November 8, 2018
Purchase your tickets for MPA Talks to join us on Saturday as four members of our community share their meaningful, impactful, and inspiring stories! MPA Talks is a tradition that brings our community together, and we can’t wait to share the evening with you. Below is just a glimpse of the stories you’ll be inspired by on Saturday evening and tickets are still available!
Laurel Schwartz ’11 will be discussing stories passed down through generations, and how they tell us about the past and also shape the future. As human beings we are predisposed to sharing our life and our histories with others. For so long, the narratives in the news, in books and on the big screen have highlighted a single story that often left many people and identities in the margins. Now, every person has the capacity and the platform to be a storyteller with an audience. And, with that, comes our ability to change the world.
Kelly Turpin ’04’s talk will be covering her journey as an opera singer to artistic activist, which is how Arbeit Opera Theatre came to be. She has always wanted to make a difference, be at the forefront of change and societal progress, but only recently discovered how she could do that with her background in opera.
For years, MPA senior Julia Portis saw Breakthrough’s offices she passed them in the hallway; however, before her junior year she did not know what the program entailed. Upon learning about Breakthrough’s mission and curriculum, she excitedly applied to be a teaching fellow. The 9-week program brought several things to her attention: there are serious flaws in the educational system, and Minnesota suffers from one of the highest opportunity gaps in America. She believes it is imperative that we bring attention to this issue and start a conversation.
MPA Senior Gabby Law is going to talk about education–if education is the “key to success in life,” why is the system failing so many people? As a teaching fellow for Breakthrough Twin Cities, Gabby saw the incredible students in our community that the education system is leaving behind. Through her experience, Gabby will explain how we can make school a place for everyone and show just how powerful and joyful learning is for those who need it the most.
The ticket price of $20 includes passed hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and the presentations. Tickets are limited to 50. Visit mpa.link/mpatalks for more details on each speaker and to purchase tickets.
This article is the fourth in a series called “The Fall Campaign Stories of Impact: Five Weeks, Five Stories, Five Reasons to Give.”
Here at MPA, we’re so thankful for the commitment of our parents, grandparents, alumni, and community supporters. We’re also proud of the way our students grow during their time with us. We encourage students of all ages to participate in the things that matter most to them and to push themselves outside of their comfort zone to find out who they truly are through involvement in a wide range of opportunities.
Congratulations to MPA Cross Country coach Nate Bander ’09 for being named the Section 4A Assistant Cross Country Coach of the Year! To celebrate his accomplishment, we interviewed Coach Bander about why coaching and athletics are so important to him.
Four MPA alumni were featured in the news this week for a variety of accomplishments! From athletics to community engagement, and arts to cooking, we are so proud of these individuals for representing MPA!
Christian Holmen ’90, Teaching Head of School at Liberty School, speaks on how Liberty is shaping the way students who are dyslexic, gifted, or both, are taught. “The first goal for the teachers and administrators at Liberty is to break down the social and emotional barriers that many of the kids have because of similar experiences,” he said. 
Andrea Goldberg ’09 was one of the artists that contributed to the 5,000 carved Halloween pumpkins light up the Minnesota Zoo! Andrea was heavily involved in the arts at MPA, having work selected for the Best 100 Art Exhibition and the Tri-Metro Conference Art Exhibition while in high school. She graduated from MCAD and is now a professional artist. 
Matt Bander ‘11 was in the Mississippi Market’s magazine, “The Medley.” Matt is the Market’s Meat and Seafood manager and is featured on page 5 of the Fall 2018 edition in an interview called “Get To Know Your Co-Op family!” Matt is also currently back at MPA as an assistant boys’ basketball coach! 
Kelly Turpin is an art producer in Minneapolis. She is an advocate of opera and art as a social movement and strives to produce work that is accessible, inclusive, and challenging, in ways that engage and educate communities. She received opera performance degrees from Ithaca College (BM) and Arizona State University (MM) and continues to perform locally. At MPA Talks, Kelly will be discussing her journey as an opera singer to artistic activist, which is how Arbeit Opera Theatre came to be. She has always wanted to make a difference, be at the forefront of change and societal progress, but only recently discovered how she could do that with her background in opera.
Laurel Schwartz ’11 is currently a multimedia producer and social advocacy student at Columbia University. “Or, [I’m] a social scientist with a track record for getting things done,” she says.
Thank you to all our athletes, parents and families, volunteers, alumni, faculty and staff, and students who made Homecoming such a success! We had a great turnout at the Fun Runs and our Lower School National Anthem singers made several of us tear up at their performances. The food trucks served good smells along with their yummy food and our athletic teams had strong, competitive showings. The community laughed, shared stories, decorated faces, grabbed fun swag, threw beanbags and frisbees, and jumped in the bouncies. The air was crisp and the sounds of fun and laughter carried from the soccer field to Lansing Center.
It’s Homecoming! Fall has arrived, campus-wide Homecoming decorations are underway, and the Panther even made a guest appearance at the South Entrance this morning.
What are you currently doing, professionally and/or personally? I graduated from college last spring, and I am applying to medical school for the fall of 2019. However, I am currently spending two gap years abroad in the southern French port city of Marseille, where I’m taking full advantage of all the opportunities this city and country have to offer. I spend two days a week working as an English language assistant for a preschool and primary school, where I teach English lessons to little ones. When I’m not in the schools, I’m either in the hospital or laboratory and take part in a weekly shadowing internship with a French neonatologist. I’ve even started to sit in on births in the operating and delivery rooms! I also volunteer weekly at another local children’s hospital, where I play board games with patients. The rest of my time is spent working in a neuroscience lab at the local university, where I will start conducting spatial navigation experiments on rats. The best part of my time in France is that I can do all of things I love in the clinical and laboratory settings all while speaking French!