These Chapel Talks come from teachers across all three divisions — Lower, Middle and Upper — and staff members, both familiar faces and those our seniors may not know as well. In these talks, trusted community members offer valuable insights and guidance, often drawing from their personal experiences to address topics that resonate with students in their final year at Hackley. These moments provide an opportunity for students to hear varying perspectives, encouraging connection and understanding within the Hackley Community.
Honoring Stories and Building Empathy
Chapel Talks powerfully align with the School’s mission, offering our seniors a chance to “learn from varying perspectives and backgrounds in our community” on matters directly related to “character, scholarship, and accomplishment.”
Listening to one another’s stories is a powerful way to build understanding and connection, while also cultivating empathy, a virtue of paramount importance to the Hackley Community.
A favorite part of senior year, Chapel Talks provide students with unique insight into the humanity, experiences, compassion and wisdom of those who have supported them in their years at Hackley.
In recent years, the Chapel Talks program has grown to include Senior Spotlights, student-led reflections delivered on Fridays from the Diller Hall stage. In these talks, seniors share meaningful experiences and lessons they have learned with their Upper School peers, offering insight, inspiration and a stronger sense of connection across grades. What began as a faculty-led tradition has become a communitywide exchange of stories and wisdom.
The two articles below are older pieces that highlight Chapel Talks and Senior Spotlights as the program existed at the time.
#HackleyChapelTalks