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Theo S. '35 recently visited Congressman Steve Womack’s Bentonville office as part of Breakthrough T1D’s Together We Can advocacy campaign. During the visit, Theo met with Keri Wilkinson (Thaden Alumni Parent '25 '24) from Congressman Womack’s staff to discuss insulin affordability, access to diabetes technology, continued funding for the Special Diabetes Program, and a message central to his advocacy: Type 1 Diabetes should never keep someone from living a full and adventurous life.

For Theo, the visit was personal. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes shortly after his first birthday, he has already spent years using his own experience to advocate for others living with the disease. This marked Theo’s third meeting with Congressman Womack’s office. In 2023, he was selected from a competitive national pool to represent Arkansas at Breakthrough T1D’s Children’s Congress in Washington, D.C. He has also served as a Breakthrough T1D Youth Ambassador and shared his story at major fundraising events and through radio and television interviews.

Through each opportunity, Theo continues to demonstrate that young people don’t have to wait to make an impact. By sharing his experience and advocating for others, he is using his voice to help create change while showing that life with Type 1 Diabetes can still be full of possibility and adventure.

This summer, three Thaden students were selected to attend the Arkansas Governor’s School (AGS), a four-week residential program that brings together rising seniors from across the state for intensive academic and artistic exploration. Violet B. ’26 studied Visual Arts, Eden-Bell R. ’26 explored Social Sciences, and Millie S. ’26 immersed herself in Drama.

While students spend much of their time deeply engaged in their chosen discipline, AGS extends learning beyond a single subject. Students also explore how we think and understand knowledge, consider different perspectives, and develop skills related to leadership, personal responsibility, and community. For Millie, that combination—and the opportunity to learn alongside students with shared interests—made the experience particularly meaningful.

“I loved AGS because I got to meet so many people who share the same passions as me,” Millie said. “Getting to immerse myself in drama every day for a month while also learning about leadership and problem-solving was an incredible experience! I highly recommend it!”

This summer, seven Upper School Thaden students (Bella F., Bella W., Finley K., Sloane R., Amaya L., Sonakshi D., and Jesse C.) joined teens from across Northwest Arkansas in completing over 50 hours of training to volunteer with AR Teen Connect, the Arkansas Crisis Center's peer support text line for teens. Debra Capps, Director of Advancement and Strategy at Arkansas Crisis Center, shared that the Thaden cohort "brought a strong sense of community to the group - empowering others, contributing thoughtful ideas, and fostering a space where everyone felt valued and comfortable contributing." 

Now trained to support teens across the state of Arkansas, these students are putting empathy, leadership, and community into practice in a meaningful way. 

This summer, Lindley S., '27 took her interest in science beyond the classroom and into an exobiology lab at the University of Arkansas. The opportunity started with Lindley cold-emailing five university professors about potential research opportunities. After hearing back from two and touring their labs, she connected with Dr. Kral and ended up working roughly once a week alongside a PhD student while conducting her own research.

While the lab studies whether methanogens (single-celled organisms) are capable of surviving in extreme conditions and if they could potentially survive on Mars. Lindley’s experiment focused on how one species responds to varying concentrations of sodium chloride and magnesium perchlorate.

For Lindley, who hopes to pursue a PhD and a career in scientific research, the experience offered the chance to see what that future might actually look like. She is now writing a paper on her findings and considering submitting her research for publication.

Lindley's experience also gives us a glimpse of what we hope students grow toward as they move through Upper School. In Upper School, we work to create the conditions for students to become principled thinkers, innovative problem solvers, constructive collaborators, and purposeful changemakers—and, increasingly, to take ownership of where their interests lead them. Lindley is doing just that: identifying what matters to her, seeking out an opportunity that didn’t already exist, working alongside professional researchers, and beginning to chart her own path forward. We can't wait to see you continue to chart your own path and pursue your passions, Lindley! 

Thaden School serves as a partner to the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education’s Independent School Teaching Residency (ISTR) program. This prestigious initiative enables early-career educators to earn a Master of Science in Education while completing a two-year teaching fellowship at select independent schools across the country. We are honored to be among this distinguished group of partner institutions.

This year, we are excited to welcome our second cohort of Penn Fellows to the Thaden community. Annie De Alessi will be teaching Grade 6 History and Social Sciences, and Liv Crocker will be teaching Grades 6 and 7 math. Our inaugural cohort will begin their second year with Margaret Seaney teaching Grade 6 English and an Upper School elective, and Sebastian Ashman teaching Grades 7 and 8 Spanish. Please join us in welcoming them to our community.