INTERVIEW - BART BRONK '96

Interview With Bart Bronk '96

What was your most memorable moment at CFS?

Commencement … where you kneel down on the chapel rail and the Headmaster and Chaplain individually bless each of you and send you off into the world. I remember sitting there with 26 guys and remembering everything you all have been through during your time at Church Farm was really emotional.

What values from Church Farm are still with you today?

I think the most important value that Church Farm implemented for me 31 years ago was discipline. I was a kid with a lot of talent but not a real idea of how to execute and use that talent. Self-discipline and the ability to manage my own world, make decisions, be independent, have personal agency and then having at that point a largely male faculty in those days hold me accountable for my talent I’d say personal discipline and accountability were the two biggest values I took away. Then the third, I think you mentioned it, was brotherhood. To live, collaborate with and experience joy with other boys from all over the country was a magical experience that couldn’t be replicated in my local school. Coming together with different brothers and learning to get along, building those relationships in a boarding setting, are the most important friendships I’ve ever made.

If you could tell your younger self anything about the opportunities in CFS, what would it be?

I would say to cherish every moment. My six years went by really fast and for the first few years, I didn’t know if I was in the right place … I might have missed some memories early on because of that but when I was sitting there in the chapel that is when I knew my time in CFS was over. I’ll never live life as simply as I did when I was there… If I could watch a movie of all my experiences I would because the memories were all so great and it was such a special time in my life. Try to be present at the moment but also have that distance to say “this is pretty cool, this is something that is going to be with me forever.

Interview With Bart Bronk '96

What profession do you do? What did you like about it? Is there anything that you disliked about it?

I’m the head of school at an independent school in Michigan called University Liggett School. I’ve been the head of school for five years and have been at the school for nine years. I love it for all the reasons I love Church Farm. The ability independent schools have to build relationships with students to grow incredible young people that are going to shape the world couldn’t be a better job. I love working with teachers and thinking about the best ways to impart knowledge, learning and skill growth. It’s great human work but also challenging, especially the last two years because of covid. My first three years as headmaster were awesome and I told myself “I want to do this for the rest of my life, this is the work I was built to do. " I’m starting to feel those emotions come back after these last two years with covid. What’s something you would like to tell to the students here that you weren’t able to do?

My biggest advice is to get involved and try everything. I think one of the mistakes someone makes when going to Church Farm is going in with an identity but the beauty of a small school is that people need to try new things … If you’re in a small school then do it all because you never know what you are going to discover about yourself and then carry that to college. You are going to get to a school where most kids are going to be different than you but don’t discount yourself. How was your experience at Church Farm School?

It was transformative… It was hard for the first three years (7th, 8th, and 9th grade). If you asked me when I was 11, 12 or 13 I would have said “this place is tough” ... Right away I had academic success and it became my identity and it had never been my identity until I came to CFS. I was known as a scholar and it was a brand new identity that I could live in. Then 10th, 11th and 12th grade were the best experiences of my life. I just had great experiences and so much fun staying on campus on the weekends. At that point, all the people you grew up with from middle school were now your brothers that had your back. I felt super prepared for college when I went to the University of Pennsylvania, so my experience at CFS was truly inspirational. I think back to the first three years and they had to be hard because the first years are what change you.

Have you visited the school in recent years? If so, how has the school changed aesthetically?

I came back just before the pandemic for the National Association of Independent Schools Conference which was held in Philadelphia in February of 2020. It was nice to see the new facility and familiar faces.

Interview By Amado Rosendo, Alain Huerta, David Alfaro