Inauguration Day Instills Hope

The inauguration captured the attention of the Masters community, near and far. Hannah Reynolds ’21 watched with her family at home in California. 

“Sitting next to my mom on my couch, watching the first female vice president get sworn in on TV was perhaps the most incredible feeling that day and a moment I will never forget,” she said.

Head of School Laura Danforth expressed being moved by the words of National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman and the overall message of unity. Others echoed Danforth's sentiments.

“Amanda Gorman and her poem were emblematic of hope,” said Ethical Leadership Coordinator Lee Dieck. “As a young woman of color, she perfectly captured not only the moment, but also the history that has led us here, and she provided a vision for how we must move forward, together.”

Russell Wohl ’21, who watched the event with his advisory in the DoPA (Department of Performing Arts) Den, said: “The country is no doubt polarized right now, so to hear President Biden speak about how to de-polarize and return to normal definitely caught my attention.”

Middle school humanities teacher Mary Chappell had students work in small groups to write about the importance of the day. Neena Atkins ’26, Willow Lovett ’26 and Ginger Yancovich ’26 collaborated on the following passage:

“Today was the start of a new beginning. It was undoubtedly inspiring to listen to the speeches and watch people who will be a part of reviving our country. This day opened the door to many things, including inaugurating the first woman Vice President of the United States,” they wrote. “Not only is Kamala Harris a woman, but she is also black, Indian, and Jamaican. She is inspiring many young girls around the world to follow their dreams and to not let race, ethnicity, and gender stop them. Biden is bringing very positive ideas to the office. He is planning to reverse many of Trump's bad policies and actions.”

Lili Eskind ’21 was elated about the chance to now move forward. 

“In my political science class, where we discuss just about everything that is happening politically in the country, we, of course, discussed the inauguration and my classmates all felt similarly. The word ‘relief’ was used a lot,” she said.