​Fall 2017 Garden Hill Fund grant recipients

Read about all past Garden Hill Fund grant recipients here.
​

Amanda Harrison f13 ($4500)
Yale Prison Education Initiative
​New Haven, CT
The Yale Prison Education Initiative seeks to bring Yale college classes to students incarcerated in prisons in Connecticut. College-in-prison programs have proven their transformative and rehabilitative value both to underserved students of great potential in prison—who excel given the chance, who display extremely low rates of recidivism, and who go on to become leaders in their communities—and to instructors, for whom teaching in prison is an eye-opening reminder of the power of higher education.

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Quinn Vittum f97 ($3000)
Community Workshops for Re-use Hawaii
​Honolulu, HI
Re-use Hawaii is nonprofit organization dedicated to waste reduction through building material reuse, taking apart buildings as an alternative to conventional demolition. The salvaged material is made available as an affordable community resource at Re-use Hawaii's Redistribution Center. In partnership with the Honolulu Tool Library, Re-use is starting a new Community Workshops program to educate and demonstrate what can be created from salvaged material.

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Sam Potolicchio s99 ($3000)
Preparing Global Leader Beyond Big Cities
Moscow, Russia
Globalization has meant remarkable economic growth and development for urban centers, while leaving those left behind in rural areas around the world without skills and opportunities to thrive. This project will expand the field-tested model of the Preparing Global Leaders Forum (PGLF) programs for students and young professionals from underserved communities in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and South Africa. 

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Sophie Osorio f16 ($1500)
Teens in Scrubs Medical Internship Program 
New York, NY
Teens in Scrubs is a medical internship program for underrepresented public high school students interested in gaining hands-on exposure through shadowing physicians, nurses, and medical students, as well as general hospital volunteering and laboratory opportunities. Teens in Scrubs provides science-oriented students in the New York City area with an academic enrichment opportunity dedicated to career development before entering the professional world.

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Shahbaz Soofi f08 ($8000)
Black Seed Farmers Market Sunday Expansion Worcester, MA
The Black Seed Farmers Market will expand its Sunday Farmers Market from one location to three locations. The two new additional locations are both situated within subsidized housing communities in Worcester, Massachusetts. Having access to a Sunday farmers’ market will make it much easier for eligible residents to utilize their Healthy Incentive Program (HIP) benefits as well as their WIC and Senior Coupons (all of which must be redeemed at a farmers’ market). This new project will also make it possible to employ more immigrant, refugee, and asylee youth workers as well as help to build community. 
​This is the fourth time Shahbaz Soofi has applied for a GHF grant and the second time he has been awarded a grant. In fall 2015 he received $6,000 to launch the Black Seed Farmers Market, which is a program of Muslim Community Link.

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Big Idea Day 2017

Hot Off the Press:
consuming the news in 2017

For Big Idea Day in mid-October, the Alumni Committee invited graduates to gather and discuss how they consume news in a hyper-partisan world, where bias influences everything. How we consume the news, which sources we choose,  and our general access to news have all changed significantly since most graduates' time at the Mountain School. ​

Nine events took place with about 80 alumni from San Francisco to London and in between. Feedback from hosts about their group discussions included the following:
​

One big take away was that we all consume media in more old fashioned ways such as radio, and newspapers, with supplemental digital subscriptions. As a group of folks who live and work in Vermont, this isn't shocking, but still interesting to find strong holds of those who aren't addicted to their phones in this ever plugged in world. 
​-Vermont group

Many people listen to what we think of as more liberal news. Some have expanded beyond traditional news sources to follow politicians and various thinkers and leaders on Twitter. There was a mix of people's desire to listen to news and engage in political conversation with people who don't have quite the same political views.... How do we engage with "the other side"?  Some people do this by default... It's very difficult and complex. Some people would like to engage with "the other side" more, but are not sure how. 
​-Brooklyn group

The news and what is happening in the world also impacts our work, or shapes the context by which we work. Some want to do more meaningful work, work that we are "proud" of. Others have had conversations at work (i.e. about race) that have surfaced, possibly in new ways, because it's more in our face in the media since the election. Some have left work and want to do other things. Some have been working on political issues in their work and throughout their careers.  
-Brooklyn group

We had an interesting and wide-ranging discussion about the news and our Mountain School experiences. It was a fun get together!
​-Seattle group

Host your own TMS alumni event

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Take note:
​upcoming alumni events & opportunities

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​Did you know that the majority of applicants to the Mountain School learn about the program from alumni?
Your help spreading the word is key in helping us build future semesters of students. The application deadline for the Fall '18 and Spring '19 semesters is coming up soon on February 15th! Do you work with high school sophomores or know any strong students? Please encourage them to apply, and don't hesitate to reach out to Emily Boren, Admissions Director, with questions or recommendations. 

Join the 21st annual Vershare-Mountain School Snow Shoe-a-thon 
Saturday, March 3: This snow shoe trek starts at 10 a.m. at the Vershire Town Center and proceeds two miles through a beautiful wooded course, with a good portion of the terrain on Mountain School trails. This is a wonderful community event to raise money for a local kids summer camp program. The day includes a fabulous chili lunch at the Mountain School, a family-friendly winter carnival on campus, and a chance to see faculty and students of s18. There are snowshoes to borrow, or you might consider personal traction footwear (i.e. Yaktrax).

Make a donation of any size on the day of the event or if you can't join in, consider sponsoring one of the faculty children who will be participating.

Alumni, friends, and family are all welcome! We can provide transportation from Hanover, NH. Additional event information is available here. To sign up or find out more, email or call Annie at 802-685-4520 x114.

Washington, D.C. social event on May 5 
Mark your calendar for an alumni and friends social event on the evening of Saturday, May 5. Details to come! 

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Got something to advertise or promote?
​Moving to a new city?
Want to post a job or look for one?  
​Whatever your ask or offer, connect with alumni by posting on the
​alumni bulletin board.

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About Us
The Mission of the Mountain School Alumni Committee is to support a dynamic community of Mountain School graduates by connecting them to each other and
​helping them to carry forward the intellectual curiosity, celebration of place and commitment to service we associate with the Mountain School.  

Got feedback? Contact us.