Lending Her Voice

As a student at Beacon Academy, the Boston-based, fourteen-month private school that prepares highly motivated inner city kids for high school, college, and careers, Briana Cardwell visited lots of different prep schools in several different states.

“I saw so many excellent, beautiful schools that anyone would be lucky to attend,” she recalls. “But when I toured New Hampton, I just sensed that this was the place for me. Even though I didn’t look like most of the other students and grew up in probably very different circumstances, everyone made me feel welcome and comfortable — not just during the tour, but during my entire time at New Hampton.”

Briana made the most of that time. She excelled academically, played sports, and immersed herself in student life and causes. One of her proudest achievements, she says, was starting a student-led diversity group.

“I’ve always been committed to the cause of greater diversity and inclusion,” she says. “And I’m proud that New Hampton is, too.”

Briana carried this commitment with her to Bowdoin College and then on to Boston University Law School. She worked for several years as an immigration lawyer before joining a small private law firm in Southborough, Massachusetts. She credits a large part of her success so far to her years at New Hampton.

“The opportunities I had to experiment and grow were just great,” she says. “I loved all the teachers I had — well, maybe there was one I didn’t love then, but I love her now,” she says with a laugh. “The faculty and administration were just great. I keep in touch with many of them. I feel like I never really left New Hampton.”

In a way, she hasn’t. Briana has always been an active alumna and is a recent recipient of the Young Alumni Leadership Award. She is also the youngest person to ever be named to the Board of Trustees, on which she serves today.

“I see my role on the Board as a voice for student concerns,” Briana says. “I think my age helps with that because as issues come up — as they always do — students might feel a little more comfortable talking with someone closer to their age. I want to be a voice for different perspectives and help deepen the kind of safe and accepting atmosphere I experienced when I was a student here.”