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GLENN YOUNGKIN ’85
Bulldogs’ Governor on the Court
OPPOSITE: Gov. Glenn Youngkin made headlines in 1985 as Player of the Year for his 25.8 points per game scoring average. The Norfolk Compass also featured his high SAT score. RIGHT: Youngkin (top row, third from left) was vice president of the Tunstall Student Council.
ASK THOSE WHO KNEW VIRGINIA’S NEW GOVERNOR IN HIGH SCHOOL WHAT HE WAS LIKE BACK THEN, and the response comes immediately and repeatedly: “Nice!” That’s the first word, emphatically stated, that friends and acquaintances reach for to describe Glenn Youngkin ’85. He was nice, and even “the nicest guy” — to classmates, teammates, teachers, parents, and customers at the Belvedere Diner, where he worked as a short order cook during high school.
Yet hard on the heels of that are two other repeated adjectives that provide a hint, and perhaps more than that, about why Youngkin, a political newcomer, was able to masterfully defeat Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor, experienced campaigner, and longtime Democratic fundraiser, to win election to the state’s top office: “Competitive.” And “disciplined.”
Don Clark Jr. ’86 got a tutorial in Youngkin-level competitiveness when he came to Norfolk Academy as an Upper School student, transferring in from Cape Henry Collegiate, even then an arch-rival. Clark was a
strong basketball player, and he had high hopes to play in college. Youngkin, the captain of Norfolk Academy’s team, took Clark under his wing the summer before Clark entered.
The two knew one another already as players in AAU basketball, but that summer, Clark learned about what it meant to play basketball with “unparalleled intensity,” as Clark recalled it. Youngkin got Clark enrolled at a five-star basketball camp in the Poconos; he and Youngkin played in summer leagues; and they worked out with a single-minded focus in the weight room.
“He was a leader by example,” Clark said. “He elevated my game. My desire was to play college basketball. He showed me the commitment needed to play college basketball. I had a dream, but he showed me what it really took to get the job done.”
The unstinting effort paid off. In 1985, with the 6-foot-7 Youngkin playing center, the Bulldogs won it all: the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools, the Virginia Prep League, and to cap it off, the state championship. Youngkin had a 25.8 points per game scoring average and scored 953 points in the season, earning All-TCIS and the Norfolk Compass Player of the Year. That kind of run has only happened once more (1992) in all the years since.
To the friends from his youth, many of whom have stayed in close touch with him over the years, that championship run was a harbinger of things to come, from his success in business — where he rose to partner and co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm with nearly $300 billion in assets — to his remarkable political run. In the school’s nearly 300-year history, Youngkin is the first alumnus to be elected governor of the Commonwealth.
Upper School Assistant Director Eric Acra ’84, his friend and former teammate, succinctly sums up
Youngkin’s approach: “With Glenn, if it is going to be done, it will be done right.”
Adds Clark, “Whatever Glenn does, he’s going to be successful.”
Those admiring assessments of Youngkin’s drive even as a young man were echoed by others. Most said they didn’t see any signs that he would someday run for public office, even though he was elected vice president of the Tunstall Student Council. (He was also a National Merit Scholar and member of the Cum Laude Society.)
What they do remember, even after many decades, was his “magnetic personality,” as Jennifer Stedfast ’85 put it.
“He left an impression on everybody,” said Stedfast, who played lacrosse and girls basketball, and was a cheerleader. She and Clark recalled the
Bulldogs’ Governor on the Court is Now Governor of the Commonwealth
excitement of the boys basketball team — referred to as the “Dream Team” during that championship year — and the packed Burroughs Gymnasium, as Academy fans chanted “D-O-G-S” and waved orange towels. “Athletically, he showed sportsmanship, grit, and intensity, and off the court, he was the nicest guy.”
There was always a crowd of friends around him, and they frequently hung out at the Wetmore home. Doug Wetmore ’84 was on the basketball team, and his mother’s Italian cooking and warm personality drew teens to their home. Sean Wetmore ’86 was the admiring younger brother, and he can still recall being consciously aware of Youngkin’s genuine kindness as he tagged along. “He was very outgoing, very friendly to everybody,” said Sean Wetmore, now Director of Academy’s Batten Leadership Program. “We didn’t use the term back then, but his emotional intelligence was very high.”
Friends also trooped over to the Belvedere Diner on the ground floor of the Belvedere Hotel, sitting on the stools at the counter and swapping jokes while Youngkin cooked. In that, too, Youngkin was unusual among his classmates, as not many Academy students held down a job during the school year, Stedfast recalls.
Youngkin spotlighted that job in his campaign ads. In an interview, he noted the family circumstances that led to it. His family experienced financial challenges during his years at Norfolk Academy, he said, but then-Headmaster John Tucker Jr. told him, “Glenn, don’t worry. We’ve got this.”
That kindness in a crisis was something Youngkin has never forgotten. Mr. Tucker has had a “perpetual impact” on his life, Youngkin said. At graduation, along with his diploma and a handshake from Mr. Tucker, he received the prized S. Barron Segar award, given by faculty selection to the senior boy for “leadership based upon the influence of character.” Youngkin headed off to Rice University in Houston on a basketball scholarship, where he earned a B.A. in managerial arts and a B.S. in mechanical engineering. He later earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Through it all, he remained committed to the Academy and sought to give back to it. He served as a Trustee from 2004 to 2010, and that service had a profound impact on him. “That was an extraordinary experience for me,” he said. “The idea of community involvement and service has always been part of my ethos.”
When he had the ability to give back to the school, he did so in a personal way. Of all the school’s traditions, he said, his favorite one by far was family-style lunches. “The refectory was a special place, and I am
glad it continues to be a special place to convene,” he said. “Students from different grades sitting together with faculty, that is a special component not only of NA but of life. That’s when you get to know someone, when you share a conversation and have a meal together.”
He gave a generous contribution to the school’s Defining Leadership Campaign and came back to the school in 2017 with his wife, Suzanne, for a ceremony and meal to inaugurate the expanded and completely renovated refectory, now known as the Youngkin Refectory.
“Glenn has rendered the highest service to his alma mater, serving as a Trustee and providing generous financial support in areas of central
importance to our school’s mission,” Headmaster Dennis Manning said.
Youngkin contributed funds to start a Headmaster’s Scholarship, honoring the support he received in attending the school, where he notes that he was influenced by a cadre of dedicated faculty with tremendous expertise. He recalls Mrs. Hume, who taught him in both 9th and 10th grades, instilling the fundamentals of how to construct a persuasive essay; Mr. Oberdorfer, with his ability to bring in music and art for the study of history; and Mr. Nelson, who taught him German.
“I was always taken aback by the passion and quality of the faculty at NA,” he said.
Of course, Coach Dave Trickler was among those who greatly influenced him and not just in basketball. “He was an extraordinary coach and guide,” Youngkin notes.
As a business executive, and now as Governor of the Commonwealth, Youngkin has carried on lessons about teamwork that he first learned on the court. He was captain of the Bulldogs during both his junior year (with Acra as senior co-captain) and again in his senior year.
That unusual two-year stint was a testament to his leadership and his generous style of play, always encouraging others to take a shot, rather than running up the score himself, a trait that could sometimes upset Coach Trickler even as it earned the appreciation of teammates, said Acra. “He was the guy who built up confidence in his teammates.”
Youngkin learned three rules about successful teams from basketball, and he can reel them off with the precision of a three-pointer that swishes through the net. “Number 1, everyone has to have a common
sense of purpose,” he said. “Number 2, each player on the court has a role to play, and those roles contribute to the purpose.”
And finally, “When someone needs help, you have to step in to help them,” Youngkin said. “The best teams in the world, whether in business, military, sports, you name it — constantly operate with these three rules.”
In a salute to the power of lessons learned while playing as a Bulldog, Youngkin invited the current team to march in his Inauguration Parade on January 15. Receiving that invitation was the thrill of a lifetime, said Acra, who has been the team’s coach since 2001, when Trickler stepped down.
“This invitation is another example of the impact that the school has had on Glenn,” Acra said. “It shows his desire to honor those who helped make him the man he is today.” ◆
Esther Diskin is Director of Communications.
OPPOSITE: The 6-foot-7 Youngkin was captain of the 1985 “Dream Team,” which won the State Championship. LEFT: Glenn and his wife, Suzanne, with their four children.
