Thursday's Lower School assembly witnessed a Q+A with two MUS seniors and school leaders, Barry Brunetti and Stephond Allmond. Barry gets into the local paper from time to time as a quarterback for the Owls. Senior Class president Stephond makes it in there, too, usually as one being on the receiving end of his elementary school days friend's passes.
In 2005-2006, both Barry and Stephond transferred to the MUS Hull Lower School into our eighth grade, Barry from Snowden and Stephond from Riverview. I was in my first tour of duty as principal, and I had the honor of overseeing these two, among some 200 others, but these guys stood out for some obvious reasons, one being Brunetti's then choice of hairstyle. He's since come a long way in the personal aesthetics and grooming department, but I digress.
The gist of our assembly was allowing the younger boys to see that all the flash that these two visible senior student-athletes exhibit on the fields and courts around here are only part of the story. Both young men offered specific anecdotes relating the details of their challenging, demanding academic, social, and personal adjustments as they re-oriented themselves into the kind of guys that they needed to become in order to be successful at MUS.
Barry keyed on the fact that he plays best when he knows that the week's academic work is accomplished and behind him. Stephond discussed a relentless pace of time management and academics-before-athletics prioritization which requires efficient use of free periods during the school day. The practical wisdom communicated by these guys was evident, and the ease with which both college scholarship-bound students communicated their willing acceptance of their significant personal responsibilities impressed us all.
That said, both Barry and Stephond were clear to state that their journey here has not been all peaches and cream. They have had to swallow some humble pie and expend more effort than they ever anticipated, even weathering the silly taunts from friends on the outside and the pointed confrontations from authorities here at school. However, they trusted us, and they got down to business... like a lot of guys have to do around here once they decide to push through their fears and avoidances. Barry and Stephond may be more noticeable, but a lot of boys can relate to their experiences of a positive transition here once priorities became a mature pursuit.
There are yet some chapters still to be written while here at MUS by these two before they shove off to college, and as they continue to live, move, and have their being among us, they want to communicate to the younger boys that MUS offers significant opportunity and support, but the student has to be responsible for his own success... and it's worth it.
When asked about the obvious omission in their high school experiences, Stephond concluded, "There's time for girls after all the business here is over with."