Rowan Roudebush is 17 years old, and he plans on graduating BHS in 2022. If he isn’t working on a project you can find Rowan playing soccer, playing Jazz on the guitar, or cooking something with friends. Rowan first found his love for writing through Brookline High School's student run newspaper, The Sagamore, where he is the Longform Managing Editor. Rowan uses writing and research to better understand the world and explore what a better one could look like. After writing an article about the achievement gap at BHS, Rowan co-found BRAVE, a central collaboration space for activists and stakeholders interested in reforming Brookline Schools around racial equity and justice. Rowan finds meaning in working on and writing about social justice issues, and hopes to do this for the rest of his life. He is excited to have the opportunity to make his writing more engaging and personal to the reader through the Whipple Fellowship!

Grace Thompson is a 16 year old rising senior at Brookline High School. A master of feeling nostalgic for times she’s never lived in, Thompson’s love affair with language began in the 4th grade when she sobbed reading Bill Wallace’s A Dog Called Kitty. Dependent on tofu and clearance ice cream, after long days filled with classes, working, and leading both her school’s Students Against Human Trafficking Club and Drama Society, a common thing you will find her doing is typing blazing movie reviews for Amazon Prime. Grace always aims to alter the mindset of her audience through written word, and is thankful to have been given the opportunity to learn more about herself (and craft) this summer under the tutelage of the Whipple Team.

Camille Jordan is 16 years old and a rising junior at Brookline High School. Writing has always been an essential part of her life. Starting in second grade, she would write short fiction stories that came from her vivid imagination. As she got older, she started to write more non-fiction stories that captured what was going on in her life. Because she was a shy child, from a young age, she has used writing to express who she really is and what she is thinking on the inside. Aside from writing, she enjoys spending time with family and running track and cross country.

Jordan Liss-Riordan is a rising junior at Brookline High School. She traces her love for writing back to second grade, when her mind began to narrate mundane moments as if they were words on a page and as if she were living in her own novel. She imagined scenes from her life as the opening chapter of a book because she felt that writing often starts by entering the midst of the ordinary and stalling in these regular moments of stillness - that typically she found herself in - always just before something interesting happens.

At 16, Jordan is still waiting for that something interesting. She spends much of her free time at small movie theaters that play independent films, because movies offer a glimpse of explanation into many of her existential questions. Jordan loves writing because it allows her to shape this flow of questions and ideas into a declaration of self, and in this creative process Jordan finds some of that excitement she seeks.

Keya is a rising senior at Brookline High School. Throughout high school, Keya has found reading, writing, and conversing with classmates an invaluable way to deepen her understanding of social justice issues. Outside of school, Keya dedicates much of her time to dancing and teaching Kathak, an Indian classical dance. Aside from connecting to her culture through the artform, Kathak has provided Keya with close friendships and a community. Keya enjoys travelling with her family, watching documentaries, and searching for the best hot chocolate wherever she goes.

Keya finds writing a way to understand and express her emotions. She is honored to be a part of the Whipple Writing Fellowship and looks forward to connecting with fellow students who value writing.

Alejandra is a rising senior at Brookline High School. Alejandra is Peruvian- American and fervently involved in the African American and Latino Scholars Program, and both Social Justice courses and advocacy. Outside of school, Alejandra captains the Field Hockey team, teaches English Language classes, works in an Italian restaurant, and relaxes through reading. Her passion for books was born with Junie B Jones, and some of her current favorite genres include realistic fiction and nonfiction, including many autobiographies and biographical novels regarding identity. Alejandra hopes to usewriting as a tool to raise awareness on social issues and is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such talented staff and students.

Max Jepsen is a 17 year old senior at Brookline High School. He is a Varsity Crew Captain and a Managing Editor for the Sagamore, BHS’s school newspaper. Max loves listening to music, specifically genres like jazz and hip-hop. He has played piano for over ten years, and plays a lot of jazz with his friends. Max enjoys reading his favorite books like A Confederacy of Dunces and watching movies like There Will Be Blood. Max’s love of music and writing enticed him to apply for this fellowship, and he is excited to spend the summer learning about music and improving his writing abilities.

Charlotte Dresser is 16 (almost 17) years old and is a rising senior at BHS. Charlotte enjoys listening to and playing music and has been playing the violin since she was 5. She also likes traveling with her family, and her favorite place she’s gone is Italy (because of all of the pasta and pizza). She also really loves food and baking, to satisfy her immense sweet tooth, and specializes in birthday cakes for friends and family. She enjoys reading mystery books and tries to solve the mysteries along with the detectives when reading, but she is often unable to. She is very excited to work with all of the other Whipple fellows this summer and produce a meaningful and carefully-crafted piece of writing.

Isla Chasin is a rising senior at Brookline High School, and is 17 years old. She first became interested in writing in second grade, penning a poem titled “Grey Eyed Misty” about her cat, Ziggy, who has yellow eyes and has no interest in, nor appreciation for, Isla’s poetry. She enjoys music, and plays both the violin and the viola. Isla has always been interested in the brain and psychology, and hopes to pursue a career exploring human behavior through writing. In her spare time, Isla enjoys dancing, reading, and volunteering within her community. Isla is known for telling homemade jokes that need a bit of help with delivery, punchline, and content. She hopes that one day she’ll make someone laugh as hard at her jokes as she does. Isla could not be more excited for the opportunity to write through the Whipple Fellowship, and is forever grateful for the students and staff who have supported her in more ways than they know.

Luca is currently a senior at Brookline High School. For the majority of his life, he has always been an active person, whether that may occur in sailing at Community Sailing Incorporated, hiking with the Newton Environmental Science Program or participating in every cross country, swim and outdoor track season at the high school. When he is not talking about the Brookline School Committee or the Sagamore, you can catch him working on projects with his dad.

Luca has loved writing ever since he was little, especially creative writing at such a young age. Joining the school newspaper enhanced his engagement in writing and proofreading so much so that he is one of the Editors-in-Chief for the upcoming school year. He is honored to be a Whipple Fellow this year and is super excited to share his research and final product with the community!

Jaeden Roberts is a rising junior at Brookline High School. Since Kindergarten, she has searched for a mode to express who they were in identity and soul. She quickly fell in love with all forms of art, and found themself painting and printmaking, playing sonatas on the piano, and - multiple times a week at minimum - strolling the isles of Brookline Booksmith, running her fingers along the spines of every book. Among those arts, writing is held in a special place in their heart as a mode to express her gender, sexuality, race, and emotions. Within the wide expanse of the writing world, next to her love for poetry and flash fiction, they delve into non-fiction in an attempt to push the world to remember. She is thankful for the opportunity the Whipple Fellowship has given them to expand her writing world, and to make the most out of their other talented classmates during workshops and revisions.

Nate Fusillo is 17 years old and a rising senior at BHS. Since early childhood in Brooklyn, Nate has spent the majority of his free time creating, from scribbling stories into stained and yellowed notebooks in elementary school, to falling in love with writing music, eventually starting various bands across a spectrum of styles, and releasing their songs and records. Throughout all of his work, he has stuck vehemently to a code of experimentation and exploration of uncovered territory, and a constant conscious revolt against the establishment, a tendency which has lead him in more recent years to a passionate interest in the study and practice of Marxism, semiotics, and, broadly, post-structuralist philosophy. He is massively grateful for the opportunity provided by the Whipple Fellowship, and hopes to, with the help of the program, create something truly insightful, new, and provocative.