Full Circle: A Community Effort

 

The bell rings as the last boys to make it through the doors with blazers on and ties tied slide into their seats. One student stands at the podium and tells everyone a little about his friend—when and how they met, the best times they've spent together, what makes him such a great person and friend, and if they might, will, or won't be attending the same college. The word "brother" is used a lot.

 

He takes a moment to place his friend's printed speech on the podium, then the friends swap places on stage, with a hug, fist bump, elaborate handshake, or combination thereof, as they pass. Though this preamble to each morning's senior speech is often predictable, the next five to seven minutes never are. Seniors speak about life-changing experiences— finding their passions, losing their loved ones, facing challenges, making mistakes—and what they've learned from it all. The speeches are thoughtful, inspiring, often funny…and always very personal.

 

The senior speech, a requirement since 1904, demonstrates the value US places on effective writing, engaging speaking, and personal reflection. But it represents something much more. What has allowed each of the thousands of boys to stand at the podium and speak openly from his heart is knowing—because he has experienced it—that he has the unwavering support of the community gathered in that auditorium. 

 

This sense of belonging is built over time with classmates, teachers, teammates, coaches, and staff making the first one-on-one connections. From there, each student will find his own way to deepen these connections and form new ones that often will last well beyond his years at US.

 

The following stories offer a closer look at some ways those connections are made, and how they bind the US community across generations.

For young people, and boys especially, there is no faster way to friendship than time shared on the playground, the playing field, or simply playing outside. 

 

Running, jumping, climbing, tackling, throwing, and catching are boys' first and often most natural way to connect. It is one reason why US prioritizes outdoor spaces and athletic facilities, builds physical activity and outdoor break time into each day, and works to sustain strong athletics programs.
 

Through ties to organizations like Empower Sports and PALS Programs, the same physical language that connects our boys with each other also helps connect them with students beyond our campus.

 

Empower Sports is a local nonprofit that creates opportunities for athletes of diverse challenges to find joy and belonging through sport. Each spring, US sophomores and Empower athletes team up for an exhilarating day of very friendly competition in adapted versions of games like soccer, kickball, and relay races on the Hunting Valley fields. And, in another connection with the organization, the Varsity Basketball Team, for nearly a decade, has welcomed Empower athletes to their court for a meaningful—but more importantly, fun—evening for everyone. Sean McDonnell, Athletic Director and Head Basketball Coach, organizes the event and says, year after year, "The parents of the visiting athletes make a beeline for me and our team when the games are over and thank us for the level of engagement, effort, and kindness that our boys show to their sons and daughters." 

 

Aditya Nalla ’26, a four-year varsity basketball player and team captain this year, remembered feeling a little nervous and shy in his first experience with the Empower athletes as a freshman. As an upperclassman, he models what the seniors did then to help make everyone feel included in the experience. Aditya said, "You just have to pull people together from both sides, in a more outgoing way than you might be used to, and introduce them to each other." The rest unfolds naturally. "I think that's something  a lot of us come to realize. You know, although we have differences, physically or developmentally, we're all just people sharing a love and passion for the game," he said.

 

PALS Programs is a nonprofit that creates inclusive week-long overnight camp experiences around the country for people with and without Down syndrome. One morning, Robert Tomoto ’26 shared his experience as a PALS volunteer. And though it was delivered as an assembly announcement and was not his senior speech, it was as powerful as one. Robert wanted more US students to experience the PALS "magic" that he had for the last two summers. 

 

Similar to Aditya's experience, Robert was a little apprehensive when he first arrived for "peers" training less than 24 hours before their "partners" arrived at camp. He recalls the PALS leaders explaining to the volunteers that everyone should "take off their 'cool' caps, there is no ego here" and that everyone there is one big family.   

 

It didn't take long for Robert to have this "family" experience. The week kicks off like a football game, with campers lining up in two rows and raising their arms to form a tunnel. Robert shared, "I'll tell you, they run through the tunnel with a sparkle in their eyes, and you know they just feel embraced, loved, and included right away." Then they split into their teams of 10 (five peer-partner pairs) to take photos and it "feels like Christmas," he said. 

 

The connections only grow stronger throughout the week. The campers play all sorts of organized outdoor games and visit the Cleveland Zoo and other places around town, but they also have time for impromptu Taylor Swift dance parties or that most perfect of summer activities—rolling down hills. Robert said he has made many great friendships, both with partners and peers. One of those is classmate Colin Wright ’26, whom he had not really had the chance to get to know at school. But through their experience together in PALS, Robert now considers Colin one of his closest friends. 

 

Robert's assembly announcement, and some follow-up one-on-one lobbying, worked—this summer, 15 US students will be volunteering at the camp. In this, his third year, Robert has been promoted to the team lead position and will be responsible for a team of 10 partner-peers. He's had experience managing the sometimes challenging and unexpected situations that can arise at camp and is ready. He said, "It just keeps drawing me back. One of the biggest joys I've had in my life is knowing that I've been a part of someone's success, joy, or happiness." 

Circle Up

 

The smaller communities within US are the places where students find their deepest sense of togetherness. 

 

The time spent together in extra-curricular organizations, service projects, performing groups, and intramural sports provides students opportunities for shared experiences outside of school requirements, but which add into the overall sense of connection during a boy’s time here.

 

When asked, current students found it easy to think of ways these smaller groups built some of their favorite US experiences and are integral to their larger sense of belonging here.

Two extracurricular clubs in particular have given Deacon Nelson ’26 spaces in which he has found a special sense of community: FOCUS and One Love. FOCUS (Fellowship of Christians at US) is “an extremely supportive and safe space where everyone is free to join in on the meetings we hold every two weeks,” he noted. Deacon went on to say having a place to share and grow in faith has been so positive and welcoming for him and for the many students who are part of FOCUS and the other faith-based affinity groups, L'Chaim Society (Jewish), and Iqra Society (Muslim). 

 

The US chapter of One Love has also been meaningful to Deacon, who serves as one of the co-leaders. One Love is a national organization founded to help young people learn about healthy relationships as a way to prevent relationship violence. Deacon shared, “From seniors to freshmen, everyone is learning with, and from, each other." The group also pairs with Hathaway Brown's chapter for fuller-perspective discussions on the topic, creating opportunities for new friendships outside of US, and strengthening connections between our own US students.  

 

The Class Basketball Association, more commonly known as CBA, for decades has offered one of the most spirited mini communities here at US. Bennett Johnson ’26, current co-leader of CBA, loves it, sharing, “CBA is one of the most authentic examples of community at University School. With ten teams across all four grade levels, freshmen can play seniors, creating connections that would not normally happen during the school day. What makes it even more meaningful is that it is entirely student-run. Students organize the league, coach, referee, and, of course, play ball. Some even come to the field house just to watch their friends play during opposite lunch. It's always a good time." 

 

The dedicated members of the Speech & Debate Team connect through their interests in politics, policy, dialogue, and performance. This connection has helped propel the team's many individual and group successes. Leader of the Lincoln-Douglas debate team, Anshul Sharma ’26 shared, “Whether it’s long bus rides after a tournament or just discussing a new topic in our free time, the moments I have spent with my teammates are memories I know I will cherish for a lifetime. While debate has, of course, grown my knowledge on geopolitics and philosophy, and improved me as a public speaker, I value debate equally for helping me find my voice, being a space that has taught me how to lead through collaboration, and for forming a special type of bond with my teammates over the years. I would redo high school just to experience high school debate all over again.” 

 

Anshul found a different kind of connection away from the podium and into the woods, with his efforts in the Students for Sustainability Club. “Composting was never something I imagined doing when I came to US, but looking back, I can't picture high school without it. Once or twice a week, I've walked with fellow composters carrying white buckets of food scraps to our compost sites. I've deepened bonds with friends and formed new ones with people I'd never spoken to before. These great memories, in rain and snow, were a brief escape from daily life—surrounded by nothing but laughs and nature."

There is something extra that happens when boys travel to places outside of our school community. 

 

The North Star of these experiences at US is the week-long fourth-grade whaling trip, the highly-anticipated culmination of the boys' studies of Nantucket and its whaling industry of the past. One of an intrepid team of captains, Ellen Rothfusz, Fourth Grade Lead Teacher, has helped navigate at least 15 trips through all kinds of weather. No matter if our US seafarers witness breaching humpbacks or not, or levitating lawn chairs or not, this collective experience always leaves its mark.

 

For most of the fourth graders, it is the first time they are away from home without a parent (though some parents join as chaperones). This is as central to the experience as the curricular content, and the teachers prepare them carefully for it. The boys take on a new kind of independence—one that depends on everyone doing their part: keeping track of their own belongings, looking after each other, and minding their behavior. "We tell them they represent themselves, their family, and their school," Mrs. Rothfusz said, "and the boys take that to heart." 

 

Year after year, she sees boys helping friends who feel a little homesick. And every year the group earns compliments from those they encounter, not only for their knowledge of whaling and Nantucket, but for how they present themselves as a community. Though much of the experience is consistent, one element remains notoriously unpredictable: Mother Nature. Just as she once upended plans of whaling vessels nearly two centuries ago, her whims shaped two very different US trips in recent years.

 

One moment from the 2024 trip captured in the mind of Jack Beatty ’32, was "like a movie scene," as he described it nearly two years later. Jack's friend was next to him on the whale watch boat, and, just as his arm was stretching out to point, Jack saw the whale, too. According to Lucas Ray ’32, they saw at least seven whales on that tour. The trip was filled with other highlights: a bus ride out that "could not have been better" (Jack) and "did not feel like 12 hours at all" (Lucas), and a visit to the Mystic Seaport Museum that both agreed was "really cool." They could climb the rigging of a ship many tens of feet into the air and see close up many artifacts they had learned about. Lucas said, "It definitely brought us (his trip roommates) closer because we were doing literally everything with each other and sleeping in the same room for three days." Jack also said he "definitely connected more" with one of his roommates he didn't know as well, and considers him a close friend now. 

 

Thanks to a Nor'easter and the resulting cancellation of their whale watch tour, the 2025 trip's most cinematic visual was not a whale breaching on the horizon, but hotel lawn chairs levitating in the high winds. Quite exciting for the boys, as Mrs. Rothfusz reported, but not exactly what they had been looking forward to. Finn Gillmore '33 and HG Champ ’33 were on that trip, but this disappointment did not dominate their memories. Their conversation about the trip was just as animated as Lucas' and Jack's and centered on the fun they had with their friends. 

 

Their experience was buoyed by the extra efforts of the teachers, parents, and the community of people and businesses of the seaside towns. "We've been going to Mystic Seaport, Provincetown, and Nantucket for so long that we have these relationships," Mrs. Rothfusz said, "and they could not have been more helpful." The Provincetown Inn offered the ballroom for running-around space and an impromptu movie night. Art's Dune Tours offered to split up the group and time shorter tours before and after the storm. Some rangers hosted the boys at an inland station. Finally, The Lobster Pot, the only restaurant besides the inn that can serve so many at once, could not have done more for the travelers. Some parent chaperones even braved the deteriorating elements, navigating to the grocery store to acquire provisions for the extra indoor activities. 

 

The grill-out became a grill-in, which was "not the best that it got canceled outside, but it was still fun" (Finn) and "there were s'mores, but they weren't roasted" (HG). Both boys were always quick to point out the positives when remembering how the weather forced changes in plans. HG's favorite part was visiting the Old Gaol (jail), the building he had researched in advance of the trip.

Happily, the 2025 whaling trip was not totally whale-less. They saw beluga whales at the aquarium, and on the ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket, the boys think they spotted a whale, maybe three. Mrs. Rothfusz could not confirm or dispute this spotting but she could share what is really at the heart of the whaling trip, and it isn't whales. "It's an adventure. Good or bad, they go through it together. And it's always a topic of conversation, even in 12th grade and beyond." 

 

Long after their trips end, their shared memories forever connect them to their classmates and to many other "generations" of fourth-grade US boys.

 

Each spring, commencement marks the transformation of a new class of students into a new class of University School alumni. Though the nature of their relationship shifts, the pull of their alma mater—loyalty, if you will—remains strong for many. For some, this means returning for homecoming each fall, or staying in touch with fellow classmates in their new city. For others, however, loyalty to the US community means paying forward, in appreciation, what they have received.

 

Our US alumni live across 49 states and six continents, work in an endless variety of fields with wide-ranging expertise, and span close to 10 decades in age. But many return to our school with a common purpose: be a resource for current students. As former “current students,” alumni often say the connections they made with other alumni were turning points in their personal and professional lives. Our alumni are eager to share their experiences with the next generation.

 

The Student Alumni Ambassador Program (S.A.A.P.) is a student-led organization formed in the spring of 2025 at the Upper School to meaningfully connect students with alumni. S.A.A.P. organizes alumni speakers, industry-focused breakfasts, and one-on-one mentorship pairs. These programs help deepen the ties between alumni and their alma mater, while also teeing up current students for future success in work and in life.

 

Late Start Breakfasts are popular events where alumni working in a specific career field come back to campus to connect with students interested in that field. School starts later on Wednesdays, but boys are motivated to come in even earlier than usual to spend a full hour with alumni before classes start. Professionals with class years ranging from 1960 to 2016, and in fields like law, STEM, sustainability, and finance have made these events a success. Hunter Covington ’87, Managing Member of Frontier Minerals, came to the Careers in Sustainability breakfast and shared, “the students were engaged, fascinated, and fun. They were quick to razz each other as we discussed the elemental properties of super alloys. I was thrilled to see them realize the potential benefits of our US alumni social and business community that spans generations.”

 

Aaron Raiz ’27, an S.A.A.P. student leader, encourages his classmates to come to the breakfasts and participate in its other events. Aaron said, "It's a great way to practice networking, and I have really enjoyed getting to know many alumni and hearing about their time at US and their careers."

 

The breakfasts start with a brief introduction by each of the alumni, the only formal part of the morning. The informal conversations among students and alumni cover everything from shared US teachers to internship advice. Jared Kapela ’02, in Commercial Excellence at nVent, participated in the STEM breakfast and shared, "It was energizing. I was struck not only by the students' intellect, but by their curiosity and ability to engage with the deeper implications of current events and emerging technologies—especially their thoughtful questions about how artificial intelligence is reshaping education, business, and everyday life. This reinforces how effectively University School is cultivating young men who are prepared to continue pushing boundaries and to help shape solutions to the complex challenges ahead." 

 

The S.A.A.P. has also launched a new one-to-one mentorship program. Based on career interests, the Alumni Office helped match current students with alumni who answered the call. Adam Daroff ’10 is a Vice President of Strategy at Octagon, a global sports and entertainment agency who lives in Boston. He serves US as an Alumni Council member and Annual Fund volunteer. Adam shared, “Having the opportunity to connect with a current student one-on-one about my career path was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had with US. The organization, maturity, and communication skills of a junior in high school were beyond impressive—even by US standards. Showing students their US experience can lead them down so many different paths was valuable to me while I was a student, and paying it forward now is something I'd challenge as many alums as possible to do.”

 

As S.A.A.P. continues to evolve, more students and alumni will have chances to connect, exchange advice and ideas, hatch new plans, or boost the start of a career. There is already a growing appreciation among students for the breadth and depth of our alumni network, and the reverse is true, too. One story may be just the inspiration a student needs to pursue his dream…completing one US circle of student-alumni connection while simultaneously starting the next.  


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