Photo courtesy of Filipe Camarotti
As a beloved member of the Choate faculty for five years, Mr. Filipe Camarotti will be departing this year. Taking on roles as a physics teacher, dorm advisor, volleyball coach, and the Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion, Mr. Camarotti has been an integral part of the community and will be missed by many.
Dr. Rachel Myers, Dean of Equity and Inclusion, said, “He has this gift with young people, helping them feel comfortable and sharing their concerns in being who they are and helping them navigate challenging situations.”
Bryant Figueroa ’23, a former student of Mr. Camarotti’s, agreed with that sentiment. “He always prioritizes a welcoming environment, making sure everyone is comfortable over learning a concept.” Figueroa, who also knows Mr. Camarotti as a JV volleyball coach, stated, “As a coach, he’s been really understanding, funny, and energetic. I don’t know if I would have played volleyball at Choate or enjoyed it as much if he wasn’t the coach.”
Another one of his former students, Angel Guo ’22, said, “He’s been a really supportive teacher and house adviser. As a new sophomore coming in, having him as a teacher really made my transition into Choate a lot easier, and it gave me a lot of confidence in recognizing what are the things that I can do and what are the things that I could maybe do more of.”
Reflecting on their time together in the department, Mr. Tom Larsen shared a fun anecdote about Mr. Camarotti. “At Physics Phlotilla a couple of years ago, someone thought that it would be fun to put a GoPro on their boat and it sank. Mr. Camarotti is an avid scuba diver and he has the equipment, so he popped home and grabbed his scuba diving gear then went diving in the pond and retrieved it.”
Some advice that Mr. Camarotti wants to share as he departs from Choate is for everyone “to continue trying to see humans as humans and not just as vehicles for interactions.” He said, “Science and physics may seem like everything is objective and there are laws that govern the physical universes but at the center of it all, our understanding comes through the lens of human beings. So, we’re all influenced by humans and we should never lose sight of the fact that there’s a human doing so much to keep the society going.”
Although making the decision to leave was not easy, Mr. Camarotti ultimately decided to take a leap of faith. He continued, “There’s not going to be a lot of opportunities in our lives where we get an opportunity to move to the Bahamas so let’s really consider it. So we did and decided, ‘Let’s go for this, let’s try this new adventure!’”
