Horizons

Leadership, internships, volunteering

Through our signature Horizons program, you’ll develop yourself as a leader, an advocate, and a professional. Best of all: You get to build the Horizons experience that suits you.

Horizons is deeply intertwined with your time at Miss Hall’s. The activities change depending on which grade you’re in, but the entire campus is committed — together — to making time for Horizons every single week.

We start in ninth grade, focusing on understanding ourselves and building community, bolstering our social and emotional awareness, and practicing interpersonal skills. From there, we move ever outward, reflecting on the importance of place and becoming Empowered Changemakers by designing meaningful solutions to pressing problems. Then, in our final years, we give back to the broader community — and gain valuable experience — through service learning, social action, and tailored internship opportunities.

These internships consistently set our students apart as they go through the college application process. You might, for example, apply with a strong interest in medicine; after your time in Horizons, you’ll also bring experience working in a medical setting such as a doctor’s office or hospital — and letters of recommendation from doctors and nurses.

Find the Horizons experience that’s right for you

One of the best parts of Horizons is that your experience is tailored to your interests. Tell us your interest below and see some of the experiences our students have actually had related to that same interest.

I am interested in

|

Experiential Learning at Miss Hall’s

Take a tour of our Horizons program with students and staff

How it works

  • 9th grade: Self, identity, and community. Work with peers to learn about — and put into practice! — principles of equity and inclusion, health and wellness, and leadership. Specific topics include intersectionality, race and ethnicity, ability, citizenship and nationality, nutrition, sex education, media literacy, and financial literacy.
  • 10th grade: Place-based learning. Explore the concept of “place,” and use our Berkshires home to learn about environmental, cultural, and socio-economic theories. Workshops will include everything from science labs on local waterways to activism projects.
Let’s talk and figure out what Horizons will look like for you
Chat with us
  • 11th grade: Student-led projects. Get involved — volunteer at a local nonprofit or step into one of our student-led projects. Practice leadership, amplify your voice, and improve your community. You could write for our international literary journal, develop a new TedX conference, work for our campus media team, code a new app, and more.
  • 12th grade: Remote internships and personalized projects. Some students will continue existing relationships through internships; others tackle personalized projects, a unique mix of research and activism that translates our learning into real action.

Our Partners

Miss Hall’s students volunteer and intern at more than 75 sites in Berkshire County and beyond, including remote and on-site experiences at government offices, law firms, civic organizations, engineering firms, television studios, healthcare centers, cultural organizations, historic sites, and more. These are some of our partners:

18 Degrees/Redfield House/Berkshire Children and Families
Action Sports & Travel: Scuba Education
Arrowhead/Berkshire County Historical Society
Barrington Stage Company
Barry & Kinzer Law Firm
Berkshire Athenaeum
Berkshire Botanical Garden
Berkshire County Board of Realtors
Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington
Berkshire Family YMCA
Berkshire Food Project
Berkshire Horseworks
Berkshire Immigrant Center
Berkshire Interfaith Organizing
Berkshire Medical Center
Berkshire Music School
Berkshire Museum
Berkshire Place
Berkshire Probate and Family Court, Francis B. Marinaro, Registrar
Berkshire South Regional Community Center
Berkshire Theatre Group
Berkshire United Way
Berkshire Veterinary Hospital
Berkshire West Athletic Club
Boys’ and Girls’ Club of the Berkshires — Children’s Center
Canyon Ranch
College Internship Program (CIP) Berkshires
Conte Community School
Crosby Elementary School
Dr. Brian Dempsey
Dr. Vicki Smith
Dorothy’s Place
Dottie’s Coffee Lounge
Downtown Pittsfield Inc.
EDM
Egremont Elementary School
Fairview Hospital
Girls Right the World
Girls Who Code
Hancock Shaker Village
Herberg Middle School
Hill-Engineers, Architects, Planners, Inc.
Housatonic Valley Association
Iredale Mineral Cosmetics, Ltd.
IS183
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Kimball Farms Life Care
Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
Lenox Cat Hospital
Lichtenstein Center for the Arts
The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center MAPS (Mira’s Alliance for Philanthropic Sustainability)
Mason Library
Mass in Motion/Northern Berkshire Community Coalition
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
Margaret McTeigue, Local Artist
MHS: Active Minds
MHS: Athletics Department — Trainer
MHS: Business Office
MHS: Ceramics
MHS: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Intern
MHS: Environmental Research & Action
MHS: ESOL
MHS: Girls Right the World
MHS: Greenhouse Assistant
MHS: Media Team
MHS: Yearbook Team
Morningside Community School
The Mount
Mount Greylock Extended CareFacility
MountainOne Investments
NAACP Berkshires
Norman Rockwell Museum
North County Veterinary Hospital
Pittsfield Community Television
Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer
Pittsfield Prospers
Pittsfield Veterinary Hospital
Project G.I.R.L.
The Red Lion Inn
Robin’s Candy
ROOTS Teen Center
Senior Independent Projects
Sonsini Animal Shelter
South Street Congregational Church
State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier
State Senator Adam Hinds
Stephanie Iverson Jewelry
Western Mass Labor Action
Western Mass Physical Therapy
Wingate Residences at Melbourne Place
Youth Center Inc.
Zogics

Thursdays aren’t the only days full of exciting activities — check out some real student schedules to see how your days might go

Explore a day in the life

Check out the stories section of our website to read more about what some of our students have done through the Horizons program

Explore Horizons stories