TA Talk Reflection: Maddy Call ’28 on The Many Paths to Life

Sophomore Maddy Call’s recent TA Talk (which you can watch here) was a deeply personal and powerful reflection on identity, family, and the many different ways life begins. Introduced by Thayer teacher and coach, Mr. Kramer, who described her as confident, driven, and mature beyond her years, Maddy stepped onto the stage ready to share something far more meaningful than her accomplishments, but rather she shared her origin story.

Maddy opened by sharing a question she hears all the time: “Which parent do you take after?” For most people, the answer comes easily. For her, though, it leads into a far more layered story. Her older brother looks just like their dad, and her twin brother is the image of their mom—but Maddy doesn’t clearly resemble either of them. The explanation is both scientific and remarkable: her mother conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) using an egg donor.

With honesty and humor, Maddy explained how she and her brothers were brought into this world. Her mother selected a donor through a fertility clinic. The eggs were fertilized, frozen as embryos, and later implanted. Maddy herself was frozen for years before being implanted — a fact her mother jokes could technically make her “older.” Through lighthearted details and vivid storytelling, Maddy made complex science feel human and relatable.

But beneath the humor was a story of perseverance. After her older brother was born through a fresh IVF cycle, her mother endured many failed IVF cycles in hopes of having more children. Each failure brought emotional and physical strain. Still, she continued. Eventually, doctors discovered an infection that had been preventing implantation. After treatment, with just three embryos left, the final round of IVF succeeded, resulting in Maddy and her twin brother. 

“An important part of my experience is the transparency my parents offered about my origin. Because they were honest about it, I understood it was not something to hide, and perhaps, in fact, it was something to share,” says Maddy. 

Maddy emphasized that she has always known this story. Her parents never hid the truth. There was no dramatic reveal, no shocking discovery. Instead, openness was normalized from the beginning. Conversations about egg donation, IVF, and adoption were part of everyday life in her household.

Both of Maddy’s parents were adopted at birth. They never sought out their biological parents, but they did experience moments of feeling “different” as children. Maddy shared a story about her mother telling classmates in kindergarten that she was adopted, only to be treated as strange or alien. That early reaction led her mother to hide her adoption for years. Determined that their own children would not feel shame or secrecy, Maddy’s parents chose transparency.

Maddy’s parents' openness shaped her perspective. She does not view her story as unusual or uncomfortable. Instead, she sees it as a gratitude to science, determination, and love. She reminded the audience that the odds of any one person’s genetic code forming are astronomically small — around 1 in 70 trillion — making every life extraordinary. Adoption, egg donation, IVF: these are simply different paths to the same destination — family.

Her talk was not just about how she came into the world. It was about the power of honesty, the courage to share personal truths, and the beauty in the many ways families are formed. She concluded by saying, “There are so many ways to come into this world, and exist in the world, and they are wonderful. There are over 700 students at Thayer, and every single one of them, every single one of you, has a unique story. And that is awesome.”