Penguin
PROFILES
Jack Casady ’15
Y
DRILLING DOWN TO SOLVE COMPLEX CHALLENGES
ou can hear the imprint of Cushing Academy in the way Jack Casady ’15 talks. When he tackles challenges as a marketing
manager for Boston-based Putnam Investments, Jack drills down to understand why something isn’t working, and what to change — all things he learned at Cushing. “I mainly focus on big finance issues and investment vehicles — and also on launching new products,” he said in a Zoom interview
life, also serving as coaches and
from the home he and his wife bought
dorm parents. “When I taught in
recently, his black lab Bogart snoozing
the public schools, students were
nearby. “I love taking a complex problem and
often embarrassed to come see
saying ‘How do I make it make sense?’”
an academic support teacher,” he
Academic support gave Jack the tools to pull abilities he already had together. “I had all the pieces,” he recalls of when he arrived at Cushing, “but I wasn't reaching the level that I needed.”
said. “We wanted to avoid this at Cushing by helping students to see us in all the ways that they engaged with other teachers.” The approach
The youngest of four children, Jack followed his sister Maggie ’08 to Cushing. It was a natural fit. “From the minute you got there, it was like you were with members of your family.” Jack thrived, playing sports, trying out unique arts offerings like silversmithing, and living in a cozy house dorm. “It was such a great experience to make lasting memories and make lifelong friends,” he remembers. “Between the academics
worked, and Rich recalls even students who weren’t enrolled in the program might sometimes stop by during study hours for extra help.
and the focus on the students, [Cushing students] have the ability to go anywhere.”
What success looks like today
For Jack, anywhere meant Boston
A lot has changed in the 40
University, where he majored in advertising communications. After an unpaid internship at Putnam, Jack landed a full-time job. “I kept showing up and kept staying,” he says. “A little Cushing fact: you show up, do your best, and put a smile on your face — and things work out.” Even after a promotion last summer, Jack still finds himself drawing on skills built at Cushing every day. “If I’m digging into something really complex, I kind of sit back and say, ‘Well, what is it that is
years since Cushing launched its
“
Cushing provides you with a lot of tools — to think better, write better, and grow as a person — that you take with you forever.
making it complex? And how can I break it down?’ That was something that I definitely remember learning early on [at Cushing],” he says.
”
— Jack Casady '15
Jack appreciated how normal it was to get help at Cushing. “Having Academic Support built into your schedule was key.” By junior year, he just dropped in periodically for extra support. But he is grateful for the long-term impact: “Cushing provides you with a lot of tools — to think better, write better, and grow as a person — that you take with you forever.”
Academic Support program. While terms such as dyslexia and ADHD are now widely recognized, experts continue to add new layers to our understanding of how the brain works. In recent years “executive functioning”—a phrase to describe the ability to organize and implement the details of life—has joined the lexicon about learning. Meanwhile, as awareness about neurodiversity has grown, having learning differences has become much less stigmatized. At this point, it is widely recognized that every student body has some range of neurodiverse learners. Yet Cushing’s thorough, thoughtful approach to serving these students
WINTER 2022
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