Sixth Formers Brady Stallkamp, Tate Conklin, and Michael Wylie make the world their oyster. After signing out on the front desk iPad, the world tour begins.
“The trio formed during junior year Precalc. During ASBs we would talk about planning outings, like going rock climbing, hosting a barbeque, and going to obscure places,” Wylie says. “Over the summer, we began to execute these plans.”
When they found out they had the same C Block free period in August, they made it a goal to continue their journeys during the school day. An idea sprung among the group to somehow document their journeys.
On August 27th, Instagram account @cblockworldtour was created.
“It was Brady’s idea to make an Instagram account to serve as an archive,” Conklin says.
Scrolling through the account reveals a diverse number of far-reaching locations the trio set out to during their free periods.
“Senior year is stressful, and free periods are all about stopping and smelling the roses, and taking a break and hanging out with your friends.”
Brady Stallkamp
They’ve gone to Izenberg’s Deli in Conshohocken, Up-Ryes Bagels in Bryn Mawr, and Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House in Center City.
“We mix it up, go to a lot of different places. Occasionally there’s a guest feature from Milan Varma or David Stewart,” Stallkamp says. “Senior year is stressful, and free periods are all about stopping and smelling the roses, and taking a break and hanging out with your friends.”
During a third period C Block in September, C Block World Tour (CBWT) made an excursion to The Cliffs at Callowhill, a rock climbing gym in Center City. As they “masterfully free-soloed the crimpy walls,” Stallkamp noticed someone familiar.
“It was [our former] Teacher Brown!” he recalled. “We dapped them up and were like, ‘Wow, it’s so cool to see you here Teacher Brown! And they said, ‘Don’t call me Teacher Brown guys. Call me Louie.’ That was so cool.”
Louie, former Haverford faculty and current rock climbing instructor, proceeded to give all three world tourists free passes and a photo that lives on the Instagram page.
Louie also suggested that they should go to Chinatown and eat at Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House.
“That was our most efficient journey yet. It’s crazy how we went from school to Center City to Chinatown and back to school all during one free period,” Conklin says.
“I want to go, Aw man, senior year of high school was peak. It’ll be like a mini-reunion every time we scroll through it.”
Brady Stallkamp ’24
Documenting these journeys serves a real purpose. “The Instagram page doesn’t serve so much as a social media account, it’s more like an archive. We want to be able to go back in ten years and remember our senior year and how much we fit in free periods,” says Conklin.
“I want to go, ‘Aw man, senior year of high school was peak.’ It’ll be like a mini-reunion every time we scroll through it,” says Stallkamp.
“A C Block World Tour post brightens my day,” says Haverford Alumni Alir Gladden ‘23. “It gives me hope that Haverford still has such cool people. It’s the only way I get to see what’s going on daily at the school.”
On the last day before winter break, some lucky students received a letter handed to them by the trio. Within this letter was a Christmas Card from C Block World Tour, adorned with photos of the trio bearing holiday sweaters, illustrations designed by the group, and three signatures.
Unfortunately, with the turn of the semester and senior electives, C Block World Tour has broken up. Wylie and Conklin now have A-Block free period, and Stallkamp has been banished to G Block.
Despite efforts to concoct a schedule that maintains the group, the students and the registrar were unable to come to a satisfactory second-semester schedule for all three.
“C Block World Tour lives on in ‘Fus’ calc and after school,” Wylie says. “For the rest of the year, we’re planning on truly becoming a world tour. Get ready for the Spring Break and Senior Week post.”
