21st Annual Bissell Grogan Symposium
21st Annual Bissell Grogan Humanities Symposium
Authenticity & Originality Today
January 20, 2026
KEYNOTE: 10:15 - 11:15 am (Corkin Theatre)
KEYNOTE: 10:15 - 11:15 am (Corkin Theatre)
WORKSHOPS: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm (Classrooms)
LUNCHEON: 12:30 - 1:30 pm (Wright Conference Room)
KEYNOTE
Eric Hudson, Keynote Speaker
What Does it Mean to be Human in the Age of AI?
In his interactive presentation, Hudson will explore big questions about Al and imagine small ways we can live out our answers to those questions. Participants will learn and talk about what it means to be human in a world where AI can simulate human behavior in many ways. They will consider how AI is affecting the world and our futures and look at the work of researchers, philosophers, and technologists. Then, students will have a chance to think about their own values: What should they think, feel, say, and do in the face of these big ideas? Where are places in school and beyond where we should explore this question?
Eric is a facilitator and strategic advisor who supports schools and students in making sense of what is changing in education and specializes in focusing on a human centered approach. He has recently spent a decade at Global Online Academy, first as an instructional coach and ultimately as Chief Program Officer, working with schools around the world to rethink where, when, and how learning happens. He also spent 12 years in more traditional classroom settings where he taught English, Spanish, and Journalism to middle school, upper school, and college students. He holds an MA from the University of California, Berkley, and a BA from Cornell University.
A variety of workshops exploring the concepts of authenticity and originality in today’s world will follow the keynote.
WORKSHOPS
Expressing Human insight & Crafting Authentic Storytelling in the Age of AI
Fashion and Color Analysis Business — How to be Authentic when You are the Brand?
Design Thinking & Emerging Technologies: How AI is Changing the Way We Create
Critical Vision: Why Look at Art in the Age of AI
Be Real, Be You: Turning Authenticity Into Opportunity in the Digital Age
Asking the Right Questions in the Age of AI
Eric is a facilitator and strategic advisor who supports schools and students in making sense of what is changing in education and specializes in focusing on a human centered approach. He has recently spent a decade at Global Online Academy, first as an instructional coach and ultimately as Chief Program Officer, working with schools around the world to rethink where, when, and how learning happens. He also spent 12 years in more traditional classroom settings where he taught English, Spanish, and Journalism to middle school, upper school, and college students. He holds an MA from the University of California, Berkley, and a BA from Cornell University.
A variety of workshops exploring the concepts of authenticity and originality in today’s world will follow the keynote.
WORKSHOPS
Authentic Voice: Telling Our Own Stories
Cindy Rivka Marshall, Founder of Story Arc
Through this workshop, students will explore how each person has a unique story, and, at the same time, we have a shared humanity. When we speak what is true for us, and tell personal stories, we invite listeners to get a sense of our lived experiences. Crafting authentic personal stories helps us to reflect on how we interact and show up in various social settings. We can find meaning when we begin to see a narrative arc in our own lives. Telling these stories out loud to others who listen with empathy can be validating and empowering.
Afro-Latinx Dance + Activism
Through this workshop, students will explore how each person has a unique story, and, at the same time, we have a shared humanity. When we speak what is true for us, and tell personal stories, we invite listeners to get a sense of our lived experiences. Crafting authentic personal stories helps us to reflect on how we interact and show up in various social settings. We can find meaning when we begin to see a narrative arc in our own lives. Telling these stories out loud to others who listen with empathy can be validating and empowering.
Afro-Latinx Dance + Activism
The Haus of Glitter Dance Company + Performance Lab + Preservation Society
This workshop features a collective of artists, educators, and cultural organizers using dance and creative practice to build a more caring, just, and liberated world. Rooted in Global and Afro-Latin Diasporic traditions, the collective merges movement, music, storytelling, and social justice to connect art with community change. Students will explore how movement can become a tool for truth-telling, healing, and collective action. Participants will learn how, through through projects across the U.S. and abroad—including collaborations with museums, schools, and heritage sites—The Haus of Glitter transforms spaces into classrooms for imagination and care. Their work reminds us that dance can move not only our bodies, but our world.
Tango, Identity, and... Gay Animals?: Composing the Queer Experience in Video Games
Dr. Alex Ostergard, Middle/Upper School Music & Instrumental Teacher
Dr. Alex Ostergard, Middle/Upper School Music & Instrumental Teacher
Join Dr. Ostergard for a workshop that explores how music shapes narrative and identity in video games. Students will listen to and compare musical excerpts, discuss how different styles influence the player’s understanding of the story, and reflect on how sound can authentically represent lived experiences, including questions of faith, culture, and sexuality.
Expressing Human insight & Crafting Authentic Storytelling in the Age of AI
Margaret Monteith, Writer
How do you tell an authentic, concise, compelling story in less than 1000 words? Flash Fiction, through well-crafted dialogue and sentences, using tight grammar and punctuation with precise imagery and essential details, enables a writer to tell a much larger human narrative than the length of the story implies. In an age where we are inundated with AI-created imagery and text, it is also an ideal form for considering questions of authenticity and voice in writing. In this workshop, we will look at several flash fiction samples, consider how the author establishes authority and a distinctive voice, as well as other questions related to the form, before completing writing exercises meant to generate an original first story draft by the end of the workshop.
How do you tell an authentic, concise, compelling story in less than 1000 words? Flash Fiction, through well-crafted dialogue and sentences, using tight grammar and punctuation with precise imagery and essential details, enables a writer to tell a much larger human narrative than the length of the story implies. In an age where we are inundated with AI-created imagery and text, it is also an ideal form for considering questions of authenticity and voice in writing. In this workshop, we will look at several flash fiction samples, consider how the author establishes authority and a distinctive voice, as well as other questions related to the form, before completing writing exercises meant to generate an original first story draft by the end of the workshop.
Fashion and Color Analysis Business — How to be Authentic when You are the Brand?
Shani Breiman '18, Principal at Styled by Shani
This workshop explores how personal style, color analysis, and technology can support authenticity in a world where individuals are often their own brand. Students will learn how color analysis works, why certain colors enhance natural features, and how intentional style choices can be a form of self-expression rather than conformity. The session will also introduce the foundations of entrepreneurship, offering insight into what it takes to turn a creative idea into a business—from identifying a problem to building a brand rooted in purpose, originality, and personal values.
This workshop explores how personal style, color analysis, and technology can support authenticity in a world where individuals are often their own brand. Students will learn how color analysis works, why certain colors enhance natural features, and how intentional style choices can be a form of self-expression rather than conformity. The session will also introduce the foundations of entrepreneurship, offering insight into what it takes to turn a creative idea into a business—from identifying a problem to building a brand rooted in purpose, originality, and personal values.
Design Thinking & Emerging Technologies: How AI is Changing the Way We Create
Vinicius Gorgati, Architect & Partner at Sasaki Architects
Design has always been rooted in the human experience. The spaces we create shape how people live and learn. Technology has long played a role in design, but today, emerging tools like artificial intelligence are rapidly changing how ideas are developed, tested, and built. With this workshop, we will share some of the impacts technology and AI have already had on our work and reflect on the evolution of design as it crosses into new frontiers.
Critical Vision: Why Look at Art in the Age of AI
Max Gruber, Curator
Today, AI touches nearly every facet of our lives. While innovations like generative AI, machine vision, and more reshape our relationship to images, the question of why we should look closely at and study art has never been more urgent. Through close visual analysis of artwork spanning centuries, we will discuss what it means to see and think critically in our contemporary moment. Even if we choose to pursue work as doctors or lawyers, disciplines like art and art history force us to move beyond simple pattern-recognition and the other governing principles of algorithms that structure our everyday lives. Incorporating critical vision into our life and work allows us to deal with nuance and ambiguity in a way that machines are not equipped for.
Today, AI touches nearly every facet of our lives. While innovations like generative AI, machine vision, and more reshape our relationship to images, the question of why we should look closely at and study art has never been more urgent. Through close visual analysis of artwork spanning centuries, we will discuss what it means to see and think critically in our contemporary moment. Even if we choose to pursue work as doctors or lawyers, disciplines like art and art history force us to move beyond simple pattern-recognition and the other governing principles of algorithms that structure our everyday lives. Incorporating critical vision into our life and work allows us to deal with nuance and ambiguity in a way that machines are not equipped for.
Be Real, Be You: Turning Authenticity Into Opportunity in the Digital Age
Cece Champion, Director of Marketing at Lowney Sports
In a world shaped by social media, digital identities, and personal visibility, authenticity has become one of the most valuable skills a young person can develop. This workshop introduces students to the idea of personal branding and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) as they relate not only to athletes, but to anyone building a public presence, online or in their future careers. Students will explore how originality, values, and self-expression influence opportunities in college, the workplace, entrepreneurship, media, and leadership. Using real-world examples and relatable scenarios, the session highlights how the humanities, communication, ethics, identity, and storytelling play a powerful role in shaping adult lives. Students will leave with practical tools to understand their digital footprint, communicate their story with intention, and show up confidently and authentically in an increasingly connected world.
In a world shaped by social media, digital identities, and personal visibility, authenticity has become one of the most valuable skills a young person can develop. This workshop introduces students to the idea of personal branding and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) as they relate not only to athletes, but to anyone building a public presence, online or in their future careers. Students will explore how originality, values, and self-expression influence opportunities in college, the workplace, entrepreneurship, media, and leadership. Using real-world examples and relatable scenarios, the session highlights how the humanities, communication, ethics, identity, and storytelling play a powerful role in shaping adult lives. Students will leave with practical tools to understand their digital footprint, communicate their story with intention, and show up confidently and authentically in an increasingly connected world.
Asking the Right Questions in the Age of AI
Ling-Se Chesnakas, Teacher at Right Question Institute
This workshop is designed to build curiosity around what authenticity looks like in the age of AI. Students will learn and practice a simple yet effective strategy called the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) to ask questions that YOU care about. That's what makes them the right questions.
This workshop is designed to build curiosity around what authenticity looks like in the age of AI. Students will learn and practice a simple yet effective strategy called the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) to ask questions that YOU care about. That's what makes them the right questions.
Brimmer and May School
69 Middlesex Road
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
As an inclusive private school community, Brimmer welcomes students who will increase the diversity of our school. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, or any other characteristic protected from discrimination under state or federal law, in the administration of our educational policies, admissions practices, financial aid decisions, and athletic and other school-administered programs.