ALUMNI NEWS
Embodying Sua Sponte Alex Lynch ’66 Named 2021 Distinguished Alumnus ON THE MORNIN G OF OCTOBER 1,
Alex Lynch stood before a sea of faces at an outdoor All School Meeting
where he was welcomed as Fenn’s newest Distinguished Alumnus. Head of School Derek Boonisar set the stage for the boys who were looking on curiously at the morning’s special guest, remarking on the many areas in which Alex thrived during his fifth through eighth grade years at Fenn. There was his stint serving in student government as Attorney General for his class, his campaigns for President, Vice President, and Senator, his excellence across three seasons of sports, and the unique honor of being named Best Dressed in a class poll his graduating year. He also was a proud member of the Gold team with older brother Russell “Vinnie” Lynch ’64, who would surprise him later that evening at a reunion celebration. As Alex took the microphone to address the gathering, he reminisced not about the accolades that Derek had described, but about challenging moments that shaped him as a young boy. There was the moment when he slipped and fell as the anchor runner on a four-person relay team during Field Day, leading to Gold’s loss in the race. (Gold ultimately won the day, though, with a convincing final score of 257–211.) There was the missed opportunity during a heated football game against Fessenden. Steve Kidder was the quarterback (who according to Alex only “threw perfect balls”), and Fenn was down by less than a touchdown in the fourth quarter. “Kidder threw a ball that came in over my shoulder, and it slipped right through my arms,” he remarked. “It was a long way back to the huddle.” Similar feelings of disappointment arose when classmate Parker Montgomery received the Latin prize at graduation that Alex figured would be his after securing a perfect score in class that year. “I was never the fastest or the
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most sure footed, I never had the most reliable hands, and I’m not even sure I was ever the smartest,” Alex remarked. “But as I’ve reflected on my life, I’ve concluded that this school then, as it does now, gave me the tools to be the best version of myself.” Alex and brother Vinnie agree on the value of schools like Fenn that serve young boys during the most foundational years of development.
He continued: “These are the years when the mind, body, and heart are fashioned and molded, when character is formed, when worthy habits are modeled, and when Sua Sponte becomes a boy’s North Star.” He left the boys that morning with two important life lessons inspired by a 2014 graduation speech from former Navy SEAL Admiral William H. McRaven and later McRaven’s New
