the world, becoming part of things, not just reading about them.” She adds, “Tough there are a few experiences that stand out.” Te first, Greenberg notes, is her Literary
Journalism Project, a seminal experience for all students in their junior year. “Tis effort took such a big chunk of time. Te teachers set us out on our own, to explore topics. We had to delve deeply into them, research and discover as much as we could, and convey our thoughts through an extensive narrative journalistic approach. My project related to the secret life of hairdressers and how they basically act as counselors for clients. Telling stories of others sticks with me today as I write about the world around us through my own perspectives.” Another OES influence Greenberg mentions—even to her own surprise—is all the science classes. “I was concerned that my life choices and passions didn’t fit in with the heavy OES math and science environment. But, today, the scientific method is something I think about. Stand-up comedy is like trial and error: You hypothesize what will be funny, experiment with your audiences, evaluate the reaction, analyze your steps, then go back to the methodology to rework it. I’m working on the formation of a joke, rather than an [scientific] experiment.” As a modern-day content developer, Greenberg believes that her love for story
36 Oregon Episcopal School
and the ways she applies it converge because of OES.
“OES taught me the history behind why storytelling is important. It also helped me hone a unique (albeit somewhat nerdy) perspective. I’m a critical thinker and most of my stand-up comes from dissecting issues. I enjoy dropping statistical truth bombs while making people laugh.” She says that another acquired skill of connecting people through laughter and stories was understanding the concept of
“community.” Greenberg asserts that both the public radio and performance worlds are rich because of the colorful people within them. Her awareness of what a community is and can do began in her kindergarten class, and because of her teacher, Cynthia Marshall. Greenberg reflects, “Mrs. Marshall was the first person to teach me how to be in a community. She was magical. I’ll never forget the goodwill she instilled. Her ability to take moments of joy and purity and make them available for other people so they could perpetuate that goodwill to others around them is the essence of community. Tat always stuck with me. She cares so much she sends all her former students birthday cards every year. I still get them today. It’s refreshing to remember there are people out there like her.”
As Greenberg raises awareness in the world about difficult topics, she believes the concepts of community and goodwill are imperative. Her future goals include expanding compassion across communities by producing more radio, podcast, and comedy shows that are more diverse to ensure personal stories matter to and from people of all ages, races, genders, and geographies. She believes her purpose and path in creating these wider conversations is clear. When it comes to discernment of one’s
path, Greenberg shares parting advice for graduating Aardvarks: “Don’t worry if your path makes no sense. Trust in yourself, your interests, and what you’re learning. You may not be on an engineer path, or doctor path, or a corporate path. You may think you have no path at all. You’ll sneak your way onto a crazy cool path and be glad you didn’t pigeonhole yourself into doing something else.” Greenberg concludes, “Keep asking questions and finding your own answers. You’re entering the real world over-prepared, but that’s not an excuse to be complacent. Ask the questions that help you delve deeper into whatever you’re doing. Ask the questions no one else is asking. Stay curious and open to answers you stumble upon. Curiosity is the coolest, I swear.”
www.oes.edu
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