Student Profiles

One Saturday Shay Hayden was skateboarding with a friend to a neighborhood pizza place. They were having fun, but the trip was mostly uphill. When the boys noticed Mr. Sarzana, a Middle School math teacher, and his family in a car at a stop sign ahead, they raced to catch up and jokingly asked for a ride. Much to their astonishment, Mr. Sarzana pulled right over and insisted the boys hop in the back with his own children and proceeded to drive out of his way to drop them off at the restaurant’s door.

To Shay this story epitomizes his relationships with faculty at the Middle School. “He didn’t have to do that,” Shay says laughing. “We were only joking with him, and then he went out of his way for us.” In spite of this surprise, he acknowledges he sees his teachers’ generosity and attention in large and small ways every day.

Shay makes his mark in the Middle School as a very accomplished artist. Originally, he did stencils and hung them around school. Then he got into skateboard deck design, which involves creating collages on the underside of the skateboards. “I’m a decent skateboarder, not great though. It’s mostly about the art for me.” Shay first got into art with the guiding influence of Mr. Solomon in the Lower School. Since arriving at the Middle School, his artistic passion and talent has been steadily and enthusiastically nurtured by Ms. Maclaren and Ms. Nagler. He enjoys talking with Ms. Maclaren about a shared favorite artist, Shepard Fairey, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. As a seventh grader, with the support of his art teachers, he planned and conducted a very popular skateboard deck design class for his fellow students.

As a student who started BB&N as a beginner, Shay has some perspective on the transitions between campuses. He loved the Lower School, yet he felt ready for the added responsibility students take on in the Middle School. “The biggest difference in the Middle School,” he notes, “is the freedom teachers give you. They trust you to manage yourself academically. The fact that you are not under constant supervision makes you act more mature. It makes classes more fun, too. Also, I know when it’s up to me I’ll try harder. Now I completely commit myself to everything I do whether it’s school, sports, or anything else.” So, whether in the classroom, in conversation, or during a lift to a pizza place, Shay feels he can pursue his goals in the Middle School independently with total enthusiasm, and his teachers are right behind him.