Senior Spotlight: Owen Moss (12-3)
Calder Burke (10-2)
Photo courtesy of Owen Moss (12-3)
Do you have a favorite moment or memory from your time at Masterman?
So many. It's incredibly cliché at this point, but it really is all the little things: answering the phones and writing on random chalkboards and riding on elevators (still mad I never got a key) and putting up signs in the hallways, for example. If you want one thing, though, that fire on the first day of school last year was pretty hilarious. One of the most Masterman things ever.
You appreciate and embrace tradition in many ways. What's one thing you hope never changes about/at Masterman?
The building! First of all, it's a very cool feeling to know, for Masterman students, that we are a part of a living, breathing place that has educated some of Philadelphia's best students for nearly nine decades now. But also, my god, it is beautiful. The amount of original wood, on windowsills, trim, and many doors, is stunning, and though we almost forget to notice it after the years, the first floor center hallway is very pretty, as is the auditorium (especially its ceiling). The math office is also gorgeous, because its window is actually the top half of one of the auditorium windows. The entire building basically looks the same as it did when it opened in 1932, and I know we have a hard time maintaining it, but assuming it's taken care of it can last for many more centuries. Going back to your question, though: I've come to understand that I have no say over the way our curriculum is changing (even as a student here, not to mention once I've already graduated!), but if when I come back to visit they've physically altered any part of the building, I will literally scream.
You've run cross country and track for all four years of high school. Which season do you prefer?
Cross country by far. I guess maybe that's because I'm better at it than track, and in a way so is our team; I have absolutely no idea if this is true but I like to tell people that our boys' XC is the winningest team at Masterman since girls' volleyball in the nineties. But in all seriousness, cross country is fun because it's much more of a team sport — track is all about individual races, but in cross country every single person runs the same distance on the same course, and it's something that you win or lose as a team, not a person.
Do you have a favorite memory (or memories) from Masterman XCTF?
Well, I've never really had a great race, but I've had so many great runs. One of my favorites was this summer in the Wissahickon with a bunch of guys; Ryo Lindsey (12-2) forgot his shoes, so he ended up biking alongside us while blasting Earth, Wind & Fire all the way up Forbidden Drive. The absolute best, though, was a workout we did my junior year (although we've done some version of it every season): five by 1200-meter around the rim of Lemon Hill. We ran it very well, as a team; I remember Noah Bradley [the captain at the time] saying, wow, we can win the Pub this year. But that wasn't the only thing — you know how people talk about the 'runner's high' sometimes? I never really bought that but I can guarantee you it exists — I was high when we finished that workout. I'd like to think I'm a generally happy person, but that was completely different. I can't fully explain it. That was the first time I felt that and I'd be more than content to die with it being the only time. Pure, complete euphoria.
In this unprecedented school year, you're captain of the cross/track team. How are you feeling with a modified season looming? How are you preparing to lead? Any goals for the team?
I'm feeling great! Our goals have not in fact changed: as always we want to run well, be safe, and win the Philadelphia Public League (even though it's six months later than planned!). For the captain thing, it's really not a big production — I just think of it as, like, I'm the person to carry the water. That's somewhat metaphorical, of course, partly because we probably won't be allowed to have a shared water cooler this season, but what I mean, basically, is that the team simply needs certain things like that to happen, and I figure I'm as good as anyone to do them. Everything else just follows naturally; we have such a strong culture that the team pretty much runs itself.
You know so many spots of Philadelphia history around the city. Anywhere cool in particular you think everyone should visit?
That's hard to answer for a publication that is pretty much exclusively read by Philadelphians, because for any specific place you'll probably have already been there. The absolute answer, though, is Fairmount Park — Philadelphia would simply not be Philadelphia without it. First of all, it is immensely large; it's very possibly the biggest urban municipal park in the country. But also, I've always been amazed by how, despite the fact that you could literally walk to it from City Hall, the park has been essentially untouched by city life. Yes, we've cleared some fields and built a few mansions and put down some roads, but in many areas, Fairmount Park is one of the last places left here that looks essentially as it did thousands of years ago. The other answer is our art. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, obviously, but Philadelphia also has one of the best collections of public art — including, of course, our murals! — on the planet.
You've balanced your academics, athletics, extracurriculars, and college applications throughout high school. Any tips for younger Masterman students on how to make it through high school?
Anything I say here would be at least a little hypocritical, because I haven't always balanced those things well, nor could I really come up with anything you haven't heard already, but what I'd say is this: your scores on some test or the number of APs you take or your grade point average — these will not be your memories from high school. What will be, essentially, is everything else: goofing off with your friends when you're supposed to be paying attention in class, playing in — or watching — a great sports game, being in the play, winning (or losing) spirit week, going on field trips, talking to teachers in the hallway. It might not always feel like it, but it's things like these you'll remember. Basically, do whatever you want to do — let yourself enjoy high school.
You do math club and the AMC every year, and you take discrete math and physics. What do you love about math?
Ms. Smith.
Do you have any hopes for your college experience or dreams for adult life? Anything you'd love to do in your lifetime?
Well, I'd really like for it to not be on a computer. I wake up every morning wanting to smash my laptop into a million pieces, and I'm ready to not have to feel like that anymore. I started joking at some point that I'm going to bring a typewriter to college this fall, although I really do mean that at this point. I'm very optimistic about this, though — I think by fall it's going to be practically normal. One of the funniest things I realized is that I'll have to make new friends, which is something I'm honestly unsure if I remember how to do — it's been eight years since the last time I had to!
For adult life, though, I have absolutely no idea what I want to do. I can't think that far into the future — it always bugged me that 'a good person' is not an acceptable answer to 'what do you want to be when you grow up?'. That's really all it is, for me: if I can make a difference in somebody's life — a contribution, no matter how small, to the civic fabric of this greatest city on Earth — I'll be happy.