Every spring, Andover’s English Department awards the Means Essay Prize for the declamation of an original personal essay written during the school year. Traditionally, the top three finalists declaim their essays during All-School Meeting (ASM) in Cochran Chapel. This year, however, the final declamation will take place in Kemper Auditorium (Kemper) at 6 p.m. this Friday.
In an email to The Phillipian, Leon Calleja, Chair in English, wrote that the move to Kemper was an adjustment as the Means Essay couldn’t be worked into this year’s ASM schedule.
“The reality is that there was no space for the Means declamation in the ASM schedule this spring. While I am uncertain of the exact cause of this, I do know that there was some miscommunication between the English department and the committee that determines the ASM schedule. (I believe that committee is run out of the HOS office.) The unfortunate result was that the Means [Essay Prize] could not be offered during ASM this year,” wrote Calleja in an email to The Phillipian.
Finalist Jeannie Kang ’28 expressed her disappointment in the change, saying she believed a part of the Means Essay’s appeal is the opportunity to declaim a personal work to the entire student body.
“It would have been great if we got to share it with the community…[as] the idea [is] that you can share it with a larger group of audience who you would’ve been hesitant to talk to, or wouldn’t have been otherwise compelled to listen to your story. The people coming to Kemper are the ones who are interested in either the three of us, or our stories. So it would have been cool to expose people who don’t have similar interests or intersections to share the specific knowledge that I have and the experience that I wrote about,” said Kang.
Nevertheless, Kang acknowledged the positive aspects of reading to a smaller audience and thanked the English Department for their work in organizing the event.
“This is important, I’m still grateful to the English Department for trying their best to figure out a way for me to share [my work]. Thinking on the bright side, it might even be better that I get to see the audience and literally look into their eyes while sharing my piece, because [the piece is] important to me,” said Kang.
The finalists’ essays cover a diverse range of topics. Finalist Alex Lin ’28 shared how her essay’s topic evolved from stargazing with her friends in the campus graveyard.
“[My friends and I] would stargaze a lot, because they were taking astronomy. We found that it was really tricky to stargaze on campus, because even though the light pollution is really low, there’s dorms and there’s street lamps, it’s bright outside. I had the bright idea of, hey, what if we went into the graveyard, because there’s no lights around the graveyard. Before that, I’d actually never gone to the graveyard before… It was kind of spooky at first, but it was also, eventually, really pretty. So I decided to write an essay about that,” said Lin.
Kang spoke on her experience writing her piece, which reflected on guardianship in the wake of a car accident and family illness.
“While I was trying to write something for that, I was sitting on my mom’s couch at like 3 am, and it’s late at night when all those memories and emotions come. I started writing spontaneously about the car accident because that’s what I was thinking about the most during that time. I [wrote] a very rough piece. It wasn’t for the Means Essay, it was just for a keepsake and to remember what happened and the lessons I learned. Then after that the Means Essay came out and I was like might as well submit to that, because this is what really matters to me. I polished it and added some of my childhood memories to make it a more interesting and compelling piece,” said Kang.
Traditionally, the English Department’s teaching fellows select the finalists for the Means Essay Prize. Jessica Hoffman, Teaching Fellow in English, helped judge the essays this year and shared advice for students looking to submit their work in the future.
“If you are a Lower, really lean into the creative nonfiction personal essay component that English 200 has every fall. But even if you are not a Lower or if you were once a Lower and are now an Upper or a Senior, [take] the time to go back and look at the writing that you’ve done in the past and spend more time with it,” said Hoffman.
As Friday nears, Finalist Bruce Ru ’28 emphasized the vulnerability it takes to declaim a piece in front of others, especially when a work is so deeply rooted in one’s identity and lived experiences.
“I’m talking about the history of Australian racism or the white Australian policy or racial assimilation from a third person. It’s still a very important issue, but there’s not that aspect of vulnerability and personal experience that has to necessarily go into it. Having to write about something that’s so sensitive and complex is not an easy thing. It takes a lot of nuance. You don’t get it right on the first try. And also the ability to open yourself to others and say, this is me. This is an imperfect life that I’ve lived so far but it’s worth hearing. Once you open yourself up for that vulnerability, people respond very well. But to take that first step is incredibly hard,” said Ru.
Editor’s Note: Jeannie Kang is a Commentary Staff Writer for The Phillipian.
