Take a moment to think about this past week: think of the memories you have made in the dining hall, Lindsey, or even in your dorm. Now think about the friends you have made thus far. When you walk away from ASP, what will you remember about them? Ask yourself: What am I taking away from this experience?
Here we are, only a bit more than half way through the program, and already this experience has unknowingly engrained itself into the history of your life: your memories. So, now I ask you to take a moment to think of all those who came to this campus before us.
St. Paul’s School was founded on April 3rd of 1856, proceeding the Civil War by a mere five years. Just over 100 years later, in 1958, the ASP was born. And maybe you knew that, but did you know that this campus has been home to not one, but two tragic fires? The first, in 1878, was the result of a flash of lightning during an unusually hot summer which caused the original school to burn down.
But the 1961 fire that burnt down Big Study had no determined cause, believed to be human-error, and is, to this day, a dark mystery of SPS.
But for years, St. Paul’s was plagued with something far worse than fire: an all-male demographic. St. Paul’s was founded as a private institute for upper-class-boys, influenced by the Round Hill School’s philosophy of embracing nature, and a devotion to faith and religion. Overtime, this school has adapted fittingly to the world around it. In 1961, the ASP first admitted 35 girls. It took 10 years for the “Original Nineteen” girls to be admitted to SPS as regular year-round students. That’s right ASP, we did it first!
In speaking to John Bouton, known as JB to his writing workshop class, he remarked that the ASP “allowed teachers to acclimate to teaching girls” before they adapted the whole school to this change. JB stated that a unique thing about the ASP was that it allowed for winter faculty to try out new teaching methods, and experiment outside of the SPS curriculum.
The film studies teacher, Mark Holding agreed. He believes that, besides the opportunities it offers faculty, the ASP has also always been a way “for New Hampshire public school kids to have a taste of private education” and the opportunities that come with that.
It is no secret that St. Paul’s is a wealthy community, which is why it is able to run a program like the ASP, which runs at a profit loss for St. Paul’s. When discussing how this has affected the ASP, one member of the faculty stated that “sometimes it feels like ASP is under threat, but it has survived and adapted.” They went on to say that, when weighing the pros and cons of the program, it would be “crazy to consider shutting down the program” because of its financial burden. They stated that SPS could easily “afford to have a tax write off that pays dividends on good will and community connection.”
Despite the cost, ASP is vital to the integrity of the school. Since it is specifically for in-state students, the ASP is an important benefactor to the image of St. Paul’s. As future alumni, we can all relate to the gratitude shown by community members to this program.
On the other hand, times are changing. This has caused faculty to consider the length of the program. As we all know, this has not been a typical year for the ASP, which normally functions for five non-hybrid-weeks. But what is less known is that this was not the first modification to the program’s schedule. Originally, the ASP lasted six weeks, all of which were, of course, on campus.
JB stated that in recent years, “students increasingly have more opportunities to do things like preseason sports, summer jobs/internships..” This made him curious as to whether or not the “hybrid NHLI/ASP could be the blueprint” for the future of St. Paul’s Summer programming.
Mark Holding agreed that the hybrid program may attract more students in the future. But Holding argued against this possible outcome, reminding us that it is “hard to do justice to a film studies program in three weeks.” Although student interest may initially peak with the shorter program format, that would mean forsaking valuable class time.
Keeping in mind history, he also stated that during the six week program, he felt as though his students had the opportunity to peak a little higher than those in the five-week-one. When Holding taught the writing workshop course, he believed the extra week allowed for just enough time to completely polish a college essay that he knew his students would be proud of.
But what about ASP today? What about right now, while we are on campus? On a closing note, JB explained that what he always admired about St. Pauls is how easy it is to overlook what is surrounding us at the ASP. “The environment of ASP is so understated, that it does not have to advertise [the knowledge of its staff], because students here understand that they are surrounded by Brilliance.” Instead, he suggests waiting for a rainy day and watching teachers, “flashing their collegiate gang signs through their umbrellas.”
The understated brilliance of St. Pauls is exactly why the ASP is such a valuable asset for ambitious New Hampshire public school students. It allows us and faculty to branch out, explore opportunities, and seize the day.
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