P H OTO 4 : JO HN W. PART RIDGE ’ 66 P RES I DEN T/CEO, COL U MBIA GAS OF OH IO ( R ETIR ED) | N APL ES, FL OR I DA
HOPES UPON GRADUATION: At Hun, I was not a good student. I was an ornery teenager who tested establishment rules, but I graduated, and felt I was ready to take on the world and succeed. Not until after college, and two jobs later, did I figure out what I was going to succeed at.
GREATEST EFFECT ON YOUR LIFE: Finding my wife, Ann, at thirty-five, which led to four beautiful daughters and a level of happiness that I hadn’t dreamed was possible.
ADVICE TO SENIORS: The difference between success and failure is PERSEVERENCE. If you have a passion for what you are doing, you are bound to succeed.
P H OTO 5: SH AW N P. T ULLY ’ 66 J O U R N ALI S T , F ORT UNE MAGAZ I NE | N EW YOR K, N EW YOR K
HOPES UPON GRADUATION: I played number one on the tennis team here at Hun, and my dream was to make the tennis team at Princeton. I played on varsity for three years there, and the most rewarding thing was the friends I made. They remain the classmates I am closest to.
GREATEST EFFECT ON YOUR LIFE: Changing careers. I took an MBA path working for a bank when I graduated from Princeton. The job was soulless, and I basically flunked the accounting course. I then shifted to take a completely different course. I went on a U.S. State Department tour teaching tennis in West Africa and wrote a story about my experiences for Tennis magazine, like watching the kids hit tennis balls with bread boards. I knew I wanted to be a writer, and was writing a book for Sports Illustrated and then got a job at Fortune magazine in 1979. It was the perfect match between business training and the adventure of writing about colorful characters and big issues. Except for a year in television, on MSNBC, I’ve been there ever since.
ADVICE TO SENIORS: Follow your heart in looking for a job as opposed to taking a strictly pragmatic path. If you love your job, you tend to stay with it longer. Hun is a movable feast that we carry with us all our lives. The caring we experienced there will nourish us forever.
P H OTO 6 : GERALD A. DENMARK ’ 66 AT TORNEY ( R ETIR ED) | BOYN TON BEACH , FL OR IDA
HOPES UPON GRADUATION: In 1966, my dream was simple: do well in college and don’t get drafted, as it was for most of my contemporaries. My father, a U.S. Army and Air Force veteran, was an opponent of the war in Vietnam, and was ready to ship me off to Canada if I lost my deferment. Everything else I experienced during my college years was a bonus. I then went to law school and married the love of my life.
GREATEST EFFECT: The birth of our two children. My wife and I have been true partners in living the American Dream.
ADVICE TO SENIORS: If you graduate in the bottom half of your class at Hun, you shouldn’t worry. You just didn’t peak early, and that’s good! (In public high school before I came to Hun, I was labeled an “underachiever” and a “late bloomer.”) Those who graduate in the top half, realize you may end up working for a “late bloomer” like me! Lasting and true friendships are critical; close friends, not the hundreds you may have on Facebook. True friends, who know you better than you know yourself, will support you through the good times and the bad.
To see all eighteen photos and their responses, please go to hunschool.org/stern. 14
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