Strong Relationships, Profound Experiences: Mentorship at Haverford

Upper School students mentored their Middle School counterparts during their production of “The Addams Family” this spring. The older boys supported the Middle Schoolers as they learned about stage management and the soundboard in Centennial Hall. “Mentorship” doesn’t show up in The Haverford School’s core documents. It isn’t etched in stone on the Walk of Virtues, nor does it make an appearance in our mission, vision, or Essential Qualities of a Haverford School Graduate.

And yet, it is certainly part of the fabric of the School. It is that invisible thread that links all Fords past and present; the stitch that brings those familiar with Lancaster Avenue together. It is the reason families choose Haverford, and why they keep choosing Haverford at the highest rate among our peer schools year after year. The relationships are the gift that keep giving, long after someone graduates from Haverford.

Examples of mentorship are all around us. A student brings a challenging question to a teacher, and they set off to find the answer together. An alumnus hears of a new business venture by a fellow alumnus, and he offers guidance on scaling products. Upper School boys offer each other support and space to share raw emotion during Peer Mentorship in the Upper School.

Perhaps mentorship doesn’t appear in any of the core documents because it doesn’t have to be printed in ink for it to form the foundation of the School’s community.

Technical teachings

In the run up to the opening performance of “The Addams Family” by the Middle School performing arts department, there was a frenetic, but excited, energy found in Centennial Hall. There were last-minute preparations to the set and a final tweaking to the stage performance, but there was also in-depth and deeply technical learning happening, with Upper School boys serving as teachers and mentors.

Upper and Middle School students find themselves elbow to elbow painting sets, setting a smoke machine off using dry ice, or pulling curtain lines. Together, they are making a show come to life.

“Upper School boys are working directly with their Middle School counterparts to teach them about elements like stage management and lighting during a production,” said Darren Hengst, the Grace and Mahlon Buck Chair in Performing Arts. “The boys shadow the Upper Schoolers to learn, but then the Middle Schoolers take over and the older boys are there just to assist should something go awry during the show.”

Boys at both age levels enjoy the connection. When discussing how the partnership is going, members of both cohorts shared that it isn’t necessarily about learning how to cue up the lights, or ensure the correct props are ready for the actors. Instead, it’s about how to be confident in your decisions and to collaborate as a member of a team.

“I don’t think of what I’m doing as ‘teaching’ the Middle Schoolers. Instead, I see myself as being available and being ready to listen to them,” said