Hudson Scholars Reflections

To study at Hackley is to surround yourself with peers who elevate your goals and friends who encourage you to think in new ways. 

As a junior, I remember learning about an array of different subjects my friends were teaching in the Hudson Scholars program. The way my friends described their experiences opened my mind to a realization — it must be incredibly rewarding to teach something you’re passionate about learning. I found myself wondering what I might bring to this program. I was enthusiastic about teaching math, maybe English, possibly both. But then an idea emerged. What if I could teach piano, my favorite thing to learn, to Scholars? 

I was certain that piano was what I wanted to bring to Hudson Scholars, but I wasn’t sure how. When I brought the idea to Mr. Sykes in the spring of 2022, he was happy to help. At the time, there wasn’t a framework in place that would allow me to just start teaching the following day. Mr. Sykes and I would have to work to establish one. 

Soon, we set up logistics and identified several interested Scholars. I still remember the first day. I was nervous. It was my first experience teaching piano, but I wanted to give these three middle schoolers a really good lesson. I sketched out a lesson plan, one that would both guide me confidently and allow me to respond to the needs of each student. When I met the three Scholars, I knew very quickly that this was going to be awesome. They were so excited to learn something new — one of them had taken piano lessons before, one of them had never touched a piano, but all three Scholars were thrilled to be at this piano lesson right after their full day of school. 

While working with the Scholar who hadn’t touched a piano before that day, I introduced to him the concept of a scale. I described an idea that sparks my imagination, hoping to spark his: “While playing ascending notes, imagine building a tower out of blocks — a tower of sound, built out of each note on top of the one before it.” However fundamental scales are as a concept, building a seamless, beautiful tower is truly one of the most difficult tasks in music, requiring patience, concentration and careful listening. As I’ve worked with this student on building different towers, I’ve learned that the most well-built ones start very quietly, close to the ground. Like my idea of bringing piano to Hudson Scholars, growth is gradual — little by little, the sound gets stronger. Not skipping steps, each note patiently follows the one before it, connecting to the one after it. 

Struggling to articulate concepts I thought I knew very well has allowed me to connect with these ideas on a deeper level. My experience of teaching crystallizes what I learn from my own teachers. Sometimes I even leave lessons with the Scholars feeling like they have taught me just as much as I’ve taught them, if not more.

The Scholars have also inspired me to be a better learner. They’ve shown me that a person can be focused, curious and truly excited about learning at any point in the journey of learning any subject.

Creating Hudson Scholars Piano has been one of my most deeply rewarding experiences at Hackley, having reinforced my passion for music and kindled a new one for teaching it.

I believe that as a program, Hudson Scholars manifests a crucial Hackley belief — that teaching and learning are not necessarily two stratified actions, but two journeys, deeply intertwined, with a synergy that has the potential to change your life. 

In Summer 2023, I began a journey that I knew would challenge me and change my perception of the world around me — Junior Maine Guides, a rigorous outdoor leadership education program run by the state of Maine for teenagers. By the end of the summer, I gained the ability to survive on my own in the wilderness and to guide others in doing the same. I could cook, navigate, and build shelter and fires. I returned home self-assured and confident, with a Junior Maine Guide patch in my backpack, feeling stronger, trusting in myself and knowing my worth. 

I went into the 2023-24 school year excited about my experience and ready to share my new knowledge and skills with others. That’s when I went to Mr. Sykes with the idea of creating GLO — Girls Outdoor Leadership, a class for middle school girls in the Hudson Scholars program. The goal was to meet once or twice a month on a Saturday, splitting time between the classroom and the Hackley Forest. While the signup was a bit smaller than I hoped — five girls — I have been overjoyed by their commitment and enthusiasm over these past few months. I aspire for the girls in the Hudson Scholars GLO class to leave with newfound confidence, a belief in themselves as leaders, the knowledge that they are enough and a desire to one day share these skills with others.    

Our first class took place on Jan. 20, 2024, and Carolina, Danielle, Jade, Jocelyn and Kelly all arrived eager to learn. I was impressed with their diligent note taking, thoughtful questions and willingness to participate. A few weeks after the class began, the girls and I went out into the forest to play the “first aid game” where we applied the lessons from earlier sessions to test their knowledge. During the game, one person acted as a patient with a specific, secret injury in mind, while the group acted as though they had just found this person in the woods and had to figure out what the patient was inflicted with. Using collaboration, communication and the medical acronym SAMPLE, used by first responders during the secondary assessment of victims, we learned that our actor had frostbite and that injuries can be worsened by rubbing frostbitten skin. The roleplaying game was a success, and the confidence and satisfaction I felt radiating off the Scholars was why I started this class in the first place.

I am really excited about our culminating activity: an overnight in the Hackley Forest! This will test the girls to see, once again, if they can apply the skills they have learned to the real world, and to see them take ownership and lead the overnight experience. When I first told them about the campout, they were a bit hesitant about the idea. However, over the past few sessions, their reluctance has turned into excitement!

While I originally created GLO because I was excited about teaching the Scholars and seeing them grow (which they have), the joy and energy that the Scholars bring to each session has served as an inspiration to me. Being around Carolina, Danielle, Jade, Jocelyn and Kelly and watching them embrace this opportunity to learn and become leaders has forced me to reflect on my own leadership and desire to make an impact on the world. 

I hope to continue this program for the next few years, and, hopefully, find a future mentor as passionate for the outdoors as I am to keep this program alive. 

Mason Lee ’26: Music

Last summer, I had the privilege of being a Hudson Scholars mentor for all four weeks. I was a mentor in two math classes, a leadership class and a Rubik’s cube club. While I enjoyed helping the scholars in these subjects, I noticed that there were no music classes available for them. My first inclination was to figure out a way to include music in the future over the summer, but I also thought that I could use my love of music to have an immediate impact on the program.

It’s no secret that I have a passion for music, and I truly believe that pursuing art is just as important as academics. It’s valuable and inspirational to share art with one another. As the famous pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim said, “[learning music shows that] everything is constantly and permanently connected.” With a desire to spread my joy of music with our community, I organized a Hudson Scholars concert in April. In the same way that musical elements are interconnected, bringing Scholars and mentors together supports a harmonious relationship that benefits both communities in a transformative way. 

By partnering with Mr. Sykes and Dr. Rigby, the concert celebrated the Hackley Community and the Hudson Scholars program by showcasing the talent of Hackley musicians and featuring speeches from mentors, Scholars and teachers. The evening highlighted the importance and noteworthiness (pun intended) of the program. 

Hudson Scholars does not solely benefit the Scholars, but also the student-mentors — both have so much to gain by working and growing together. The program promotes team building and cultivates leadership for Hackley student-mentors. It made me more self-aware and made me want to become a better version of myself so I could be fully present and serve as a role model.

I hope the concert becomes an annual event and is a step toward including music in the Hudson Scholars program. 

During Hudson Scholars in summer 2021, my brother John Esposito ’22 and Charlie Lee ’22 started the Financial Literacy Club with a goal to introduce some basic financial literacy skills to the Scholars through lessons and games. I was inspired by the pride they had in their work, the positive impact that they had on the Scholars and their own growth as they taught the class. Last summer, I transformed their work into a curriculum that all Scholars take for one week in the summer, teaching them the fundamentals of finance while also preparing them to think critically about how to manage their money. 

While teaching this class, I learned the importance of incentives — I was the only student teaching a class at Hudson Scholars, and I needed a way to fully grab the Scholars’ attention. Hence, the creation of Sykes Bucks and the Sykes Market, where we auctioned off candy, games and the grand prize of pieing a mentor — the idea of throwing a pie at their favorite mentor kept every Scholar engaged for the whole week of their financial literacy class. I was glad to receive an email from a Scholar asking more questions about the stock market and how to best invest money two weeks after the Hudson Scholars 2023 summer program concluded. This was validation that the prizes were not the only reason they paid attention in class. I witnessed many inspiring moments in my four weeks with the Scholars, but this email gave me complete awareness of the real-world impact the class was providing. 

I have had the privilege of attending Hackley since kindergarten. While here, I have constantly heard “United, we help one another,” and I can proudly say that the Hudson Scholars program perfectly embodies this statement. 

While working with the Scholars and seeing their newfound passion for financial literacy, my own passion and eagerness to learn more grew as well. The questions they would ask were very critical and sometimes would lead me to have to do further research to give them a complete answer, which helped me learn more and consider financial literacy in a different view. The Scholars also contributed to the growth of the curriculum — one scholar in the eighth grade created his own bank for the Sykes Bucks and helped compile funds to purchase larger prizes as a group. While creating the Sykes Market, I never thought that there would be a Bank of Sykes. This was the result that we hoped to see from the creation of the financial literacy class, Scholars becoming more critical of how to manage finances and to pursue ingenuity with their own investments.

Not only did I learn a lot about financial literacy, but teaching this course also allowed me to gain insights on how to be a leader; a motivated, trusted and caring adult; and a role model. In the same way the Scholars helped me to grow during this class, I hope that I was able to provide important lessons to the Scholars that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

I plan on studying finance in college and pursuing a career in it as well. I found myself looking mainly at more complex financial topics prior to mentoring in the Hudson Scholars program, but the process of creating and teaching this class brought me back to the fundamentals of finance and has helped me ground more of my financial studies since.