Talking Pictures: Sophomores Offer Photo Finish

Eleven members of the Class of 2028 shared their individual stories with peers May 8 in the CFA’s Hale Theater as part of the Talking Pictures public speaking event. 

The Talking Pictures celebration is the culmination of a gradewide assignment in which all sophomores write an essay that reflects upon a favorite photograph. Students read their essays aloud in class to explain the importance of their photograph and the “moment in time” that the photo captures. Each of the English II sections then selects a representative to address the entire 10th grade class. The student speaker’s chosen photo is projected behind them as they address the audience. 

This year’s 11 sophomore representatives were: Reece Cook, Meghan Schumacher, George Moore, Elliot Wajda, Charlie Ness, Arthur Chen, Katie Donahue, Junior Conover, Lily Fallon, Shane Devin, and Jack Keller. 

“We’re thrilled to hear their stories about photographs that are important to them,” said Upper School English Faculty Misharra Hefler before introducing each speaker individually; Hefler also lauded the group as a whole for their courage. 

In “Worth the Wakeup,” Cook shared a photo of the roiling yet beautiful Atlantic Ocean and recounted how he and his mother got up early one summer morning to make an eight-mile bike trek to a jetty off the Cape Cod Canal. While not an early riser, Cook said the experience impressed upon him how magical such moments were; he even declared that he would do more of the same this summer. 

“Meaningful memories are made, not given, so go out and make them,” Cook told his fellow sophomores. 

In “Sudden Moments,” Schumacher shared a photo of her younger self on the shoulders of her father before describing the special role her dad plays in her life. She then recalled how a serious medical emergency one vacation highlighted the fragility of some of those family relationships that people often take for granted. 

“Take what you have and cherish it,” said Schumacher. 

In “Upside Down,” Moore displayed Odd Andersen’s photograph of a young boy in Sarajevo hanging upside down — and smiling – from the barrel of a destroyed tank amid wreckage all around him. While Moore emphasized that his own troubles were clearly not the same in scale, he espoused a certain kinship with the boy and praised the boy’s ability to find happiness in a world of troubles. Moore then told his classmates how he and his brother used an old mattress to teach themselves how to flip during the confusion and loneliness that was the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. 

“If you let it, joy can always find its way through,” said Moore, offering his take on the power of resiliency. 

In “Smile,” Wajda took a similar tack when he showed his classmates a photo of his much younger self and his brothers about to embark on an annual July 4 road race. He always dreaded the race, he said, because he was never as fast as his siblings, but he followed his mother’s advice and kept smiling throughout the event. Pretty soon he found himself smiling “for real” because of his own sense of perseverance and the encouragement of the crowd. 

“Smiling is not about pretending that everything is OK,” Wajda told his Hale Theater audience. “It’s about choosing to keep going, anyways, because sometimes the hardest smiles are the ones that matter the most.” 

In “The Time We Have Together,” Ness shared a photo of himself with his dad before detailing how his father’s 2024 medical event changed the family but, in the end, bound them closer together as they supported their father’s successful recovery journey. 

“It made me a better son, a better friend, and a stronger person,” Ness said of the experience. 

In “Behind The Leap,” Chen discussed the genius of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s famous photograph “Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare,” which captures the image of a man as he leaps over a puddle. Chen then used that image as an analogue to his own family’s experience as Chinese immigrants to the United States. While living between two worlds can be confusing and difficult, Chen told his classmates, it’s worth the effort. 

“But somewhere, in the doubt, you see your reflection in the water, the one looking back up at you from the middle of the leap,” said Chen. “That version of you, the one caught off balance, teaches you more about who you are than you would learn from either shore. So take the risk. Who cares if you get wet?” 

In “Reach,” Donahue offered a photo of her younger self eagerly holding a hermit crab. She chronicled her outdoorsy summers on an island in the Gulf Coast and how those summers instilled in her a passion for nature and its myriad wonders. She now engages with nature every chance she gets, big or small, and she urged her classmates to do the same. 

“Reach outwards and pay attention,” said Donahue, “and the world will unfurl itself to you.” 

In “Stepping In,” Conover shared a photo of his father in a hospital room and explained how his dad’s illness caused everyone in the family, himself included, to step in and step up to keep the family together. He did this in many ways, one of which was the simple but loving act of making daily lunches for his little sister. 

“My dad has always been my inspiration for toughness,” said Conover, “but that July proved I could be tough just like him.” 

In “Promises Left in the Sky,” Fallon told listeners that she took photos of the summer sunsets before sharing one particular photo of her friends — sitting on a dock, facing away from the camera, and watching the sun dip behind the horizon. That day, she said, was bittersweet because it was joyous and carefree yet had the anxieties of another school year just around the corner. But on that particular night, she said, she made the conscious decision to let the worries of a future day remain on the margins. 

“I made a promise to myself: at least for this night, I would try to stay in the moment and not think about school,” said Fallon. That decision — coupled with her friends and an impromptu game of tag — gave her one more day to “feel like a kid again.” 

In “The Derby Dash,” Devin shared a photo of family and friends enjoying themselves during the “Derby Dash,” a fundraiser which the Devin family sponsors to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The event, which Devin said takes place annually on the day of the Kentucky Derby, is a response to his father’s battle with multiple myeloma. And while the raising of funds is vitally important, Devin told his audience, he now understands that the event is so much more than that. It is, he said, people from all walks of life coming together to support his father and one another. 

“I have come to realize the power of connection and how the people you love and support in their hard times will always come back and support you in yours,” said Devin. 

In “An Even Heavier Weight,” Keller shared a photo of him attempting to lift a heavy weight on a barbell, but he very quickly told the audience that the photo was “a photo of failure,” and not because he couldn’t lift the weight. It was a failure, he said, because he knew he was not feeling well that day and that he had no business attempting the lift; however, he attempted it because his ego didn’t want anyone to think he was “a quitter.” According to Keller, he’s now dealing with a lingering back injury to remind him of that fateful day and its hard-won life lesson. 

“Knowing and obeying your limits can take more strength than ignoring them,” said Keller. 

In its various iterations, Talking Pictures is a tradition that goes back four decades at Thayer. Even estimating conservatively, thousands of Thayer students have undertaken the Talking Pictures assignment in some way, shape, or form. The celebration represents the 10th grade component of Thayer’s commitment to leadership communication and public speaking across all grade levels. The sequenced array of curricular opportunities, which begins in the Middle School, not only develops effective public presentation skills but also highlights the art of storytelling, the value of connecting with multiple audiences, and the importance of articulating ideas in impactful ways.