invisible strings to visible impact

Growing up in Cranbury, New Jersey, Jude Lindberg had never heard of Bridgton Academy, nor did he have future plans to become a boarding school English teacher and football coach. Invisible connections to Bridgton began to form as early as high school, though, and in some ways, Jude’s path to our community seems almost as though it was predestined. Jude attended the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, where his offensive line coach and Dean of Students was none other than current Bridgton Head of School, Marty Mooney. After four years at Peddie, Jude was not quite satisfied with the options in front of him. Sensing that he would benefit from an extra year of maturation before college, he made the decision to spend a postgraduate year at Blair Academy in Blairstown Township, New Jersey.

With that extra year under his belt, Jude then enrolled at Wesleyan University where he thrived as a student-athlete and encountered more key figures who would unknowingly steer him toward Bridgton. Former Bridgton faculty member Jon Day ’10 served as a Graduate Assistant for the Wesleyan football team during Jude’s freshman season. Current Head Football Coach, Matt Dugan, was serving as the Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach at Colby College and had to equip his team to face Jude and the Cardinals every year. Coach Dugan recalls, “I prepared the offensive line for the defensive line and Jude was an especially tough opponent because he just worked so hard. He was a true grinder and it made him hard to play against.”

After graduating from Wesleyan with a degree in Science and Society, Jude moved to New York City and took a distribution job, but quickly found the work unfulfilling. After reflecting on some of his formative experiences at Peddie and Blair Academy, Jude realized that a career in education could provide him a more meaningful life, so he sprang into action. He traveled up and down the East Coast visiting boarding schools, looking for the right place to make a difference. Ultimately, this journey led him to North Bridgton, where he reconnected with his former coach, Jon Day ’10. It was not until having a conversation with Day that Jude realized his former coach and mentor from the Peddie School, Marty Mooney, was now Bridgton’s Head of School. These connections eventually bore fruit, when Bridgton found itself in need of an intern to help out with athletic and academic programs heading into the spring of 2020. After a successful semester as an intern, Jude was invited to join the Bridgton faculty as a full-time teacher, coach, and dorm parent, a journey Jude has enjoyed every step of the way.

One of the keys to Mr. Lindberg’s success is the strength of the relationships he builds with his students. He explains, “Our students are at an age when you can be real with them. You don’t have to sugarcoat much. They want to be treated like adults and if you do that, they’re going to respect you. It allows you to have challenging conversations where you can really level with them.” For Jude, these relationships extend well beyond the classroom as he exemplifies the boarding school “triplethreat”: classroom teacher, coach, and dorm parent. He explains, “You stay true to yourself, but there are aspects that change a little bit when you do different things. So, me in the classroom is different from me on the football field, and me on the football field is different from me in the dorm. There’s obviously always a connective tissue, but it helps demonstrate to the students that we behave a certain way in the classroom, we behave differently on the football field, and we behave another way in the dorm. As faculty, we help to demonstrate that there is a right way to do things in each of these environments, which is an important lesson for our students to learn.”

Anyone around campus can attest to Jude’s commitment to leading by example. On the football field, he brings consistent energy to every practice, demonstrating technique with the aggression and precision he expects of his players. Head Coach Matt Dugan describes his approach, “He coaches like a teacher. I think that’s been the best thing about him. When I’m able to watch portions of Jude’s individual work with the linebackers, it’s definitely very teachingbased. He does a lot of in-the-moment teaching to help them understand things, rather than just trying to get through as many drills as possible in a given practice.”

In the classroom, Jude is dedicated to building up his students and providing the tools they’ll need in college. “A big part of the classroom experience here is building comfort and confidence with our students. That’s what they need: more confidence.”

Jude has a clear understanding of how the different facets of each student’s life intertwine. “That self-assurance we build in class is also what they need on the field and in social life. It’s about finding ways to improve a little bit every day. How can we get you to be more confident and comfortable in what you’re doing?” His students appreciate this approach.

Christopher Conroy ’23 describes, “His classes are always enjoyable because of his welcoming and helpful demeanor. Through small steps, he teaches the class important strategies and tools to become a better writers, preparing us for the written work we’ll have in college.”

Making small everyday improvements is a lesson that Jude first learned when he was at prep school. He recalls, “One of my teachers said to me in high school, ‘I see that you work out every day in the gym. You work really hard. If you put half of the effort you put there into the classroom, you’d be a great student.’ Noticing those things that people need to hear, but aren’t willing to tell themselves, and trying to hammer those lessons home is really important to me,” shares Jude.

Instilling confidence and discipline is critical to any student’s academic success, and many Wolverines find unexpected strength through their creativity. Teaching English gives Jude a front row seat to that development, “My favorite part of teaching is seeing a different side of guys than you see on the field and, particularly teaching English, seeing their creative side. It’s really rewarding to see where their mind goes when you give them interesting questions. Some of the things they write are very surprising. They’ll catch you off-guard. The more my students write, the more I learn about them. Seeing these young men get more comfortable with themselves and less afraid in the classroom is, I think, the best part about teaching.”

Teaching the whole student is a vital aspect of success at any boarding school, and particularly at Bridgton, where most students are only here for a single year. Teachers and coaches like Jude, who interact with students in every sphere of life and treat them with respect, compassion, and accountability keep Bridgton the place that makes the difference. BA