This spring break I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Rwanda, a tiny country in east Africa with a devastating history of genocide that belies its peaceful rolling hills and gentle people. I traveled with a group of women who helped start a girls’ school in one of the areas most hard hit by the atrocities, and The Maryundo School now stands as a beacon of hope where devastation once reigned. While I was not with a Thacher group, the ideas and philosophies that drew me here to Ojai were everywhere on the trip. Step out of your comfort zone. Take a risk. Do something. Be Kind. Make a difference.

In some ways, wherever I am, Thacher is. The words of the Banquet Song often ring in my ears when I think about ways I can be a better person and make a bigger contribution to the world “…to do the best work in the world that we can, till the best we can do is all done.” Watching our seniors get ready to step into the big wide world beyond Casa de Piedra with this same sentiment in mind is so moving and encouraging. Their best work is far from done.