Caitlin Clarke '06

Every Friday night the campus is invaded by two-dozen eager little ankle biters. Flooding into the dining hall. running across the quad, or eating in the Greer, they are an integral part of a classic weekend.

These additions to our campus are a product of the Big Brother, Big Sister program, an organization that the academy has been involved in for more than fifteen years.

Big Brothers, Big Sisters is a national organization with branches all throughout the United States. The administrators at the Academy work with the branch based out of Franklin County.

"The goal of this organization is to provide kids with positive role models," said Community Service Director Mara Whalen. "The program looks for young people who wish to establish a relationship with a child who perhaps needs a positive voice or presence in his or her life."

The program is open to juniors and seniors who apply to be a "big" and then are matched with a "little" according to their interests and personalities. Seniors Charlie Straut, Emma Greenberg, and Bentley Rubinstein are three such "bigs."

Straut was paired up with his little, Rion Pierce, late in the winter of his junior year. Straut points out that Rion is unique in that he doesn't have any issues or disabilities: he really just needs a friend.

"Rion is a very bright eleven-year-old," said Straut. "He is home-schooled which makes it more difficult for him to relate socially to his peers." Straut has been helping Pierce develop these skills and, for the most part, simply acts as a friend with whom Rion can talk. "He really confides in me," said Straut.

Straut does admit that he was worried before he met Pierce. Having a difficult "little" can be both challenging and exhausting, but his fears were soon put to rest. He said that Pierce is "exactly what I had hoped for," and that their Friday night meetings "don't feel like a chore at all," Greenberg also has a positive experience with her "little," Makensie Pierce. She is "a lot like I was as a kid," Greenberg remarked. On Friday nights, she and Makensie spend time in the art studio, go to the Greer, watch movies, and play hide-and-seek. "She's a great artist and we get along really well," said Greenberg who has been very pleased with her experience as a "big" and speaks highly of the program. She describes it as a great release from "your own little world at Deerfield."

Rubinstein said that when he met his little it wasn't awkward at all. "We just started talking," he remarked, and according to him, they have never stopped.

Cody Newton of Turners Falls was paired with Rubinstein due to their similar interests and matching personalities. He speaks enthusiastically about how Cody is always excited to share stories from school and talk about his week. And just as Rubinstein has had a positive influence on Cody, he said that this experience has been equally beneficial to him.

"I love having a 'little." he said. 'It's great for me to be able to have that outlet at the end of the week." It is a time when Rubinstein, along with all the other "bigs," can focus their energy on making an enormous difference in the life of a young child.