Empathy and Gratitude

At Opening Assembly this year, I told new and returning students the same three things I tell new and returning students every year: You can do the work. You will make lifelong friends. Absolutely, you belong here.

Following Academy tradition, I then spoke of our school’s mission — to unite goodness and knowledge and inspire youth from every quarter to lead purposeful lives — and reflected on our five core values  — knowledge and goodness, academic excellence,  youth from every quarter, non sibi and youth is the important period — all of which can be traced to our  Deed of Gift, written 244 years ago.

I then spoke about the importance of empathy in all that we do and all we seek to accomplish at Exeter. As I told the students, empathy is important because it opens our hearts and minds to the kind of learning and growth that we seek to encourage at Exeter. It helps us to be curious about how and why others might see the world differently.

Empathy is fundamental to our Harkness pedagogy. It helps us learn to be comfortable having our thoughts and ideas tested by others whose ideas, perspectives, experiences or identities are different from our own. In this way, it leads to deeper learning, greater personal growth, more effective leadership, and more meaningful contributions to the lives of others.

I hope that our students — this year and every year — lead with empathy in all they do.

At my first Opening Assembly as principal seven years ago, I told the students, “We are not special merely because we are here, but because we are here, we have the opportunity to do special things together.” I repeated that sentiment this year, and I added that I will be excited to see what special things our students will do in the coming months and over the course of the year. I promised them that I will be there every step of the way, cheering them on alongside their teachers, advisers, coaches and other mentors.

As I begin my last year as principal, I find that I don’t want to wait until the end of the year to express my deep gratitude for the encouragement and support that I have received from the entire Exeter community — on and off campus — during my time here. We all seek purpose and meaning in our lives. Having the opportunity to help this school change the lives of our students, as Exeter changed my life many years ago, has been deeply meaningful to me. I am grateful for the many ways we have worked together, motivated always by a deep commitment to the mission of our school and an abiding belief in the capacity of our students to take what they have learned here and make a positive difference in the world.

I have been asked several times in recent months about my plans for my final year. We have important work to do and projects to complete, as is the case every year, but our main objective is always to be the best Exeter we can be. I closed Opening Assembly by saying: “Let’s commit ourselves to the mission and values of our school and approach each day with gratitude in the spirit of non sibi. Let’s aim high, have fun and find joy in all we do.”

That’s my plan.