Remembering What's Really Important

A couple of weeks ago I had a phone call from the Director of Development at St. Benedict's Prep in Newark asking if I would help out with their search process for a new head of their finance department. I was glad to do so, Paul Zinn is a 1997 graduate of St. Benedict's and St. Benedict's is a wonderful place. As the Assistant Headmaster said to one of the candidates, "our mission is to provide a top flight education to those who can't afford one."

Being back at St. Benedict's reminded me of many things and, while there has been a lot of turnover, it was good to see some of the people who played an important part in Paul's time there. All of this reminded me of when we were going through the college search process. Paul had been accepted at Bates and we went to a reception for new students in New York City. The then head of admissions told me that Bates had targeted St. Benedict's as a place where they wanted to recruit students and they hoped Paul would be the pioneer in that regard. Paul did go there and it was definitely a great experience for him.

While I had heard of one other St. Benedict's graduate going to Bates, the assistant headmaster told me the story of the most recent Gray Bee to go to Lewiston, Maine. From what I understand this young man literally had no functioning immediate family - one parent missing, the other with major substance abuse issues. When it came to the financial aid application documentation, there was literally nothing available - ultimately all they could come up was a photo copy of a welfare check. Fortunately Bates was true to its word and accepted the young man and, I assume, gave him the necessary financial aid. Just to confirm how much the student was on his own, the assistant headmaster was the one who took him to school last September.

The search for the finance position went very quickly and I certainly hope the person works out. I don't know that I contributed that much to the process, but it was good to be re-connected to the school. I hope I can find other ways to help out now that I have been reminded once again, what is really important.