Celebrating the Arts - Dwight-Englewood School

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CULTURALDIVERSITY Dwight-Englewood School 20 The Art of Celebrating Cultural Diversity Two events held this spring at D-E and presented in part by the newly created Office of Multicultural Initiatives did an effective job of showing how differences can be a beautiful thing. Cultural Showcase Inspires Aspecial assembly held on the eve of the 2011 Spring Break showcased the incredibly rich array of diversity found within the D-E School community. Featuring all Upper School students in memorable vocal, dance, poetry, spoken word, and instrumental performances, the first annual INSPIRE Multi- Cultural Showcase took place in Schenck Auditorium and left a vivid impression. In the opening words of one of the INSPIRE Club presenters, Jay Kapur ’11 noted that the club hopes to “provide education, improve communications and sponsor celebrations for all members of the D-E community, [believing] that we can work together to create an environment of respect, trust, equity and justice.” Danny Chang ’12 (left) and Alberto Jimenez ’13 performed “Hembra,” a Peruvian song, at an assembly showcasing D-E’s cultural diversity. Rachna Agarwal ’12, another INSPIRE club member, stated that the assembly was “intended to be more than a show of talent. Our goal [was] to expose us to that special something that comes from sharing one's culture with others.” Assembly program highlights included a soulful rendition of “Drunken Confessions,” performed by US students Brian Park ’12 and Justin Kim ’11; a Peruvian guitar duet; and a dance segment based on the song “Waka Waka” from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Student Gillian Garcia ’13 recited a beautiful poem titled “The Children of Cuban Exiles” by Sonia Guerra, and Ariella Witter ’13 shared her own compellingly personal perspective on “the browning of America” in a narrative entitled “My Modern Family.” Witter’s family heritage is Jamaican, Chinese, and Puerto Rican. Clinton Carbon, INSPIRE Club faculty advisor and director of the D-E Office of Multicultural Initiatives, praised the students and faculty who worked so many hours to put the assembly together. He says, “We definitely achieved our goal to celebrate and honor the soul and spirit of members of our community.” INSPIRE President Honored Debbie Marie Rivera ’11 is one of only 24 Bergen County students to be recognized with a 2011 Youth Certificate of Merit from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance Committee of Bergen County. Debbie Rivera with Sen. Robert Menendez, who visited D-E for the INSPIRE Club’s Hispanic Heritage Recognition Assembly in October. Nominated by the D-E Office of Multicultural Initiatives, Debbie received her award at a program on January 17 at Temple Emeth in Teaneck, also receiving at that time several certificates of recognition from New Jersey officials, including the Bergen County Executive’s Office and U.S. Congressman Steve Rothman. The award program highlights outstanding academic achievement and service to school and community, that goes beyond membership and which exemplifies the ideals of Dr. King.
Debbie Rivera ’11 at the MLK Honors event, with her D-E mentors including Clinton Carbon, director of the D-E Office of Multicultural Initiatives (2nd from left), and Joseph Murphy, chair of the D-E Ethics Department (far right). Debbie was nominated for her outstanding work in revitalizing INSPIRE, the D-E student diversity club; her participation on the D-E Hearing Council (for which she was elected by her fellow Upper School students and faculty/staff members); her participation as a member of the D-E contingency to the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference in December 2010; and, finally, her work with her church as a Sunday School teacher and volunteer with New Jersey SEEDS. Debbie is also a senior-freshmen mentor to an advisory of students, and she has been manager for the volleyball team since freshman year. Clinton L. Carbon, director of the Office of Multicultural Initiatives, noted, “Debbie is a student who personifies our Profile of a Graduate, and, frankly, all the ideals of Dr. King's work. Whether considering Debbie’s work with the INSPIRE club throughout this entire year with compelling events, or her everyday, cheerful disposition, Debbie works hard to welcome all students. She is a wonderful ambassador for our school, and she believes in working on special initiatives that will have a future life within our community.” Debbie says, “I stand strong for promoting differences amongst our student body, and I think that it is very important to educate each other about what we each represent. I have been involved in diversity clubs since middle school and participated in conferences such as the Young Latina Conference by Latinas United in Political Power and the annual Teens Talk About Racism with Marianne Murphy (wife of Ethics Department faculty member Joe Murphy). One of the things that I’ve been particularly involved in shaping is INSPIRE, the new version of the diversity club, and the Diversity Steering Committee with students and faculty. INSPIRE is my favorite club on campus and although it is a new club, I see it being a strong establishment many, many years from now.” Debbie says that her motivation on diversity issues comes in part from her family circumstances as “a firstgeneration daughter of an immigrant family.” She notes, “I will be the first one in my home to graduate from high school and go on to college.” Last fall, Debbie began organizing an assembly for Hispanic Heritage month. Held at the beginning of October, the assembly featured a speech by U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, the only Latino senator and chairman of the Senate Democratic Hispanic Task Force. (He is also the father of D-E graduate Alicia Menendez ’01.) Debbie, who hopes to work in the government someday was thrilled when Sen. Menendez agreed to participate. “I was so surprised and extremely excited about his presence because he is a Latino I look up to and admire as a politician,” she says. As INSPIRE’s president, Debbie also helped to organize the club’s recent assembly that showcased cultural differences within the D-E community. She says, “The Spring INSPIRE Assembly was also a labor of love.” Next fall Debbie is headed to Washington, DC, to join the prestigious Georgetown University Scholars Program, where she will begin her college studies in political science. A “Beautiful” Book Reading In an event jointly sponsored by the D-E Upper School student group Circle of Women and the Office of Multicultural Initiatives, author Rosie Molinary presented her book, Beautiful You: A Daily Guide to Radical Self-Acceptance. The book Beautiful You: A Daily Guide to Radical Self- Acceptance was featured in a D-E community reading by visiting author Rosie Molinary. Reading select passages to a large, attentive group of D-E students, teachers, and staff at the Imperatore Library, Molinary outlined how her book can help readers to “discover 365 ways to shore up their confidence, encourage self-awareness, and get reacquainted with their beautiful, brilliant selves.” Marisol Diaz, D-E visual arts faculty member and advisor to Circle of Women, remarked, “Beautiful You is an action plan to give women what they need to champion and fully live their own lives, coaching them into the most extraordinary—and necessary—habit of treating their whole selves well.” Molinary’s presentation drew from her personal experience, as she described herself as “a Latina, Gringa, daughter, sister.” In a PowerPoint presentation, Molinary provided intriguing before and after slides that demonstrated how supermodels and celebrities need “hours of preparation” in order to fulfill contemporary society’s hyper-inflated standards of physical perfection. Clinton L. Carbon, director of the D-E Office of Multicultural Initiatives, noted, “[We] were very pleased to sponsor Ms. Molinary for this reading. Her work is inspirational [and] informative, and her topic could not be more timely for students and faculty of both genders and all races.” Spring 2011 21
Page 1 and 2: TODAY S P R I N G 2 0 1 1 Celebrati
Page 3 and 4: HEAD’SMESSAGE A flourishing arts
Page 5 and 6: 12 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 24 | 28 |
Page 7 and 8: Bob Bakish ’81 (left) with Presid
Page 9 and 10: whose Broadway credits include The
Page 11 and 12: One of the School’s six handbell
Page 13 and 14: is that a conductor is a sort of jo
Page 15 and 16: Spring 2011 13
Page 17 and 18: D-E student artists gathered for a
Page 19 and 20: Chicago Sun-Times. On the web, Zimm
Page 21: Erica takes a bow after her perform
Page 25 and 26: monthly Dwight School newspaper cal
Page 27 and 28: Alumni Share Advice about Arts Care
Page 31 and 32: Alexander Koren ’12 The competiti
Page 33 and 34: D-E Students Earn National Scholast
Page 35 and 36: D-E Lower School music faculty memb
Page 37 and 38: Dickinson, Hodges Make Basketball H
Page 39 and 40: Woman” by Aretha Franklin. Guitar
Page 42: HEAD’SSERIES Dwight-Englewood Sch
Page 47 and 48: Elizabeth Quarles Ryden has been li
Page 49 and 50: the year, she and Gib travelled to
Page 51 and 52: E 63 Class Rep: Dr. Charles E. Kord
Page 53 and 54: Dave Yarock wins! D 71 Class Reps:
Page 55 and 56: 81 Class Rep: Kenneth Lenskold Emai
Page 57 and 58: 95 Class Rep: Nirupama Nukalapati 1
Page 59 and 60: INMEMORIAM Dwight-Englewood notes w
Page 61 and 62: BULLDOGBOOKSHELF If you are a D-E a
Page 63 and 64: We Want You Back! Join Us For These

Celebrating the Arts - Dwight-Englewood School

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