Communication Office
The communication office develops, implements, and evaluates communication plans and programs that support the mission of the School. The office facilitates Milton Academy’s efforts to promote awareness and good will among its various constituencies and external public; to recruit students and faculty; and to raise financial and volunteer support.
Communication Staff
Sarah Abrams
Editor, Milton Magazine
sarah_abrams@milton.edu
Marisa Donelan
Associate Director of Communication
marisa_donelan@milton.edu
Eileen Newman
Chief Communication Officer
eileen_newman@milton.edu
Esten Perez
Director of Communication and Media Relations
esten_perez@milton.edu
Emily Sedgwick
Social Media Manager / Video Content Producer
Emily_Sedgwick@milton.edu
Greg White
Director, Web Development and Academy Graphic Design
gregory_white@milton.edu
Media Contact
If you are a member of the media in need of information or press materials, please contact Esten Perez at 617-898-2395 or esten_perez@milton.edu
Campus News
A Message To Our Community
This letter was shared with our alumni community on June 4th. A similar letter was also sent to current Upper School students prior to graduation.
Dear Alumni and Friends,
These past months have been unlike anything we have experienced together. Most recently, as a nation and within our Milton community, the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and others have caused feelings of fear, outrage, and pain.
In a message to our students, faculty, and staff sent over the weekend, we unequivocally condemned racist violence, systemic injustice, and bigotry. Some of you took to social media to share stories about your own experiences at Milton and implored us to take action to fully live our ideals and mission. Thank you.
Please know this: We hear you and acknowledge that we are not immune to racial inequities and injustices. We can and must do better to foster inclusion and equity throughout our School. We are committed to doing this critical work, as complex and uncomfortable as it may be at times.
Real Community in a Virtual Classroom
In English and history classes, learning stems from conversations, focusing on discussion with peers, not lectures from teachers. When Milton had to abruptly switch to remote learning in the spring, faculty had to figure out how to shift this experience from in-person to virtual. English Department Chair Nicole Colson said that while being in a space together is the ideal, she found the overall experience to be positive.
“When you build a real community in your classroom, it doesn’t go away when you shift over to remote learning,” said Colson. “Who they were in the classroom is who they were on Zoom.”
Colson said one trick she figured out after a few sessions was to have all the students unmute themselves for the entire class. Some were worried that background sounds from their home life would be disruptive, but Colson felt differently.
Milton Hosts Intramural Student Hackathon
Eighteen teams ranging in size from one to seven students came together via Zoom to participate in MiltonHacks II, an intramural, student-led hackathon. The hackathon took place over 12 hours on May 24, during which students from different schools built projects that were judged by a panel of Milton alumni. Teams competed in six categories: Most Addictive Game, Most Educational, Most Technical, Most Scalable, Best UX/UI, Best Novice Hack, and Best Overall Hack.
Most Addictive Game went to Dina-Sara Custo ’22, who built a social-distancing simulator game where the player must avoid others to advance. “The more people that see the good message the game is promoting, the better the outcome will be,” said Custo.
Oliver Eielson ’21 won Best UX/UI for his app, Busy Beach. Eielsom described BusyBeach as an app that “helps people and governments limit contact and overcrowding at beaches and stop the spread of coronavirus.” He also won the Student Vote award, determined by popular vote at the end of the hackathon.
Seniors Recognized at Prize Assembly
The School community gathered virtually this morning to celebrate seniors at the Prize Assembly. Awards recognized overall student achievement as well as achievement in the performing arts, visual arts, English, science, math, classics, computer science, modern languages, history, public speaking, student publications, and athletics.
The Head of School Award honors and thanks certain seniors for their demonstrated spirit of self-sacrifice, community concern, leadership, integrity, fairness, kindliness, and respect for others. Eight students were honored (in photo via zoom): Zaki Ellis M’hammedi Alaoui, Yaneris D’Anique Briggs, Jerry Ducasse, William Conners Livingston, Erinma Adaeze Onyewuchi, Allison Nicole Reilly, Jeanna Yuyang Shaw and Iryna Sobchyshyna.
Congratulations to all of the prize recipients, including a few junior students. Below is a complete list of awards:
Senior Projects: Different Form, Same Tradition
The senior project is a long-treasured tradition at Milton—an opportunity for Class I students to spend the month before Graduation focusing on one topic before presenting their work.
This year, the coronavirus pandemic changed many seniors’ plans for projects, but members of the Class of 2020 still found creative ways to use their time, either by pursuing their projects safely, altering their projects, staying in their regular classes, or dedicating their month to serving the Milton community. In lieu of the senior project fair that traditionally caps off the seniors’ May work, projects were compiled on a website.
