The fourth annual Senior Retreat took place on February 19 and featured a variety of workshops and speakers to help our Class of 2025 seniors to prepare for life after GA.

“The purpose of this day is to give the senior class time to explore some topics they may not have covered in depth during their time at GA,” said Director of Health and Wellness Dr. Leigh Serra. “Students had the opportunity to consider decision making and forming healthy relationships, to understand the importance of managing money, and to practice the habits of stress reduction. Our goal is to plant the seeds of understanding that will continue to grow as they make their way from this familiar place onto their next adventure.”

Gathered at Montgomery County Community College, Serra and Interim Dean of Upper School Students Steve Moll led GA seniors through a better part of the day learning from adults within the GA community and several special guests, including keynote speaker, Dr. Daniel Gottlieb. Each year, a keynote speaker is made possible for this event by The Daniel R. Chen ’13 Speaker Series. Established in Daniel’s memory in 2019 by his parents, Yan Chen and Tan Yuen, and friends, the Series aims to offer featured speakers and wellbeing programs to assist students in their journeys to lead balanced, healthy, and meaningful lives.  

Dan Gottlieb, Ph.D is an award-winning 30+ year radio show host on NPR, author, lecturer, and psychologist, who was confined to a wheelchair after an automobile accident in 1979. In recent years, he has retired from hosting “Voices in the Family,” an award-winning mental health call-in radio show aired on WHYY 90.9 FM, Philadelphia’s NPR affiliate, accepts fewer lecture invitations, and has tapered down his private practice. He has been observing life with what he calls “a curious mind and an open heart.” In doing so, he has learned valuable lessons about what it means to be human and how adversity can teach us how to live better and love better.

Dr. Gottlieb’s address was entitled, Steps Towards Happiness – Spoiler Alert: It Starts With Gratitude And Ends With Generosity, and was a hit with students and adults alike. He focused on something that has fascinated humanity for centuries—happiness. What is it, and why do we chase it? His journey, marked by both challenges and triumphs, has taught him that happiness may not be the ultimate goal. Instead, he proposed a focus on something even more profound: well-being. Through personal stories and insights grounded in research, he showed that the steps toward happiness begin with appreciating what we have and culminate in sharing what we can. True happiness isn’t found in the pursuit of more, but in the practice of giving and being thankful.

Students participated in three different workshops after a hearty breakfast supplied by the Parents’ Committee Class of 2025 Co-Chairs that all focused on well-being.

Consent: Foundation for Wellness and Empowerment
Ms. Becca Burnett, Dean of Faculty and Mr. Matt Dence, Health & Wellness Teacher 

Consent is the necessary foundation of happy, healthy relationships, and it is a framework we can use to navigate everyday experiences with empathy, trust, and dignity. With consent as the foundation, students explored what communicating about boundaries, desires, support, and expectations looks like in any relationship. Through interactive activities and scenario-based work, this workshop helped participants understand the basics of consent and equipped them with skills to notice, internalize, and lead with respect and consent as a daily practice in their lives.  

Good Financial Habits
Ms. Johanna Walters, Managing Director, Walters Bailey Associates, Merrill Lynch Pierce, Finner & Smith Inc.  

Ms. Walters discussed the intersection of financial decision-making and wellness. Covering topics like saving, budgeting, managing risk and debt, Ms. Walters gave students a chance to explore their beliefs about money and to learn about how small changes now can make a big difference in their financial stability as young adults.  

Wellness Strategies by GA Faculty
Mindfulness with Dr. Talya Latch, Jibri McLean, Katie Kelly ’08; A Change in Perspective with Mary Fraser; Physiologic Breathing with Brian Grady 

Everyone needs strategies to stay healthy. When our seniors become young alumni, they will need to learn ways to manage stress and nurture their well-being. In this interactive session, members of GA’s counseling staff and teaching faculty showed how to apply these techniques to daily life during senior year and beyond.  

"The Health & Wellness Senior Retreat is a truly special experience, bringing the Class of 2025 off campus to participate in impactful workshops that will benefit them long after they graduate from GA,” said Interim Dean of Students Steve Moll. “Each year, I walk away with new insights—whether it’s a stress-relieving breathing technique or a smart strategy for saving and growing money. The workshops, led by experts in their fields, captivate our students, who are often so engaged that I have to gently pull them away at the end of each session.  A highlight of this year’s retreat was the inspirational keynote address by Dr. Dan Gottlieb. His powerful message of resilience, love, and gratitude resonated deeply with both me and the Class of 2025. This annual retreat has flourished into a highly anticipated tradition, made possible by the generosity of the Chen family, giving time for our senior class to learn, connect, and grow together."

With a little more than two full months of classes left (seniors spend the month of May on Senior Projects), the Class of 2025 is hurtling toward the finish line, and events like this one will help them be prepared for what’s next.