By Ford Smutz and Page Chapman

This week, Emery Williamson (‘27) has been balancing school while also preparing for an important moment on the gridiron on Friday. 

Williamson in the Sharp Cafe. Photo credit: Page Chapman.

Right now, Williamson is taking the English course Literature of Aesthetics with Upper School English teacher Richard Milby. He is in the middle of a “Taste-busting” unit, in which students are asked to do something they normally would not do. Last week, Williamson took on this challenge by listening to Taylor Swift for an hour each night. He described this experience as, “eye-opening and interesting, because I never would have listened to Taylor Swift like that, and I actually found joy from it.” Williamson was also tasked with writing about his experience and connecting it to a broader topic. Williamson said, “I was able to write about how me not listening to Taylor Swift normally shows gender stereotypes, and because of this, I didn’t really think I’d like her music. But I liked it a lot.” Something Williamson loves about Milby’s Literature of Aesthetics class is that “it is a lot of fun. Mr. Milby teaches it well. It’s a unique and creative class, and you have a lot of freedom and are able to decide what work to pursue.”

Williamson playing football. Photo courtesy of Ford Smutz.

On Friday, November 6, the Collegiate varsity football Cougars (7-1) will make their way down River Road to take on the St. Christopher’s Saints (3-5). There is much at stake surrounding this game, and the Cougars most likely have to win in order to punch their ticket to the playoffs. The Saints, however, have beaten Collegiate for the last eight straight years and have relatively no chance to make the playoffs, considering their record. Williamson, a co-captain and starting linebacker, said, “The team needs to take it one practice at a time, and the other captains and I are in charge of keeping the team focused and dialed in during practices.” Williamson is extremely confident in his team: “the team has a new-found confidence and belief in ourselves like never before, and we need to maintain this mindset through the end of the game Friday.” Williamson and the Cougars look to end the regular season off strong and break the Saint’s winning streak in this rivalry.

Featured image credit: Page Chapman.