Faculty Unscripted: Michael Drude
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Head of School Michael J. Drude in the upper meadow looking over the Blue Ridge Parkway.
What are your primary roles at MSA?
Head of School
What made you decide to live and work on the Hill?
The mission - minds, hands, hearts. Working for a school that values the whole person and recognizes that every student has unique gifts and talents is very important to me.
Most memorable teaching, coaching, or student-life experience?
There are so many! I think a lot about a young man a few years ago who did not want to deliver his senior speech to the point where he spent the entire day of his speech in the infirmary. This community - his teachers, advisor, and friends - encouraged him, gave him the space he needed, and showed appropriate concern. They also challenged him, and he went on to deliver one of the finest senior speeches I have had the pleasure of listening to. That's the kind of community Miller is.
If you were not an educator, what would you be?
Charlestown, RI Harbor Master
Favorite aspect of working at a boarding school?
I love sitting on our porch with Mrs. Drude and hearing the sounds of the kids practicing on the soccer field, playing a pick-up game of touch football, or whizzing by on their bikes. When school is in session, the campus is alive and active with the sights and sounds of the students and faculty - that’s the best.
Most memorable lesson learned from students at MSA?
Communication is so important, and you must communicate effectively. I don't always get this right, and I continue to learn. Thankfully, the students are great at reminding me.
Favorite place to go or thing to do on MSA’s 1,600-acre campus?
Recently, the walk to and from the gym for morning assembly has become my favorite thing to do on campus. It’s a great time to be outside, see the entire community in motion, and connect with students and faculty, if only for a few minutes.
Movie you have watched the most times in your life?
It’s a Wonderful Life. We watch it every year, and I’m pretty sure I can recite the movie backward and forward!
Dream trip?
Pilot a small boat from RI to Key West down the eastern seaboard and the Intercoastal Waterway.
Pets?
One very hyper black labrador retriever named George.
What did you want to do when you grew up (when you were in high school)?
I was into sports growing up and thought I might pursue something related to athletics. I also, at one point, thought I wanted to be an architect. I can surely tell you that I never thought about being a Head of School! That’s the wonderful thing about our life journeys - if you take chances, you never know where life will take you!
