Being a student on the Strategic Visioning Steering Committee has been a rich and rewarding experience because I had the opportunity to learn about the school from a variety of perspectives and understand how the different roles collaborate to create the Hewitt I know. I was also able to share my learnings and viewpoints from 13 years at Hewitt. Examining what is working and what can evolve helped me focus on what is important to me and integral to a balanced education. An idea that I kept coming back to was the need for the environment I was in to be joyful. In helping to shape the new mission statement, I knew that I wanted this idea to be represented. Before you can have an environment that fosters learning and intellectual curiosity, it needs to be a place where happiness and joy thrive.
As a sophomore, I had the opportunity to see how my learning at Hewitt could be applied to life after school through my internship with Robert A. M. Stern Architects (RAMSA). At Hewitt I feel like I got a taste of hands-on learning experiences through the RAMSA architecture internship. Hewitt’s continued outreach to -- and partnership with -- the broader community are essential to the growth and development of students and faculty alike. My learning was cemented by experiencing how what I was studying could be applied in a professional context. At RAMSA, I was exposed to how interior designers, architects, structural and mechanical engineers, and city officials collaborate to create a new public library to better serve our community. Importantly, I saw two of my passions -- art and design -- applied to a potential future career. I gained valuable insights from professionals about each of their respective fields and realized how my knowledge was being implemented into the design of a public space. These real world applications of learning are what reinforce how meaningful and effective learning can be. Hewitt’s new vision intends to amplify these real world applications to the learning process.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have served on the Strategic Visioning Steering Committee and look forward to seeing Hewitt take on this ambitious and forward thinking plan!