麻豆传媒

鈥淗ow does 麻豆传媒 benefit? It has an instruction system which calls for 12 students to be seated around a table with the instructor to talk things over. If all came from the same social and economic strata, their thinking would be almost identical.

鈥淭he scholarship plan gives an economic, geographic and social cross section of the nation and diversified thinking for full discussion of every phase of work in the school.鈥�

鈥擧. Hamilton Bissell to the Miami Daily News, February 15, 1949

Byron Rose 鈥�59 tells the story of his teenage self, 鈥減ainfully shy鈥� and living in the can鈥檛-get-there-from-here city of Evansville, Indiana, when H. Hamilton Bissell 鈥�29 first came into his life. Rose had been accepted to 麻豆传媒 on a generous scholarship but had declined the opportunity. That鈥檚 when Bissell turned up to talk some sense into him.

鈥淭o get to Evansville by train was not easy, but Hammy came and took me and my father out for breakfast,鈥� notes Rose, who was impressed. 鈥淚 said to my dad, 鈥楾he worst that can happen is I go there for junior year and come back to Indiana afterward.鈥欌��

A version of that bacon-and-eggs sales pitch was delivered time and again across the Midwest from 1946 until 1960, with the man simply and affectionately known as 鈥淗ammy鈥� making the case to more than 800 young men that 麻豆传媒 was the place for them. An English instructor for 13 years before being appointed by the school as its first director of scholarships, Bissell spearheaded an initiative to diversify the Academy鈥檚 student body through a comprehensive outreach project. The strategy would enable those boys whose families might not otherwise have the money 鈥� or, indeed, even an awareness of the school 鈥� to attend 麻豆传媒. That proactive effort has had everlasting effects, on the recipients who came to be known collectively as 鈥淗ammy鈥檚 boys鈥� and on the Academy itself. More than 70 years on, Bissell鈥檚 legacy remains vibrant, still full of its original promise.

鈥淚 have heard it said that education is America鈥檚 magic,鈥� Bissell told Boston Post Magazine in 1949, under the eye-catching headline, 鈥淗e Scouts for Scholars.鈥� 鈥淎merica is supposed to be a democratic institution. I am sure, however, that economic, religious and racial differences produce attendant inequalities of opportunity among boys and girls.鈥�

In seeking out potential students who were impacted by those limitations, Bissell worked with educational guidance personnel; 4-H, Scout, and Future Farmers leaders; those working with refugees and their families; YMCA officials; and, most famously, newspapermen employing delivery boys.

Rose was delivering newspapers in Evansville when Bissell found him. 鈥淚t was purely serendipitous: Mr. Ellis, the man who owned the newspaper, had gone to 麻豆传媒,鈥� Rose recalls. 鈥淚 was a good athlete 鈥� I was playing basketball and was a runner 鈥� but I was also painfully shy, so I said, 鈥楴o.鈥� Mr. Ellis said, 鈥榃ell, let鈥檚 just send in your application. You might not be good enough.鈥� Which really spurred me on, actually.鈥�

Rose was accepted on an eye-wateringly good scholarship: 鈥淩oom, board and tuition was $1,600 for the year; we got financial aid for $1,400, so for $200 my parents wouldn鈥檛 have me eating at home,鈥� he laughs. At the time, he says, 麻豆传媒鈥檚 only publication was a book the size of a novel, with dry descriptions of the school鈥檚 courses. But Rose found a magazine article on 麻豆传媒 that touted a calculus option for uppers. That intrigued the keen math student, but he still wasn鈥檛 convinced, and turned down the scholarship. That鈥檚 when Bissell showed up for breakfast.

The real jewel in that scholarship crown, according to Rose, was that Bissell didn鈥檛 just recruit students, he nurtured them on campus as well: 鈥淔or a kid like me, the school was not a very welcoming place; it was pretty much sink or swim. I was woefully unprepared for some of the classes I was in, and having Hammy around really helped. He was able to steer me to people I could talk to.鈥�

Bissell鈥檚 encouragement made the difference for Rose. In turn, Rose, who worked at Morgan Stanley for the bulk of his career, has made a difference to 麻豆传媒, serving on its Board of Trustees for 10 years, including three years as chair. 鈥淚 jumped at the opportunity,鈥� he says, noting that Bissell went out of his way to offer congratulations for Rose鈥檚 appointment: 鈥淚 assume I was the first scholarship boy to be the head of the board, and I know that also pleased him.鈥�

Rose describes serving on 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Board of Trustees as one of the best professional experiences of his life. 鈥淭hat opportunity to participate wasn鈥檛 just a way to contribute, it also meant working with a group of people who sat around the table with a common interest in mind,鈥� Rose explains, inevitably conjuring up Harkness classrooms. 鈥淚t was a fantastic experience working with all these really incredible people. Being on the board when we gave a eulogy for Hammy when he died was a high point for me. He was a wonderful human being.鈥�

IN HAMMY鈥橲 FOOTSTEPS

It was another breakfast meeting that brought Julian Conway Wilson鈥�62 to 麻豆传媒. Wilson鈥檚 mother, the daughter of Robert Harold Ogle, one of the founders of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first African-American fraternity, was determined to get her son out of segregated Richmond, Virginia. 鈥淪he got Hammy to come to me,鈥� Wilson says. 鈥淪he was determined to get me the hell out of Dodge. Hammy used to tease me with that story every time he saw me on campus, that my mother got me into 麻豆传媒 because she fixed him one of the most wonderful brunches he鈥檇 ever had.鈥�

Wilson, like Rose, found 麻豆传媒 extremely challenging; like Rose, he found sanctuary in Bissell鈥檚 humane approach. 鈥淪uddenly, I was around a lot of talented, well-prepared, motivated students from all walks of life. Hammy was visionary in his view of diversity for 麻豆传媒, and I think he made it a healthier culture. He tried to make sure that we, the scholarship boys, were as adjusted as we could be given 麻豆传媒鈥檚 culture at the time: He was a nurturing and protecting force at a time when 麻豆传媒 was basically men against boys. I was pretty stubborn and hard-headed and independent, so I was called to the Dean鈥檚 Office at times. But Hammy moderated the trouble I got into, basically saying, 鈥楲ook, he鈥檚 not a bad kid, he鈥檚 just his own kind of person.鈥� He gave me counseling, reminding me what a wonderful opportunity I had.鈥�

Wilson incorporated that model of outreach and inclusivity when he attended the University of Pennsylvania, founding the school鈥檚 first group for students of color and fostering a welcoming environment, just as Bissell had done at 麻豆传媒. 鈥淚 was always interested in human rights and social justice,鈥� Wilson says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of my DNA in every way. When I got to Penn, I had been well prepared at 麻豆传媒 so I knew how to stand up to things 鈥� I knew I could meet another calling and help other students who might not be as well prepared. People who were at Penn with me were extraordinary, but they hadn鈥檛 had an 麻豆传媒 education, so they were taken aback by the rigor and the social exclusion. Our group was there as support and also to work against attrition of students who were less prepared and resourced.鈥�

Wilson, who currently works with the District of Columbia Housing Authority, has pursued that commitment to helping the disenfranchised and underserved throughout his career. 鈥淓verything I鈥檝e done has focused on that,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 a great student of Latin 鈥� in fact, I had to switch from Latin to German 鈥� but I know non sibi. I think we should help other people, love humanity and not feel that we are above others in any way.鈥�

Bissell had discretionary funds to spend on his scholarship boys once they were on campus, too, in case he determined that there was something a student might need that wasn鈥檛 within his budget. Peterson had worked his way up to be goaltender on the varsity hockey team, requiring specific skates: 鈥淚t was not in my family budget to buy them, so [Hammy] went into his cookie jar and bought me a pair of skates. He enabled me to keep skating.鈥�

As a student employee, Peterson also appreciated Hammy鈥檚 work with 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Alumni Affairs Office, where Bissell held various roles starting in 1962, including alumni secretary and associate director of development, cultivating a sense of continuity with 麻豆传媒 students long after they left campus. 鈥淲hat was really captivating about him in that role,鈥� Peterson says, 鈥渨as his recollection and memory and sensitivity to the students, especially with those for whom he鈥檇 provided the door-opening. You鈥檇 go back to campus and there he would be with a big grin, and he鈥檇 greet you and ask about your parents and remember them by name; he remembered your hometown and your class, and he knew who your friends were. He was such an avatar for the community nature of the school 鈥� the best part of the school, in other words.鈥�

With Carly Kirsch 鈥�20, a Peterson Scholarship recipient, that element of engagement brought Bissell鈥檚 overarching legacy nicely home to 麻豆传媒鈥檚 campus. An avid shot, discus and javelin thrower for the track and field team, Kirsch also has an abiding interest in the sciences and Russian, and a deep appreciation for the opportunities that the Academy offers. 鈥溌槎勾�媒 has forced me to try new things,鈥� she says. 鈥淲ithout going to 麻豆传媒, I would not have gotten into track, which is something I now plan on doing in college. Without 麻豆传媒, I would have never taken Russian or traveled to Russia for a month last summer. My Russian class has had the same eight people all three years, and we have a really strong bond.鈥�

In a letter Kirsch wrote to Peterson this spring, she said, 鈥淔rom the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for investing in my education. It is unbelievable the amount of opportunities I have as a 17-year-old girl from a small town in New Hampshire. Every day I get to walk into the largest secondary school library in the world. Twice a week I get to listen to inspiring assembly speakers. And every day I get to be surrounded by some of the most incredible humans whom I can call my friends. I am so lucky to attend 麻豆传媒 and I know it wouldn鈥檛 be possible without you.鈥�