Spotlight on Service: Chris Joel '88 Helps to Honor Millbrook Veterans

Student Council President Duncan Harvey welcomed all students and faculty with opening remarks before Mansell Ambrose '14 read the roll call of our deceased Millbrook alumni veterans. Longtime faculty member Rick McWilliams read the roll call of the many alumni, faculty, and staff who have served or currently serve in our armed forces, and he then introduced guest speaker Chris Joel ’88, who is currently living with his family and working at Philips Academy as their director of business services.

 

Mr. Joel shared both his Millbrook and military experiences with the community. He explained how Millbrook was the third high school that he had attended and how he knew Millbrook was the right place for him on his initial tour of campus. “Something about the place spoke to me, there was a real palpable sense of community,” remarked Mr. Joel. He explained that he felt immediately how the faculty genuinely cared about him, and he praised them for working so hard to instill him with a strong sense of values. These experiences at Millbrook, he admitted, gave him both the confidence and fortitude to dedicate his life to service.

 

Mr. Joel shared a few stories from boot camp and his deployment in the first Gulf War, but he stressed that the most important experience of his military career was building upon the core values of honor, courage, and commitment. It is these values, which he first learned at Millbrook and built upon during his time in the Marines, that he strives to uphold on a daily basis.

 

View Mr. Joel’s inspiring chapel talk in its entirety by visiting our Millbrook in Motion page.