To celebrate, Sustainable Westport announces their first-ever group of Restaurant Champions.
These restaurants do far mor than whip up delicious food. They’re also serious about operating sustainably, and supporting our local food system.
The Restaurant Champions program celebrates those that lead by example — and offers guidance and resources to those wanting to improve their sustainability efforts.
The program focuses on 4 key areas: complying with Westport’s single-use plastic ordinance, sourcing ingredients sustainably, engaging in responsible waste management, and prioritizing energy efficiency.
Led by Samantha Schwab, the Restaurant Champions program offers personalized support to help businesses cut waste and hauling costs, earn tax incentives, avoid penalties, improve employee satisfaction and gain recognition.
Here’s how some of the Restaurant Champions are already making a difference:
Kneads excels at sourcing local and sustainable ingredients from farms they know and trust; they even mill their own grains on-site.
The team also goes above and beyond while recycling food scraps and limiting waste. Not only does Kneads compost — they also donate end-of-the-day leftover baked goods to US Food Rescue, feeding the hungry while preventing waste.
Kneads is a proud Sustainable Westport Restaurant Champion …
Momu is another strong example of sustainable sourcing. Their dairy is Arethusa Farm (Litchfield). Their coffee comes from Irving Farm in New York. And they’re at the Westport Farmers Market every Thursday, seeking inspiration for seasonal flavors.
The Whelk team does an exceptional job with the restaurant’s waste management. They partner with CORR (Collective Oyster Recycling & Restoration) to recycle oyster shells for an oyster habitat restoration project in Long Island Sound. This prevents shells from ending up in landfill, while also providing environmental benefits.
Massi Co regularly donates excess food to the Gillespie Center — a few yards behind it on Jesup Road — to minimize food waste. Since becoming a Restaurant Champion, they’ve swapped out their plastic to-go lids for paper ones, reducing single-use plastic.
… and so is Massi Co.
AlliumEateryhas also shown dedication to limiting single-use plastics. The buvette uses compostable containers for their to-go provisions, and since partnering with Sustainable Westport, they’ve swapped out their plastic bottles for glass. Allium also hangs educational signage, to help customers properly dispose or compost their takeaway containers.
For the launch, the Sustainable Westport team zoned in on Saugatuck. But they plan to open the program up to downtown and beyond. Click here for details.
Do you know of a food business in Westport with a strong commitment to sustainability? Send all nominations to restaurantchampions@sustainablewestport.org — and spread the word!
“06880” culture correspondent Robin Moyer Chung writes:
The Westport Community Theatre is far more passionate about theater than about public relations.
Which is too bad, because that means not enough people may know about their current production. “The Savannah Sipping Society” is terrific. It’s funny, energetic, and a steal at $30 a seat.
Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting the show to knock me over. Perhaps my low expectations raised my appreciation of it, but I’m pretty sure it’s great by any measure.
First, a bit about WCT. I’m pretty sure, judging by Saturday night’s smattering of theater-goers, precious few of you have seen one of their productions.
Now in its 68th season (68!), WCT is a non-profit company run largely by volunteers. It embraces local talent, and provides opportunities to community members for acting, backstage work and directing.
The play, written by Jones Hope Wooten (a 3-woman comedy writing team), is a Southern-based comedy about 4 middle-aged/liminal senior women who wilt out of a hot yoga class, and bond over their shared disdain for it.
From left: Heather DeLude, Gillian Holt, Dandy Barrett, Ellen Krinick Porto. (Photo/Westport Community Theatre)
They’re all single, they all have baggage, and they all decide to overcome their discomforts and hang weekly with appetizers and libation.
It’s “Sex and the City” without the sex and designer wardrobes — “Sip and the City.”
There are tropes – Marlaflaye’s husband dropped her for a younger woman, Randa was fired from her high-pressure job after a professional meltdown, Dot is recently widowed without financial security, and sexpot-adjacent Jinx has decided to become a life coach.
However, it avoids caricature and melodrama. The play is less about coping with past trauma, and more about 4 strangers navigating new friendship territory after a hard crack from their previous lives.
The women are a strong ensemble, adeptly playing off of each other in witty asides and differing levels of enthusiasm for awkward ideas. I especially liked the unapologetic Marlaflaye, played by Dandy Barnett, with fiery red hair.
The prop master and set designer delightfully bolster their lifestyle and culture: Dot shows up at Randa’s home with a dinner plate full of appetizers, speared with frilly supermarket toothpicks and covered loosely with a square of plastic wrap. In Randa’s home is a makeshift curtain rod and sort-of-coordinating-but-not-really throw pillows on a worn wicker sofa.
The costume designer’s wardrobes, from synthetic separates to artsy/ menopausal ensembles to cautiously décolletage-baring dresses, define each woman’s personality.
One word of caution: Yes, the theater is in Town Hall — but it’s not the upstairs auditorium. They perform in a black box tucked in the basement. Directions to it are helpfully scrawled on a piece of paper taped to the stair railing.
The WCT’s passion for theater outweighs their passion for professional signage as well.
“The Savannah Sipping Society” ends its run this weekend. Performances are Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. Click here for tickets.
Whether you enjoyed Staples Players’ recent production of “Urinetown,” or missed it, here’s a chance to see it again.
Well, not exactly. This is the spring 2006 version.
Each week, “06880” is presenting a series of “nutshells” — highlights from the esteemed high school troupe’s show, filmed and edited by former media teacher Jim Honeycutt.
Directors David Roth and Kerry Long have inspired many cast and crew members to go on to lives in the theater. Here, from the 2006 “Urinetown,” are a few examples:
Adam Kaplan was most recently seen as Gary on the new Max series “The Girls on the Bus.” He starred on Broadway in “A Bronx Tale,” directed by Robert De Niro. Other Broadway and national tours include “Kinky Boots,” “Newsies” and “Show Boat.” He has also been in “The Big Leap,” “Chad in Up Here,” “Elsbeth,” “Somewhere In Queens” and “Deception.”
Mia Gentile is a singer, actor and writer. She appeared in “Kinky Boots” on Broadway, impersonated many divas in “Forbidden Broadway,” created music as part of MISSYFIT, and starred in the hilarious viral video “The Stanley Steemer Variations (by Mia)” which got her on “Good Morning America.”
Tyler Paul co-founded the innovative Northeast Children’s Theatre Company, while still in college. He is now head of people and talent at Paravision, a leader in computer vision and biometrics identity solutions.
Hannah Dubner is a Chicago-based actor, writer and movement artist seen on TV series (“Don’t Schmuck It Up” and “How Did That Happen?!” (2018), and short films (“Return to Sender.”
Jacob Heimer is an actor, singer and dancer. He has an extensive resumé in TV (“Law And Order”), film (“Gold Star,” and Broadway “Beautiful.”
Anna Slate is a singer, actor, writer, performance artist and educator. Her credits include “Indecent,” “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812,” “Romeo & Juliet,” “Handle with Care,” “The Fantasticks,” “A Little Night Music” and “Alice Unwrapped.”
Megan Wttl is a commercial voice actor.
Nick Boak is an entertainment executive “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “Warcraft” and “American Hustle.”
Scott Weinstein is an award winning director, creative director and producer of new and existing work for theatre and live events.
Taber Onthank is a musician, songwriter and former actor (“Amy and Peter Are Getting Divorced”). He is the husband of actress Britt (Baron) Uomoleale (“Glow”), his former high school sweetheart.
Brittany (Baron) Uomoleale is an actress known for “Glow,” “The Thing About Harry” and “Into the Dark.”
Britt Hennemuth is senior vice president of production for Universal Pictures. He is known for “Break a Hip,” “John Proctor Is the Villain” and
“Untitled Archie Comics Movie.”
Sally Eidman is an actress, singer/songwriter and creator. Her credits nclude “Torch,” “Beauty Queen” and “James,” along with many shorts and national commercials.
Chris McNiff is an actor, singer and dancer. He has been in “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Who’s Got Me?,” “Mary Poppins” and “Elf: The Musical.”
Drew Angus is a recording artist. His albums include “Late For the Party,” “You And Me,” “Under Covers Deluxe” and “Hold Onto Something.”
Yesterday was Patriots Day. (A celebration of the Battles of Lexington and Concord — not the football team.)
The Westport Garden Club used the occasion to announce a new pop-up floral display and civic initiative, like its popular “Friday Flowers.”
That tradition began in May 2020 as a way to brighten spirits during the pandemic. This will continue this legacy of civic beautification and community dedication, in honor of America’s 250th birthday this year.
A special floral display was installed on Main Street, by the new town clock near The Gap.
The Westport Garden Club display at the town clock …
Other floral pop-ups include:
🌷Memorial Day (May 25): Veterans Green, in front of the Doughboy statue.
🌷Flag Day (June 14): Compo Beach entrance
🌷Independence Day (July 3): Veterans Green, in front of the Doughboy statue.
🌷Constitution Day (September 17): Town Hall steps.
Praise continues to pour in for “Primary Trust,” the Westport Country Playhouse’s current production.
Phil Kann writes: “Alphonso Walker Jr. highlights a cast that makes clear why the script won a Pulitzer. During the play’s 3 or so breaks in the action, I have never heard more vacuum-like silence. I urge people to experience this quietly dazzling show.”
Another aspect that many theater-goers find fascinating is the brilliant scene-changing technique.
Scenic designer Jack Magaw created a slip stage — a large wheeled platform that slides to “slip” scenes into view, allowing for rapid scene changes.
In most shows the entire stage moves to the wings, so another full set can come into view.
This slip stage includes several locations (an office, bank, restaurant and bookstore) that move on an arc. All are visible throughout the entire show. The location that is the focus of a particular scene is lit, while the others exist in the shadows.
Rising Tide brings creative small business owners together to collaborate and share their diverse perspectives and expertise.
Tomorrow (Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Bella Bridesmaids, 19 Post Road West), they invite creatives, entrepreneurs and small business owners to a free meeting on “AI Tools and Resources.”
Rising Tide promises a “focused, jargon-free discussion on the AI tools that are actually worth your time. Whether you’re a total beginner or a tech enthusiast, come share your experiences and learn from your peers.”
The evening will include best resources; real-world cases by local people; open conversation to share tips, apps, and the ethics of using AI in creative fields; and brainstorming how to integrate tools into workflows.
Staples High School journalists won several Gold Circle awards, in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s 43rd annual contest.
This year, there were over 6,000 entrants. All entries were published during the 2024-25 academic year.
Staples had 4 first place winners:
News alternative story form: Avni Krishna ’27 and Camille Blundell ’27, “Stylizing Staples”
News sports design: Anna Kercher ’25, “Sophia Fildago Schioppa Soars on National Field Hockey Stage”
Digital media personal profile: Nina Bowens ’25, “Gigi’s Dollhouse: How Family Inspired One Woman’s Imagination, Unique Hobby”
Feature page design: Alexis Jacobs ’26 and Sophie Smith ’26 (“504 Plans”)
Placing 2nd was Ella Turner ’28, for news headline writing.
In 3rd place for news sports commentary were Lucy Basso ’27 and Sophie Smith ’26 (“Is Aquatics a Must”).
Inklings honorees, clockwise from top left: Starting from the top left, Sophie Smith, Alexis Jacobs, Camille Blundell, Avni Krishna, Ella Turner, Anna Kercher and Nina Bowens. (Collage created by Avni Krishna)
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More Staples news: 3 students are headed to Singapore!
Mehmet Madigan, Josephine Caricato and Elizabeth Stauder will represent the school — and the US — at an international summit hosted by Hwa Chong Institution, in July.
It is an elite event, with only 80 students. This marks the 12th year in which Westport has been invited to send 3 juniors. Requirements include high grades, and interest in world affairs (particularly Asia).
Congratulations, Mehmet, Josephine and Elizabeth!
From left: Josephine Caricato, Elizabeth Stauder, Mehmet Madigan.
In November, the Staples boys soccer team won the state championship at Hartford’s Trinity Health Stadium.
This Sunday, 2 Westport teams will try to do the same.
But these players are old enough to be the Wreckers’ parents.
Last weekend, the Over-40 Westport Storm FC knocked out Danbury United 2-1 — the defending state champs — in the Connecticut State Soccer Association semfinals. They’ll face Vasco da Gama of Bridgeport in the final.
Westport players include Jim Wolf (captain of Staples’ 1999 and 2000 teams, now president of the Westport Soccer Association), Dan Chiazza, Olly Cook, Nick McDonald (whose son William plays at Staples), Robbie Newman, Steve Orloff, John Raus, Russ Pfeffer and Mike Zambon.
Westport Storm Over-40 team.
On an adjacent Wakeman field, the Over-50 Westport FC topped Newington 3-2 in penalty kicks, after regulation and overtime ended 1-1. They’ll play The Russell from Windsor.
That game could be especially meaningful to several players.
Fredy Duque’s son Gabe was a captain of Staples’ state championship squad. His daughter is also a Wrecker player.
Erik Waldman’s son Jaden was a sophomore Wrecker on last fall’s varsity. And Aldo Lopez is the father of a former Staples goalkeeper.
Other Over-50 players from Westport include Damien McClave, Jean-Francois Geschwind, Jeffrey Holl, Kaveh Ghahremani, Mihai Ciustea and Scott Hopper.
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The “Career Coach” will be in the Westport Library parking lot this Thursday (April 23), for a session on “Computer Basics.”
It returns May 21, covering “Tips for Resume & Cover Letter,” and June 19 (Intro to Excel).
There are 2 sessions (10 a.m. and 1 p.m.) each day; both are 2 hours long. Registrants can choose one.
The service is available to people who are exploring career opportunities, actively looking for a job, or seeking additional part-time employment. Click here to reserve a spot.
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One more follow-up on the return of the Remarkable Bookcycle:
“JazzFC” presents the wildly popular “Jazz at the Post” series every Thursday. Great musicians play 2 shows at VFW Post 399. The price is low; the talent level very, very high.
But Jazz FC does much more. Among their projects: workshops for youth and aspiring professional musicians, as well as the local underserved community in senior citizen residences and community centers.
They also administer the Micky Golomb Scholarship, awarding up to $10,000 annually to students who concentrate in jazz studies.
To fund those endeavors, they’re sponsoring a “Jazz Cruise by the Saugatuck” this Thursday (April 23, 6 to 10 p.m.). (It’s at the VFW, not actually on the river.)
And finally … on this date in 1509, Henry VIII ascended to the throne of England, after the death of his father, Henry VII.
(Flowers, the Playhouse, Staples, soccer, jazz — and Herman’s Hermits. That’s how “06880” rolls — 24/7/365. If you enjoy our these Roundups, or anything else, click here to support us. Thanks!)
Writing one of over 300 pages on the story of baseball, through interviews with nearly 2 dozen broadcasters — including Huge Names like Bob Costas, Chip Caray and Suzyn Waldman — is very impressive.
And to do it while just a junior at Weston High School — well, that’s the equivalent of throwing a perfect game and winning the World Series with a walk-off grand slam.
But it’s what Micah Soloshatz has just done.
“Beyond the Mic: Behind the Scenes Stories from America’s Best and Brightest Broadcasters” was published earlier this month.
Micah Soloshatz, and his book.
Icons of the broadcasting world — many of them Ford C. Frick Award winners (their equivalent of a Cy Young) — shared never-before-told stories with Micah. They offer advice for aspiring baseball broadcasters.
As a new season begins, the book is a perfect companion to watching your favorite team.
So what’s “Beyond the Mic” — or, more appropriately, beyond Micah?
The book began in 2023 with an 8th grade “Launch Class” project at Indian Hill Middle School in Cincinnati, where he lived then. (His family moved from Westport, when he was in 1st grade.)
Students picked a subject they were passionate about, and created a research-based project.
Baseball is Micah’s passion. He lived just 20 minutes from the Reds’ Great American Ball Park. During COVID — when he couldn’t go to games — he became an avid radio listener.
Cincinnati has a rich baseball history. It’s where the professional sport was born (the 1869 Red Stockings were the first “openly salaried” team). So Micah contacted Reds play-by-play voice John Sadak public address announcer Joe Zerhusen.
Micah Soloshatz with (from left) John Sadak and former Reds star Barry Larkin. In 2021 he joined their TV broadcast team.
Both were generous with their time. Micah realized this could become bigger than just a school project
With the confidence of a star athlete, he approached Reds’ legend (and Baseball Hall of Fame inductee) Marty Brennaman. Slowly, the book idea took shape.
For the next couple of years — continuing after a move to Weston — Micah pursued the top broadcasters in baseball.
He met Dave Sims — now the Yankees’ play-by-play commentator — when he worked with the Seattle Mariners, at the team’s hotel.
Micah and Dave Sims.
Again like an athlete, the more Micah worked at his craft — in this case, interviewing — the better he got. He honed his questions — different for each subject — and grew more comfortable asking them.
His young age was not a deterrent.
“People were so open and generous with their time,” he reports. “They saw me as someone who wanted to learn about what they do. I hope I lived up to it.”
Micah Soloshatz with Marty Brennaman. The legendary broadcaster called Cincinnati Reds games from 1974 to 2019.
Costas — the 29-time Emmy Award winner with MLB Network and NBC Sports (and the host of 12 Olympic Games) — was the biggest get.
Micah sent him a letter. The broadcaster called back. They spoke via Zoom for well over an hour.
There were in-person moments too. Philadelphia Phillies PA announcer Dan Baker invited Micah to Citizens Bank Park. He toured the media room, and watched on the field as Baker worked the game.
The 21 interviews include those who not yet in the majors, like Nick Curran of the AAA Louisville Bats and Jeff Dooley of the AA Hartford Yard Goats. Micah wanted to share their stories too.
New York Yankees broadcasters John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.
To prepare for interviews Micah used SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) archives, the Baseball Hall of Fame, ESPN, MLB.com, YouTube — anything he could find.
At the end of each session Micah asked advice, for himself and other aspiring broadcasters.
Many said something like: It doesn’t matter what sport. You may not know anything about boxing or lacrosse. But say yes to every opportunity — and then learn everything there is to know.
The bulk of “Beyond the Mic” is transcriptions of the interviews. But Micah includes a fascinating, in-depth history of baseball broadcasting (it began in 1921, at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field), along with a glossary and very extensive bibliography.
It’s a home run. Micah’s 8th grade teacher should be very, very proud.
(“06880” regularly covers sports, the media, the accomplishments of teenagers — and, like today, their intersection. If you enjoy stories like these, please click here to support our work.)
Several side streets on a small stretch off North Avenue have seen big changes in the past 2 decades.
Today’s edition of “Then & Now” — photographer Dave Matlow’s series of teardowns, and the homes that replaced them — concentrates on those roads, a few yards from Bedford Middle School.
A town resident for nearly 50 years, he was a familiar presence at Winslow Park, and Compo and Old Mill Beaches — biking, running, walking a dog, planting a tree and chatting.
Many other Westporters knew Lowrie’s work, if not his name. He spent years — independently, and with a disregard for rules — creating and maintaining a series of walking trails at Winslow Park. (He got Lyme disease in the process.) Everyone who walks in the Winslow woods owes him a debt of gratitude.
Lowrie died April 8 at Norwalk Hospital, of complications of pneumonia. He was 87.
Lowrie Gibb with Rosie, at Winslow Park. (Photo/Jo Shields Sherman)
Lowrie — known also for his vintage Volvo station wagons and idiosyncratic attire — had roots on the New Jersey shore. But he had a keen appreciation for Westport’s location at the juncture of the Saugatuck River and Long Island Sound. He admired the town’s waterways, and outdoor amenities.
Lowrie explored his native Rumson, New Jersey Lowrie by bike. He learned to sail there too.
Later in Westport, he delighted in a wooden Lightning sailboat — like those of his youth — that he found for sale. He kept it at Compo Beach, maintained it meticulously, and took friends and family for frequent jaunts on the Sound.
He also enjoyed rowing, sculling and paddling.
A multi-sport athlete, Lowrie was especially recognized as a skier. He learned at an early age in Stowe, Vermont with his father and 2 brothers. He pursued other winter sports, like skating and pond hockey, in New Jersey.
There was a 2-year adventure in Half Moon Bay, California during World War II, while Lowrie’s father, a Navy captain, served in the Pacific.
In 1951 Lowrie’s family moved to a dairy farm in Weybridge, Vermont. His father, Arthur Gibb, served in the Vermont House of Representatives and Senate.
A Republican and staunch environmentalist, Arthur chaired the commission that created Act 250 — the strictest environmental protection law in the nation at the time. Senator Gibb also played in important role in Vermont’s no-billboard law, and the introduction of recycling. His father’s environmentalism had a strong influence on Lowrie.
Lowrie Gibb helped create and maintain many walking paths at Winslow Park. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
Lowrie attended local public schools, then Mount Hermon. At Middlebury College he studied history, and competed in giant slalom, slalom, the 50-meter jump and Nordic.
He trained in the western US and South America, and tried out for the 1960 Olympic team in Nordic.
After college Lowrie married and started a family. They lived in Stowe and Manchester, Vermont where he taught school.
In 1967 the Gibbs moved to Westport. He chose the town carefully, for its waterfront, public access to recreational spaces, and excellent schools. He loved Westport, and often said it had more to offer than any place else in the world.
During snowstorms, Lowrie would wax his children’s skis. They’d go out at night, before the streets were plowed.
Lowrie was passionate about land use, with a special interest in integrating nature into communities. He was always on the lookout for a good spot for a pocket park, a tree or a trail.
For some years he worked in real estate development. But his commitment to using land to serve a public need for open space and recreation found its ultimate expression later, and on a smaller scale.
Lowrie Gibb
He might have become a landscape architect, like one of his grandfathers who designed urban parks. But he always preferred an unconventional path.
Lowrie loved trees — especially elms, for their majestic canopied crowns. Lamenting their destruction by disease, he planted 30 saplings of Liberty elm, a resistant strain, in his backyard.
When the trees were big enough, he re-planted them all around Westport. (Like his creation of the Winslow trails, this too was illegal.)
Today those elms can be seen across from Town Hall and the Seabury Center, in the median off I-95 Exit 18, in an Ambler Road back yard, and many other places.
Lowrie was a longtime regular at Longshore’s Westport PAL rink, figure skating with grace and ease. As recently as last month, at 87, he made a track and skied in his backyard.
When there was no snow or ice, he ran at Compo Beach and Grace Salmon Park.
Lowrie is survived by his daughters, Cynthia and Rebecca.
Contributions in his memory can be made to the charities he supported — the Humane Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Best Friends Sanctuary in Utah, and St. Jude’s.
Cynthia and Rebecca suggest also “continuing his work at Winslow Park, picking up trash, clearing branches from trails, and caring for it like your own yard.”
The top 2 students in Staples High School’s Class of 2026 are standouts in the classroom, of course.
But Isabel Jo and Uma Choudhury – the valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively – are accomplished far beyond the classroom too.
Isabel is an All-State musician (in two instruments). She has spent a decade as a competitive horseback rider. And she is an active member of the school’s No Place for Hate organization.
Uma is a black belt in taekwando. She also captains Staples’ Science Olympiad team, and is president of the Math Honor Society.
Both young women – products of the Westport Public Schools since elementary school — will speak at graduation ceremonies on June 15.
Isabel’s musical career began at Coleytown Elementary School. It continued through Coleytown Middle School. Instructor Jim Andrews gave her a great foundation, she says. At Staples, where she plays both viola and violin, she is concertmistress of both the Symphonic and Chamber Orchestras.
Her interest in horses began even earlier. Her family was looking for houses in Westport, and passed a barn. Isabel was fascinated.
Isabel Jo
She rides now at the Fairfield County Hunt Club. She competes in equitation – the highest level of jumping – at national events. In May she’ll do her senior internship at the Hunt Club, working with horses.
With No Place for Hate, Isabel helps educate younger students about bullying and bias, during Staples’ Connections periods.
Classes like Advanced Placement Chemistry with William Jones have challenged Isabel. At Dartmouth College she plans to study the subject, as well as statistics and music.
Her four years of orchestra classes are among her most favorite at Staples. Isabel credits teachers Carrie Mascaro and Jeri Brima with “fostering a welcoming community for everyone, no matter what role music plays in their lives.” For her, it is a central part of life.
“Music is the universal language,” Isabel notes. “It unites people around a common role, despite whatever differences they have.”
Isabel downplays her achievement of earning the highest grade point average among the 400-plus students in this year’s graduating class.
“So many kids work hard. There’s so much luck involved, in being .01 point lower or higher.”
Her favorite part of high school has been “finding a group of people,” primarily in orchestra. “They don’t all think alike. But they’ve understood my goals, and supported me. At the end of my time here, I really appreciate that.”
Uma’s path to salutatorian was similarly unplanned, and equally well-rounded.
As a black belt in taekwando, she has learned to “do things I couldn’t have imagined doing.” She gives back too, by helping out at a summer camp.
Uma’s main Science Olympiad events are code busters (math-related decrypting and encrypting cyphers), and physics-related circuits and electricity. She earned a gold medal in ecology last year, after medaling in code busters as a sophomore.
Uma Choudhury
Her freshman Applied Algorithmic Design course – a programming class with Dr. Nick Morgan – sparked an interest in computer programming. It combines her passions for math, physics and biology. She hopes to pursue it in college, perhaps in a research capacity.
But Uma was also excited by her junior year Contemporary World Studies class, with Cathy Schager. “We looked at issues, researched them and discussed them,” she says. “When you’re caught up with academics you can’t always see what’s going on in the world. But Ms. Schager was very helpful, and made sure we did.”
Other inspiring teachers included Noreen McGoldrick, an English instructor who helped Uma become a better writer and reader, and Philip Abraham, whose AP Statistics Class was “interesting, fun, and applicable to lots of different fields.”
Like Isabel, Uma did not set out to achieve a top GPA. “I just wanted to do well for myself,” she says. Her selection as salutatorian was “a happy surprise.’
She will do her senior internship at Citizen Invention, a Westport-based science education program. In the fall, she heads to Carnegie Mellon University.
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The Restaurant Champions program celebrates those that lead by example — and offers guidance and resources to those wanting to improve their sustainability efforts.
