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An Independent, Coed, Friends School, Nursery Through Grade 12

Independent Study Projects Demonstrate Care for Learning, People, and Place

The Class of ’48 Awards for Independent Study and Inquiry, established through a 50th reunion class gift, supports student-led projects that foster experiential learning. Four seniors were recipients of awards in 2024, and they presented projects ranging from child development and health to global stewardship on Tuesday, December 3 in Moses Brown’s Glendinning Hall.

Simran T. provided outdoor education programs for children supported by local non-profit Amos House. Praksitha R. helped to develop eye care programs for school children in Indian villages. Kenneth S. showcased his photographic exploration of climate change impacts and indigenous culture in the Canadian Arctic. Kate F. created STEM-based camps for underserved girls in New England. 

Simran was motivated by her belief that involvement with the outdoors is developmentally crucial for young children. "I found a shocking statistic from the Environmental Protection Agency that said the average kid in America spends 90% of their time indoors, which made my project all the more necessary," she said. "For my project, I organized and led field trips for the kids at Amos House to give them access to meaningful outdoor experiences." Amo House is a non-profit organization supporting the homeless, unemployed, and those who are living in poverty.

Simran developed a passion for outdoor activities in time spent living in Australia earlier in her life, and more recently taking a course there during a visit involving outdoor and environmental education class. “I learned about how to adventure outdoors, to safely and sustainably manage risks and respect the natural environment. I also learned about factors that limit access to outdoor participation in activities,” Simran said.

Collaborating with Amos House, she organized field trips locally to Carrot Audubon Preserve and Lincoln Woods, emphasizing environmental respect and conservation. She found that this had a positive impact on the children, including overcoming fears and forming bonds. 

Praksitha initiated a project to provide eye care to rural schoolchildren in India. Knowing from her own experience the importance of eye exams, she partnered with Aravind Eye Hospital in India with the funding from the grant. “My goal was to create camps for these rural areas where doctors would visit clinics and provide essential eye care, as well as any further assistance that these children needed,” she said.

The project funded more than 10 camps at rural schools where testing was possible. Praksitha was able to travel to India while the camps took place and visited two of them while there. Her role at the camps included helping to coordinate exams and doing scribing for doctors. In all, 249 students were screened which uncovered the need for glasses in many, and in some cases procedures for treatment. She encouraged others to apply for similar grants to pursue their passions and make a difference.

Kenneth traveled to Churchill, Manitoba, highlighting experiences with wildlife, indigenous culture, and climate change. He and a group participated in a National Geographic student travel program, focusing on photography and environmental science. Their activities included observing red foxes, beluga whales, and polar bears, and learning about indigenous traditions from locals. The trip emphasized the impacts of climate change on polar bears in particular, with shorter sea ice seasons reducing their hunting time. Ken urged the importance of environmental stewardship, reducing plastic use, and recognizing the land's indigenous heritage. 

He asked community members to “take on the bigger aspect of stewardship, that we become stewards of our community, not just for our school environment, but also for the outside nature environment.”

Kate's project aimed to inspire young girls in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut to pursue STEM careers by hosting educational programs at youth programs in the area. Despite a struggle to make headway after much outreach, and some significant logistical hurdles, she successfully hosted 10 STEM-focused programs across multiple states, focusing on public health, chemistry, biology, and engineering. She reached over 100 girls aged 8-15, with these hands-on activities. Kate highlighted the importance of mentorship and overcame challenges by adapting her approach and maintaining her mission to foster STEM interest in young girls.

“I've also always believed in holding the door open for other women and striving to uplift them. This project gave me the opportunity to do that,” she said. “I hope to continue on this trajectory by always striving to instill confidence in other women to help them achieve what they're capable of.”

About the Class of ‘48 Awards

The Class of ‘48 Awards for Independent Study and Inquiry represent one of the most significant gestures of friendship on behalf of alumni to the school. A philanthropic gift from this historic class in celebration of their 50th reunion helped to establish these awards in 1998 and provide an ongoing, annually-funded learning opportunity for our students.

Amanda Harter Fogle-Donmoyer ’99 was the first recipient of a ’48 award, which she used to undertake a photography project of girls in Ghana. Since then, close to 100 students have used Class of ’48 Awards for projects ranging from study of animation to work for women’s reproductive rights, and the number of recipients each year has grown from one to multiple. Thanks to the Class of ‘48 for continuing to support these types of amazing projects each year for rising seniors!