Post Institute Reflections

​Lynne Donohue
English Department
Toronto High School
Toronto, OH

​What seemed like three very short weeks in Utah, I am having time to reflect on what was absolutely the most amazing time in my life. This experience was by far one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I have ever had the privilege of which to be a part. Academically, professionally, and socially, this program totally exceeded my expectations.
 
Looking back during my time in Utah, starting with the opening dinner we had at the Arts Building, we were completely and totally treated with the utmost respect and professionalism, yet we already felt that we were all friends. At no time did I ever feel like I was uncomfortable or like I couldn’t be myself. There was an extreme amount of reading to do for this workshop, not gonna lie, but for English people, we are used to that, and it wasn’t something that we weren’t already prepared for. I was totally exhausted, it was extremely hot, and I constantly could have napped at any given second, and I loved every minute of it. I felt challenged, I felt pushed, and extremely limited on time, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Our schedule felt overloaded, but we were like sponges, taking in more and more and absorbing every ounce of information that we could. The speakers, the readings, the presentations, the trips, the plays, the lessons, the absolute wealth of information from the instructors was absolutely overwhelming. I cannot say enough about the multitude of information at our fingertips that I would never in a million years be able to gain in any other situation.
 
I cannot even begin to speak about the emotional and social connections that were made on this trip. From the moment we met in the Zoom meetings, to the time we said Goodbye on that final day, we were as close as if we had known each other for years. There is a special connection amongst those who share a commonality, and we shared a love for Shakespeare, for Language Arts, and to see the passion in those around me for the same things that I did, I have no words. We just had a recent Zoom meeting, and it was as if we never left Utah. We shared ideas, we left our Chat Group open, and we are all still communicating like we did before. There are permanent connections that were made, and I feel as though we created our own little family. They have created a special place in my heart, and one that will always be filled. We read together, we ate together, drank together, and shared ideas together. We laughed, we cried, and will always have this connection.
 
“I count myself in nothing else so happy / As in a soul remembering my good friends.” - Richard II
   

​Jacob Edwards
English Department
Hampshire Country School
Rindge, NH

Coming Soon...

​Jahna Romano
English Department
MS 101 - The Edward R. Byrne School
Bronx, NY

Coming Soon...

"Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel" (Polonius, Hamlet)