November 5, 2018
This article is the fourth in a series called “The Fall Campaign Stories of Impact: Five Weeks, Five Stories, Five Reasons to Give.”
Think of a list of common fears, and a familiar few come to mind. Public speaking. Air travel. Spiders. And here in Minnesota, an early snow! Another typical source of anxiety is the college application process—a journey in U.S. culture that’s often driven by worries about attending the “best” school, instead of the right school.
Lisa Pederson, MPA’s director of College Counseling, addresses that sense of dread head-on, with compassion, expertise, and a proven program that empowers students to customize their college search based on their unique strengths, interests, and long-term goals. “The best fit for one is not the right fit for the next, even among high-achieving, academically strong, and otherwise talented students,” says Pederson. “Today’s college admissions professionals are looking for the authentic voice in their applicants, not a packaged one that checks every box.” Read More
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.
Gabby Law and Julia Portis are both seniors at Mounds Park Academy who worked as teaching fellows with Breakthrough Twin Cities this past summer. At MPA, Gabby captains the tennis, Nordic skiing, and track teams, and has earned several awards in speech and debate. She is a student ambassador, peer leader, and co-leads Social Consciousness Club. When not being a concertmaster to the school’s orchestras, All-State Choir member, and licensed beekeeper, Gabby is busy applying to colleges. Julia is is heavily involved in speech, music, theater, student council (co-president), peer leaders, ambassadors, and debate—interacting with different people and mentors. She also enjoys attending events that allow her to advocate for her beliefs. She also loves traveling and spending time with friends and family.
This article is the first in a series called “The Fall Campaign Stories of Impact: Five Weeks, Five Stories, Five Reasons to Give.”
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.
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
There is only one more week until Homecoming, and the joy begins at the starting line of the Homecoming Fun Run on Saturday, September 29! The MPA Cross Country team is hosting a 200M run at 8:30 AM. It’s the perfect opportunity for our younger students to participate in the festivities and run with the Panthers! Immediately following the 200M Fun Run, we are hosting a 2-mile race that is open to the entire community. All run participants will receive a limited edition aluminum MPA water bottle, energizing snacks, and plenty of water!
MPA Talks is an annual, meaningful, and fascinating event that is completely unique to MPA. Featuring presentations by some of our community’s most intriguing members on inspiring and relevant topics, everyone is invited to come, listen, ask questions, and leave with new lengths of knowledge. Held in the fall and in the evening this year, dinner will be provided.