From Classroom to C-Suite: Paying Forward the Sanford Experience for Future Generations

When Kenny Mitchell ’93 took the stage at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France, just three weeks into his tenure as the global chief marketing officer for Levi Strauss & Co., he thought back to his Sanford Upper School English teacher. With only 48 hours to prepare after his CEO requested he speak in his place, Mitchell was thrust into the spotlight before a thousand industry trendsetters in the marketing world. There, he found himself back in a Sanford classroom, presenting before longtime Sanford English teacher Susan Dagenais and his Upper School classmates.

“She gave me the confidence that I had a voice,” Kenny recalled about a specific presentation he gave in Mrs. Dagenais’ class. It was a personal reflection in which he had to prepare to speak about his own life’s journey and how it related to the course content.

“I remember standing up, sharing and being super nervous,” he said, but after his presentation Mrs. Dagenais commended the excellent job he did and told him she didn’t notice his nerves a bit; he also received praised from his classmates. As a result, public speaking “turned into something that I no longer feared,” Kenny said.

After a sprawling career that took him through executive marketing positions at Gatorade, McDonald’s, Snap Inc. (owner of Snapchat), and now to the world’s most iconic jean brand, Mitchell said it’s not uncommon for him to lead meetings, hold townhall-style presentations and give keynote lectures.

“The comfort I have doing those things started very much in my classroom at Sanford with Mrs. Dagenais,” he said.

Some 30 years after graduating from Sanford, Kenny, and his wife Heather, a graduate of St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, both described how “transformational” their experiences were at independent schools.

“We talked early in our marriage that if one day we could give back in a meaningful way, we would do that,” Heather said. Both serve on the boards of their respective alma maters, but “we really felt like we wanted to have an impact that was far beyond us personally, that could have a lasting legacy,” she noted.

As recipients of financial aid, Heather emphasized that she and Kenny were able to belong to a community that they would have otherwise never known and which remains strongly intact deep into their adult lives.

That’s what drove them to work with Sanford’s administration in developing the Mitchell Family Scholars Program — a scholarship that will fund up to 95% of a student’s tuition in each Sanford graduating class.

In 2023, the Mitchells made the largest individual donation in Sanford’s 93-year history, $1.5 million, to establish the scholarship fund and strengthen Sanford’s endowment. And their generosity is already making an impact.

The first Mitchell Family Scholar was admitted to Sanford’s class of 2027, and a new scholar will join the Upper School each of the next three years to ensure that Sanford will perpetually host four Mitchell Scholars.

Students who receive the scholarship must be strong academically, show strong character, demonstrate involvement in extracurricular activities (such as the arts or athletics), and be unable to attend Sanford without significant financial assistance.

The Mitchells made their gift to Sanford’s endowment, a collection of invested funds that continuously generate income for the school, to ensure that their gift will benefit generations of Sanford students.

“Sanford’s endowment is critical for the financial health and security of the school,” explained Jaime Morgan, Associate Head of School for Advancement. “The larger the school’s endowment, the more funds are available to support families who need tuition assistance. We offer our incredible faculty and staff competitive salary and benefits packages.”

Building upon Sanford’s diversity was another priority for the Mitchells, who wanted to remove the financial barrier for a passionate, bright student to join the Sanford community.

Jamy Haughey, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Upper School physics instructor, said, “The generosity of this program would enable students from historically underserved and underrepresented communities to leave an indelible mark on our school.”

Each Mitchell Family Scholar “would contribute to the diversity of our community,” she said. “One student’s voice carries, and with our motto of No Talent Lies Latent, the perspective and voice of one student could have significant, positive, and lasting impacts on our community.”

Though they now live in southern California, Kenny and Heather reflected on their trip to Delaware in February for Kenny’s induction into the Delaware Basketball Hall of Fame, during which they were able to meet the first scholarship recipient.

Kenny was a point guard at Sanford, winning two state championships before continuing to play basketball at Dartmouth and later professionally for a brief time. But “more gratifying than that the Hall of Fame induction was seeing that young person, knowing that they are contributing to the school as a student and part of the community,” Kenny shared. “The student had exactly the type of profile we were thinking about when we came up with the program.”

Heather said that just as the scholarship program bearing her family’s name “becomes a legacy for us, it also becomes a legacy for Sanford.”

“It goes beyond Sanford,” she said. It builds a community of “incredible people who will go out in the world and do incredible things.”

“We talked early in our marriage that if one day we could give back in a meaningful way, we would do that,” Heather said. Both serve on the boards of their respective alma maters, but “we really felt like we wanted to have an impact that was far beyond us personally, that could have a lasting legacy,” she noted.