The Conroy Distinguished Visitor regaled students with tales of his military service from the depths of the seas to the upper echelons of the U.S. government.
December 13, 2023
For AP glassblowing student CC Cassidy ’24, the art is in the process.
BY JACQUELINE PRIMO LEMMON
CC Cassidy ’24 sees the chance to try something new as an opportunity for growth and self-discovery, even if it means breaking some glass in the process — at least when she’s in the hot shop at St. Paul’s School.
“Sometimes it will shatter. It’s a whole science experiment,” she says as she explains the joy of working in the only high school glassblowing studio in New England. “There can be some math-y concepts too, some measurements you have to take or you don’t know how the glass will react. And that’s the fun of it. … It could break, but to me, there’s no such thing as failing. You will learn something with every attempt.”
The third of four sisters raised in Colorado, Cassidy says her parents instilled in all of them the importance of the arts, and while she has always had “a little creative spark,” it wasn’t until she came to the School that she discovered just how bright that spark was. As a Third Former, she took drawing and painting courses and “really fell in love with that whole medium,” she says. Then she tried glassblowing. “You weren’t graded on skill,” she recalls, “but rather effort, and I found that to be really refreshing. If you take the time to come in at night, come in during office hours, your hard work will pay off and you’ll start to feel joy in your pieces. That’s what I liked about it. Starting at Glass 1 and now being at Glass 5 — I love it.”
Her investment in the artform led Art Department Head Leigh Kaulbach ’08 to offer her the chance to be an AP glass student as a Sixth Former, meaning she could take the course all year long. And while she started off making more functional pieces in the shop, like bowls or cups, “now I’m working on a project that’s sculptural, which is something I’ve never done before,” she says. “I find the warmth really comforting in the shop,” she adds, noting how it reminds her of being in the kitchen at home, baking traditional Norwegian recipes with her grandmother.
If you take the time to come in at night, come in during office hours, your hard work will pay off and you’ll start to feel joy in your pieces. That’s what I liked about it. Starting at Glass 1 and now being at Glass 5 — I love it.”
— CC Cassidy '24
Glassblowing isn’t the only new passion Cassidy found at SPS. She came to the School as a varsity ice hockey recruit and imagined that hockey and volleyball — a sport she’d played since seventh grade — would remain her athletic focus. After learning to row her Third Form fall, however, she quickly fell in love with crew and put her hockey skates aside. As with glassblowing, Cassidy says, most students don’t come to SPS with prior experience rowing, “so we’re all kind of starting at the same place. … I’ve gotten better at volleyball because of crew, and I’ve gotten better at crew because of volleyball.”
During the past three-plus years, she’s also been involved with squash, theater, Chapel Choir, a cappella and Nordic skiing and started the Art Club, the intramural St. Volleyball’s Club and the Scandinavian Culture Appreciation Club. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her penchant for new and varied experiences has also extended to academics, where she’s found a deep connection between STEM subjects and the arts — particularly, the intersection of chemistry, math and creativity she sees in glassblowing — as well as great support from her teachers and coaches.
“I feel that the teachers and coaches at SPS value us as people rather than just as students or players,” Cassidy says. “They don’t see us as our grade in the class or how we played in the game that day, but rather the developing humans we are. This is what encourages me to keep showing up for class, curious and motivated. … I look forward to my art classes every day.”
