Now in her third year, Jane Schutte ’16 is one of the leaders of Inklings. She started Inklings her Sophomore year as Instagram coordinator, then rose to a web features editor and is currently the breaking news editor. Along with Inklings, Schutte’s other main activity is dance. She dances at Westport Dance Academy, taking classes in jazz, ballet, modern and other dance genres, but says her favorite is ballet. Although Schutte is a veteran journalist and dancer, she is also a newbie to other activities at Staples. After having taken 5 years of singing and acting lessons, and having been dancing intensely since the age of 3, Shutte decided over the summer to join Staples Players. She participated in the summer show Godspell, and is cast as the Grandmother in the upcoming show Fiddler on The Roof. Schutte says she is, “excited to do something I’ve never done.”

Having been born in Sri Lanka, Alix Sommers ’16 has developed an affinity for traveling. After living in Sri Lanka for three years, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, then Westport, Connecticut, Hong Kong and finally, back to Westport. Aside from traveling, Sommers is passionate about dance. “I’ve only been dancing since I was 13, which is kind of late for a dancer,” Sommers explained. Although she had a late start, she’s worked her way up to one of the top groups at her dance studio. “It pushes me to be better,” Sommers said. “It puts me up against these girls who are amazing, so it makes me aspire to be my best.” Now that she’s preparing for college, Sommers can put her time management skills she’s learned from dance to the test. Sommers plans on majoring in communications and one day work in the marketing department of a fashion company.