Transitions

By SARAH ALKHAFAJI ‘20 & NARA MOHYEDDIN ‘21

Transitions of years past and present—could we call the two creatures by the same name? Ms. WuWong of the History Department would prefer to call it New Student Orientation. “Transitions, for me, was bringing traditional minorities together to introduce them at academic life and work with them on issues of identity development.”  Created to prepare students of color for Milton’s environment, Transitions has undergone significant changes prior to this most recent adaptation, each version taking the form of a virtually brand-new program.

WuWong continues, “I’ve worked in the Transitions program every year since I started, so that’d make 27 years. When I first started, we didn't include Asians because the program was started specifically to address the needs of black and Latino kids .” Over time, Transitions also created a ten-day opportunity for international and/or students of color to adjust to Milton. Then, the program got cut to four days. There’d be “conversations for people to understand their surroundings and themselves, transitioning their perspectives and sense of place. And now those conversations are all supposed to happen in a day and a half, and none of that happened. I'm a little worried about when that’s supposed to happen. I’m not saying it can’t be incorporated, but it's definitely missing at this point, ” says WuWong. 

“When something is changing, people tend to miss the past and say ‘Oh, we’ve been doing this for such a long time and it’s been going fine,’ so at first I felt a little hesitant like most people,” admits program mentor Ira Sobchyshyna ‘20. There certainly was glory in the past. Milton’s students of color lost one of the few spaces where they wouldn’t be a minority. 

Many mentors, like Olivia Wang ‘20, were also “worried that the students of color and international students would lose space in the time that they used to have, but were more excited about the change for the dynamics of the school.” 

Post-program, Stefan Aleksic ’20 comments, “I really enjoyed that we didn’t lose the magic even though we lost a space for POC and international students that was really vital. The OMCD is really working hard to make sure one is still created and available.” 

According to Mr. Rodriguez, Director of Student Multicultural Programming, the OMCD is “looking at the day and a half for students of color and trying to make improvements. We’re going to build the unity amongst that demographic that we lost from the past, and be very creative on how we’re going to make up for that. We’re going to have a big overnight retreat for our students of color and international students. We’re very dedicated to providing ongoing programming and support for all our new students but our POC and international students in particular.”

In the meantime, many new students of color reported feeling overwhelmed when the rest of the school flooded in. 

“As a person of color, it is extremely intimidating walking into a predominantly white school, and I feel that [more days with just students of color] may have been better because some of us may have felt that we had more of a support system with those that can relate to what it is like being a person of color,” says Kylee Galva ‘23. Some of the incoming students of color felt less connected. And the notorious Milton divide, in which white students and those of color self-segregate, was still evident despite the changes in this program.

“When all the white kids did come it was quite overwhelming...I feel this just got people into separate groups instead of merged groups,” says a freshman.

Now, there are some semi-universal agreements we can get out of the way—everyone made friends, felt supported, figured out how to navigate campus, was exhausted, screamed at the pep rally, and bonded with mentors. Unlike returners, new students came in with uniquely fresh sets of expectations. Some people expected the program to be boring, others expected an orientation and friend-making bonanza, and still others had heard it had changed; none of these negative expectations were fulfilled. 

“I didn't really have any expectations going into the program, ” said Kwabena Adae ‘22. “I thought maybe it would be something basic and kinda useless in the long run, but it ended up being really enjoyable.”

Molly Gilmore ‘23 voiced her own expectations for the program, saying that she “thought it was going to be more team building, but it was mostly sitting and talking about diversity which is important, but [it] was too early to do that.” 

“It was fewer games and more difficult conversations,” explained Jessica Lee ‘23. “It was hard because [those conversations] were with people who we didn't know at all. I think they were very important discussions, but they should have been saved until later in the year when you knew people. I was having conversations about those things with kids I had just met, and I found it very hard.”

Plenty of students expressed opinions on the intensive layout of the program.

“Some of [the activities] went on longer than they needed to,” says Sophia Fife ‘23, “I didn’t have as much time to just hang out. Even though I met some friends I didn’t really have time to bond with them outside of the dorms.”

“I think it was good that we were busy,” reveals Amanda Alegria ‘23 “so much so that we didn't have time to start getting homesick. But, maybe a little extra downtime would have been better.”

Some even favored the old layout, with another freshman saying they “wish there was some more introduction to the workload and how it feels to be a Milton student.” 

Julia Price concurred, stating that “The amount of work in the high school hit [her] hard which [she feels] wasn't talked about as much.”

Regardless of anyone’s expectations and opinions, the experience was new for everyone. New students learned about the themes of our campus culture for the coming years. Tanner Burnett ‘23 explained that he “learned about identity from [John Gentile],” one of the weekend’s speakers. 

Jay Sanchez ‘23 learned that “microaggressions are almost inevitable along with prejudice” 

“I got to develop an idea of the school and meet a few people while learning about important issues before classes started,” says Sophia Fife ‘23. “I have solid people like the mentors that I feel I can turn to and I knew the rules of the school before entering the classroom.”

“The program was a great introduction to Milton, and without it I feel like I might have been introduced to a lot of things differently and more abruptly,” says Kwabena Adae ‘22.

Before, “people just didn’t get included in the conversations that we usually have during transitions, but now they have that power,” relates Ira Sobchyshyna. 

“There are so many younger students that express interest in the conferences that never really happened. So many white students are expressing an interest in learning more and getting more involved and invested in the culture we’re trying to create here. Even if we can tap into a small population of students that are seeking additional resources that’s a win because we haven’t had that before even though we’ve had the resources,” says Rodriguez. 

Like some other dorm parents and members have related, Ira “saw people hanging in Robbins that [she] would never imagine coming together.” The horizon holds as many possibilities as the student and faculty bodies have perspectives; our future is dependent on all these perspectives being shared and welcomed. 

“I think it’s in our best interest if we’re clear as a faculty and as a community what this program is for. We were told last spring that this program was going to happen and that we needed support. But, I think now we need to go back and have those discussions about who we’re trying to reach and in what ways. I would like faculty and students to actually have conversations about this. I feel like a lot of feedback is one on one with Mr. Rodriguez and we need to have bigger discussions and hear each other,” says WuWong. 

For better or for worse, the transitions that once was just doesn’t exist anymore. But the purpose hasn’t changed entirely. It is not just students of color transitioning into Milton anymore—it is Milton transitioning into something greater.

Image courtesy of Milton Academy