By Harry Sutton ’20
Meet our 2018-19 Prefects!
Maddie Aitken, Head Prefect
Hometown: Montclair, New Jersey
Years at The Gunnery: 3
Co-curriculars: Girls Varsity Crew, Arts Option, Girls Varsity Lacrosse
Favorite aspect of The Gunnery: the people and the tight-knit community
Maddie is eager to start the 2018-19 school year in her role as Head Prefect. Maddie’s main goal is to be a role model for underclassmen and someone that they feel they can look up to and come to with any issues they may be having. She’s looking forward to getting to know everyone on campus this year, and she hopes to increase communication between students and faculty as well as make changes that will improve students’ daily life. She ran for Prefect because she looked up to her upperclassmen, and she wanted to pay that forward and fill the same role for other students. Maddie encouraged new students to step out of their comfort zones and take advantage of new opportunities and make the best of every day here.
Will Alling Graney
Hometown: Mashpee, Massachusetts
Years at The Gunnery: 2
Co-curriculars: Boys Varsity Soccer, Boys JV Hockey, Boys Varsity Lacrosse
Favorite aspect of The Gunnery: the community and the way everyone knows each other
Will is only entering his second year here, but he has really made an impact. He wants to spend this year as someone who leads by example and is a role model for younger students. He also hopes to get students more engaged in activities like weekend events and sports games. Will came into The Gunnery as a new junior and will help new student in similar situations comfortably ease into the community. Will wants new students to get involved, ad he places an emphasis on meeting new people and getting to know others well.
Katie Nemergut
Hometown: Goshen, Connecticut
Years at The Gunnery: 4
Co-curriculars: Cross Country, Musical, Girls Varsity Crew
Favorite aspect of The Gunnery: strong community
Katie’s goal as Prefect is to be someone who takes on responsibility, cares about the school and well-being of everyone and does all she can to make sure everyone is happy and successful at school. She is trying to help increase the school spirit at The Gunnery this year by getting people more involved in the community by encouraging participation at more school events and sports games. Katie did not originally want to become a Prefect, but had promised her brother she would when she was a freshman. However, through the election process, she realized how much she loved the school and what she wanted to do to improve it.
Jared Rainville
Hometown: Watertown, Connecticut
Years at The Gunnery: 5
Co-curriculars: ISP, Boys Varsity Basketball, Boys Varsity Lacrosse
Favorite aspect of The Gunnery: the people and the diversity
As a five-year senior, Jared is the Prefect with the most experience at the school. He wants to form a stronger and more involved campus culture at The Gunnery this year while giving back to the place that has done so much for him. Jared has had a lot of helpful Gunnery role models through the years, and he wants to be the same for the others. His advice for new students is to go into things with an open mind, work hard and try new things.
Sage Mines
Hometown: Snellville, Georgia
Years at The Gunnery: 3
Co-curriculars: Boys JV Soccer, Boys JV Basketball, Boys Varsity Lacrosse
Favorite aspect of The Gunnery: the people
As Prefect, Sage aims to help the community and put others before himself. He wants to make our school “a more cohesive community” and plans to increase community by organizing genuinely fun activities. His best advice for new students is to enjoy your time here, find good friends and good people.
Katie Broccoli
Hometown: North Haven, Connecticut
Years at The Gunnery: 4
Co-curriculars: Girls Varsity Soccer, Girls Varsity Hockey, Girls Varsity Softball
Favorite aspect of The Gunnery: the hockey program
Katie’s goal as Prefect is to be a role model for everyone. She hopes to increase school spirit and make the community as strong and involved as possible. As a quiet leader, she plans to lead by example and serve as a role model for all. Her hopes for new students are that they don’t feel afraid to get out of their comfort zones and that they appreciate and enjoy their time here.
Caleb Dorf
Hometown: Woodbury, Connecticut
Years at The Gunnery: 4
Co-curriculars: Outdoor Club, Highlander Hockey, Boys JV Baseball
Favorite aspect of The Gunnery: the friendliness between everyone
Caleb aims to be a liaison between the students and the faculty. Similar to Maddie, he expressed his feelings about wanting to be an easily accessible resource for people’s opinions and ideas. Caleb describes himself as “easy to talk to” and he wants to tell new students to broaden their horizons, get out of their rooms and take advantage of all the opportunities that are available at The Gunnery.
Tony Zhang
Hometown: Beijing, China
Years at The Gunnery: 4
Co-curriculars: Arts Option, Boys Varsity Basketball, Arts Option
Favorite aspect of The Gunnery: the cultural diversity and the acceptance of that diversity
Tony is a four-year international student, bringing a different perspective and experience to the Prefect group. He wants to be a helpful role model to ease new students, especially international students, into their new school, culture and life. Tony was overwhelmed when he first came to The Gunnery his freshman year, stunned by the culture shock and language barrier that comes with being a Chinese student. He hopes to help students in similar positions feel better, as well as improve the school’s community and culture on the whole.
