Groups of students crowd the Becker theater, eagerly hugging and smiling at friends they hadn’t seen since school ended last June. Crowding in the aisles, students tentatively fill the seats a few rows closer to the stage than the year before. Thick, theatrical fog hangs heavily in the air, only illuminated by a handful of orange, sodium lights, throwing the whole room into grayscale. Dramatically, the lights are switched on, flooding the room with color, and illuminating smiling faces in rainbow light.
As introduced by Mr. Dow, Head of School, Emery’s Opening Ceremony theme this year is “Words, Actions, Impact.”
“[This] is really appropriately timed,” believes Ms. Echols, Dean of Students, “especially with all the changes this year, it is a good time to recognize the power of your voice, whether online or in person.” With the absence of cellphones due to the new technology policy, the administration hopes students will begin to realize the power words and actions can have.
During the Opening Ceremony, students witnessed not only faculty members onstage, but also their friends. Students stepped into a multitude of roles as musicians, spoken word performers, speakers, and technicians. Toby Kimberly, a junior who worked backstage during the production believes, “It is important to find something that is a safe environment for you in order to grow and give back to your community.” While not every student wishes to be onstage, Ms. Echols believes there are a multitude of ways to be connected to your community, “You can make high school what you want – it is a great time to try things on and see if they fit.”
While Emery is now synonymous with student involvement and leadership, it once was very different. “[Student leadership] was a thing, but it wasn’t as vivacious as it is now, which is a huge testament to the student body,” says Ms. Echols. “One of my favorite things about Emery is how comfortable everyone is to ask questions and push back.”
Indeed, Emery provides the opportunity for students to become confident and productive members of their community.
Opening Ceremony also featured spoken word artist, Adriana Winkelmayer. “It was the perfect moment for me to do what I do best – advocate, inspire, and ultimately change what people think,” she reflects. Inspired by “Words, Action, Impact,”Adriana left students considering the power behind words and how to harness that power through action.
As students crowd the doors to exit Becker, a sense of hope floats in the air – Adriana’s words in their minds, “words lead to feelings and feelings are what you remember in the end.”
