Less Than Two Weeks Till Departure!

In less than two weeks, we'll all be in Peru! I really can't believe how quickly everything is happening- it seems like just yesterday I was talking to Alana about plans and potential opportunities for the upcoming summer and now it's almost here.

My name is Celia and, like Cary, I'm a rising Senior. I attend Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, which is also my hometown and the community I've formally resided in for my entire life.

At school I'm one of two Managing Editors for our school's student newspaper, The Phillipian, a coordinator for a community service project, and an active proponent for student leadership on campus. In my spare time I love reading, writing, baking and enjoying relaxing summer mornings. I absolutely love traveling, meeting new people and learning about different cultures. Last summer I traveled with Alana and Michael to Mumbai, India on the Niswarth service-learning program, which was the first time I had ever been to a developing country. The Niswarth program exposed me to a whole different way of conceptualizing service and to the notion of what it means to be a "changemaker" in a community, two concepts that have really resonated with me in my daily life since returing from Mumbai.

As a longtime Andover resident, I've seen both positive and negative aspects of my community. With strong public schools (which I attended prior to PA), a quaint downtown and proximity to Boston, the ocean, and mountains, Andover fits the mold for an idyllic New England suburb. Growing up I loved playing in the town soccer league, participating in some of the amazing Andover Youth Service sponsored summer trips, and riding my bicycle (or even walking) to the downton center. Andover is a safe, affluent community with nice housing and above-average community offerings. Parents are active in the community groups and the town government has remained safe from corruption (at least from what I've heard and read).

I suppose one thing that I've disliked most about Andover is its homogenity. Andover lacks any diversity- 90 to 95 percent of its popluation is comprised white upper-middle class families. Most kids dress alike and participate in the same general activities; conformity is the norm and embraced among parents and kids alike.

Definitely increasing diversity would be one aspect of my community I would like to see change. In the near future, however, I don't quite foresee this happening- the cost of living in the town reamains quite high and in a community that is relatively unaccepting of anything other than the "norm," I don't understand why someone who could contribute an array diverse experiences or perspectives to this community would be interested in living here. Nevertheless, times change and people change, and who knows what white, affluent New England suburbs will look like in the next few decades. But my guess? Twenty to fifty years or so, and Andover will be more or less the same.