Turkey travel: summer adventures

By Kate Shackelford

We’re such a dull bunch; we turkeys don’t get out much...the latest from Tatler’s travel blog!

Summer break doesn’t necessarily mean lounging and leisure for us St. Mary’s Turkeys. Whether traveling all the way to Kenya or staying right here in Memphis, many turkeys found ways to engage in the community and expand their minds. Below, a few of our classmates share stories from their epic summer adventures.

For a little less than a month, Chloe Young (11) lived on the campus of Texas Christian University to participate in a summer ballet intensive at Texas Ballet Theater, the primary professional ballet company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, Young danced in the studio while learning from some of the best. “The days were long and intense, but I loved what I was doing the entire time,” she commented. ​

Kalen Ingram (11) spent 10 days in Kenya this summer to attend two traditional Kenyan weddings. Her trip was a whirlwind: she spent a few days at the beach, visited with family, was fined for a seatbelt violation, had fun at two epic weddings, and even received a marriage proposal. Though Ingram was offered a generous five camels for her hand in marriage, her mother respectfully declined. ​

Grammy Camp hosted our very own Evie Fowler (11) this summer. For one week, Fowler stayed at the University of Southern California to immerse herself in music journalism and songwriting. From 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., she collected posts and stories for the Grammy Museum website and social media pages while writing pieces on the goings-on of the camp. In the evenings, Fowler and the other campers were free to do whatever they wanted. They visited Santa Monica, explored Los Angeles, and, of course, there was a lot of songwriting and singing, too. 

By the way, we may be hearing something special from Fowler’s time in LA very soon.

Jane Chancellor (10) attended the Bodhi Surf and Yoga Camp in Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica. Mornings were spent out on the water surfing, while afternoons were filled with activities such as white water rafting, hiking and yoga. She also participated in several local service projects in Bahia Ballena. One of her favorite experiences, she said, was making friends with her fellow campers and the local residents. “We had to walk a pretty long while to get to the beach from Bodhi everyday, so getting to meet people as they passed us on the road was fun!” ​

Mason Davis (12) took part in a biomedical engineering summer intensive internship at Wright Medical. Her time there was spent shadowing engineers, marketing executives, quality and sterility experts and mechanical technicians. Through this internship, Davis had the opportunity to gain real-world experience in the field of medicine, as well as learn the complexities and inner-workings of a large corporation. ​

For two weeks this July, Fraser Johnston (11) stayed in El Salvador to volunteer in a small village. Even though Johnston and her volunteer group participated in large service projects like teaching English at schools and cooking meals for the townspeople, some of her favorite moments were simply playing with the kids in the village, especially a young girl named Samantha. Johnston commented, “Her mom walked around the village selling water. Samantha had nowhere to go, so she stayed with us as we cooked for the feeding program. She was only two years old, and she was really nervous being alone. While her sister and some other kids were playing, she just sat on the bench. I went and sat next to her. I started to dance, and she started copying me. It was so simple, but it brought us both so much joy.” ​

​Bella Littleton (10) returned to Opera Memphis this summer for her third year participating in a two-week senior conservatory. She and the other campers put together a mini operetta called The Pleasantly Petrified Pirates of Paxton, in which the pleasantly petrified pirates of Paxton embark on an adventure to reclaim their stolen treasure map from Duke Wesley of Waverly. The performance was a huge success!