Sometimes a single change in circumstances can set a boy’s life in an exciting new direction. This is precisely what happened to Sam Bratton ’82, and he is now committed to providing opportunities for others.
When his father’s business began to flourish and the possibility of attending boarding school was on the table, Sam took it. “I’m the youngest of seven children and was the first of my family to go to Woodberry,” he said. “It wasn’t easy leaving home, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Sam and his wife, Cooper, supported Woodberry even before their sons, Sambo ’23 and Parham ’27, were old enough to attend. Sambo and Parham were immersed in Woodberry culture from their earliest days, attending back-to-school and admissions events their parents hosted, witnessing the camaraderie Sam had with his classmates, and going to Woodberry Forest Sports Camp. “There was never an expectation that they had to go there,” said Sam, but “the boys were very comfortable with Woodberry.”
The first time Sam and Cooper saw Sambo after he had enrolled at the school — when they visited during Parents’ Weekend — was a treat and a revelation. Woodberry’s ethos had already molded their son. “We met him out front of the Walker Building,” said Sam. “We walked up the steps, and the first thing he did was open the door for his mother.”
Woodberry boys are held to a standard of respectful comportment, not just by their coaches and teachers, but also by each other. “The boys bring out the best in each other,” said Sam. “When you’re competing and [learning] side by side in class with others, you’re going to bring everybody else up. From a mutual respect and values standpoint, they each learn from each other. These boys become leaders in their communities. We need that now, more than ever.”
Sam and Cooper’s commitment to the value of a Woodberry education fuels their tireless volunteerism, which includes serving on the Advisory Council, Parents and Alumni Assisting Woodberry, the Sixth-Form Parents’ and Grandparents’ Gift committee, and parent Amici Fund committees. In addition, they host events, and Sam is a Walker Society member and a former class volunteer and reunion chair.
“We believe in the mission of the school,” said Sam. “We believe it does an excellent job of teaching boys the values that will help them navigate life, far beyond Woodberry. We’re very impressed with the education. We believe if there’s something we support, then we need to be involved.”
Beyond their commitment to supporting the school with their time and effort, he and Cooper also genuinely love connecting with other Woodberry parents. “I think we have just as good a time as the children do,” said Sam. They also make sure friends in their wider circle know they are a resource, should anyone be curious about their own sons applying to Woodberry.
“We don’t put pressure on anybody,” said Sam, “but we say, ‘If you’re interested, we would be glad to do whatever we can to help you.’ I did that more before our boys went there, but Cooper jumped in and got involved. She’s always been involved in the schools the boys attended, so that was a natural transition for her.”
In 1999, Sam and Cooper established the Bratton Family Scholarship Fund, initially to support tuition assistance at Woodberry. Recently, along with making another substantial gift to the fund, they amended it to support tuition assistance for legacy students. “You don’t want to have a group of full-pay students and a group at full scholarship and nothing in between. You want the full spectrum. Cooper and I believe in that fully, and we thought it would be nice to provide some preferential scholarship funding for alumni to be able to send their children to Woodberry [who may not otherwise be able to attend]; to subsidize it, so they’re able to carry on that tradition.”
Thanks to the Bratton Family Scholarship Fund, more legacy students will be able to take advantage of all that Woodberry offers. “It’s a joy to watch your children have similar experiences to yours and grow up with some of the same appreciation for what the school provides,” said Sam.