BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

HOOPLA
by Matt Hoopes
Core Values:
Serving Themselves and Others With Their Best
I
’m not sure most readers would believe the
incredible number of cards, phone calls, or e-mails
that I’ve received over the past almost 40 years that
have included variations of “What I learned during
my years at BA has been the core that’s directed me
through my life.” Others have ended their praises
with statements such as “... And I don’t mean just the
reached). In some cases, it was a class, a sport, a
teammate, a teacher, a coach, or one enlightened
classroom discussion that helped connect students
to their education and what could be their path after
Brewster. Regardless of the decade, the relationships,
adventures, and new found knowledge were rolled
together into a life-lasting “Brewster Experience.”
classes ... really the whole experience, the spirit, the
bonding, community serving ... all of it!”
The stories of the alumni profiled in this Connections
illustrate the personal successes that have come in
This same feeling is echoed each June when alumni
return to campus for Reunion Weekend and the
praises of their Brewster years continue. Over the
years it has become obvious that Brewster has helped
make many lives more meaningful, more productive,
and more successful.
part, small or large, due to their Brewster experience.
While the program has evolved and may look
different for today’s students than it looked 40 years
ago, the core values of a Brewster education have not
wavered and to this day find their basis and direction
from “The Brewster Principle: Respect, integrity, and
service: serve yourself and others with the best in all
Brewster’s approach to educating young people has
you do.”
remained grounded in responding to the needs of its
students with programs that reflect best practices
in education. Whether it was the first-of-its-kind
Learning Skills Program begun in the 1970s or the
comprehensive school reform initiative of the early
1990s, Brewster has always sought to apply proven
education research to evolve its program and provide
a truly student-centered approach to learning.
As a former faculty member and now alumni
correspondent, I feel that Brewster has always found
a way to reach and connect with every student
(even those few not particularly interested in being
Through their accomplishments we have attempted
to illustrate specific core values – character education,
teamwork, service, and best practices – embraced by
alumni.
I hope you will agree that these alumni, like so many
others, have served themselves and others with their
best in all that they do.
Matt Hoopes was a faculty member from 1975 to
1996. During this time he and his journalism students
founded The Brewster Browser, the Outcroppings
literary magazine, and the BAPA (Brewster Academy
Photo/Address) book. Since his “retirement” from the
classroom in 1996, Hoopes has worked as the Young
Alumni Correspondent from his hilltop banana farm on
the island of Eleuthera, The Bahamas, helping to keep
the alumni connection alive. In each issue he brings
life-after-Brewster stories to the pages of his Hoopla
column.
26 BrewsterConnections – Fall 2011