—————————————————————— The Past . . . ——————————————————————
 

 

Name:
  Tom Haviland

Occupation:
  Computer Consultant/Teacher

Email address:
  tom.haviland@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

—— . . . and The Present ——

Tommy, Miriam, Sarah, Margaret
and me
Christmas 2008


——————————————————— 1978 Reunion Questionnaire ———————————————————

  1) The important people in my life (spouses, partners, children) are...  
 
This December I will be celebrating my 20th year wedding anniversary with my wife Margaret. Margaret and I met at Earlham College and the rest, shall we say, is history. We have three children (Miriam 15, Tommy 13, and Sarah 6) who all currently attend Westtown. I would say that along with these four immediate family members, I am very close to my parents, brother and sisters, and Margaret’s mother and brothers and they have all provided invaluable help and support throughout our busy lives.

 
  2) I went to Westtown because…  
 
As the great Darth Vader used to say to Luke Skywalker, “it is your destiny”, as it was mine. Both parents are graduates of Westtown (class of ’42 and ’43 – in fact my parents were classmates of some of your parents – you know who you are). My parents have lots and lots of close Westtown friends to this day and still have extremely strong feelings for the school.

 
  3) My occupation is a Computer Consultant and more recently a Dormitory Head/ Coach/Teacher here at Westtown and Westtown prepared me for it by …  
 
I’m not exactly sure that I would say that Westtown specifically prepared me for these vocations. What I would say is that Westtown, and it’s far reaching community, have played and continue to play an important role in my personal development, values, and journey through life. The Quaker beliefs and practices that have been firmly engrained in me throughout my life have become even more meaningful and important to me today as they serve to guide me in my own behavior and family values. Obviously the educational part of the school helped me to improve and develop many life skill areas such as work ethic, study skills, social interactions, and being a responsible steward of our surroundings.

 
  4) My life’s greatest moments and challenges (to date) would be …  
 
On the greatest moments side of the ledger there is graduating from Westtown, graduating from Earlham College, getting married to my wife Margaret, raising our three children, and having a reasonably successful career as a self-employed computer consultant.

As for my most challenging moments, I would say that some, perhaps all (in their own way), of the greatest moments mentioned above were great because of the challenges they offered while involved in them. Physically, I have overcome back surgery and knee reconstruction surgery and for the most part get along pretty well. Pickup bball and tennis are regular activities with soccer sprinkled in now and then. The recent life change with my family moving on to Westtown’s campus and being in charge of Stone House this year has been much harder than I imagined. However, I am also confident that the challenges of mentoring 28 adolescent boys will have its own rewards one day.

 
  5) Westtown’s most inspirational faculty, classmate, friend (multiple choices accepted) would have to be …  
 
I have always respected and enjoyed the company of Master Peter Lane and Master Denis Asselin, both of whom I now regularly attend meeting with on Sundays. Teacher Peter, as he is now called (the Master was done away with many years ago), is my Stone House Dorm Head predecessor and still helps out here in Stone House. Is that weird or what? I couldn’t have a better person to work with and learn from.

Inspirationally speaking, I am sure as I read about what each of you have been doing since Westtown, I will be both amazed and inspired by your successes and life’s pursuits.

 
  6) The most memorable time I broke the rules would be when I …  
 
I’m almost embarrassed to say that other than some extracurricular, evening classroom activity with TP, I never broke any school rules (that I can remember anyway). No shikes, no smoking or drinking, no nothin’ (very boring I know). I was too busy with school work and sports to care about the other stuff, which a part of me regrets. I think testing boundaries, in a controlled kind of way, is part of being a kid and growing up.

However, I can proudly boast, as many of you already know, that I was one of the 6-10 guys that secretly and quietly made our way down to the boathouse and then went tearing across the boathouse dock absconding with the loose clothing belonging to the lake skinny dippers the week before graduation. At the time, it came close to landing me in the hospital as there were some understandably upset classmates who had to return to top of campus baring all. However, as time has a way of healing all wounds, I think (I hope) the incident is now looked back upon with a smile and a chuckle.

 
  7) Was there a point in your life when you recognized any benefit from your time at Westtown?  
 
I alluded to this above when I said that Westtown started nurturing me in a way that I was oblivious to as a student but have grown to understand and appreciate in my adult years (mostly in the past 5-10 years to be honest). While I started off slowly in College with classes, once I made some adjustments and began to assert myself, the grounding that Westtown provided prepared me in knowing how to effectively manage my time as well as gave me confidence to be successful on my own.

 
  8) Do you plan to attend the 25th year reunion in May?  
 
Yes. Now that I am living at Stone House it would be kind of hard for me to miss. Plus, it's a closed weekend and all students and faculty are required to remain on campus.

 
 


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