RE Log Spring 2022

Student R ansom Everglades celebrated five years of Dan Leslie Bowden Fellowships in the Humanities with a gallery night that showcased the Class of 2022 fellows’ projects and attracted dozens of members of the RE community. The February 7 evening event, which filled the Solomon Art Gallery with students, faculty, parents and alumni, illustrated the impact of the students’ fellowship work and the reach and growth of the program. The humanities fellowships have become a signature experiential-learning opportunity at Ransom Everglades since the first fellows set out with the school’s support in the summer of 2017. The nine current fellows – Anya Dua ’22, Rebecca Gotterer ’22, Lauren Heller ’22, Alexa Hommen ’22, Mark Mateo ’22, Kira Oglesby ’22, Maria Luiza Schuchovski ’22, Kathleen Stanton-Sharpless ’22 and Leah Thorpe ’22 – shared presentations, took questions and displayed posters, photographs, videos, websites, podcasts and artwork that documented their summer projects, which took them to Israel, Brazil, The Bahamas and other locales. On hand for the special evening were Thomas Bowden, the grandnephew of the late Dan Leslie Bowden, the legendary RE faculty member for whom the program is named; Jeffrey Miller ’79 , the former Bowden student whose endowment gift created the program; Head of School Penny Townsend, Associate Head of School John A. King, Jr., who oversees the fellowship program; and other members of the administration. “The Dan Bowden Fellows continue to impress each year,” Miller said. “Their passion, creativity and diverse array of topics continue to uphold Dan Bowden’s legacy. Through Dr. King’s mentorship, the program has evolved and surpassed all expectations. Thanks to all the fellows for the past five years. Dan Bowden is smiling upon all of you and his legacy will continue to shine bright for Ransom Everglades.” Since the summer of 2017, 44 Bowden fellows have traveled across the nation and to India, China, Mexico, Scotland, France and other international destinations. Many have done research and carried out interviews, others have created art, some have performed. All have compiled and shared their findings with the RE community while exploring the topic: What makes us human? Members of RE’s junior class are invited to apply each fall; the fellows are selected by a project review panel overseen by Dr. King. Students receive monetary stipends and faculty mentorship to carry out their humanities projects. The Class of 2022 fellows previously shared their summer work during an assembly for the upper school community on October 12, 2021. “It is so rewarding to see the fellows fostering a lively discussion of the range and depth of the human condition with classmates, parents, teachers and other friends of the school,” Dr. King said. “I know that my friend Dan Bowden would have been right in his element at an event like this, and very gratified by the sincerity of the conversation about what makes us human.” Oglesby, who traveled to Milwaukee in June, studied The Great Migration and Effects on African Americans in the Summer Studies The Class of 2022 Bowden fellows share their work ews 26 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2022