Tiger Unity Summit spurs conversation and connection

Thayer Academy recently held its second annual Tiger Unity Summit, a weeklong series of discussions and workshops designed to highlight diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging issues on campus and beyond. Through dialogue and connection, the summit seeks to create a more inclusive school. 

Sponsored by the Academy’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, the summit featured a number of interactive and educational workshops led by students, faculty, and staff who tackled DEIB issues through different academic lenses. The goal of these workshops, explained DEIB Director Matt Ghiden, was to better explore how DEIB work intersects with various experiences and perspectives. 

Jenny Oliver, an artist and teacher in the Greater Boston area, served as keynote speaker for the summit and kicked things off Feb. 24 by addressing the Upper School in the CFA’s Hale Theater. She introduced her work as a dancer, choreographer, and educator. She also discussed her founding of Modern Connections, an organization that uses dance and movement to provoke reflection, conversation, and community transformation. 

“I believe that movement is the first form of communication,” said Oliver, who teaches at Tufts University, Emerson College, The Dance Complex, and the Deborah Mason Performing Arts Center. Oliver described herself as a “citizen artist” and told students that citizen artistry uses the power of art to engage with a community, spark conversation, and ultimately effect change. 

“As artists and creatives, it’s important to realize our value to society,” Oliver said. 

In welcoming Oliver, Ghiden, too, spoke of art’s role in shaping culture and encouraged students to embrace such creative connections in that week’s summit. 

“Find your voice this week,” Ghiden told students. “Your voice and your story matter.” 

The week saw more than three dozen workshops offering a wide range of fun and thought-provoking activities. Workshops included expressing oneself through clay, learning about Japanese anime and Japanese culture, and taking a deep dive into the history and people of the modern coffee industry. There were meditation and mindfulness sessions with a mental health focus, as well as workshops covering the history of hip-hop, the socioeconomic issues of food production, and the rise of women’s sports. Homelessness, AI, and physical differences were just some of the topics addressed during the summit. 

In “Breaking Barriers: Women in STEM,” Upper School Math & Computer Science Faculty Johnna Farnham and Alex Rukstalis ‘25 created a Jeopardy-style quiz show focusing on great women of science, technology, and mathematics. Roughly a dozen students formed teams and competed in a spirited competition while learning about women such as Jane Goodall, Grace Hopper, Katherin Johnson, Ada Lovelace, and  Marie Curie. They also learned about Judith Love Cohen, an aerospace engineer who helped to design Apollo 13’s abort guidance system while pregnant with her son, future actor Jack Black. 

“These were all extraordinary women,” Farnham told workshop participants, “but I want to remind you that they all started somewhere, which is exactly where you are right now.” 

In workshops facilitated by Associate Athletic Director Brad Peterson ‘11 and DEIB Assistant Director Olivia Pena, Ohio State University wide receiver Carnell Tate met with students via Zoom Feb. 25 and OSU tight ends Bennett Christian and Will Kacmarek met with students via Zoom Feb. 27. The players discussed football and OSU’s recent national championship as well as the importance of community service, the value of respecting diversity in and out of the locker room, and the need to prioritize one’s mental health. 

“Keep your friends and your family close and don’t push them away,” Kacmarek told students, “because they’re your rock.” 

Christian echoed those comments and added that he relies on his personal faith to maintain balance in a chaotic world. He said that, even today, he still gets performance anxiety just before a game, a feeling that many student-athletes in the crowd could relate to. 

“But once that ball is snapped, it all goes away,” he quickly added.