Honoring Six Millbrook Greats on the Eve of Their Retirement
Please follow this link to share a sentiment and/or photo or to watch Headmaster Casertano's tribute.
On Thursday, April 30, we gathered together as a virtual community – students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents of alumni, past faculty, and friends – for the first of several virtual chapel talks. Headmaster Drew Casertano kicked off the Zoom version of our traditional Thursday evening talk in the Flagler Memorial Chapel, although he was sitting comfortably in his own home on a Thursday morning.
On Thursday, April 30, we gathered together as a virtual community – students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents of alumni, past faculty, and friends – for the first of several virtual chapel talks. Headmaster Drew Casertano kicked off the Zoom version of our traditional Thursday evening talk in the Flagler Memorial Chapel, although he was sitting comfortably in his own home on a Thursday morning.
Hundreds of participants joined Mr. Casertano to recognize and honor six retiring “greats”—teachers whose combined experience at Millbrook alone approaches nearly 200 years— Betty and John Siegenthaler, Cathy and Walker Zeiser, Bill Hardy and Eileen Jeffreys. These six Millbrook legends have enriched the lives of Millbrook students for a generation and contributed to the culture and character of our school in profound and lasting ways. As Headmaster Casertano shared, "They richly deserve all the recognition and thanks that we can provide."
In his introduction Headmaster Casertano referred to the many individual lessons imparted along their paths at Millbrook, “Just as the paths on our campus are laid brick by brick, a teacher’s career is constructed one student interaction at a time. Or to paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘It is an unbroken series of successful gestures…’ The evidence of a teacher’s effectiveness and success is found not in structures, but in the people our students become and the memories we share of “gestures” – lessons – both successful and unsuccessful.”
He further shared individual tributes, from which brief highlights have been pulled below. To watch the entire chapel talk, click here.
Betty Siegenthaler – a teacher at heart with the ability to bring people together to accomplish major tasks
John Siegenthaler - Bowtie, well pressed shirt, sometimes covered with one of the original Millbrook Boathouse jackets, shorts as long as possible (and when the dress code allows), and L.L. Bean blucher lace-ups. In matters of style, and substance, John Siegenthaler is the epitome of a boarding school master… a model of service, commitment, caring, expectation and professionalism.
Cathy Zeiser - Mrs. Zeiser is a model of our core value of stewardship. She always looks for ways to contribute most, while consuming least, to have a positive impact, with the least disruption and fuss. She is an inspiration and will certainly leave Millbrook better than she found it.
Walker Zeiser - As many roles as Mr. Zeiser has filled and as many ways as he has contributed to Millbrook, his most important has been as a teacher. Through his dedication to his craft, Mr. Zeiser stands as a symbol of the power, the significance, the satisfaction and the dignity of being a teacher.
Bill Hardy – Mr. Hardy is an artist and an architect. Of course, he is a master teacher, whose legacy lies with people as much as it does with a place and a program. He created the philosophy, culture, and creativity that are at the heart of Millbrook’s exceptional arts program today.
Eileen Jeffreys - Miss Jeffreys, Nurse J, Miss J, EJ. By whatever name she may be called, Eileen Jeffreys is a caregiver. Her training is as a nurse, so you might think that her work is limited to the Health Center. Not so, as Miss Jeffrey’s approach has been to use those skills and to share her faith, caring, and support wherever they are needed and however they can help to fulfill Millbrook’s mission.
All posted photos are by Harry Simons '17, who honored these and other long-tenured faculty members in his 2017 Culminating Experience for Seniors project.
All posted photos are by Harry Simons '17, who honored these and other long-tenured faculty members in his 2017 Culminating Experience for Seniors project.
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