Now in its 32nd year, Horizons is Miss Hall’s signature experiential-learning and internship program, where students practice essential skills and develop the expertise and confidence to navigate pathways beyond MHS.
Year 1 of the Horizons experience centers growth. Students work together to decide what seeds they will order, germinate, and grow in the Ara West Grinnell 1901 Greenhouse. The plants they lovingly cultivate are sold at the end of the year in beautiful ceramic pots, also handmade by the class, at the 9th Grade Plant Sale. With part of the proceeds donated to a local nonprofit, the Greenhouse Project (literally) plants the seeds for success in the sophomore year, when students lay down roots in civic engagement and global citizenship.
An exercise in collaboration, sustainability, and generosity of spirit, Miss Hall’s 9th graders spend months crafting more than 100 ceramic mugs for use in our Dining Room. Students design, shape, and fire the mugs in the Ruth Milliken Murphy ’30 Ceramics Studio. The mug project is an opportunity for students to bond as a group, hone skills needed to create pots for the annual Plant Sale, and create together a gift for the entire campus community.
Hosted by members of the sophomore class, Money Matters is a day of financial literacy mentorship that brings middle school students from area schools to Miss Hall’s for engaging workshops and breakout groups. Enterprising 10th graders welcome and show younger students the ropes, leading tours of campus, explaining core financial concepts, and guiding scenario-based sessions on budgeting, managing money, investing, and entrepreneurship.
Horizons evolves sequentially: As students move from one year to the next, they practice and build on the skills learned earlier in their Horizons work and use those skills to take action and shape their futures.
Four decades in-the-making, this is not a one-size-fits-all program. The multi-talented Horizons team works with each student, helping them reflect on who they are, the interests they are developing, and the skills they are gaining. Once students reach junior and senior years, their paths come into focus, and Horizons leaders meet with them and place them in off-campus internships in the Berkshires community, where they have opportunities to explore and gain valuable career experience.
The Miss Hall’s School graduate is a thinker, a creator, and a contributor to the common good. Through words and actions, and aligned core values, the MHS graduate is prepared to navigate varied contexts with fluency, generosity of spirit, and wisdom to lead a purposeful life.
"Horizons gave me the opportunity to explore my interests in art and theatre, through interning in development at the Mahaiwe Theater my junior year and in education at Mass MoCA my senior year. I went on to study theatre arts management in college, and my Horizons experience gave me a leg up on my resume and gave me the necessary skills to excel in my program. Upon graduating, I began working at an art gallery. I would not have found my way to this career path without Horizons."
Olivia Kinne '18
Uptown Exhibitions Assistant, Gagosian Gallery
"I knew leaving Miss Hall's that I liked biology and wanted to help people. I worked at a pediatrics practice as my Horizons site and went on to the University of Pennsylvania and then medical school to become a primary care physician. Being part of a well-established internship program at such a young age gave me early exposure to the medical field."
Masha Jones Slavin '07
Primary Care Physician, Clinical Assistant Professor, New York University
"The Horizons program gives us the opportunity to explore possible careers and connect our passions to the real world. We also gain mentors who support us in discovering our interests."
Shea '27
Admissions Ambassador Co-Head
