It’s Personal

Today, StoryScape became a proud partner of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools. There are so many ways to support these schools, an industry which is a true labor of love for those deeply immersed in their careers and campuses. And as a new business, where to invest makes for tough choices. So, why CAIS? It’s personal. 

I went to private school starting in 7th grade (Rumsey Hall ‘85, Loomis Chaffee ‘88). People go to these schools for a variety of reasons, and I can guarantee you that when I went to Rumsey in 1982, the kids were not making the decisions, like some are today. 

When people hear I went to boarding school at the age of 12, they ask if I liked it. It was my life. I knew nothing else. My dad worked for IBM, we moved every 2 years, and overseas was next. Boarding school was exactly where I needed to be at the time and I was fortunate that this could be an option. Rumsey and Loomis “got me.” They raised me, which was no small task, and of course, made me who I am today. Until this point in my life, I have not expressed the gratitude that they, and other schools like them, deserve. 

Both of these schools taught me a number of things, many of which we still hear today – a lifelong love of learning, contributing to community, and preparing us so that freshman year of college feels easier than senior year in high school. The most important life lesson for me personally though is that chosen families are as important as a DNA connection. These schools, these communities, and education, were everything. I’m still deeply connected with my chosen family. I tell people I’m from Connecticut, because that was home the longest. 

These schools have impact. They are all transformational in a deeply personal way. 

My life has come full circle. While my career has always been in research and some level of branding and marketing, it has not been until the last 9 years that I have focused on private and independent schools only. And while I work with schools from coast to coast, I have to tip my hat to the home state to the schools that raised me.