the Mussers met with their friend that the journey turned from predictable to unexpected. That evening at dinner, the Kent School minister surprised everyone with his advice not to apply at Kent, “but you really have to go down the street and meet this Mr. Bartlett character at South Kent.” The three arrived for an impromptu visit at South Kent School the next morning. They were greeted by then Head of School George Bartlett, who set any other plans aside to meet with the visitors. “Mr. Bartlett spent about two hours with us explaining the school’s philosophy, his philosophy and the way he sees things,” Musser said. “I knew right then that if they would take me, that’s where I wanted to go, and would go.” Mr. Bartlett and the School’s philosophy included the principle of serving one’s community through initiatives like the Jobs Program. South Kent boys saw to it that each day on campus ran smoothly, from making sure the dishes were done, to taking out the garbage, to shoveling snow, to mowing the lawns. “I enjoyed the work program at the School,” Musser said. “And I particularly enjoyed being a dorm supervisor of the New Wing.” As with many South Kent alumni,
the tenet of service reached beyond Musser’s time on the Hillside. Due to his interest in mathematics and numbers, Musser worked at the Board of Trade in Chicago while earning his Bachelor of Arts degree at Albion College. During this time he quickly realized how much he desired to be involved in his family’s company at Grand Hotel. “I switched gears halfway through Albion and concentrated on the idea of going to work for my family’s business,” he said. “South Kent School had helped me learn the values of hard work, perseverance and looking out for your fellow man.” With these values in mind, Musser worked his way through every department of the hotel: “as kitchen assistant, bellman, bartender, bar manager, front desk clerk, front desk manager, reservations manager and vice president.” In 1989, his father retired and Dan became the President of the world’s largest summer hotel, the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. “I found that whatever you want to do, if you do it well, you are going to need to work hard and spend a lot of hours to do so,” he said. Musser especially enjoyed and continues to relish meeting a variety of guests and spending time with the dedicated staff members, who all have unique skill sets and life experiences. Now, as a graduate and trustee at Albion College with an Honorary Doctorate of Business from Northern Michigan University, Musser still praises the academic excellence at South Kent. “To this day, I consider it the best and most intense education that I have had in my lifetime, including college,” he said. “It is my favorite experience because of that. It pushed me to learn new and challenging subjects that I did not think I could learn or grasp. I believe it has helped me become, in part, the man that I am today.” Musser emphasized that the ideologies of hard work, resolve, and teamwork served him well at Albion College and in life—whether in his daily responsibilities at the hotel or in his roles as husband to his wife, Marlee
Brown, and father to his three girls and two boys, whose ages go from 15 down to 1½ years. “I would assure students that these simple yet helpful skill sets are as important today for a young man entering South Kent as they were for me many years ago,” he said. Musser lives on Mackinac Island in the summer season and spends the academic year and off-season in Portland, Oregon, where his children attend school. To learn more about Grand Hotel visit www.grandhotel.com/
Bottom Center: Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island, Michigan; Above: Dan Musser
Summer 2013 The Hillside • 25