messages Randall Dunn ’83 Randall Dunn ’83 was the 2013 Martin Luther King Day speaker at the assembly honoring the great civil rights leader. Mr. Dunn is head of school at the Latin School of Chicago, which, like Milton, provides students with a challenging and rewarding educational program in a community that embraces diversity of people, cultures and ideas. As a student at Milton, he participated in community service, was a three-season athlete, and, as a senior, was a head monitor. Mr. Dunn earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a master’s degree in education from Harvard University. He and his wife, Liz ’83, live with their two children in Chicago.
“Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents, yet most schools won’t address it, for fear that it will give students the idea to commit suicide. That’s foolish. We have to let students know how to recognize symptoms of depression, so they can help themselves and their friends.”
Bishop John Shelby Spong This year, Bishop John Shelby Spong continued the Endowment for Religious Understanding speaker series established by the Class of 1952. Bishop Spong spoke with students about accepting people, regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. He explained to students that the Bible is sometimes used to dissuade that acceptance, including in Bishop Spong’s own childhood experience. A retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, New Jersey, Bishop Spong is known as a theologian, religious commentator and author. Growing up in the 1930s in North Carolina, Bishop Spong credits the civil rights movement as triggering his lifelong personal journey toward changing the way he thought about people different from himself, without turning away from the Bible, a book that he treasures.
Joe Vulopas
“Not only did Dr. King have the ability to put the well-being of others before his own; he was also a great facilitator. He was possessed by great conviction, and he knew that his focused and courageous work, though difficult, would help others in the future. In the end, the best facilitators allow you to get to a better place.”
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This year’s Talbot Speaker, Joe Vulopas, is the founder and executive director of Aevidum—a depression and suicide education awareness initiative launched at the Pennsylvania high school where Mr. Vulopas teaches English. Mr. Vulopas’s goal is spreading awareness about depression, suicide and hope. Aevidum involves trained adults in empowering middle and high school students to understand that depression is a treatable illness; to know the warning signs of depression; to use their gifts and talents to spread the message of hope; and to be advocates for their friends—other students—who may need help. Partnered with health and education professionals from University of Pennsylvania, Aevidum also addresses many other issues facing teenagers today.
“With all these misuses of the Bible, why would anyone bother with such a book? The Bible is an evolving story. It’s the story of the rise of human consciousness. I see God as the source of life, so the only way we can worship God is by living fully and by being all that we are capable of being. The more fully I can be myself, the more fully you can be yourself.”