20 Headstands: A Year at Harvard

What does standing on your head have to do with Harvard? Everything, according to Jenny Schneider, Ed.M.'10.

To commemorate her year at Harvard, the Colorado native embarked on the project, "20 Headstands: A Year at Harvard" -- a series of images taken by classmate Laura Suval, Ed.M.'10. Schneider, who studied human development at HGSE, is spending her summer working part time in the cognitive development lab at Harvard. Here, she shares more about her experience at the Ed School and why she chose to stand on her head.

What is the Headstand Project?
The project memorializes my year at HGSE marked by photographs of me standing on my head in places of personal significance in the Harvard area.

What inspired the project?
There is something innately spiritual about headstands for me. They can be scary, disorienting, exhilarating, and liberating -- not unlike the learning process. Being at HGSE this year turned my world upside down. "20 Headstands" is a tribute to the learning process. I picked places that were of personal significance to me at Harvard this year in an effort to chronicle my journey and celebrate the experience.

How long did it take you to complete all the photographs?
My dear friend, Laura Suval, agreed to follow me around and help make the project happen. In sum, we spent about four hours wandering around campus.

Did anyone stop and ask you what was going on?
During the afternoon session, people definitely took notice. They were mostly amused. When we went out at 6 a.m., I think the groggy passersby were too confused to ask.

What is the longest you've spent in a headstand pose?
Probably about two minutes.

Are there many more headstands in your future?
There seems to be a growing trend of people chronicling places they have been by means of some sort of physical statement: dancing, jumping, and now standing on our heads. With that in mind, I say yes! There are many more headstands in my future.

- photos by Laura Suval