Milton Magazine - Milton Academy

Hope RupleyDirector of Student ActivitiesHope Rupley affects every student’sMilton experience. “I just want tomake students’ experiences here positive,to help them make connections thatlast, to serve the greatest number ofpeople possible, in different ways.”Most students know that Hope is theagent behind the social activities of allkinds—large and small, spectacular andsimple—that liven their lives outside ofclass. From her lookout, a glassed officeperched in the center of the nonstopSchwarz Student Center, she says, “Youcan tell plenty by observing, and we’re soavailable to students right here. It’s easyfor them to be in and out and for us toget to them.”Week in and week out, Hope and herteam of Student Activities Association(SAA) members design and run gatherings—vansto movies or shopping,Boston ventures, showcase campusevents, parties, or simple snacks andbig-screen TV viewing, some bound toappeal to students.In the past, SAA members were allelected. Hope has built lots of responsibilityinto their roles, so while the headsare still elected each year, she set up analternative to election several years agofor building her working group. Anyonecan apply; candidates go through aninterview process; and then Hope andthe senior leaders choose the new members.You need to want to do the job toget it. SAA members run weekly meetings;they delegate tasks and follow up;they attend most events; and—a majorresponsibility—they bring ideas to thegroup. Members’ “homework,” as Hopeputs it, is to ferret out ideas from conversationson the fields, in the hallways, inthe common rooms, or over lunch.What’s new and well reviewed in theweekend world at Milton? Oktoberfest,with live bands, booths and food gottop billing, as did a holiday party withextremely popular cider muffins andglass mugs to paint and take home; atrip to Boston’s Improv Asylum with facultymember Peter Parisi; and the JewishStudent Union’s (JSU) Bar Mitzvahdance. Old favorites continue to buildprestige and appeal, too: A Capella Night(college groups that include Miltonalums); the hypnotist’s visit; and thewell-loved Beatnik Café, a student-ledopen-mike night with a laid-back, coffeehousefeel.Hope has learned that simple thingsreally work: TV and snacks; free moviepasses or free dinners off campus; a vanto the Ice Cream Smith in Milton LowerMills; film and discussion groups (withsnacks, of course). “Students learn,”Hope says, “that if an idea is reasonable,we give it a shot, and most requests arereasonable.”Hope’s office is in the middle of the Student Center.34 Milton Magazine