| Vol. 2 No. 2 Winter 2006 Newsletter page 2 |
activities and responsibilities to juggle, that the Plan Books we kept at GCS were a very useful thing.
After Vassar, I spent a year working with an environmental organization in Puerto Rico through the Americorps VISTA program before moving to New York City, where I live now.
Since I've been in NYC, I've continued to work in the environmental field, spending two and a half years at the Natural Resources Defense Council, while also taking night classes. I'm currently in my third year of a PhD program at NYU in Environmental Health Science. My research is on the health effects of air pollution, using statistics to look at how air pollution affects children with asthma. On the side, I've also started a small jewelry-making business—a skill that I learned in the Uppers and have continued to enjoy as a hobby until now!
Many of my lifestyle and career choices have been influenced by those fond memories of learning at GCS. We were always encouraged to investigate the things we were interested in, and to lead well-rounded lives. I have carried that with me to this day. Thank you Center School!
a call for a role in Liberty Heights (directed by Barry Levinson), and then landed a part in Girl, Interrupted. He moved to Los Angeles soon thereafter, and now has a substantial list of acting credits to his name (he now goes by Misha Collins), including roles on “24”, “ER”, “CSI”, “Monk”, “Charmed” and “NYPD Blue”.
Having traveled in Russia and mastered the accent, Misha has been called on several times to play Russian characters in television series—most notably the villainous assassin, Alexis Drazen, on 24. He has also appeared in seven independent feature films to date.
Misha says, “All the stereotypes you hear about Hollywood are true, but there is also so much that is great about this place. There are a lot of smart and talented people here.”
He also says, “My years at the Center School are part of what gave me the gumption to pursue a career in the arts.”
Laura’s Reflections
Celebrating 25 years of educating people is an historical event. I mean that it punctuates our own history and provides a time to look back at our past. To do that, I turn to one of my favorite books written about what it means to be a historian, and the role of history in making people whole.
In David Bradley’s The Chaneysville Incident, he writes: “A good historian … sits and thinks and tries to find the few questions that are significant and central, hoping that one is so much a cornerstone that answering it will answer all the rest.”
The question I keep asking is “What makes the Center School the Center School? What makes it different and important?” And while I believe I know and feel that answer on a daily basis, it is especially important to find out how that fares over time. As you read about the alumni featured in this newsletter, keep these questions in mind. Our mission is clear. We create a community in which people are known and challenged and in which they can learn to be hopeful actors in the world. Each of these alumni has pursued their passions, each has felt supported by their experience at GCS, each has gone into the world with confidence and hope.
As I ponder these questions, I realize that the Center School feels like home. People come back home and visit. They know they are welcomed and loved. Some stay and work; others simply touch base as a place of grounding or support. While there are only a few featured alumni in this newsletter, there are many, many other stories to be told. I hope that some of these can be gathered and shared at our big 25th anniversary celebration on May 13th.
What makes the Center School different and important? The people. The love. The traditions. The hopes and the dreams. These answers, being germinated among young people each day, are bearing fruit in our graduates.
P.S. Many thanks to Danae DiNicola ‘88 for “coming home” and writing this important newsletter for the school. Her patience, talent, and passion for writing are clearly visible.
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