When I reflect on Woodberry, one metaphor that comes to mind is a secularized notion of the “great chain of being.” I know we stand on the shoulders of those who laid the foundation for us. For me as headmaster, it’s J. Carter Walker, Baker Duncan, Emmett Wright, John Grinalds, and Dennis Campbell. As a student, I looked up to older boys like Nick Purrington ’84 and Robert McMillan ’84. And my teachers and coaches, champion educators like Paul Huber ’68, Bob Vasquez, Ted Blain, Dennis Manning, and Pearce Johnson, challenged me to reach higher than I would have ever reached on my own.
My brief stint on the faculty in the late 1990s showed me that the links of the chain stretched further and that new students and new faculty breathe fresh life into a vibrant community defined by timeless values like intellectual thoroughness, moral integrity, respect for others, and an abiding love of life. This past year, we’ve mourned the deaths and celebrated the lives of titans who brought Woodberry to life for literally thousands of alumni. Nat Jobe, Dick Glover ’61, Mike Szydlowski, Randy Hudgins ’71, Bob Davies, and former board member and visionary Tony Gould ’60 come immediately to mind.
As we grieve their loss, we are called upon to carry the torch forward for both the Tigers of today and future generations. It’s humbling and inspiring to simultaneously think back and plan for tomorrow. As headmaster, I marvel at both the scale and scope of support we enjoy from men and women who invest in our shared belief that boys need Woodberry more than they ever have and that the school has never mattered more than it does today. Thank you for the generosity that energizes and emboldens our own devotion to the school.
Ours is an intergenerational aspiration. Not long ago, I dived into Reinhold Niebhur’s The Irony of American History, a text that includes his observation, “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love.”
A centerpiece in my own imagination of Woodberry’s great chain of being is beloved Spanish teacher Bob Vasquez. Several years ago he shared in a letter to me, “I learned to love at Woodberry and didn’t realize it. Something magical happens on that magical hill. Truly there is love there.” On behalf of the board of trustees and the faculty, past and present, I thank you for your extraordinary support of, and your love for, the Tiger Nation.
Sincerely yours,
Headmaster Byron C. Hulsey ’86 P’22