Category Archives: Student Profile

William Huang ’14: Filmmaking is Like Building a House

2013_1205_Schnaittacher_WilliamHuangWhile others focus on the beauty of a particular shot, or the arc of the narrative, for Tzu Jung “William” Huang ‘14, the attraction of film is in the meticulous process of figuring out how each piece fits perfectly with every other.

That’s what drew the Taiwan native to film making in elementary school, where he started tinkering with Windows Movie Maker during a fifth-grade summer camp, and it’s what has kept him interested enough to learn other editing programs such as Final Cut.

It’s all about starting from nothing, says Mr. Huang, who tends to break into a wide, infectious grin while he talks about his process.

“It’s like building a house from all the raw materials,” he says. “From nothing, to 100 percent done.”

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An All-American in Every Way: Karly Simpson ’13

“We were tied with less than a minute left and I had a free position shot,” recalled Karly Simpson ’13 of a home game against Suffield she played in as a seventh grader. “At the time I didn’t think it was a lot of pressure, but I did my little bounce shot, and it went in and it was crazy.”

The South Hadley native has been playing lacrosse since third grade and this is still Ms. Simpson’s favorite lacrosse memory. She was a member of the varsity team at the time, a very rare achievement for a seventh grader. “Karly was one of the best skilled kids out there right from the start…and grew to be one of our top players pretty quickly,” explained Jen Fulcher, the head girls varsity lacrosse coach.

This year Ms. Simpson co-captained the girls varsity lacrosse team to an undefeated season (15-0), Ms. Simpson was named both All-American and Academic All-American by U.S. Lacrosse. In addition, with her fellow co-captain, Amanda Cronin ’13, Ms. Simpson was awarded the Alumnae Bowl, a Williston Northampton award for the highest achieving female athlete. Continue reading

Completing a National Challenge

As an eighth grader, Olivia Foster was looking for a challenge. Then she came across the Congressional Award online—a national program where students can earn medals for completing tasks in areas such as public service, personal development, physical fitness, and exploration—and her path became clear.  Now a junior, Ms. Foster will be awarded the highest youth award in the program, the gold medal, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in June.

Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 to “recognize initiative, achievement, and service in young people,” the Congressional Medal program is open to American citizens aged 14 to 23 years old.  Participants can earn bronze, silver, and gold certificates, or bronze, silver, and gold medals.

In order to qualify for the award, participants must complete a number of hours in four areas: Personal Development, Volunteer Public Service, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration.

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