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Why We Joined the Musil Society
The Musil Society, named after beloved languages teacher A.J. Musil, includes members of the CA community who have made a legacy gift to the school and its students, ensuring that their commitment to CA’s mission will last beyond their lifetime. Recently, we talked with Billy and Christy Wynne about their decision to become members of the Musil Society. When Billy and Christy Wynne’s daughter Eleanor was ready to transition from three years in Montessori School to Kindergarten, they did what many parents would do in that position. “We wanted what was best for Eleanor,” Christy says. “So we started searching, and we looked at all our options.” They researched their neighborhood public schools, various charter schools, several independent schools, and finally narrowed their choices to three schools. Then they visited Colorado Academy. “The minute we drove away from the CA campus, we said, ‘Well, we’re done looking,’” says Christy, laughing. “We knew this was where we would end up.” “CA’s campus is beautiful, and it has an excellent academic reputation,” Billy adds. “Even during the application process, we felt a difference at CA.” What struck the Wynnes when they applied was the call they received from CA’s Admission Office with an inquiry. Eleanor’s parents were applying to place her in Kindergarten, but would they consider enrolling her in First Grade? There would be a place for her in either class, so the choice was up to them. “It was astonishing to me that CA had taken the time to really get to know our daughter and have a sense of what she was capable of doing,” Christy says. “I knew she was ready academically, but the final decision was ours, and they gave us time to think about it.” “CA looks at the whole child and focuses on the child’s social and emotional well-being,” Billy adds. “That felt different compared to other schools we had looked at.”
The Wynne family
Today, Eleanor is a rising Sophomore in the Upper School with an interest in volleyball and theater. Her younger brother, Lei, followed in her footsteps to CA and will be in Fifth Grade. “Eleanor loves CA, and she has had a seamless academic career there,” Christy says. “The environment is nurturing, warm, and supportive.” “We’ve loved her teachers,” adds Billy. “She had Paula Osborne in Lower School, and that was a magical experience. But all of her teachers are very impressive people who relate to her well.” Christy echoes her husband’s praise for the teachers her son has had at CA. “Lei’s teachers have been just sweet, incredible
women who have been so nurturing for him,” she says. “We trust the process at CA, because the school really knows how to place students with the teachers they belong with.” Both parents also praise CA’s school counselors and the support system they provide for students. “I believe that all humans are different, and you can’t have a one-size-fits-all educational experience,” Christy says. “CA does a good job recognizing that each child is an individual and offering that child the support they need.” “The thing I love most about CA is that the school’s values are aligned with mine,” says Billy. “For a school to have the word ‘kind’ in their mission statement is so impressive. Yes, CA sends students off into the world to perform at a high level academically and athletically. But the fact that the school prioritizes kindness says it all.” ‘A chance to leave a legacy’
Five years ago, the Wynnes revisited their estate planning with an eye to prioritizing charitable giving. “We asked ourselves, ‘What causes mean the most to us?’” Billy says. “CA means a lot to us, and we want to help kids in the future—including kids who may not have the means to have the enriching and valuable experience that CA provides.” For Christy, the decision to include CA in their legacy giving was based on her personal experience with education. “Growing up, a private school would not have been on the radar for me,” she says. “But I received a scholarship to attend a private college. Had I not attended that small liberal arts school, my life would be so different today. It changed the trajectory of my life! I want other students to have the same opportunity that I did.” The Wynnes see their membership in the Musil Society not as an obligation, but as an opportunity. They say it is a “comfort” to know they have made provision for CA in their long-term planning. “If you are fortunate enough to have the means,” Billy says, “it is a chance to leave a legacy.” n
Honoring A. John Musil
Cast adrift from his homeland, A. John Musil (A.J.) was a man who found a home at Colorado Academy. He was born in 1904 in a tiny village in Austria. As a young man, he devoted himself to the study of languages, but in the years leading up to World War II, turbulent times forced him into perpetual relocation—a refugee with very specialized skills. Caught in the run-up to a world war that left him stateless, he taught languages in Macedonia, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and, for more than 20 years, in India. Eventually, he came to the United States on a visitor visa, and in 1960, he was hired by Colorado Academy’s Head of School at the time, F. Charles Froelicher, who recalled the hire as “unique.” “The Upper School Head had just informed me that they needed a foreign language instructor who could teach Latin II, German I, and French III,” wrote Froelicher in his book about CA. “Impossible, I thought.” But through connections at the University of Denver, Froelicher found Musil, who was fluent in French, German, Latin, Greek, and Italian. “I ran over to [the University of Denver] in 20 minutes, brought him back, and he stayed the rest of his life,” Froelicher wrote. To Musil, the international upheaval that had defined his life was “an eternal chess match.” Perhaps that explained his fondness for the game of chess, which he taught to CA students. He loved to hike and climb Colorado’s mountains, but he never learned to drive. After he retired, then-Head of School Chris Babbs offered him an apartment in Welborn House, where he happily lived into his old age. He died in 1991 on a visit to Austria—just 50 miles from the place he was born—at the age of 87. He left his entire estate— consisting mainly of gold coins and gold bars—to Colorado Academy. n
A.J. Musil with Tess Vigil Goldhamer ‘00, at the time the youngest student on campus with the oldest person on campus
