As the final weeks of spring term settle in, Chapel Talks, an opportunity for people to pause and reflect on the stories that shape our community, concluded its final gathering for this school year on May 7, 2025.

Saving the best for last, participants of the Chapel Talk delivered unique, exceptional speeches. With stories from faculty and students, along with student performances, the afternoon honored and celebrated those who had the courage to speak up about their very own stories, providing the audience with a moment to reflect, sympathize, and cherish a sense of community.

“I had been interested in the idea of doing a Chapel Talk for a while,” said Dr. Jane Wanninger, Head of the English Department and one of the speakers at the final Chapel Talk. “I thought it was a cool format that brought different community members together through storytelling, which is right up my alley. I had been thinking about doing one as a kind of a challenge for myself, both from a writing perspective and a sharing perspective, and this was my last chance for the year!”

Even as the head of the English Department, Dr. Wanninger found it difficult preparing to share a story of her own: “The prospect of sharing was nerve-wracking on the front end; as a teacher, I obviously talk in front of groups all the time, but this is a different scale altogether. My preparation started, weirdly enough, with walking my dog—I found that that was a great opportunity to just sort of tell the story to myself and figure out the overall shape of the ‘so what’ I was aiming for. A month or so ago, I was looking for a file on my computer and came upon a remembrance that I had written for my grandmother’s funeral, a few years ago, and rereading that was my inspiration. It was interesting to see how framing her story through the lens of this context and audience added new/different layers to the story!”

Having put much effort into her speech, Dr. Wanninger touched many hearts through her inspiring talk. As a member of the audience, Klara Oppenheimer ’28 recounted: “I was surprised by how vulnerable people were willing to be and I think it really shows what a tightly-knit community we have here at Loomis. I felt that the Chapel Talk provided people with a space to feel comfortable sharing their stories even when it can be really emotional, so it was fantastic to see our school come together in that way.”

The institution of Chapel Talks this year provided not just a space for storytelling but a reminder to everybody of the strength and connection found in vulnerability. As more stories await to be told, we must remember to pause, listen, and grow to become a more united Loomis Chaffee community.