For two summers, I had the privilege of building dry stone walls with fellow faculty members Josh Norris '92 and Peter Southworth. It was hard work, but the results were tangible. We would walk away from the job site each day seeing what we had built; the well placed foundation rocks, tetris-like fits locking the wall into place, flat tops and square corners. There was an immediate gratification and instant feedback with this summer job that stood in stark contrast to the usual delayed feedback experienced by educators.

Three times a week we gather in the Wilkins Meeting House for an all-school assembly. The agenda for assembly varies each day, however, the purpose remains clear: come together as an entire community to hear announcements, spend intentional face-to-face time together, connect with advisories, and remind ourselves that we are in this journey of learning together, as an entire community, even though we are often going a million directions on our own. 

Following the 1997 fall athletic season, Proctor faced a decision: would they find someone to revitalize a struggling football program or would they simply move away from the sport that had been a part of Proctor’s history for more than 90 years. Proctor’s leadership decided to choose the former and began a search for its next coach. 

The volunteer work of Proctor’s Board of Trustees in support of the school’s mission is often behind the scenes, yet it has an incredible impact on the daily life of our students, faculty, and staff. 

Most educators enter the field soon after college or graduate school. They cut their teeth as young teachers, learning to manage classrooms, teams, and dorms, to gain expertise through experience as only teaching can provide. Rarely does a teacher decide to enter the profession at the age of 62. Even less often (perhaps never?), does the former Chair of the Board of Trustees decide he wants to start a new career teaching and coaching at the age of 62, but such was John Pendleton’s approach to life: always learning, always growing, always seeking to make an impact. 

Any given day at Proctor is filled with a thousand interactions: teachers, friends, dorm parents, roommates, parents, coaches, teammates, advisors, dining staff, housekeepers in dorms. It is these varied conversations, and the energy they generate, that make up the many pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that is our life at Proctor. 

The start of each school year rapidly shifts from a universal experience (Wilderness Orientation) to a highly individualized one (classes, afternoon activities, advisories, dorms) for students. We are three days into the academic schedule, and within each area of life, students are starting to figure out a rhythm to the school year.