Three Parker Junior High students won a trip to New York City to be part of a special Broadway presentation of the musical “Hamilton” as part of the national Hamilton Education Program.
A poem about Alexander Hamilton’s son Philip won the trip for Minah Bobb, Tabitha Waita and Isabella Aventano, all seventh graders.
Philip Hamilton was just 19 when he was shot in a duel in 1801 defending his father’s honor. In the musical Philip agrees to the duel against George Eacker. His death had a profound effect on Hamilton, who died three years later in a duel with his nemesis Aaron Burr.
“That’s what’s so great about taking a step back and then doing a little research. They learned a lot more about it,” teacher Linda O’Dwyer said.
The three said they wrote the poem together in a joint phone call and put finishing touches on it at school before submitting it in their humanities class. O’Dwyer got word of their win in February. Their trip to New York was in May.
Although they had watched “Hamilton” on the Disney Channel, seeing the production was a special treat. Each recalled a part in the musical that was special for them.
Minah remembered how heartbroken Hamilton’s wife Eliza was when he acknowledged having an affair. O’Dwyer reminds students: “We think of them as heroic people, but they were human beings.”
For Tabitha, having Aaron Burr as the musical’s narrator gave her the impression that “he wasn’t just a cold-blooded killer.” The lyrics of the song “The World Was Wide Enough” about how to the two men prepared for their duel gave her insights into their thinking as the duel is about to commence.
Isabella loved the dancing and the movements of Angelica Schuyler, Eliza’s sister, when she sings “Satisfied” about the first time she met Hamilton. “It’s all so captivating,” Isabella said, “and it shows that because she’s the oldest she had to watch over her sister and even if she wanted to be with Hamilton she couldn’t” because her status as the oldest meant she would marry for money and status.
In addition to seeing the musical, the students got to visit several sights, including New York’s Central Park and taking a boat ride around Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
This is the second year students from Parker Junior High have won their spots in the Hamilton Education Program sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the Hamilton production company. Parker students competed against entries from junior high and high school students.
