October’s chapel talk, the second of the year, gave us many stories that connected people everywhere around our community through shared experiences of loss and understanding. Chief among these topics was the theme of privilege, a simple word that has a heavy weight. Speakers Abdoulaye Sow ’26, Cylina Wang ’28, Kin Asavanud ’27, and Modern & Classical Language Faculty Ludmila Zamah shared their experiences about the impact that privilege has had on their lives.
Abdoulaye Sow ‘26 shared his story through a poem that showed his appreciation of three significant figures within his journey through Loomis: Arthur, Edgar, and Dave, individuals who worked within the dorms in which he had lived. Labeling them the “real parents at Loomis,” Abdoulaye emphasized how the conventional definition of “parent” fails to capture each late night or little moment he has enjoyed spending with these figures.
Cylina Wang ‘28 created an analogy comparing humans to pebbles, rocks within a stream of water. With individual experiences and memories shaping the “anchor” that humans hold, Cylina shared a story about the loss of her grandfather, someone who was not particularly close to her yet evoked a realization of appreciation.
“What really had an effect was the reflection—the confrontation with the fact that someone in my family died. It’s so powerful that you start to rethink the small moments in life and notice how people behave differently under these circumstances,” Cylina shared in an interview after her talk. While rocks represent permanence, humans are ever-changing. Cylina called upon the audience to rethink and understand their emotions, such as melancholia or joy, to find and appreciate the anchor and little things that help build the privilege within many.
Kin Asvanund ‘27 shared his own story of loss—one that allowed him to realize the privilege he never knew he had. As he was travelling home, Kin opened his phone to see his deceased dog, an event that he could not seem to process.
“Life doesn’t always give warnings. It doesn’t pause so that we can catch up. And that’s why it matters so much to live with intention, not perfection, not pressure, but presence,” Kin expressed within his speech.
As Kin started to accept his loss, he continued to miss the daily moments he shared with his dog, like the sound of his bark or the skidding of his paws on the floor. The loss of his dog not only uncovered the hidden happiness and warmth Kin experienced each day, but also how to keep living in the future in order to appreciate it.
“Make every ordinary moment matter, because one day, it might become the memory that stays with you, the one you hold on to when everything else fades,” Kin emphatically remarked.
Ms. Zamah shared her own realization of privilege during her recent sabbatical at the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA) in Rwanda. SOLA is a boarding school forced to evacuate from Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021, after the fall of the city to Taliban forces. Ever since, SOLA has remained committed to providing an education to young girls despite opposition, with some wanting to return to their homes within Afghanistan to help improve the country. Ms. Zamah, who has been working with SOLA for 13 years, shared her firsthand experiences of resilience and perseverance.
Using mediums like photography, Ms. Zamah captured moments on her trip, while still facing the obstacles of social norms and oppression within the area, such as not being able to take a direct photo of their faces.
When asked how students can help to stay informed and to share these stories, she commented, “Something that’s part of the US news cycle is that we hear about stories for a while and they’re just gone. Like Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water.”
She added, “New York Times articles are fine and all, but finding out an individual story, I think it makes it that much more personal for us.”
Ms. Zamah had taken home gratitude for what she had previously taken for granted, like food on the table or her right to go home. She shared a heartfelt anecdote about how these girls all responded to the question of who their superheroes are: their fathers and the people who had stood up to societal pressures to make the step forward for them. By understanding how each moment in her life was intertwined with privilege, Ms. Zamah took home a new viewpoint of the world.
