On Friday, Jan. 30, Kingswood Oxford School welcomed journalist, scientist, and author Boyce Upholt to campus for the annual Stroud Science symposium.
Mr. Upholt, a West Hartford native growing up minutes from campus, has spent his career exploring rivers not just as waterways, but specifically their power in how they shape our personal lives. He posed a central idea to our KO community of “thinking like a watershed.”
Mr. Upholt is the author of “The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi,” where he tells the story of the Mississippi River watershed and its transformation over time and how the United States played a part in seeking to control it. Upper School science Department Chair and Head of the Stroud Science Symposium selection process Graham Hegeman spoke to Mr. Upholt’s visit and its importance to the KO Community. “I think that hearing diverse voices in science is important, and that includes people from all aspects of science,” he said. “Typically, when you think of science, you think of a white lab coat and some goggles. But really, science is a huge process that involves a ton of people who are all important in their own way.”
One of Mr. Upholt’s main themes as part of his central idea of “thinking like a watershed” was thinking of our own personal watersheds. He specifically spoke to watersheds right here in West Hartford like Trout Brook and the Park River and how Trout Brook, for example, played a major role in the early development of West Hartford as a town through water mills and the flooding that eventually led to its becoming a natural waterway. This really allowed students and faculty to pay closer attention to watersheds in their communities and how they might be able to be part of the puzzle, as water availability will start to become a more pressing issue in the years to come.
Mr. Hegeman hopes students are able to take away important lessons in how they might be able to serve their communities by thinking like a watershed. “The phrase [thinking like a watershed] is a phrase that teaches students about interconnectedness, and that’s the big key,” Mr. Hegeman said. “It’s understanding that their impact is magnified in ways that you can’t really know until it’s already happened. Systemic change is really the best type of change. I hope students will remember that there is a place for every person in science.”
Thank you, Mr. Hegeman, Ms. Stutz, and the Stroud Family for making this happen for the Kingswood Oxford community. We can’t wait to see what next year’s speaker brings to campus!
