I attended the Abelard School for four years, and I was consistently impressed by its high academic standards and inspired approach to high school pedagogy. The school’s unwavering dedication to its unique vision of education is apparent in all aspects of life at Abelard, and the vibrant enthusiasm of the staff infuses every class with an atmosphere of dynamic intellectual curiosity. Academically, I particularly appreciated the emphasis placed on Classical literature, philosophy, and history. Studying the achievements of ancient generations serves not only to educate and intellectually stimulate our youth, but also provides them with a rare glimpse of aesthetic and philosophical beauty that can have a profoundly edifying effect on an impressionable adolescent. It is precisely this potential to elevate and enlighten which I consider to be the greatest asset of the Abelardian education. Our society places an excessively high premium on “cleverness” – at Abelard, students are also taught the value of wisdom.

Following my graduation from Abelard, I attended the University of Toronto for four years, completing a Bachelor of Arts programme in archaeology, with an emphasis on the Scandinavian Iron Age and Viking Age. In addition to my course work, I participated in three archaeological excavations – in Belize, Jordan, and Sweden. I also worked as a volunteer for Earthwatch, conducting arachnological and entomological research in Costa Rica. Both archaeological and biological fieldwork require a mixture of independent thinking and cooperative teamwork, and my time at Abelard had prepared me well for work of this nature.

After finishing my B.A. in Toronto, I completed a Master of Science programme at University College London, where I studied the palaeoecology of human societies. Human palaeoecology proved to be an ideal subject for me, since it combined my knowledge of archaeology and anthropology with my amateur enthusiasm for biology and behavioural ecology. I found that Abelard’s emphasis on multidisciplinarism and critical thinking helped me to correlate data from widespread branches of the social and life sciences, such as ethnographic studies and osteoarchaeological reports.

All of these studies have been aided and influenced by my extremely positive experience at Abelard, where I acquired a passion for learning and intellectual inquiry. I am eternally grateful to Abelard, not only for its excellent academic standards and superb staff, but also for the many lasting friendships I made while attending the school. It was a privilege and a pleasure to spend four years there.