Family Weekend Chapel Talk: Potential & Purpose

Good Morning.

When I asked my daughter for advice about this speech, she answered, “As Roosevelt said, ‘Be brief. Be sincere. Be seated.’”

So I’ll try…

This weekend marks a milestone in our family’s Thacher journey. This is our 13th and final Fall Family Weekend. Peter, Katie, and Mark have graduated and Claire is a current senior.

I remember how anxious I was to get up here to Thacher for our first Family Weekend and see our eldest son, Peter. In the olden days, before cell phones, there was just one phone in Lower School. And it rang off the hook because no one wanted to talk to someone else’s Mom. I remember being so relieved when Wes Myer, Peter’s classmate, answered the phone four weeks into the fall quarter.

Since Peter had already left for formal dinner, I quizzed Wes.

Did Wes know how Peter’s hiking trip went?

Was Wes in any of Peter’s classes?

Was Peter’s horse nice?

I’m sure Wes never answered that phone again.

Needless to say, Peter was fine when we finally got up here for Family Weekend. We realized why he was too busy to call. It was that first Family Weekend when we started to fall in love with Thacher. We were so grateful for what Thacher was doing for Peter. Physically, he now stood up straight after having had his posture corrected every day on his horse. Socially, in this accepting community, he had lots of friends. And academically, he was trying new things I never dreamed he would pursue—like auditioning for Chamber Singers.

Thacher was more than we had hoped for with its nurturing and safe community—safe from the negative social pressures that plague most high schools.

I think that it is because the students have such a safe, understanding community that they can look outside of themselves. It is only when all your needs are being met that you can look out and see other people’s needs. Socially content students don’t think less of themselves; they think of themselves less.

The TOADTalks, which teach values, morals and ethics both inside and outside the classroom, shape and mold the students into a supportive, caring community. The students have role models in all of the faculty members. Everybody works hard to contribute to the high standards of the community. Thacher’s students leave here aware of their unique importance in the world and with a sense of purpose.

For a parent, nothing is more rewarding than to see your children come away from Thacher with a heart that wants to contribute to the world. What can be more fulfilling than dedicating your life to make the world a better place?

Some years have passed since Peter and Katie have been out of school, so I have some distance and hindsight into their growth and sense of purpose that is grounded in their Thacher “whole person” teaching. Peter is using his mechanical engineering skills to raise farmers out of poverty in Africa, India, and China. And Katie, while studying for the LSAT, is volunteering her time with Legal Aid at the courthouse Self-Help Center. Both have expressed concern that they find careers that enable them to contribute to society. I truly believe Thacher gave them that sense of purpose and grounded them in discipline and values.

In one of my favorite movies, Chariots of Fire, Olympian Eric Liddell says, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when I run I feel God’s pleasure.”

I thank Thacher for helping my children reach their God-given potential.

On the close of Thacher’s 121^st Family Weekend, I express appreciation to Joy and Michael Mulligan and every one of the faculty, administrators, staff, and students that make this such a wonderful school.

And I thank God for the great privilege to be a part of it.