Human First: Brewster and Kingswood Come Together for Connect 2 Change
By Kara McDuffee
On a Sunday afternoon in the Grayson Student Center, students from two schools who had never met were suddenly trying to trade with each other without sharing a common language. It was awkward, a little confusing, and entirely the point.
That moment came during BAFA BAFA, a cultural simulation led by Helaine Wemple of Portsmouth High School, and it set the tone for what Connect 2 Change is all about. The annual event brought together students from Brewster Academy and Kingswood Regional High School for a full day built around inclusion, belonging, and the kind of conversations that do not always happen inside a classroom. It is also a reminder of what becomes possible when boarding schools in New Hampshire root themselves in their surrounding communities. For Brewster, that means looking across town to Kingswood, and building something with the neighbors right down the road.
This year's theme was Human First: Connection as a Catalyst for Change.
The day was led by Chris Brown, Brewster's Dean of Equity and Belonging, alongside faculty partner and World Languages Department Chair Margarita Proulx, who has helped shape the event from the start. Planning began nearly a year in advance, and by the time students arrived for check-in at 11:30, the work behind the scenes had already been months in the making.
"The most fulfilling part is seeing it all come together," Proulx said. "We planned, believe it or not, a year in advance, with just ideas. Seeing it come together, all of our ideas working and getting people's faces to light up because of something that you've brought into this event is my favorite part."
Following an opening performance by Hannah Ruegg ’26, Evelyn Hafner ’26, and Lily Finklea ’27, students moved through four workshop sessions spanning the afternoon. Topics ranged from Latin Dance and its history, to neurodiversity in the classroom, bias and assumptions, equity in athletics, the experience of being a third culture kid, Brewster's Civil Rights Interim, and an art session inspired by Van Gogh. Leading the way were Brewster students Miller Lowry '27, Emery Condon '27, Callie Pilkington '26, Kaia Duffy '27, and Audrina Crowell '28, Brewster faculty Melanie Fedorowicz, Corey Leach, and Cristina Salazar, and Kingswood presenter Adeline King.
For King, a student presenter from Kingswood, it was her first time presenting in a setting like this. "The only presentations I've ever done are five minutes in front of a class," she said. "There is a lot less pressure when everyone else is doing it." She also found connection in unexpected places. "During the first group activity I didn't really know the people in my group. But despite that, we teamed up for a specific purpose and were all equally confused, so I feel like we were able to bond really quickly."
The day closed with an Open Mic and reflection session before dinner, where Chris Brown turned the moment back to the students with a challenge: "Where does this go from here? You've come here, you had these experiences, you heard these stories. What do you do with that now? How do you take that back to your school, your homes, your friend groups?"
Proulx put the mission of the day simply. "It takes one person at a time to make the world a little bit more tolerable."
That work started on a Sunday in Wolfeboro. The rest is up to them.
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See the full album of photos on Flickr.
