What's Possible
by Kalyan Balaven
To teach at Dunn is to find
that the teachable moment
is when the teacher becomes the student,
and the student opens your mind.
The borders of possibility are redefined
by this community,
from a noun meaning a thing that can happen
or be the case
to where serendipity and intention are intertwined.
What’s possible?
Entrepreneurship
A student holds a trilobite
while coming out of his own shell,
this entrepreneur
learns from Jurgy how to sell.
He returns to expand
the very program they once created,
with a gift,
and names it after his teacher.
Mike Boone, Class of '79.
And this gift inspires another
to weave his own fabric,
takes pictures, bright flashes,
he’s marketing magic.
He advances
a line of his own fashion,
fashioned from imagination,
conceptualized and put to action.
Ethan, Class of 2023.
What’s Possible?
They invest in preparation
to master Jurgensen classes.
How does he find time
Between no look passes?
Keenan, Class of 2027.
This spirit can also be baked in,
A restauranters proposition
Find our youngest entrepreneur
Inside the sweetness of a pie tin,
Kabel, Class of 2028.
What’s Possible?
Innovation
Gathering families together,
like a delicate dish with flavor.
Our stories told through recipes
Inside a cookbook we savor.
Families enter space.
Welcomed by rhythm on stage,
friendships intertwine with melody
of drums, guitar, and bass.
Elijah, Jem, and Sebastian, Class of 2027.
What’s possible?
Different than traditional class
or getting ready to bat,
they master equations,
aerodynamics and break paths
take copious notes
and try to race fast,
and David keeps pushing ‘til
they achieve highest marks in his class.
MIE STEM Racing at Dunn.
Sophia and CJ, Class of 2024 and '26.
What’s possible?
Residential Life expansion,
creating more classes
an academy to differentiate
oneself from the masses.
From micro-econ using NFTs
to Simon Sweeney teaching Marine Biology
or Meg Watson with Refugee Studies
Paul Gelles and Chumash History.
Classes based on interest,
courses representing our planet,
the world our students enter,
The one they’ll need to manage.
Just like our Sports Journalism
with Gary Thorne’s wisdom
students mastering writing,
to break out the new edition.
Ask Fallon, Theo, Aidan, and Tony, Classes of 2026-'23
What’s Possible?
What’s Possible?
Expression
Our partnership with an icon,
Janet Adderley, the star maker,
DMS students thrive
live, it's musical theater.
Resplendent as descendants,
we watch students transcend,
to an awareness of self,
empathy and expression.
Ellie, Camilla, Savannah, Benny, Lilli, Chloe, and Persy,
Classes of 2027 to '29.
What’s Possible
More than just MLK Day
expand speech and debate—
so student voice is not choice
but a way to emancipate
minds from shackles of convention
to lead with intention
speak with conviction
and to make a lasting impression,
ask Ava, Alex, Matt, or Myles, Classes of 2024 to '26.
What’s Possible
Never shy, she told me what to do,
when I asked Morgan Andersen, Class of 2022:
Build a cardio fitness center,
a place for students to enter,
sports medicine room,
and a bathroom for all genders.
And Kal we need modular equipment,
flexible space.
‘Thanks Morgan...’
and also, a special trophy case.
So, let’s remove the obstacles,
make the Dunn optimal,
from programs, to fitness centers,
you all make it possible.
The Present:
What’s Possible?
Carpentry, design, build, and fix
Ask Class of 2023, its John.
What’s Possible?
From Marlin playing Polo
To Helen flying solo,
From Class of 2023 to 2028.
What’s Possible?
Creative presence, Artists in Residence
ask Husna and Alecia, class of 2027.
The Past:
The evidence is in this room, look around:
From starting Vet’s Here to selling her own mobile vet company,
ask Autumn Badelt-Fanning, Class of ‘99, What’s Possible.
A decade later,
From the effort he put in as a student to creating Esfuerzo, his
own winery, ask Fidi Flores, Class of 2010, What’s Possible.
Another decade apart,
It’s a YouTube star of the show “That’s interesting,” ask the
parents of Carter Stacy, Class of 2020, What’s Possible.
So here is my crystal ball for our future:
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Expression
Entrepreneurship
After retiring from the NBA,
he starts his own sports management firm,
using what he learned in our Jurgensen Entrepreneurship Program
to support professional athletes like himself,
ask Seal, Class of 2025, what’s possible?
Innovation
Designing a revolutionary way to do spinal surgery,
this doctor builds upon her time in our Innovation Studio
to change the world,
ask Hayoung, Class of 2025, what’s possible?
Expression
Hats off as she sings our national anthem
before a World Series game seven,
at home, in Los Angeles, wearing her Dodgers gear,
ask Daphne, Class of 2024 what’s possible?
What’s Possible?
What’s Possible?
What’s Possible?
Possibility redefined,
from a noun meaning a thing that can happen
or be the case
to where imagination and innovation are intertwined.
So to teach at Dunn is to find
that the teachable moment
is when the teacher becomes the student,
and the student opens your mind
to what’s possible.