Adelyn Sullivan 27’ has always had a passion for writing and is excited to explore an unfamiliar aspect of it through creative nonfiction. When she’s not writing, she spends most of her days practicing guitar or singing. She’s a part of Perfect Pitch, a student-run a cappella group, and take private singing lessons on the side. She’s involved in the fight for animal rights, as both the president of the MSPCA club and an avid volunteer at the MSPCA adoption center. Most summers, you’ll find her on a cross-country road trip with her family, camping at every national park, and working at Beaver Summer Camp. She also runs a creative writing workshop for tweens at the Brookline Public Library. Her passion for working with kids extends throughout the school year, where she works in the Brookline Teen Center’s Little Learners Lab after-school program. Her experience with young kids has made her deeply curious about the psychological aspects of the transition from childhood to adulthood, specifically studying the characteristics we lose or gain and deciding for herself what we should hold on to.

Ethan Chen ‘27, enjoys spending most of his time surrounded by music. He volunteers every weekend at the Franciscan Children's Hospital; helps run MACSO, a nonprofit computer science competition; and teaches piano for free at Music Connect. Ethan plays Ultimate Frisbee for BHS’s varsity team. When he isn’t teaching music or running MACSO, he also enjoys playing music in his own student-run band, The Baby Shower. Writing hasn’t always been easy for Ethan; he didn’t speak or write English until he immigrated from China at seven years old. As Ethan became more accustomed to the culture and practices of America, he also became interested in immigration and assimilation, hoping to learn the experiences of other immigrants that were different from his own. Throughout most of Ethan’s educational journey, he hasn’t always had the easiest time with writing, but he is still ready to challenge himself and write pieces he is passionate about.

Jack Hochleutner ‘28 discovered his love of creative writing in the second grade, writing and illustrating comics about his dog Sam with a friend of his. While he is no longer much of an illustrator, he has continued writing as an arts editor for The Cypress, where he enjoys documenting the many creative displays and opportunities across the school and Brookline community. He is a member of the varsity indoor and outdoor track teams, and he loves to sing in his free time and is part of Camerata and the student-run acapella group Bass Value. Jack is fascinated by the role transit plays in all of our lives and the rich history of the MBTA and is eager to explore this interest as a Whipple Fellow this summer!

Suyon Lee ‘27 started writing stories at age six and hasn’t stopped since. Her love of writing is matched only by her love of reading—an act that she is excited to explore through her project investigating the flawed online trend of being a “reader.” When not in school, Suyon enjoys typing up scenes and fragments in her various untitled documents, attempting to make a dent in her reading list, and extending her streak on Duolingo. Suyon leads BHS’s creative writing club, Pen Warriors, and is an Arts Managing Editor on The Cypress, where she authors her seasonal fashion column. Through her work at Turtle Books, her organization of book clubs, and her Whipple piece, she hopes to inspire literacy and engagement with the stories that enclose so much worth between their covers.

Andre Zaitsev ‘27 is an avid singer and member of multiple choir groups at BHS. He is a leader of Bass Value, an all male acapella group, and section leader for the high school's Cammerata choir. Outside of school Andre pursues creative interests such as photography, taking pictures for various sport teams; philosophy, serving as one of the leaders of philosophy club; and piano. Andre’s passion for community engagement and helping others has fueled his volunteering at the Brookline Food Pantry along with his participation in an Engineers Without Borders water infrastructure project for a community in the Dominican Republic. But for all of the things Andre does and all of the interests he holds, he has never been sure where they come from or why he does them. That question is what brought him to writing in the first place. Where most of his pursuits have clear goals in mind, writing is one of the few places where he can show up without a clear answer, to see where the questions take him and ultimately to understand himself in more depth and detail.

Hannah Levine ‘27 enjoys spending her time playing basketball, walking her dog, and baking for her family. She loves traveling and meeting new people and hopes to visit new places after high school! Since sophomore year, Hannah has enjoyed volunteering at the senior center, where she leads art workshops and fosters meaningful multigenerational relationships. Through her time at the senior center, Hannah has become intrigued by memory and music. She can always be found listening to music and is fascinated by the way songs become associated with specific moments and periods of someone's life. Writing has become a way for Hannah to express herself and has allowed her to explore different ideas. Through her time at the Whipple program, Hannah is excited to grow as a writer, work alongside her fellows, and develop a nonfiction project that explores this phenomenon.

Lara Spitz Sousa ‘28 is an avid writer and artist on top of being a lover of all things humanities. When not drafting character designs, rendering illustrations, or weaving together descriptions, she can be found listening to albums on vinyl and tending to her orchids. Though drawing takes up most of her time, Lara continues to fall in love with the craft of writing. She is thrilled to be a part of the Whipple Fellowship. Beyond it, she has begun to explore the world of theater and music at BHS, and hopes to continue expanding her skillset in the performing arts. Utterly fascinated by the small things that make up national identity, most of what Lara writes is centered around investigating or critiquing culture. Her newest work—analyzing the role of food in domestic and international relationships through the case study of açaí in Brazil, her home country—is no different.

Theo Salvin ‘27 spends much of his time working on ceramics, in school and out. He is the president and founder of the Brookline History Club, President of the Latin Club, and Editor-in-Chief of the Chestnut Street Review. Theo is on the BHS varsity wrestling team and wrestles year round. He enjoys exploring historical narratives and is likely listening to the Grateful Dead while doing so. As he approached finalizing a topic to consider, he was drawn towards the sociological threads intrinsic to the weaving of the Dead’s great tapestry of sound and story. He hopes to approach this project from a lens of curiosity about creative language and history.

Caden Imura ‘27 spends time during the warm seasons playing golf with his dad or friends on the Varsity Golf team. His cold winters are spent snowboarding in Vermont. Every week, he volunteers at the local Brookline Food Pantry, where he loves making many new connections with his peers and the Brookline community. Although he’s no Van Gogh, he likes to paint and draw during his free time and in painting class. Caden has also worked the past few summers at Cafe Sushi, a family-owned sushi restaurant in Harvard Square. The books he’s read in English classes have sparked his appreciation for formal writing, and his love for history further helps him put pen to paper. His experience working with his parents at his restaurant and love for Asian food have made him interested in the larger community of Asian American businesses in the country and how universal their experiences are.

Heather Kim ‘27 started writing in first grade after she fell in love with Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, finding fictional stories to be an escape from reality. After numerous cringeworthy stories and countless attempts at writing books, her passion for literature still remains strong. Although her writing style has changed, from fictional works to more scientific articles, she believes a blend of the two contrasting mediums brings out her best work. She is thrilled to be a Whipple Fellow and research the history of Brookline through anecdotes from senior residents, preserving the town’s stories before they fade away. Outside of writing, Heather is a captain of the Speech and Debate team and president of the Neuroscience club, and she loves playing tennis with her school team. She is also an avid artist—all she needs is a pencil and paper to write and sketch!

Leena Bhandari Cordoba ‘27 first gravitated toward writing while journaling during her summers spent in Colombia with her extended family. Looking over her eight-year-old diary entries and doodles can still make her laugh! Through The Cypress she has found another home for her writing, where a staff debate first exposed her to the complex arguments for and against the regulation of free speech that she would later research as a Whipple Fellow. After school each day, Leena recharges by running with her teammates from the cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams. She is happiest when close to a body of water. Drawn equally to STEM and the humanities, Leena hasn’t decided what she wants to be yet, but knows she enjoys listening to people and helping others. Outside of school and sports, she can be found working with young kids, zipping around Brookline and Boston on her bicycle, and entreating her friends and family to try new things with her, especially if it’s food, movies, or board games.