THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF TILTON SCHOOL FALL 2008

from the towerTilton School’s mission statement begins withthe following: Tilton School challenges students toembrace and navigate a world marked by diversityand change. Sitting here on the hill in October2008, I am not so sure all the change is beneficial.Like you, I read the daily paper and hear aboutstock market volatility, huge losses in retirementaccounts, rising unemployment, variable rate mortgages that havejumped, a looming recession, and on top of all this news, we have hadan historic election come to a close. It is important to remember thatthe mission statement does not say the world is marked only by goodchange. In the real world, change comes in many forms and shapes.Often we do not get to choose the sort of change which comes ourway. We do, however, get to choose how we respond to the change.I am an optimist. Anyone who works in a school with more than250 teenagers had better be an optimist. So while the world at themoment contains many challenges for all of us, I am reminded of thewords of Alexander Graham Bell:When one door closes, another opens; but we often look solong and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not seethe one which has opened for us.Those of you who follow life at Tilton know that much haschanged over the past few years. In this magazine you will read a bitabout some of the changes in our student body and in the peoplewho staff our Admissions, Development, and Alumni offices. Thisfall, school opened with 257 students. This represents an increase of14 students over last year and achieves our five-year strategic growthgoal of increasing enrollment from 195 students to 255 students.With more students come more classes, teams and activities. Ournew buildings are being put to good use as we provide qualityprogramming for the increased student body. What has not changedis our commitment to enroll students who can benefit from andcontribute to the Tilton Experience. We enroll good students, committedto improving themselves and the school of which they are a part.We have experienced many changes over the past two years in ourexternal affairs staff. With a new Director of Development last yearand new Directors of Admissions and Communications this year, keyareas of school life are populated by fresh faces. I am confident thatthe staff in these offices, who are introduced to you in this magazine,are competent, confident professionals committed to leading Tiltonto a bright future. Get to know them, for they serve you, the currentand future students, and all who are connected to the school.We do live in uncertain and challenging times. Some of the changeoccurring is not positive. Our commitment as a school is to continueto look for that door which has opened rather than focusing on theone which has closed. Join us in the work by visiting campus, referringa student to the school, attending a Tilton gathering, contacting aclassmate, sending the Alumni Office an update on your activities, orjust by thinking a bit about the school. Working together we will beeffective in responding to the change around us and in maintainingthe very special school here on the hill.Sincerely,James R. ClementsHead of SchoolThanks to our wonderful Admissions staffand the many Tilton ambassadors around theworld – alumni like you! – we have succeededin reaching our enrollment goal of 255 for thefall. Not only did we reach our goal, but wesurpassed it with 257 students! In addition,thanks to generous teachers, students, alumni,parents and friends who have publicly supported The Campaign forTilton, we are just over the $10 million mark on our way to the $11million goal.In other good news, Tilton’s new academic building was honoredin American School & University magazine’s August 2008 issue. Themagazine’s jury awarded Tilton a Gold Citation in the annualEducational Interiors Showcase competition. The following criteriawere used in making its selections: Sustainability; Character;Long-Term Appropriateness of Materials and Colors; Innovation;Adaptable to Current and Future Technology; BalancingCollaborative Spaces; and Safety. The jury said the following aboutTilton’s award-winning facility: “Elegant use of durable materialswith regional representation. Nice transition from the old to thenew building.”We saw many of you on campus for Alumni Weekend, whichwas held June 27-29. Tilton recognized some special alumni andfriends with its awards program. Francis Gros Louis ’48 receivedthe George L. Plimpton Award for community service. DuaneHarbour received the John Charles Daly Award for his commitmentto Tilton School during the past 10 years as a parent and amember of the Tilton School Parents’ Association. WilliamGosselin ’47 and Mike Landroche, Tilton’s Dean of Faculty, wereinducted into the Tilton School Athletic Hall of Fame. It was agreat honor for me to receive the Alumnus of the Year Award, as ithas been a privilege to be associated with the best small boardingschool in New England.I hope you enjoy this issue of the Alumni Magazine. Within it,you’ll find an article about our very own Head of School JimClements and his advice through the years. You can also read aboutgraduation and check out the list of colleges that the members of theClass of 2008 are attending.Also included is the 2007-2008 Annual Report of Giving. I amhappy to share that we not only reached our annual giving goal of$475,000, but we exceeded it with $491,000! Thank you to everyonewho made a commitment to give back to Tilton this year.Sincerely,Thomas E. Callahan ’58President, Board of Trustees2 | Fall 2008