"My junior year summer, my college counselor asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, 'I guess I’ve always wanted to try media.' She suggested I apply for this job at CNN. I said 'You're nuts,' but she helped me draft a proposal and a letter of interest, and I ended up working for CNN Philippines for most of the summer. The way the teachers and the students interact here, and how much support I got—I would not have gotten that job with that. Because of that I was able to have one of the best experiences of my life, and I’m pretty sure I know what I want to do with my future." -VI Form student
St. Andrew's students involve themselves in the issues and concerns of our day through both academic work and community service. Faculty across all disciplines connect students with leaders and professionals, through in-classroom visits or off-campus excursions, to discuss contemporary concerns in their field. Throughout the semester, students also attend talks given to the entire School community by visiting speakers, many of whom note, after a visit, the profound and unique level of engagement our students bring to these talks.
Recent visiting speakers include:
- Bryan Stevenson, social justice activist and founder & director of the Equal Justice Initiative
- Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author
- Diane Nash, Civil Rights leader
- Dr. Aatish Bhatia, physicist and Associate Director of the Council on Science & Technology at Princeton University
- Nathan Englander, author and Pulitzer Prize finalist
- David Orr, environmentalist
- Alec Ross, author and technology policy expert
- Kahn & Selesnick, collaborative installation artists & photographers
- Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, theoretical physicist & activist
- Dr. William Casey King, Executive Director of Yale Center for Analytical Sciences
- Julie Orringer, author
- Dr. Muqtedar Khan, Director of the Islamic Studies Program at University of Delaware
- PH15, Argentian arts collective
- Emer O'Dwyer '92, historian and Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at Oberlin College
- Ed Strong '66, Broadway producer
- Dr. Janice Nevin '77, CEO of Christiana Care Hospital
- Ashley Devery '85 & Polly Dolan '85, founders of SEGA Girls School, Tanzania
- John Seabrook '76, New Yorker staff writer
Coursework also encourages students to engage in activism and consider how they might impact public policy, and to conceive of solutions to social, economic, and political issues. The vast majority of students also choose to participate in weekly local community service opportunities, and modern and classical language students have the opportunity to participate in foreign travel and community service during spring or summer breaks.
Recent examples of classroom engagement include:
- English 4 students FaceTime with leading contemporary Lebanese artist Walid Raad, whose first comprehensive American survey was recently on display at the MoMA, about history, storytelling, and traumatic memory
- Global Studies students write letters to their respective congresspeople, critiquing their stance and actions on climate policy
- Intro to Biology students travel to Cape Henlopen State Park to meet with researchers and learn about ongoing changes to local dune and forest ecosystems
- AS French students draft proposals to NGOs that address a particular need in the Francophone world, and present proposals to a panel of outside experts