On Tuesday afternoon, I spoke to our students and families as a collective group for the first time this year. We talked about a variety of topics, but the key focus of my talk was about who we are as an institution and what our promise is to our students and families.

This talk was years in the making and stems from interactions I have had with alums from as far back as the late 1940s through to our current students and families. These conversations have led me to thinking of Shattuck-St. Mary School’s value to those who attend in three ways: as a force, an accelerator, and a catalyst.

Thanks to physics, we know that a force is defined as something that acts upon an object. For our purpose, the object is a student, and the force is the experience of attending our school. This is perhaps the most common response I hear from our alums: "Shattuck-St. Mary’s changed the trajectory of my life." What an incredibly powerful statement. I have heard this so often, I tend to imagine our alums as little balls of energy heading down a path until they "hit" SSM and begin their long path forward in life–a path they never expected, anticipated, or even knew existed.

More recently, Mike Maxwell, our Chief Revenue Officer, shared with me a conversation he had with an alum and former Board of Trustees member who described Shattuck as an accelerator. In his words, many students come to our campus with a goal in mind–one that is going to take hard work and dedication to be sure, but also one that with the proper guidance and support can springboard much faster and further than previously thought. We certainly see this play out every year as the number of students who come here with aspirations of elite college acceptances or D1 roster spots continues to grow.

In addition to the many students who come here with a goal or focus, there are others who don’t have it all planned when they arrive. For those students, Shattuck is truly a catalyst. The level of goal-setting and number of students striving for personal excellence is–as one mother told me Tuesday night–"contagious." Being around a group of students who know what their goal is can perhaps be a bit daunting if you are a ninth grader who isn’t quite sure. More often, though, our students find this inspiring and they themselves begin the hunt for their own passion and goal. This level of openness allows them to experience a variety of what our school has to offer and helps spark their future plans.

I ended my address by asking our students and families to consider which of these promises spoke to them as their reason for joining our community. To my surprise (and, if I am honest, glee) two parents thanked me for my address and told me their daughters were having this discussion later that day. These three girls determined that for each of them it was a combination of the three. Talk about a serious promise to fulfill!

Now, as we close out the first week of school, the answers of these three seniors makes me wonder all the more how those of you in our community feel, and I would enjoy reading your responses. In fact, I have ten t-shirts with our super secret new Shattuck-St. Mary’s School logo we will send to ten lucky respondents.

At Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, goals lead. We are a force, an accelerator, and a catalyst. And we are looking forward with excitement to the next. Always to the next.