Page 68 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 93, No. 1 Fall 2012

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As the new president of the SPS Alumni
Association, I thought that summer read-
ing for me should include Things Temporal
and Things Eternal, the Douglas Marshall
biography of St. Paul’s School founder
Dr. George Shattuck. I had purchased the
book from the author (a longtime SPS
master and friend) while standing on the
front steps of Memorial Hall some years
ago – but had never read it. Preparing
for my new role seemed like an opportune
time to pull it off the shelf.
The founder of this School was on to
something. He was looking to find a place
to recover from his fast-paced life of the
1850s, which included, among other things,
medical studies and a new marriage.
He was, frankly, having a rough time.
His father owned some property in rural
Concord, New Hampshire, and Dr. Shat-
tuck retreated for rest and recuperation.
(Ironically, I am quickly rediscovering that
the pace of life for current SPS students,
faculty, administration, and staff is far
from restful.)
For all of Shattuck’s achievements –
and he had plenty – his life also included
its share of rough chapters. Sometimes
it takes a low point in one’s life to create
something good. For it was from one of
those low points that this school arose.
So, for those of you who find yourselves
at a low point from time to time, you never
know, it may be the beginning of some-
thing good.
My perspective on SPS was forged
through my family. My grandfather and
father had attended the School, as had a
few uncles, a cousin or two, and my only
sibling, a sister, and – since – her two
children. Not only have these graduates
been well versed on, and highly admiring
of, SPS over the years, but so too have
their spouses, who have accompanied
them to many SPS events. At my extended
family’s dinner table, the School is a reg-
ular source of conversation – sometimes
served literally on SPS plates.
Now my perspective is undergoing
some change. Since graduation, I have
been active with SPS and my form in one
way or another, most recently as a form
agent and a member of the Executive
Committee of the Alumni Association. I
visited the School three times over the
summer to meet with Alumni Association
Executive Director Bob Rettew ’69, Rector
Mike Hirschfeld ’85, and many others in
preparation for my new role, and to think
about ways to help energize, inform, and
engage the SPS alumni community.
Among those I met was Scott Bohan ’94,
director of admission, to whom I wondered
aloud if the School only admitted those
with the highest scores and best test re-
sults. He wisely answered that there is
much more to the admissions process.
As I was a mediocre student at SPS, I
wondered if there was room nowadays
for people like me. He was reassuring.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about
and talking to people at the School re-
cently about why SPS remains one of the
very few fully residential boarding schools.
It is a mission to which the School remains
committed and which has ties back to
Dr. Shattuck’s founding principle.
Being a fully residential School means
that the highs and lows of the journey
from adolescent to young adult are shared
with peers and supporting adults. Perhaps
Dr. Shattuck saw how the special location
of our school had affected him and hoped
it could do the same for others. From my
perspective, then as now, that feeling of
shared community and support found at
SPS has been a real blessing.
Samuel S. Reid ’81
Alumni Association President
PERSPECTIVE
PETER FINGER