A Love of Life Long Learning — Meadowbrook School

Justin Cabot-Miller graduated from eighth grade at MWS in 2012. In this Alumni Profile he shares what he has been up to since then.

Life is strange. That’s the one thing I’ve always carried with me throughout my life. First it was strange that garden gnomes and fairies lived out there. It was odd that there were so many different languages, like the multiple I’d been exposed to throughout Meadowbrook (German, Greek, Latin.) It was weird that theatre could be so emotionally evocative. It was strange how big the world was. Everything was so strange, but I say this as a compliment. With strangeness comes the desire to explore and understand, and throughout my life after Meadowbrook, I devoted my life to doing just that.

I immediately attended North Kingstown High School after Meadowbrook. I stayed in contact with my Meadowbrook class, and discovered how much I could enjoy theatre, participating in almost every musical production and more traditional theatre performance. I even went on to go to several theatre conferences and was inducted into the International Thespian Society. I was also lucky enough go to Australia and then Hawaii, where I hiked beach paths and volcanos, reinforcing my love of nature, and solidifying the notion that surfing is hard. I also travelled to Spain during this period, hiking where I could and learning about other cultures. I was involved with multiple clubs during this period, the art club, computer club, anime club, and when I wasn’t with those clubs, I’d try to rock climb when I could. There were always so many things to do and explore.

After High School, I knew I wanted to keep exploring and contributing to the world, but I was never good at environment or politics, so I figured I’d do what I was best at (even if it contradicted my Waldorf upbringing). When I went to Hofstra University, I decided to double major in mathematics and computer science, with minors in linguistics and cognitive science as well. I also took classes through the honors college. I took this path because, as scary as big data is, I firmly believe that it has potential for good. I participated in cancer research for 3 years, publishing a paper and presenting at a conference in Sydney Australia. Waldorf taught me many things, and while data science isn’t among these myriad lessons, humanity, empathy, and a respect for the natural world were among them. Which is also why I jumped at the opportunity to do a little geological research as well.

Even throughout college I still held onto that sense of adventure that Meadowbrook instilled in me. I joined the rock-climbing club so that I could explore different parts of the city and camp in upstate New York to go climbing outside. I took a job at REI, where I learned about and sold camping and hiking gear. Through them, I even took a trip for several days to go do trail maintenance up in the mountains. I joined the ballroom dance club, and to this day I compete in collegiate competitions and fervently argue that my preferred styles of dance, American Smooth, are the best styles.

Right now, I work with a shipping company, discovering shipping routes and helping look for patterns in data. In the Fall I will be starting my master’s degree at NYU, where I hope to continue to do work that will impact people positively. To this day, in my free time I can be found outside, taking walks in nature [one day I’ll find a gnome or fairy again!] or practicing poi in the park or on the quad – it’s strange what little habits stick with you. Meadowbrook taught me that the world is strange and that there’s so much to learn. It taught me how to look outside and see a place to be respected. And to this day I am reminded to be a lifelong learner. With Meadowbrook’s teachings, I’ll never lose my sense of wonder. And I am so grateful for that.