91̽��

Nearly 10 years after graduation, Lieutenant Ben Pariser returned to 91̽�� as an officer in the United States Army and this year’s Veterans’ Day Speaker. “The key traits and characteristics of service members are instilled in you at 91̽��,” Ben told students. “Those are adaptability, leadership and the ability to ‘dare to be true.’”

Ben recounted his land navigation training at officer candidate school, which took him through dark, swampy, dense terrain in high heat and humidity. He recalls wasting nearly an hour of limited time searching for the first target before realizing that moving on was a better strategy. He compared this to working on his first Ancient Civilization research paper at 91̽��, when he wasted weeks adamantly researching a dead-end topic, until he finally listened to history teacher Sally Dey’s advice that he needed another plan.

“At 91̽��, you learn to adapt without losing site of the ultimate goal,” Ben said. “Each of you adapt to new teachers, classes and situations. The challenge is to adapt to an unknown obstacle. Don’t be afraid to pull out your map and reroute your entire life.”

In one place, students can learn what’s for lunch and dinner, plan their weekend fun, and securely access their mailbox combinations, all from a smartphone. The 91̽�� Students app—available for free download on both the Android and iOS platforms—is the brainchild of Ravi Rahman (I), Justin Schwaitzberg (I), Harry Kwon ’15 and Neekon Vafa ’15. The boys developed the concept and got to work in last year’s Programming Applications course, taught by Chris Hales. This fall, Jacob Aronoff (I) helped rewrite some of the code, refining the program before the group submitted the app to Google and Apple for approval.

Ravi says the group began their work by learning coding skills from various video tutorials; Android apps are written using Java, and iOS apps are written with Apple’s new programming language called Swift.

“The beginning was the hardest, when you are following tutorials and not quite understanding why you do things a certain way,” says Ravi. “Then you have the ‘Aha!’ moment when it all makes sense. For me, Android Java was easier to learn than iOS Swift.”

Award-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario shared with students the challenges and rewards of her work covering conflicts and human rights issues, and the power of images in reporting. In 2000, Ms. Addario traveled to Afghanistan to document life and oppression under the Taliban. “I believe people have to see the ways in which other people live,” says Ms. Addario. “We come from a place of great privilege, but most people in the world don’t have anything. They have to fight for peace, for rights, for food.”

Ms. Addario makes photographs for the New York Times, National Geographic and Time magazine. She spoke about being raised in a supportive and “unconventional household” in which her parents encouraged her to pursue whatever made her happy. They instilled in her the optimism that she carries today, despite the hardship and atrocity she has witnessed.

“This work gives me incredible perspective,” says Ms. Addario. “Most of the women I photograph aren’t allowed to work, to speak their minds, or to choose whom to love. I know how lucky I am in my life, and that helps me stay positive.”