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MUSE: The Literary Magazine of Boston University Academy
The Media of Unparalleled Student Expression, or MUSE, is BUA's student-run literary magazine, which seeks to highlight the artistic voice of the student body. Over the course of the academic year, students submit poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art pieces to the club. At weekly meetings, the LitMag team gathers to workshop these submissions, offering both constructive criticism and enthusiastic support. With snacks in hand, students build a space of artistic trust where creative risks are encouraged and feedback is respectful.
In April and early May, the editorial team curates and compiles final selections from these submissions and includes them in MUSE. The magazine seeks to uplift a wide spectrum of voices and aesthetics. The final product is more than a publication, it is a reflection of the club’s work, shaped by critique, connection, and snacks!
We hope you enjoy the 2025 edition of MUSE!
Known and Loved
I’ve visited about a dozen classes this week. I’ll pop in and then follow up in a meeting with the teacher to hear more about what they were working on and offer some observations and kudos. In one humanities class, I noticed that two students who are typically on the quiet side were participating actively in a spirited conversation around the table. I asked the teacher about it. He told me how, earlier in the year, he noticed these two students following along quietly but not entering the fray. He pulled each of the students aside outside of class, sharing that he was impressed with the analysis in their written work and encouraging them to pick a spot or two in each class to share out loud. When they did participate, he made a point to thank them for it. The result was what I saw this week.
There is nothing wrong with being quiet in class; students can be deeply engaged with the ideas without entering the conversation. However, there is real growth that comes from testing your ideas against another’s. It builds analytical flexibility, confidence, empathy, and tact. The teacher knew that. He also knew how to reach these two students and made a point to do so.
I am deeply grateful to work with colleagues who take the time to meet each of these young people where they are – getting to know them as individuals, holding them to appropriately high standards, and offering high levels of support as the students strive to meet those expectations.
Lobstah Bots Robotics Season Recap
BUA's robotics team, the Lobstah Bots, netted some impressive accolades this year! Coco M. '26 shares the following season recap.
The Lobstah Bots’ 2025 season has come to an end. After 13 weeks of engineering an entirely new robot, dubbed Beluga, Team 246 has finished its best season since 2016.
Build season started on the first weekend of January, in which the whole team came together to analyze the season and brainstorm robot ideas at Kickoff.
The Lobstah Bots came together to make some big decisions and get a good start on the robot. Following a long iteration and prototyping process, the team worked together to quickly design, fabricate parts for, assemble, wire, and program a functioning robot from scratch in six weeks, to make it to the Week 0 preseason scrimmage event. At the Week 0 scrimmage, we got to get an early look at the game play, get our drivers comfortable with the robot, and identify important areas to improve our robot before our first competition. Completing version 1 of the robot was one of the team’s main goals for the season, and something we were very excited to accomplish. Between Week 0 and the start of our official competition season, our team identified and improved important subsystems of our robot; some that saw major iteration were our end effector and intake.
For our official district-level competitions, we attended two events: the Greater Boston District Event and the University of Rhode Island District Event. Our first competition was the Greater Boston District Event in Revere. We had a wonderful time at the event, and were proud to see many new members picking up roles in pits and stands!
At URI, we seeded eighth out of 37 total teams after qualification matches, and reached the semifinals in playoffs as the first pick of alliance 4. After the team’s performance at our district events, the Lobstah Bots qualified to attend the New England District Championships (DCMP) and compete at the highest level in New England for the third year in a row! At DCMP, we had a lot of fun playing against the top tier of teams all across the district. We also had our most successful DCMP run since 2016, a feat to be truly proud of!
Throughout the season, students gained engineering skills in areas such as design, fabrication, electrical engineering, and programming. In addition, they learned valuable lessons in collaboration and leadership. At all of our events, students explored a wide variety of areas from game strategy to scouting, robot maintenance, and troubleshooting issues in pits. Some team members reflected on their experiences this season:
Emilia M. '28: “This year I learned to manufacture parts for the robot using a variety of machines such as the vertical bandsaw or drill press, along with in the moment fixes in pits at competitions.”
Sabina S. '28: “One of my favorite parts about scouting and strategy is the excitement you get from trying to predict which alliance of robots will win. It’s really reassuring to know that all of the work you did scouting robots for hours makes a huge difference in how our team plays, to the point where it can affect our rankings in the event and how well we do overall.”
Team Captain Kendree C. '25: “I love this team because it always inspires me to see how much passion and excitement everyone has to learn more about robotics, no matter their prior experience level. It’s been amazing to watch this team improve so much in the last four years, and I’m going to miss being part of its wonderful community.”
Our work during build season and at competitions did not go unrecognized, as we won an award at every event we attended: the Excellence in Engineering award at URI, the Gracious Professionalism award at Greater Boston, and the Team Spirit award at District Championships, celebrating our excitement in stands and our dedication to fostering a supportive community. This is our sixth consecutive unique award, continuing our two-year streak, which truly shows our versatility as a team!
The Lobstah Bots’ season has come to a clawsome close. Thank you to the parents, mentors, faculty members, and volunteers who have supported the team at every moment along the way! We're looking forward to making even bigger waves next year! The team poses after winning the Team Spirit Award at District Championships Season Recap 20 Look at our Lobstah spirit at the District Championship!
Showing Up for One Another
I had the pleasure of attending BUA’s first-ever early music concert last Wednesday evening. The event was in Marsh Chapel, with its soaring ceilings and stained glass forming a beautiful and fitting setting for the music. We heard from Sonus, BUA’s early music instrumental ensemble, whose performance featured a harpsichord and several other period instruments. We heard from Vox Caeli and Polytropos, BUA’s select choral groups. We heard from a number of soloists and combinations performing pieces mainly from the Renaissance but some stretching as far back as the first century AD. There was so much to celebrate: the virtuosity that was a product of years of hard work; the incredible range of music; the blending of performance and music history; the beautiful partnership between teachers and students.
I want to draw attention to another special thing about that Wednesday night: the audience. Many of the performers’ families were there, but they were not alone. Sitting halfway back in the right seating area, several dozen students had come to support their classmates, on a night when I’m sure they had homework to do and other places they could be. Other students, faculty, and staff were peppered around the chapel. It makes a real difference. I can still remember where my best friend and my chemistry teacher were sitting in the audience when I performed in a musical as a senior in high school. And I know from talking to some of the performers from last week’s concert that they appreciated the support from their friends and teachers.
This is a habit we need to foster. In busy lives, we need to prioritize showing up for one another – at concerts, games, plays, art openings, and club events. It is one way we build community. It is an expression of kindness toward one another. And it’s a lot of fun. See you in the audience.
Meet Sonus, BUA’s Early Music Ensemble
On Wednesday evening, Boston University Academy hosted its first-ever Early Music Concert in the spectacular Marsh Chapel at the heart of BU's campus.
The concert featured our Early Music Ensemble, Sonus, with special guests Vox Caeli, Polytropos, and our very own Dr. Kristin Jewell. The program comprised music from the 1st century AD through the early 1700’s, and was performed on historically accurate instruments such as recorders, cornetto, sackbut, harpsichord, lute, aulos, and more. According to music teacher and concertmaster Dr. Brett Abigaña, Sonus is the only early music ensemble in the country performing on historically accurate instruments.
BUA singers performed madrigals from three different centuries and regions in their original dialects, and Dr. Jewell led a stunning performance of the Seikilos Epitaph, the oldest fully notated piece as yet discovered. We even heard a Colonial American tavern song popular in Boston during the American Revolution! The audience enjoyed a more intimate gathering than our usual large-form concerts in the Tsai Performance Center, and Sonus looks forward to continuing to explore early music in the future, with many more concerts of rarely heard masterpieces on rarely played instruments.
In case you missed it, watch the full recording of the Early Music Concert here.
Halls Filled with Poetry
Lockers and doorways all around BUA this month are covered with poetry. In honor of National Poetry Month, we invite students, teachers, and staff every year to post a beloved poem. As I walked down the hall this morning, I saw work from poets I know – artists like Mary Oliver, Robert Frost, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, Percy Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Rumi, Pablo Neruda, and Langston Hughes. I came across plenty of works by poets who are new to me, too. Most of the poems are in English, but I’ve also seen pieces in Spanish, Greek, Polish, and Hebrew. There is even some original student poetry shared for all to see. I posted C.P. Cavafy’s Ithaka on my door yesterday morning. Within 30 minutes, I heard two seniors standing outside reading it out loud and discussing the poem.
This is a very special place – a place that can come together to celebrate a love for poetry; where kids want to and feel comfortable sharing their favorites and even their own work, which can be quite personal; and a place where you stop in the hallway to talk about a poem with a friend. I feel very lucky to be here and am committed to preserving this oasis of curiosity and intellectual engagement.
BUA Sets New Record on Giving Day 2025
On Giving Day 2025, the BUA community showed up in full force –– and proved what’s possible when we rally around a shared purpose. While we came just shy of our 500-donor goal with 448 total donors, the generosity of our community unlocked our first four challenge levels and raised a record-breaking $121,040 for BUA’s top priorities. Small-but-mighty BUA placed second in number of total donors out of all of BU's schools and colleges, coming in behind only the much larger College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). We also secured an extra $1,000 in bonus funds by winning the “Breakfast of Champions” early giving challenge, logging the most donors between 6:00-9:00 a.m. on Giving Day.
During lunch on Giving Day, BUA students wrote thank-you notes to alumni donors, earning a dumpling for each note they wrote. And Director of Athletics Dave Stone's alter ego, hockey star Mario LeStone, made an appearance on BUA's social channels, encouraging donors to "get off the bench and get in the game" on Giving Day 2025.
The support of our community fuels everything we do. Watch a heartfelt thank you video from BUA Head of School Chris Kolovos here.
Service in Boston School
Earlier this week, I traveled with ten BUA students and a faculty colleague to a local Boston public school as part of BUA’s pilot service initiative. The idea is to have BUA students volunteer at partner schools in Boston – specifically helping out in the after-school programs with younger students and with anything else those partner schools need. The BUA students fanned out across the school. Some played spirited games of Uno with 3rd and 4th graders; I’m told our younger friends mostly won! Others assisted with math and language-arts worksheets for elementary students and middle schoolers. Some built Lego houses on the gym floor with second graders. Some worked through and organized donated products and other classroom supplies to assist teachers. I got involved too with some math homework help exploring halves and wholes – I couldn’t help myself! That same group of BUA students will travel back to the school weekly through the spring. It was a pleasure to watch our students engage, smile, and shine.
We are two weeks into this pilot, expertly organized by Ms. Kamen, and so far it has been a real success. Our students are having a good experience, and from my observation, the students and teachers at our partner school are benefiting too. With very little advertising, we filled up the slots for this program almost immediately, unfortunately having to turn some BUA students away. Even Boston traffic seems to be cooperating. Based on that early data, we are looking to expand the program next year to more BUA students, more weeks in the year, and perhaps to more partner schools.
And I’m glad. I’ve felt for years that our school could be more connected with the City of Boston and that there are more mutually beneficial relationships waiting to be made. This is one way we are pursuing the goal in BUA’s Vision 2030 to more fully leverage and engage with the City of Boston. It is also another way we are fulfilling our mission’s promise for BUA to be a place where “kind and curious students . . . engage meaningfully in our community and beyond.” A structured program like this connecting BUA with local school partners will only enhance the existing culture of service. So far so good!
Global Travel: Spring Break Trip Recaps
Over March break, 51 students and 9 adults traveled to Roatán, Greece, and Arizona as part of BUA's Global Travel Program, which emphasizes hands-on, experiential learning, and relevance to the BUA curriculum. View complete photo albums from the 2025 spring break here: Roatán | Greece | Arizona
Home base for the Roatán trip, led by BUA biology teacher Dr. Colleen Krivacek, was the Roatán Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS), surrounded by over 30 miles of fringing and barrier reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, and pristine shoreline – a living laboratory and part of the second largest barrier reef system in the world. Student travelers experienced a deep dive (literally!) into marine biology: their classrooms included the Caribbean Sea, with twice-a-day snorkeling sessions, and the wet and dry labs of RIMS. Throughout the week, students had the opportunity to work alongside marine biologists, participating in cutting-edge research projects and conservation programs aimed at protecting the fragile marine ecosystems of Roatán.
Trip participant Finn Hoebelheinrich '25 reflects: “I really enjoyed getting to connect my coursework in marine biology, my senior thesis, and my general passion for marine biology/plans for the future with the trip. The academic [piece] was really valuable, and I loved getting to put it in practice snorkeling. I can't emphasize enough how much I loved this trip and this opportunity, and I think it was the perfect way to close off my time at BUA. I found the way the lectures and snorkels were tied together to be very interesting, and I liked being able to take something I'd learned in lecture about a certain type of coral or invertebrate or fish and connect it to something I noticed in the water. I also thought the REEF fish identification process was very valuable, and it was cool to be able to recognize and identify progressively more fish as the week went on and we learned more species. And getting to contribute to real databases (and learn survey methods) was awesome too!”
The Greece trip, led by classics and history teacher Dr. Mark Alonge, explored Greece’s rich tradition of self-government from antiquity to today. Students learned about ancient history and the modern political climate, probing how the legacy of ancient Greece affects modern Greek identity. With expert guides, students visited the ancient archaeological sites of Nemea, Mycenae, Messene, Olympia, Delphi, and Athens. Along the way, they learned about the importance of ceramics in ancient and modern Greece while creating their own works of art. Their exploration of Greek food included a cooking class to expand their knowledge and skills in the kitchen. After walking the grounds of the Agora, the center of ancient Athenian civic life, students spoke with a local democracy watchdog organization about current issues impacting the region. Students reflected on their experience by making zines with a local Athenian artist.
Lyahnnette Morales '27 summarizes the educational experience, explaining: “I got to understand and see things we've only read about in person. The trip provided immersive and experiential learning beyond textbooks and lectures, bringing the history we study to life.”
The Arizona trip, led by history teacher Ms. Emily Kamen, explored Arizona through three lenses of inquiry: climate change, water in the West, and Indigenous land rights. Students walked among ancient Indigenous petroglyph sites and dwellings at Picture Canyon and Montezuma Castle National Monument. At the Grand Canyon, students hiked along the rim after gaining a deeper understanding of its ecological and cultural significance to the Four Corners region. They also engaged with an advocacy group to learn about the ongoing threats posed by uranium mining. Students learned from two Hopi artists, who shared their craft and the stories behind their work. Inspired by these conversations, students had the chance to create their own art, incorporating symbols and narratives they had encountered. Students took moments to pause and reflect while hiking among Sedona’s red rock landscapes and Flagstaff’s scenic trails—absorbing the beauty and complexity of the land they had spent time learning about.
Reflecting on the experience, one student traveler shared: “The most valuable part of the program was that I learned things about Native American culture I wouldn't be able to find online. Speaking with Indigenous people in Arizona gave the best possible insight into how they live and how they feel.”
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Over the past few days, I have heard so much wonderful feedback from our students who participated in the school’s global trips over break. Some traveled to the Roatán Institute for Marine Sciences in Honduras, where they worked alongside marine biologists and used the barrier reef as a living lab. Some were in Greece exploring the ancient sites they have read about in classics and history, as well as the roots and realities of modern Greek democracy. Some traveled to Arizona where they took in the region’s natural beauty, learned about indigenous history, and investigated climate change and water issues.
The programs were chosen and designed by BUA faculty, who added their expertise and learned alongside the students. The guiding vision behind all three trips was to create rich, hands-on learning experiences tied to BUA’s curriculum, but which could only happen outside our walls.
Many of the students I’ve talked to reflect on how powerful and memorable these learning experiences were – how eye opening place-based learning can be; how great it felt to be learning alongside students outside their grade and typical friend groups; how nice it was to be with their teachers and advisors in a different setting; how purposeful it felt to be learning by doing. I’m grateful to all our teachers and staff who led these programs and to our students for diving into these learning adventures.