The focus of Kim Evelti’s class in video game programming and design is to not only teach students about programming, but to also encourage their creativity and enthusiasm for game play.
To that end, hearing from an alumnus who creates video games for a living was the perfect way for Williston Northampton students get a practical sense about what a career in the field is really like.
During his talk on January 14, Jesse Crafts-Finch ’01, owner of Gorilla Tactics, a video game design and development company, gave students tips on designing (“start small, then make it smaller!”), career paths (major in something that has marketability beyond just game design), and networking (send out 100 resumes, and the one call you’ll get is from the person who knew your college roommate).
A social justice scholar and noted author will present the keynote address at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day assembly at the Williston Northampton School on Monday, January 18.
Marcella Runell Hall, the dean of students at Mount Holyoke College, will present “Storytelling for Social Justice,” which will encourage students to define the term “ally,” explore what it means to have multiple social identities, and practice the power of storytelling.
Dr. Hall is the author of three award-winning books: “The Hip-Hop Education Guidebook: Volume 1,” with Martha Diaz; “Conscious Women Rock the Page: Using Hip-Hop Fiction to Incite Social Change;” and “Love, Race, and Liberation: ‘Til the White Day Is Done” with Jennifer “JLove” Calderon.
There was a point during Kate Nocera’s time at the Williston Northampton School when it was doubtful that she would even graduate.
In her keynote address for this year’s Cum Laude Ceremony, Ms. Nocera, a former political journalist, talked about how she went from a fixture in the Dean of Student’s Office, to accepting her diploma with Cum Laude honors.
“My actual favorite memory from Williston was being at graduation and hearing them calling the names of the Cum Laude inductees, and hearing my name among them,” Ms. Nocera recalled.
The Cum Laude ceremony, which honors 12 seniors who have excelled academically, was held on Friday, January 16, at 8:30 a.m. in the Phillips Stevens Chapel.
For those still in high school—particularly those facing the dread college application process—it can be comforting hear from fellow students who have tackled application time and have done so successfully.
Enter “The College Nine,” a panel discussion created through a collaboration between the Alumni and College Counseling Offices.
On Saturday, January 9 at 12:30 p.m., nine young alumni will return to campus for a panel discussion and Q&A session with their fellow Wildcats. All Williston Northampton students are welcome to attend the event, which will be held in the Parents Association room.
“We are hoping that current students will have a few takeaways: their alumni peers went through the same process and ended up okay, happy, healthy, etc.” explained Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement and panel coordinator Brittany Weiss in an email. She added that “The College Nine” would also explore “making the tough choice regarding what school to go to if you have a difficult decision to make. What happens if you don’t get into your first choice. What happens if you do.”
Representing the alumni side of the equation will be Cameron Hill ’15 (Yale University), Brendan Hellweg ’14 (Yale University), Elyssa Katz ’15 (Davidson College), Loren Po ’15 (Northeastern University), Marie Innarelli ’15 (Hobart and William Smith Colleges), Jenna Phelan ’15 (Boston College), Henry Lombino ’14 (Wesleyan University), Brittany Collins ’14 (Smith College), and Hannah King ’15 (Connecticut College).
The panel will take place following Saturday classes, with Williston students encouraged to grab bag lunches and join the discussion.
An award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer—who created CG fire for Pixar and won a technical Oscar for animation software behind “Life of Pi”—will talk about his creative process with students at the Williston Northampton School on Monday, December 14.
Chris Perry, a former Williston parent, will walk students through a show that’s currently in development. The yet-to-be-named animated adventure, set on a future Earth where evolution has gone bananas, was created with help from the Williston Theatre program. (Mr. Perry notes that some of animated characters are voiced by Williston students.)
Mr. Perry and members of his crew will share how they’ve taken the show from a fledgling concept to a fully realized test. The presentation will touch upon writing, voice acting, design, film, animation, and the business of producing a TV series. A Q&A will follow.
“I hope our students get some insight into how a TV pilot (in this can an animated one) gets produced, shopped around, etc.,” noted Director of the Williston Theatre Emily Ditkovski in an email. “Looks like it will be really fun.”
Mr. Perry is a professor at Hampshire College and the founder of Bit Films, an independent studio in Western Massachusetts. He has over 20 years of film experience, including as a programmer and generalist technical director in VFX and feature animation. Mr. Perry has an M.S. degree from the MIT Media Laboratory and an M.F.A. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Any Williston students and interested Williston parents are welcome to attend this presentation, which will take place in the Williston Theatre. Please contact Ms. Ditkovski with questions.
