Issue link: https://trevordayschool.uberflip.com/i/1531234
60 / TREVOR MAGAZINE FALL 2024–25 paces. The teaching philosophy drove me to be more advanced, as opposed to having me take a lackadaisical approach to education. It worked really well for me. In my eyes, TDS is as prestigious as any of the other schools that I went to. I'm known for my legal writing, and I learned to write at The Day School. In terms of education, it was a formative period for me. I looked at how I embraced education, learning, and it was also the first time I was in a learning environment where I was happy. Trevor: Do you have a favorite memory from your time at The Day School? Ayesha: Definitely going to Putney. I remember things like tapping a tree for syrup. I'm from the Bronx; that wasn't something I could even imagine! We would go rock climbing and cross-country skiing. All these activities opened up a world of connections with the outdoors, and these are activities that I still enjoy. I really enjoyed bonding with my classmates. Those trips to Vermont were special. We'd be up all night, but we bonded and got to know each other well. I also always looked forward to MiniTerm. We would even have agency in some of the classes because the faculty would ask us for suggested topics for classes. And what I remember most during 8th-grade MiniTerm was Choreolab. That's what I appreciated about the addition of the high school that year. They brought us into the dance studio. I'd always been an avid recreational dancer, and Ms. Roth knew some people who were filming a rap video. They wanted girls to jump double Dutch like it was a street scene. Benyvette (Robinson) Ashburn, Shelley Topping, Cheri Morvain, and I did it. Who knows? We might have ended up on the cutting room floor, but I think we were part of a music video. Then, somehow, we were able to tie it back to academics. I ended up doing a science project about the physics of jumping rope and doing that double Dutch. Where else could that happen? Where I'm in a private school where my dance teacher helps me get cast in a music video jumping double Dutch, and we turn the whole experience into an academic exploration? Trevor: That's very cool. Ayesha: I love the fact that Trevor brought us together. I'm from the Bronx; Cheri was from Brooklyn (Brownsville); Shelly was from Mt. Vernon, and Beny was from Harlem. Totally different worlds from the Upper East and West sides but we were able to bop around the school, be ourselves, bring ourselves to the community. I look at my children, who grew up in private schools and boarding schools, and they don't necessarily have the same degree of agency and acceptance. I think they experience more pressure to conform and be "racially neutral" now than we did then. Trevor: Are there any passions or hobbies outside of work that you would like to share? Ayesha: I've been dedicating quite a bit of time to civic organizations. I'm involved with an international organization called The Links, Incorporated. I just ended my term as president of the Eastern Shore, New York chapter. Essentially, it's thousands of black women from around the world who come together, and we focus on both the economic and cultural development of communities throughout the African diaspora. It's great and affirming to be able to still push the needle and be able to help people who don't have the same advantages that I've had in life. I'm from a Caribbean background and am what we call a "Carnival Baby." I At Putney, VT, a formative trip for Ayesha, she is seen behind the tree. Close friend Shelly Topping is hugging the tree.