Govs arts and writing students have once again received numerous titles and recognition this year in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Govs students won a total of seventy-six art and writing awards.

26 Govs art students won 44 awards in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition this year. Govs students earned 12 Gold Keys, 15 Silver Keys, and 17 Honorable Mentions.

“Don’t talk politics” is not a philosophy that Lizzy Guyton Johnson ’06 adheres to. Communications director for Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, she spends her days (and sometimes nights) figuring out how to best share a steady stream of information with the community and the media.

While Kristen Ambrosi ’93 was practicing ballet and tearing out pages of magazines to inspire her pencil drawings, Derek Ambrosi ’93 was likely on the edge of his seat watching Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen. Both were doing what they loved, but it was also a foreshadowing of successful careers: Kristen, a commissioned abstract artist and yoga instructor; Derek, an Emmy award-winning film editor and director.

Last Friday, January 15, we held our school-wide observation of MLK Day and leaned into a conversation about racism. The day began with faculty, staff, and students viewing the film, I’m Not Racist, Am I?, and after the film, the producers provided us with trained facilitators to contextualize the film, answer questions, and lead a group discussion. After an afternoon of smaller breakout group discussions, we closed the day with a moving rendition of Lift Every Voice. 

Amid the many hardships and challenges in 2020, one Govs senior had reason to celebrate. Lemuel (Lemmy) L'Oiseau '21 has been recognized for their award as a match scholarship recipient in the QuestBridge National College Match; a national program that connects top-performing high school seniors from low-income backgrounds with full four-year scholarships and early admittance to one of QuestBridges’ 42 college partners, which includes some of the nation’s leading higher education institutions.

Whether protecting foster children in court or assisting them in procuring braces at the orthodontist, Leslie Lacy is passionate about helping kids. By day, this energetic attorney advocates for youth through Mental Health Advocacy Service in Baton Rouge. And in her off hours, she seeks to brighten children’s smiles through Fostering Hope Louisiana, the nonprofit she founded with husband Dr. Fred Lacy. It’s work that Lacy asserts she was born to do, and in the next breath confesses she never imagined for herself.

Donned in rubber gloves, a group of students in an Advanced Placement Environmental Science class mixes pollen and sugar in large buckets. Around the lab table, they pick up vials and add distilled water to rehydrate freeze-dried probiotic bacterium found in the gut of honey bees (along with placebo samples). But this isn’t a typical high school science lesson.

At the start of the interview, Duncan Robinson '12 apologizes for not responding sooner. This encapsulates the Miami Heat forward perfectly: he’s a really good guy with a heart of gold. With his busy training schedule for the Miami Heat in full swing, Robinson still manages to make time to discuss his time at Govs and his NBA career.