“Writing is unique because it is so individual but at the same time is a shared experience.”

Senior Will Hall has won awards for his creative writing, and he shares his passion for and knowledge of writing as a consultant in the Writing Studio. He helps others with whatever form of writing they are doing for school. “Sharing your writing,” he said, “is a lot more vulnerable than saying ‘I don’t know how to do this math problem, please help me with this math.’”

Will enjoys all forms of creative writing, but especially poetry.

“Writing is unique because it is so individual but at the same time is a shared experience,” he said. “Every story you read, the words are carefully chosen by the author, which I find beautiful. I especially like poetry because it is so focused. There is such sincere attention to every word. … I think more people could benefit from letting themselves be creative. ... At school we can be bogged down in analysis and formal writing, which is great. These are skills you want to take to college and beyond, but people don’t let themselves — and I am borrowing from my creative writing teacher now, Mr. [Wyatt] Prominski — they don’t let themselves play, be a kid. And I think creative writing can help alleviate stress, allow you to understand your emotions, who you are, help you understand other people.”

For his final project this term in the course College-Level Creative Writing, Will is writing a collection of poetry. The project guidelines: 7–12 pages in whatever writing form you choose. “I’m exploring love and awe for the natural world, and part of that is humans because we are part of the natural world, and I think oftentimes we forget that,” he said.
 

Year: Senior

Hometown: Somerville, Mass.

Clubs/activities/awards: Founders Prize recipient as a junior. Co-president of Spectrum, Loomis Chaffee’s gender-sexuality alliance, dedicated to helping allies and prospective allies better understand LGBTQIA+ issues. Resident assistant (RA) in Warham Hall this year; prefect in Harman Hall as a junior. Tour guide. Assistant editor of The Loom. Writing Studio consultant. Recipient of gold medal in Katharine Brush Creative Writing Contest as a sophomore and recipient of silver key and honorable mention in Connecticut Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition as a junior. On the tennis team.

What’s one thing people might not know about you? “I am a really big fan of listening to Christmas music year-round.” He says once November rolls along, a lot of people “start to get into winter holiday music. I'm there all the time. It’s June, and I am going for a run, and Mariah Carey is singing Christmas songs in my ear. ... It’s just so joyful. Why do I have to wait?”

On what he enjoys about tennis: He likes playing singles. “It is all on me. I have control over what happens in a match ... and it is an extremely satisfying sport. You’re using your whole body to return the ball. The sound a ball makes when it hits the racket is the best. There’s not a better sound.”

Favorite meal: It’s not a meal but a piece of cake from Mastro’s Ocean Club, a restaurant in Boston. He jokes that there must be three sticks of butter in each piece. There also is a little tub of whipped cream on the side. “You feel terrible afterward, like ‘what did I just do?,’ but you also feel really good.”

If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be? On his mind on this day was his grandfather, who had recently taken a fall. “If I could teleport him here for dinner and we could talk, that would be nice.”

If you could have a robot do any chore for you, what would it be? “Dishes. Gross. I hate doing dishes. I think it is a sensory thing. I'm not good at touching wet food, things that are not supposed to be wet and are wet. No. I'm really dreading being older and having to do dishes every day pretty much the rest of my life. Have you seen the robot who does all chores for you? I don’t need that. Just the dishes.” Multiple news outlets recently wrote about NEO, a humanoid robot created by 1X, a Palo Alto, Calif., company. Price tag: $20,000.

On the great blue herons that frequent the ponds at Loomis: “The blue heron is like a friend.” Will says when he drives back to campus from home, about 100 miles away, seeing a heron is comforting. “When I roll onto campus, I look to my right, and just sitting there, as quiet and calm as can be, is this great blue heron.” That, in turn, he says, “brings a sense of calmness and groundedness.”