CHS Grad to Attend Selective Deep Springs College

The following article first appeared in the April 2010 edition of The Columbian and was written by rising CHS senior Meredith Pitkoff.

Superior ability, passionate commitment and tireless determination have been hallmarks of CHS graduate Cory Myers's quest to gain knowledge and purpose in life. A sophisticated understanding of computers, along with devotion to music and literature, have brought Myers, CHS '10, pleasure and fulfillment, not to mention a packed schedule.

Myers displayed an early fascination with computers. "I guess my interest in computers began when I was 4 or 5," he said. "Early on I liked to build little websites for myself." This interest led to a summer internship at Panix, New York's oldest Internet provider, and independent research with Dr. Scott Stornetta, a math teacher at Columbia High School. Myers's project with Stornetta entails building software to simulate the type of one-to-one interactions a student has with a tutor.

"At the moment, my [personal] work consists mostly of what's called network and systems administration—running servers, linking them together locally and across the Internet, writing small software programs for specific tasks," said Myers. "I do a lot less computer work now than I used to, and in general, these days I tend to regard the computer more as a tool than as a plaything. This suits me: It's a useful set of skills, but it's not my life."

Unlike computers, music and literature continue to be Myers's passions, and he devotes time and attention to their cultivation. Myers, an accomplished cellist and vocalist, participates in the Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Choir at CHS. He also attends a Saturday prep program at Mannes College, a music conservatory in New York, where he studies music theory and the cello. Myers enjoys a wide range of music but feels a special connection to classical. "I was brought up listening mostly to classical, especially Renaissance and Baroque," said Myers. "For me, it's what's in my head as I fall asleep and when I wake up."

Myers, whose parents are writers, also developed an early affection for literature. "You can't grow up in my family and not love books," said Myers. "At any given time, I'm usually working, very slowly, through four or five books at once." His current reading material consists of biographies of poet William Blake and 17th-century diarist Samuel Pepys, a collection of essays by John D'Agata, a book on digital texts and media, David Foster Wallace's novel "Infinite Jest", and a few books of poetry. Myers said, "[I read] everything, more or less, limited only by time."

Although some would imagine Myers's high school experience to be rife with tension and exhaustion, he describes it from another perspective. "I'm lucky in that the things I spend my time doing—music, computers, even schoolwork—are things I love, things I'm doing for myself, so they're not stressful. And music, especially, is gloriously meditative. The more time I have to practice, the happier I am."

In selecting a college, Myers sought a true "liberal arts" education that would prepare him for his future. "A liberal arts education is supposed to offer the range of skills you need for life—I've encountered the phrase 'breadth and depth' a lot. It's a noble goal and an important one," said Myers. "But I think most colleges, even the best, have a too-narrow view of what those skills are, of what breadth and depth should encompass."

Deep Springs College, an institution in California's High Desert, met his criteria by offering a unique curriculum. Deep Springs is a highly selective male-only program, located on a cattle ranch and alfalfa farm with a total enrollment of 26 students. The school was founded in 1917 on the three pillars of academics, labor and self-governance. Deep Springs states, "[The college] operates on the belief that manual labor and political deliberation are integral parts of a comprehensive liberal arts education."

Myers is acutely aware of the unusual experience that awaits him. "[Deep Springs offers an] intense combination of people and ideas and labors, an education in many dimensions," said Myers. "And besides, if you're going to run off to join a desert commune, 18 is probably the right age to do it."