Casidhe Madsen ’26

The pieces below were written by students in response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. In class, students were asked to reflect on Dr. King’s message and create their own speeches inspired by his themes of justice, equality, and hope.

Each piece represents a personal interpretation of what a more just and unified future could look like today. While inspired by King’s structure and vision, these words are entirely the students’ own, shaped by their experiences, beliefs, and generation.

We are proud to publish their work as part of this classroom assignment and to continue sharing student voices that engage with history in meaningful and creative ways.

By: Trace B. Johnson ’26

My Mama

I love my mama. Ever since my first memory to every morning when I call her and hear her voice, I feel wrapped in love. I love everything about my mama, her smile, her beautiful deep blue eyes, her love for sports and our family. I’ll always cherish the warmth of her hugs and the way she makes me feel at home. There is no other person on earth like my mama, there is not a single person I look up to, respect, or love more. She has taught me to be me and I will love her forever.

By: Ceci Ross ’28

On Valentine’s Day, we take the time to celebrate with the ones we love. Most people call their Valentine their boyfriend or girlfriend. It is usually celebrated as a special, intimate day between two people’s growing relationship. A lot of people might find themselves being single or lonely on Valentine’s Day. But there is one thing I’ve discovered that can be just as special as having a date. It’s called Galentine’s! Galentine’s is a day to celebrate the girls around you, who lift you up, and to share a special celebration of your friendship.

I got to spend an awesome night with all my girlies + Oakley!  We had so much fun and thanks to our awesome hostess Clover Pross!  

As many say, guys come and go but friendship lasts a lifetime. So cherish the ones around you and ball your eyes out to the Notebook. Trust me, you won’t regret it 😉.

Special hugs to all my girlies!

Love, 

Ceci Ross.

By Riley Phillips ’27

Last Wednesday, the Girls Varsity Soccer (GVS) team faced off against Kents Hill in the MAISAD Semifinals. Just two Wednesdays ago, we played Kents Hill and lost with a final score of 4-6. After a rough season of losses, we arrived at Kents Hill ready to turn our season around. With a TWEET from the ref’s whistle, the game kicked off. Within the first 5 minutes, Kents Hill sunk one into the back of our net off of a corner kick. While this quick goal was demoralizing, we kept our heads up and continued to fight. With only 6 minutes left in the first half, Kents Hill scored yet another goal off of a penalty kick as a result of a foul within the 18-yard box. 

Going into the second half with a score of 0-2 was quite unencouraging, but in the 55th minute, Oda Maier ‘26 scored off a corner kick! Putting one on the board perked the whole team up and Evie Willer ‘26 scored another beautiful goal just over 15 minutes later. With the score now 2-2, it was anyone’s game. Unfortunately, Kents Hill scored again, making it 2-3 and putting Hebron in the losing position once more. We continued pushing offensively and were granted a direct kick just outside of their 18-yard box. Evie Willer took the kick and Riley Phillips ‘27 (me) tapped it into the goal, tying up the game once more to 3-3.  We ended regulation playing time as a tie, meaning we were heading into overtime! 

The whole team was brimming with excitement but also very exhausted from having already played 90 minutes of soccer and now being asked to play 20 minutes more. Hebron’s girls were looking strong in overtime though, getting off quite a few shots on goal. In the second 10-minute half of overtime, 3 or 4 Hebron girls collided with 2 Kents Hill girls within our box. It was all very confusing, but the ref granted Kents Hill another penalty kick. In the 103rd minute of playing time, the opposing team scored, making the score 4-3. That score would be the final score. The ref’s whistle blew one last time, marking the end of our soccer season and the end of one of the most exciting games of soccer in GVS history.

Hi, my name is Sylvie Gill and I am a sophomore boarding student. This is my fourth year at Hebron Academy. In the fall I play soccer, I ski in the winter, and I do track and field in the spring. A few of my favorite hobbies are reading, drawing, and playing the piano. 

I’m Louisa Strong and I’m a sophomore day student at Hebron. I’ve been going to Hebron since 6th grade. I dance year round and I ski for fun in the winter time. One of my favorite places is my family’s cabin on Frenchboro, an island off of Mount Desert. 

We are so excited to be the blog editors for the 2024 – 25 school year! We hope to upload articles and new stories consistently. The Hebron Blog is a place to find news about recent events at Hebron, work students are proud of, opinion pieces, and much more. We’re looking forward to making some big changes to blog, so keep an eye out!

By: Sylvie Gill ’26

The Round Square conference was separated into three major event days: An adventure day, democracy day, a service day, and a day for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as an arrival day. On arrival day, our delegation drove to the Runda campus of Brookhouse Schools located in Nairobi, Kenya for registration and activities. Just on our first day at the conference, we met many people from many different countries including Australia, Germany, Canada, India, China, Argentina, Kenya itself, and many others. That evening we watched a musical performance to welcome us all to the conference. After the performance, we proceeded to the Hostels where we would be staying.

On the day of the opening ceremony, we woke up bright and early at 5:30 am and got ready for the day. We then traveled to the Karen campus of Brookhouse Schools for breakfast. Both of the campuses of Brookhouse were incredible. The Runda campus was newer and resembled a giant luxury resort, while the Karen campus was older and more homey, with a building that was practically a castle! After we had breakfast at the Karen campus, we traveled to a large stadium building in the city where we were to have the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was amazing, consisting of a speech from the former first lady of Kenya, an introduction to the conference by the leaders of the RSIC board, and multiple Kenyan cultural performances. That evening we returned to the hostel to get some sleep before the next big day.

The next day was our group’s adventure day. This meant that we traveled in buses to the national reserve that is located in the city Nairobi. Nairobi is the only capital city in the entire world that has a national reserve in its city. The nature reserve was very extensive and had many different animals roaming around. We saw tons of rhinos, ostriches, giraffes, lions, and countless zebras. That night, we arrived at the campground where we would be staying. We ate dinner and watched an amazing cultural performance shown to us by some members of the Masai Mara tribe of Kenya. That night, we slept in tents surrounded by the Kenyan wilderness. 

On the second activity day, we traveled to the Runda campus once again for our democracy day. We watched a conference-like presentation of over five different activists, teachers, politicians, and scientists talking about the concept of New Africa which was RSIC 2024’s theme. New Africa is the idea that Africa and the countries in it are much more than the preconceptions many people may have. Kenya and many other African countries are working towards, and in many cases already are, innovative, sustainable, fair, and democratic. After the presentation, we split into different groups, called barazas, to discuss the topics we learned about during the presentation. Then, to get a real taste of Kenyan culture and hospitality, that night we stayed with parents of some of the students from Brookhouse schools. It was very interesting to see how life in Kenya was different to life in the USa. Many things were the same such as the cars people drove and the use of technology in households, but there were also differences such as the type of food that was eaten, and the way the houses were set up. 

On the final activity day, it was service day. This meant that we went to a school in the poorer part of the city and helped out to improve it. We worked all day to re-cement floors, paint walls, and clean the school. It felt very good to help out those in need by doing hands-on work, and it was nice to meet all the kids that went to the school. It was a truly inspiring experience and I enjoyed it very much. 

Attending the Round Square conference this year was incredible and a completely amazing opportunity for me and the rest of the group. It inspired me in so many ways and it was a truly valuable and inspiring experience. I took so many good lessons and new ideas away from my trip to Kenya. This trip helped me to realize the importance of service work and giving back to my community and those that are less privileged than me. It also gave me a new perspective on a lot of different matters by hearing the ideas and thoughts of so many other people from so many other places. It was definitely a trip that I will never forget and that has impacted me in so many positive ways.

“Don’t spend too many hours studying, make sure you have a social life.” – Jakub Diakonowicz (going to Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) for industrial engineering)