I recently reconnected with a former student. Now a successful furniture designer in his late 30s, he spoke of his experience in boarding school, and the difficulties he faced. I asked how he was able to work through the challenges he faced in order to graduate.
“There were a few special adults I could rely on,” he told me. “People like you who believed in me.”
I was humbled by his remark. And reminded how the right fit can propel adolescents to success.
My current transition to consulting is the natural next step in my 20+year career as an educator. And before launching my career, I was fortunate enough to attend a transformative small boarding school myself, Kimball Union Academy up in New Hampshire. The story I opened this piece with is the extension of the kinds, courtesy, and care I received 30 years ago during my own days as a prep school student. After KUA, I continued as a student-athlete at Connecticut College, then played professional hockey for a season in Germany.
My teaching career began as a ‘triple threat’ at New Hampton School back up
in New Hampshire, where I taught History, worked in a boys’ dorm, coached hockey and ran an outdoors programs. There I met a mentor in outdoor education wilderness therapy, Will White.
I went on to supervise students in a clinical boarding school as a therapist and residential advisor, and also led therapeutic wilderness trips at The Oakley School.
Subsequently, I became an Assistant Head at Park City Day School as well as Wasatch Academy in Utah. I also had the privilege of providing one-on-one therapy to adolescents at Wasatch, applying strategies from my background as a licensed social worker.
What excites me about consulting is the opportunity to work with kids and families to identify the best fit for their path toward success. To find a community that meets the needs of their son/daughter can be a tumultuous endeavor filled with unknowns and difficult decisions, and partnering with families through this process is both challenging and rewarding.
I have been fortunate to learn, appreciate, and value what a school offers families, including strong principles of trust, respect, and an overall responsibility in caring for a child. I am excited to join Don and Sarah, and the group of educators at McMillan Education, to help students find the right fit in their educational setting.
