IB Connections Across Generations

Like mother, like son! For some families, the International Baccalaureate Program is a tradition.

Melaina Young ’93, Head of the English Department and the Dodd Teaching Chair, graduated from George School and earned her IB Diploma, and still fondly remembers her IB classes. She completed her IB Higher Level course work in English A Literature, History, Spanish, and Visual Arts, her IB Standard Level course work in Chemistry and Math Studies, wrote her Extended Essay (EE) in Group 1: Literature on conformity in Gloria Naylor’s novel Linden Hills, and featured her achievements as a Varsity Field Hockey player and a standout Varsity Lacrosse goalie in her Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) portfolio. She did her CAS Project in the Service strand, living and working on the Blackfeet Indian reservation in Montana.

Her son, Drew Mirarchi ’24, is now an IB Diploma Program (IBDP) Candidate himself, completing IB Higher Level course work in English A Literature, History, and Economics and IB Standard Level coursework in Spanish B, Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation, and Environmental Systems and Societies. Drew wrote his Extended Essay in Group 3: History on WWII’s impact on baseball and, like his mother, is a notable athlete, competing at the Varsity Level in Soccer and Lacrosse. He completed his CAS Project in the Activity strand, establishing a Lacrosse clinic for young athletes at Newtown Friends School, the Quaker elementary school adjacent to GS.

Melaina and Drew might be the most obvious example, but IB is truly a family—one that spans classrooms and continents, one that may reflect differing perspectives at times as the IB mission statement acknowledges, and yet also one that always upholds its common goals and recognizes its members with respect, understanding, and love.

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