The past few days have felt more like mid-January than mid-March. Bitterly cold north winds test the strength of the flags flown outside Maxwell Savage Hall as we continue to dig out from the foot and a half of snow dropped by Winter Storm Stella throughout the day Tuesday. With campus void of students during Spring Break, we have time to reflect on the energy our students provide us and their role in our collective work as a school.

Members of our Alumni and Development Office will spend time in Park City, Utah this weekend at an alumni gathering before crisscrossing the country meeting with all generations of alumni. As stories are told, memories shared, and greetings passed along to former advisors, teachers and mentors back on campus, we are reminded of the deep roots formed by students and parents with the Proctor community during their time here. Through alumni gatherings, Alumni Reunion, marriages, friendships, births, and even deaths, our roots are strengthened and become inextricably intertwined.

The relationship a student has with his or her school forms over time through individual relationships with faculty and shared, small-group experiences like Project Period (which we will jump into next week!), Wilderness Orientation, Off-Campus Programs, and Spring Break Training Trips. (Check out updates from our girls' lacrosse, boys' lacrosse, and baseball teams training in sunny Florida and the Dominican Republic this week!) Each student's journey serves as a testament to the countless adults who have committed their lives to the always messy process of education. 

This is what fuels us as educators. Each day, we awake and join together alongside 370 adolescents who are hungry to make an impact on their world. Their passion for life not only gives us hope for the future, but energizes us. Witnessing a student unlock his or his potential reminds us new life begins to spread its roots when we cannot see it and awaits the right time to blossom, even on the coldest of March days.