Northfield Mount Hermon Fall 2021 Loyalty Circle Newsletter

Loyalty Circle Newsletter FALL 2021

Dear Loyalty Circle Members, It’s the time of year when brilliant fall hues create stunning vistas, which are even more special from the new Gilder Center and Draper Riverhouse. It was wonderful to welcome students back after a challenging year that underscored the importance of community. Together, we navigated national and international currents and committed ourselves to our mission of empowering young people to act with humanity and purpose. Together, we will do so again as we embrace the promise of what lies ahead.

I write to share a few updates and to reinforce key priorities for the coming year.

• Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion: We will continue to facilitate ongoing reflection and training, with particular attention to how we advocate for and support students and colleagues of color.

• A record application year and robust retention: We will award more financial aid than ever before ($10.2 million) to nearly 30 percent of our students.

• Citizenship and environmental stewardship: In addition to guiding much of our programming, we will update our institutional commitment to sustainability as we seek to model “green” decision-making.

After interviewing many stakeholders across the NMH community, we developed a strategic framework that was finalized by the Board of Trustees in October. Thank you for your feedback and insights. While the priorities and specific recommendations are still taking shape, it is clear that this “strategic compass” will build on the successes of previous plans. It will also align with the financial priorities established

New students get to know each other through Orientation activities led by faculty, staff, and student leaders.

by the board — increasing financial aid, moderating tuition growth, and investing in our people and campus.

Certainly, this framework will draw attention to the need to develop our financial resources as we focus on the NMH Fund and new gifts to the endowment.

At Matriculation, I urged students to focus on caring for each other and our community, for the land, and for the numerous resources made possible by generations of stewards and generous donors like you. Thank you for your ongoing investment in our mission and work of educating the head, heart, and hand, and in the success of this phenomenal institution.

With warm regards,

Brian Hargove Head of School FALL 2021 | 1

Students by the Numbers

230 668

32

New Students

Largest applicant pool since 1994 45% acceptance rate

STATES

563

Boarding

106

Day

52 COUNTRIES

23% Students of color 26% International students

CLASS OF 2021

2/3+ admitted to top-choice school 99% accepted at 4-year colleges and universities* Enrolled at more than 100 institutions *Ivy League, NESCAC, public, private, international

Investment and Engagement

NMH Fund

Tops $5 million | first time

Access to NMH Endowment Challenge

$5 million | met

42,000 sq. ft. Gilder Center

Fully funded

8,000 sq. ft. Calagione Fitness Center

Fully funded

Financial Aid budget

$10.2 million | new record

2021 virtual reunion attendees

885

2021 commencement guests 600

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Words of Gratitude from our Students

“I am grateful for the opportunities to pursue anything and everything I am interested in — heading up the yearbook, varsity soccer, and finishing out senior year with my friends! I give back because every student should be able to have a similar experience to mine.” — Sydney M. ’22 “I’m most grateful for the resources available to me — writing or math help, meeting one-on-one with my teachers, and getting the most out of my senior year in academics and athletics. I give back to NMH to show my appreciation for everything the school offers in and outside the classroom.”

— Nick N. ’22 “NMH has helped me grow not only academically but as a person.

I have been able to try out new sports, new art forms, and utilize the facilities to support my interests. Thanks to the many people who have donated, I am finding my path for the future.” — Sophia W. ’23 FALL 2021 | 3

Building Community Through Song At Matriculation, Sheila Heffernon P’01, ’02, ’08, long-time director of choral and vocal programs, shared this reflection on the school song, “Jerusalem.”

“One of the parts of my job, which I love, is to lead us in singing. NMH has been known as ‘The Singing School’ since its founding, in 1879. In fact, the third teacher that founder D.L. Moody hired was the singing teacher.

If you are like me, you are probably asking yourself right now, ‘Why am I here?’ — especially since you just learned you are going to be singing! This is my 42nd beginning of a school year at NMH, and I still ask myself that question every year.

Why are we here? To build community. We can learn, grow and thrive so much more easily, better, and happily if we do it in community.

“I give back to NMH in gratitude for all it has made possible, and for future students who will be transformed on this hill.”

Look around at the people who surround you.

There are people sitting near you whom you do not know yet, and who will become your dear friends, trusted team mates, dorm mates, performing group mates, and from whom you will learn a great deal. You will also teach them something.

I love to sing, and singing is a powerful way to create community. It does not mean that we need to sing with expert or beautiful voices; we simply need to be courageous enough to add our voice to create a sense of unity.

One of the songs that we will sing together frequently is “Jerusalem.” The words were written by William Blake, an English printer and poet who lived from 1757 to 1827.

He lived near the Albion Mill, a flour mill and one of the first huge industrial complexes in England. Blake hated the mills. He hated the impact on the environment, the abuse of children used for labor, and the work conditions.

Blake was one of the original voices that cried for an 4 | NMH LOYALTY CIRCLE NEWSLETTER

understanding of how technological advances were impacting humans, the earth, and the air we breathe.

This year at NMH, we are focusing on environmental sustainability; Blake was crying for it over 200 years ago.

The words for ‘Jerusalem’ were inspired by the apocryphal story that a young Jesus, the Messiah from the New Testament, could have traveled through England in his lifetime. The legend is linked to an idea from the Book of Revelations in the Bible that a new Jerusalem would be created in which people of all faiths would live together in peace and harmony. Blake craved for a city that could be the new Jerusalem.

Blake used his words and his pen to fight for change.

He urges us all to use the power of our words to help create change and build a community in which we can all live together in harmony.

Why are we here? We are here to build Jerusalem.

We are here to learn about one another, to move past our differences to find common ground and to learn to care for one another.

How can we build Jerusalem here on Mr. Moody’s hill? We can be kind to one another, even when a situation is tense. We can be compassionate to one another, even when we do not know each other. We can take responsibility for our beautiful school by taking care of our campus. We can be allies by confronting microaggressions when we see or hear them. We can reach out to someone who seems to be alone and might want companionship. A simple smile or hello can be the first step to connection.

It is my fervent hope that whenever you sing our school song, that you will think about the words that you are singing. Let them find their way into your heart and mind. Let them become a reminder to act with humanity and purpose in building Jerusalem not just here at NMH, but in all the communities in which you will find yourself in your lifetime.

Let us sing.”

FALL 2021 | 5

Introducing Stacie Hagenbaugh Alumni Relations Director What drew you to NMH? NMH is a vibrant community of learners with so much wonderful history.

As a resident of nearby Montague, Massachusetts, I have been an admirer of NMH as a neighbor and have known many families whose children simply thrived here. There is an unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion that has deeply impressed me. It’s a value I hold at my core — when it aligned so perfectly with NMH, I knew I had found my next professional home.

What motivates you in your work?

I am a builder, maker, and designer at heart. I thrive when I can observe, notice, and learn, and then stitch together something that doesn’t yet exist that serves a need. That was a big draw for me in this role. There is an incredibly loyal and vibrant alumni population here with so much potential for engagement in new ways. I’m eager to tap a professional community of alumni who can help empower students to discover the kaleidoscope of pathways beyond NMH.

6 EVENT1S!

NOV 1 hat with Fireside C rgrove Brian Ha FEB 17 es NMH Giv June 2022!

REUNION

What are your priorities for fall and beyond?

Naturally, I am eager to get to know the community more deeply. I want to have conversations about what professional networks exist and how helpful they can be when someone is curious to learn more about professional and academic pursuits. I plan to build opportunities for students and alumni to connect around shared experiences and interests, and a priority will be to further that work for students and alumni of color.

Stacie previously served as Smith College’s director of the Lazarus Center for Career Development where she designed and built a program providing students and alumni with opportunities in career development and professional networking. She earned a bachelor’s from Rutgers University and a master’s in education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Stacie is an avid native species gardener with a big heart for pollinators, especially Ruby-throated hummingbirds. Her gardens are designed with them in mind. She loves photography, especially capturing the natural world. Stacie and her wife are also BIG dog lovers. They have five pups and are blessed to live on a property where they can roam and just be curious.

Join the NMH Community Online

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CHECK OUT our social feed: nmhschool.org/nmh-social FOLLOW US on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter: @nmhschool POST alumni news and class notes: nmhschool.org/classnotes

LOYALTY CI RCL E MEMBER S PO T L I G H T

Yesim Apaydin ’87 and Stephen Grahling ’87 Steve Grahling ’87 and Yesim Apaydin ’87 met in Russian class in 1985. After graduation, they went their separate ways — Steve to Wesleyan, Yesim to Bryn Mawr — and reconnected in 2016. “The first thing we did was come to NMH,” Yesim said. As seniors, Steve got into a bit of trouble and missed Mountain Day. So, during their visit, they decided to climb Mount Monadnock, and soon after, got married in the chapel (with Glenn Minshall as photographer).

For Steve and Yesim, it is the NMH mission that motivates them to give: “We need more people who go out into the world with NMH’s mission in their hearts. More kids need to go to NMH and be exposed to students from different upbringings, world views, and perspectives — prepared with an open mind to change the world for the better.”

Yesim and Steve feel a sense of responsibility to invest in NMH, from supporting the athletics project to the music program, from serving as Loyalty Circle members to considering a planned gift and the Lamplighter Society. They believe the NMH Fund is critical to the school’s success. “Knowing the impact NMH has had on us, we have to give to the NMH Fund.”

Yesim, who found NMH through a teacher at the American Academy for Girls in Istanbul, Turkey, said,

“Being an international student, getting to know kids from all over the world was so important to me.”

She added, “[NMH] is a family. It’s where I would, without a doubt, want my kids to go — with the caring atmosphere and faculty, the focus on expanding knowledge, and the importance of raising [students] to be individuals in this world. I can’t think of a better place for any kid to go to school.”

Yesim and Steve married in Memorial Chapel (photo by Glenn Minshall).

L OYALTY CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP RECOGNIZES THE SCHOOL’S MOST LOYAL AND GENEROUS SUPPORTERS, AS DISTINGUISHED THROUGH THE FOLLOWING GIVING SOCIETIES:

Carillon 262 members

Establishing a recurring gift of any amount

Maroon and Blue 2,979 members

Giving consecutively in each of the past three years or longer

D.L. Moody 648 members

Contributing $1,879 or more within the past year

Leadership 488 members

Lifetime cumulative giving which exceeds $50,000

Lamplighter 697 members

Establishing an endowed fund, creating a life-income gift, or providing for NMH through an estate plan

Young alumni may qualify by meeting lower annual thresholds.

For details, contact NMH Fund Director Jocelyn Merrick at jmerrick@nmhschool.org.

FALL 2021 | 7

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