Alumni News
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Please join us as we welcome our new Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Ott Lautar ’05, and wish our long-time friend Nancy McCormick Bassett ’83 our best wishes as she embarks on new work for Seven Hills. Nancy McCormick Bassett ’83
We asked Nancy McCormick Bassett ’83 to share her thoughts, as she leaves her position as director of alumni engagement to take on a new challenge as the associate director of admissions, where she’ll meet new prospective Seven Hills families. “It feels right. But it’s emotional. Saying goodbye to anything you’ve done that long is hard.” - Angela Rugerrio
FROM NANCY MCCORMICK B A S S E T T ’ 8 3 : “Hard” is indeed the word. I have loved serving as your alumni director for the past 11 years. This role has given me the opportunity to meet so many incredible people; all of us tied together by our experiences with Seven Hills or one of the predecessor schools. Over the course of my time in this position, I have met many of you at school events in Cincinnati and across the country. What I discovered is that I would walk into a room of seeming strangers, and walk back out with new friends. Whether we had attended CPS, 34
Hillsdale, Lotspeich, or Seven Hills, there were always new stories to hear, memories to share, and friends to make. Though I have loved serving in the Development Office, I have now accepted a position in the Seven Hills Admission Office, where I am handling admissions for first through fifth grades. As the parent of a Seven Hills alumnus (2015) and two current students (2017 and 2020), I can assure every alum that Seven Hills continues to provide a strong sense of community, an excellent education, and, most importantly, a place that allows each student to reach his or her full potential. Please join me in welcoming Sarah Ott Lauter ’05 who will take over the role as director of alumni engagement on January 4, 2016. She is excited to take on this role and will be a welcome addition to the Development Office. My sincere thanks to each of you for all of the volunteer hours and phone calls, the support and resources, and the help and
friendship you have provided. You have truly made the last 11 years a pleasure.
Sarah Ott Lautar ’05 reached out to share her thoughts about her new role as director of alumni engagement. F R O M S A R A H O T T L A U TA R ’ 0 5 : I’m thrilled to be returning to a place that felt like a second home to me for so many years! The most valuable part of the school is its people — the alumni, families, students, teachers, and administrators who make up Seven Hills’ dynamic community. It’s especially exciting to be in a position to give back to the school by helping to strengthen the amazing alumni community. My best friends from my Seven Hills days are still very close today. We keep up through regular group emails and visits to see each other in our new homes. Knowing how important the school was in shaping all of the creative and successful Seven Hills grads that I know from my own past makes me really excited to become acquainted and engaged with the wider alumni community.
Sarah Ott Lautar ’05
It also means a lot to be working at a place that has been so important to my own family over the years. As a graduate of Seven Hills’ Class of 2005, I attended the school at the same time as my sister and several cousins. My mother, Elizabeth Ott ’78, is also a Seven Hills graduate, and we were able to share in some of the same traditions and even had some of the same teachers. My grandmother, Suzanne Warrington H’43, was also an alumna of Hillsdale, and my grandfather, John Warrington, was on the Board when CPS, Hillsdale, and Lotspeich merged to become The Seven Hills School. One of the school’s best qualities is its ability to remain grounded in its rich past, while simultaneously striving to be the best school possible for current and future generations of students. I’m looking forward to being a part of bridging that gap between the alumni and the Seven Hills of today!