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I honestly love the office I work in. Traylor Hall is filled with so much history and has a strong Hogwarts vibe to the overall architecture and internal design. I have yet to discover another building that I feel as strongly about.

I look forward to the annual candlelight service held in the Irvine Memorial Chapel. I imagine that it would feel quite intimate and highlight unity amongst our entire Mercersburg community in a way that many other traditions can’t replicate.

To be instantly embraced by every member of the Mercersburg community thus far has been a blessing. There’s not a single individual that I’ve met with whom I’ve felt awkward or uncomfortable to be around. Everyone’s spirit and enthusiasm for Mercersburg has been refreshing. I look forward to sharing this same spirit with the students as they arrive to campus!

Irvine Memorial Chapel. Our Chapel is a living museum, and I love how rich it is with history. It's humbling to think about the generations of Mercersburg faculty and students who sat in the pews before us.

Likely connected to my love for the Chapel, my favorite tradition is the candlelight service leading up to the holidays. Filled with music and decked out in local greenery, the Chapel is at its finest!

Nothing beats when I came to visit for my interview and received my campus tour with a Blue Key tour guide. With students and faculty saying “hello” and introducing themselves to me along the way, I felt like I was already part of the family and knew this would be my next home.

North Cottage (the head of school's home for many decades and now the Prentiss Alumni and Parent Center).

I’m looking forward to experiencing Irving-Marshall Week for the first time.

My wife’s and my first visit to campus. We will never forget that feeling we had walking around our new home.

The Edwards Room. The history of the Academy surrounds me there. I see the hand-carved woodwork, the beautiful chandeliers, the older volumes of books, and the Tiffany stained glass windows—reminders that this was once a bustling dining room and a library.

I love the "Moving Up" ceremony in the Chapel when we pass the leadership on to the next class and physically see the seniors step aside as they prepare to graduate. Seeing the changed faces of each rising class as they move into the seats vacated by the class before them brings me great joy.

One of my favorite moments was when a formerly homesick ninth-grade advisee wanted to serve the dorm as a prefect to new ninth graders to help them through that transition. He went on to become a mentor within his college fraternity and is still helping his classmates transition to the workforce in the job he landed after graduating from college.

I love Swank Hall! Swank was home to me as a student, and I once again call it home as a faculty member. Whether it is “Swanks-Giving,” Painting Night, or just a regular day on duty, the dorm is always filled with laughter and joy.​​​​​​​

Paint the Numbers. Each fall, the four-year seniors gather late at night to paint their class numbers on the road leading into campus. The tradition is long-awaited and always bittersweet as it kicks off the final year of Mercersburg memories for the senior class.​​​​​​​

I decided to try cross country during my upper-middler year at Mercersburg. Most of the team was also new to the sport, and while we didn’t have much knowledge of running, we did have Coach Betsy Cunningham. Betsy’s support and confidence in us, as both people and runners, were unwavering. We went on to win the league championship that year, and I have loved running ever since!​​​​​​​

Standing outside the library at night when it’s lit up. Lenfest Hall is beautiful regardless of the time of day, but there’s something special about this building at night—quiet and picturesque from the outside but illuminated from within by students and faculty working, meeting, talking, and studying.

Declamation during Irving-Marshall Week. The mere act of bravery that students exhibit in choosing to declaim is impressive in its own right, but the hard work, time, and emotion that’s delivered by every declaimer year after year is almost awe inspiring.

Some of the most fun I’ve had while “working” has come while sitting at the duty desk in the dorms in the evening or on a weekend. You see everyone in the dorm and interact with students and other faculty in ways you might never expect. Whether it’s just catching up, joking around, discussing school, debating a topic, etc., those informal conversations are some of the most meaningful and entertaining experiences I could ask for.