Transcript: Mr. Gallagher on Gratitude, Mentorship, and the Building a Stronger US

Good morning, and welcome back to The Late Star Show for the first episode of Season 2. We are here with former English teacher, Dean of Faculty, and now 10th and current Headmaster, Mr. Patrick Gallagher. How are you, Mr.

Gallagher? I am great. It's a pleasure to be here. It's great to have you on the show.

You know, you've been university school's head of school since 2018, but we kind of want to start all the way from the beginning. Could you tell us about where you grew up what were you like as a kid i grew up on the west side of cleveland in strongsville ohio i'm the youngest of five children a very different group of individuals then and now two boys a girl and then two boys maybe that's why i ended up making a career in boys schools because I grew up in an environment like that back in the day. I do often think of how different we were with strengths and passions and interests that were not necessarily the same. It made for a really inspiring and invigorating upbringing to get to know what everyone else was into. and I always felt blessed to have our parents with us supporting us all the way.

Speaking of those inspiring lessons, looking back at your early years, were there any core values or lessons that were kind of instilled in you by your family that stick with you today? I still think of my father as maybe the most intelligent person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was the first born in this country to his immigrant parents. He was in the army.

He was working full-time with a family. It took him 10 years to get his bachelor's degree. It took him another 10 years to get his master's degree while working and while raising a family. I don't know how he did so much so well.

I'm humbled by that example still all these years later. To that end, And I think what he instilled in us more than anything was the importance of hard work, that nothing of any meaning comes easily. And his work ethic was always the standard that I strove to achieve. And my mother also was working as hard, tending to all of us.

And I think of her directness at times with people in her life. I think there are lots of lessons to be gained from our families. I still think of them decades later. You know, kind of doing some research, we found out that you went to St.

Ed's here in Cleveland. And you obviously excelled academically, which is incredibly impressive. What kind of student were you like? What was a student Mr.

Geller kind of like? I liked school. Most people who become teachers like school. That's why we gravitate towards education, because it was a positive experience for us.

I did not necessarily know that I would become an English teacher, but I think even when I was 14 or 15, I thought I might like to become a teacher, because those were the most influential people in my life outside of my family. I remember probably with that work ethic in mind, really striving to get better at what I was not as naturally interested in. So, for example, I remember being your age and when I would sit down at the desk at night to do my homework, I would almost reverse order the subjects. subjects. I would do first the subject that I found most challenging or at least interesting because I wanted to give that my best attention.

There were certain subjects or certain assignments later in the night I thought I'm gonna be energized by that or I'm already excited about that. I would flip the list to try to make the most of those hours and get the most out of those subjects that again maybe I was not as naturally inclined towards. You know after college you kind of began your teaching career at the Culver Academies in Indiana where you then taught English and humanities. Can you kind of paint a picture of those early teaching days and what was it like stepping into the classroom as a new teacher?

Yes, 22 years old I went straight to school. Culver Academies is in northern Indiana. 800 students at the time, just high school age, grades 9 through 12. It's boarding school. I lived in a dormitory with 80 teenagers.

I learned a lot. I think back sometimes at what I didn't know when I was just starting, but that immersive experience is what was so impactful. I have great fondness and respect for Culver to this day. When I started, I was in a program where I had not one, not two, but actually three dedicated mentors.

There were veteran staff who were responsible for helping me get my feet under me and find my way one in the classroom one on the athletic field i coached soccer and one in the dormitory with those 80 teenagers i think of those mentors still as examples of professionalism of dedication of care i i was inspired to be at my best by them in those early years and really enjoyed the experience there. I know how fortunate I was to be in a position that was stimulating, challenging, and fulfilling, really, from day one. A boarding school is a unique environment. It is not for everyone.

Some students don't take to it. Some faculty don't have any interest in doing it. I was there for years, and I feel I was better for it. Yeah.

Well, I believe it was in 2005 you made the move to university school, returning to your hometown. Yes. What brought you back to Cleveland and to university school? Yes.

At the time, it seemed like it might be personally valuable to be closer to home. I wasn't that far from home, five, six hour drive maybe, but there were members of one generation leaving our family as my grandmother's past when relatively short order then and members of another generation joining us as nieces and nephews were coming into the world. I wanted to be as close to family as I could be then in those years. I wasn't looking for a job though.

I was happy where I was. And had I not come to US in 2005, I may well still be at Culver. I came out on a very cold February day. The running joke all day was you'll never want to live in Cleveland, the weather's so awful.

But of course I had known it, it wasn't that bad. It was a typical snowstorm and we were at school. It wasn't as if U.S. had canceled for the day. What struck me though more than anything was the opportunity to interact directly with students.

Usually when an independent school teacher is interviewing for a job, honestly it's kind of a fake experience. There's the perfect kid that walks you around as a tour guide. and you don't necessarily feel like you're experiencing the real school. Something we do at U.S. with teaching candidates is give them a chance to talk to students in an unfiltered, unrehearsed, and unscripted setting. I was struck by that right from the start.

There were no other adults there. It was just me as a teaching candidate, and then really what was a random group of upper school students, not the ringer, not the rock star. And yet I felt from those students, nevertheless, a real energy and investment in their education, a pride in their school, a respect for one another, and an interest in me. I thought even if I am not offered this job or choose not to come here, I am walking away with a sterling impression of U.S. because of these U.S. boys that I've had the pleasure of talking with this afternoon.

So even though, as I say, I wasn't looking for a job, I was elated to be offered the job. I accepted. 21 years later, here we are. You know, Kai, do you remember that first day, that first year? Like, what was it like stepping into that new role and how was teaching English?

I was an experienced teacher. I felt like I more or less knew what I was doing. When you start at a new place, however, you start over. I did believe I needed to up my game.

My colleagues in the English department at the time, Dr. Bill O'Neill, Mr. Jim Garrett, still with us, Mr. Jim Stevens, Ms.

Jan Fazio, Dr. Phil Cocotilo, were incredible educators as well as exceptional human beings. I was honored to be part of that department, I felt I had to earn the privilege of being part of that department. So I really was inspired by their examples once again.

And more than anything in comparing the boarding school days with the day school days, I wondered or even worried whether I would have the same kinds of connections with my students. boarding school 24 hours a day seven days a week you're there they're there you almost can't not connect meaningfully with one another um i thought then well us might be great but i'm never gonna have uh the kinds of bonds that maybe i had come to expect from a boarding school within about a year i realized that somehow some way their relationships were even closer and that speaks to the power of the U.S. mission and everything that is special about our school. I felt it pretty quickly when I was here, and I've only had that feeling confirmed and deepened in the years since. You know, looking to 2009, you kind of had the first steps into administration. What were some of the challenges you faced, and what did you hope to kind of bring to the table?

Yeah. So I was a college counselor in 2007, which I did for a number of years. Again, meaningful educators, my own college counselor was someone who worked at St Edward High School and actually before that had worked at University School Mr Jeff Morton He too was one of the singular influences on my life I thought if I could give back to students some of what was given to me in that experience, that that would be time well spent. And then in 2009, I was named the Dean of Faculty here at the Hunting Valley Campus.

That is really the assistant principal, if you will, working with the faculty and staff. It is about providing the best teachers to all of you here at the school and working also to support them to and through their careers at US. I mentioned Mr. Jim Garrett, who was there in the room when I interviewed, whom I was sharing some laughs earlier this afternoon, to cultivate those legends who give so much of themselves over decades of time here at US was a wonderful opportunity and something I was honored to do as the Dean of Faculty here.

You know, kind of fastening even more forward to early 2018, US had faced a sound leadership change and you were appointed interim head of school. How do you feel that kind of had the board of trustees and just the U.S. community turn to you to kind of steer that ship during that eight month period? That is a great question, Charlie. I was really moved by the number of people who encouraged me in that moment to accept the challenge of the interim headship. and there were some surprising supporters, I would say, some parents, some colleagues, some students who knew what I had done at the school and said, you're the one who should be taking the helm here in this moment.

I did put my hand up and then nine months later, was asked to stick around in that capacity, which I did. And that was a national search. So, I mean, it must have been an amazing feeling when they did announce your name as the permanent head of school. But what was really going through your mind when they said that you would become the next head of school here?

Again, I think it was awe. knowing the institution as well as I did. I talked a little bit about the experience of a teaching candidate coming into a school. For a head of school candidate, it's similar. There's a little bit of theater to it.

And for better and for worse, I knew you as well. I had been here for 13 years. and was all the more honored then when it was announced at that Board of Trustees meeting that I was selected to be the next head of school. I think of people who were in the room that day, those, again, colleagues that I had worked with, board members I had maybe come to know over the years. And also some parents, parents of students I had had, parents of college counselees I had had.

U.S. is bigger than any one person. And what I felt, I think, most palpably in that moment was the extraordinary community. And again, I could not have been more honored and humbled to feel the support of that community. And obviously university school has our motto of responsibility, loyalty, consideration, and then integrity and respect are in there as well.

And you lead through those, but do you have any, each leader brings their own flavor of leadership. Do you have any core principles or beliefs that you kind of turn to when you're making decisions for the school? I said moments ago that the school is more than any one individual. I think that taking the long-term big picture view is challenging.

It's maybe more challenging than it's ever been. We talk about critical thinking. We talk about deep understanding. These are sometimes buzzwords or cliches in education.

I do feel like U.S. cultivates those habits, skills, and values here at the school. And with all of those leadership principles, I think, comes the opportunity to really think through what is best. I remember a student from the class of 2016 who came to visit me over the summer after he had graduated from college. He spoke about some of his teachers, like Mr.

Alan Kate, and how he really did feel like he was taught how to think in his time here at US. He went to his first choice college and elite university. It would be unsurprising if he said that was the pinnacle of his educational experience. But he was talking about his days at US really making him who he was.

So I think that comes with everything we've been talking about, the commitment to excellence and ideally anything and everything we do. You know, US is known for its traditions and its incredibly strong culture. As head, how do you kind of balance the responsibility of preserving these longstanding traditions with the need to just innovate and move the school forward? Yep.

That is a great question. Mrs. Lisa Cummings, the director of our lower school, has an expression she uses about curating museums and cultivating gardens. We've been around since 1890.

We have many hallowed traditions. We hold fast to our all boys identity. The teacher coach model is still central to what we do. We want the adults who work with you, the adolescents to work with you in lots of different ways. those dimensions of the experience don't change.

And yet, we're not just curating museums, we're cultivating gardens. Education is always about the future. I say that often to audiences when I'm speaking. I feel that from my own experience.

A challenge often put to educators, for example, is, well, how do you prepare kids for jobs that don't even exist today? Well, fair question. Like that graduate of class 2016 would say, it starts by teaching them how to think. And I also am humbled by my experience of the history of the school, because I know a lot of alums of the school who have jobs now that did not exist when they were in your shoes. but they were able to set themselves up for success by working hard, thinking hard, and putting themselves in challenges to just reach higher and higher into their upper ranges of performance.

So Mr. Geller, you talk a lot about being a part of university school as being a privilege. It's not something, you know, it's earned, but it's not something we should take for granted. And I think when we get into these long winter months in the school year, a lot of times it can, you know, slowly drift towards us taking it for granted.

But how do you hope that students demonstrate that they appreciate being a part of such an amazing institution like university school? That's another great question. Thank you, Jack. I, a number of years ago, was talking with someone I consider a mentor, and he talked about his practice of keeping a journal and expressing gratitude.

I think the most powerful words we can probably share every single day are thank you. And even when we might feel like everything is against us or nothing is going our way or that we have no control, this is a really special place. And it warms my heart when I hear people say thank you to Mrs. Klein in the lunch line, I hear people say thank you to Ms.

Fornaro when they're coming in in the morning. Last year, I remember at the end of the year, with Ms. Daniels retiring, I heard Griff Koch say, thank you for being my teacher. That is not something he needed to say to her.

He may never see her again in his life. And I assure him, I assure you that those are the highest compliments that any educator can hear. Really, they're the highest compliments anyone can hear. I hope we can all practice that gratitude, particularly when it's dark, dingy, cold, gray in Northeast Ohio.

You know, university school is obviously very strong academically with impressive college placements and test scores. But as headmaster, how do you measure the success of the school in a broader sense? What are some of the kind of indicators that really matter most to you? We have a business model.

This is a not-for-profit institution. We have to think about how to realize the mission of the school with the resources we have. Cleveland, Ohio is in a challenged position compared to other metropolitan areas nationally, compared to other markets nationally. In order to attract and retain the best caliber faculty, in order to attract and retain the best possible students, requires a lot of work behind the scenes.

The board and I are always looking at metrics, always looking at our peers and benchmarking against them. We want to be the best. We seek excellence in all things and excellence without excuse Excellence is not perfection There are always going to be challenges but I think we have a responsibility as the stewards of this amazing institution to do everything we can to see to its continued implementation of the mission. We're opening this year with an incredible new middle school.

Mattson Hall is in operation as of this week with the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders there. It's been so heartening to see everyone's excitement coming into that space. Really in committing to that project, we're recommitting to our Shaker campus so that U.S. is still there and serving the boys of Cleveland in another 100 years. Fundamentally, that's the goal, to keep it going.

You know, we often talk about kind of the U.S. boy and how each boy is so unique. But as head of school, how do we kind of nurture such a wide range of boys from artists to athletes to even programmers and still kind of call them all U.S. boys? Another great question. I spoke to the new families and new students here at the upper school on Monday and talked about some of the ways the upper school faculty for that occasion try to help new students acclimate and make sure that new students have their feet under them.

We asked just a handful of basic questions. we ask about whether they're getting their work done, that they know when their homework is done, when they're not at school. You know the classmates, it's not you two, who may not get much done when they're outside of class. If you're going to make the most of this experience, if you're going to be at your absolute best, it doesn't just happen between the bells of your classes. We want that executive function skill to be in place.

We also ask whether a student has a reason to come to school. And I think to your point, people have lots of reasons to come to school. What might bring one young man here to Hunting Valley is not what brings his buddy each day. But even if you're just excited about entrepreneurship on that given day, you're not just getting entrepreneurship that day.

You're interacting with a lot of different people. Thankfully, I would say even without fail, those interests grow and multiply in the years that students are here. Last of those three questions we asked is whether students have connected with adults. That comes often with those passions.

You're You're here with Mr. Seibel in the rocketry program. You're talking about mindfulness with Mr. O'Brien.

You're zeering in on your science research question with Dr. Lauchs. Those experts who help you to really pursue your passions, make all the difference, and really forming those relationships is another life skill. I hear from college students over and over and over again.

They are comfortable with their professors. They're speaking up in class in ways their college classmates are not necessarily comfortable. They learn that at U.S. They forge those relationships with other adult members beyond those they already had at U.S.

So the U.S. boy is not one boy. But I think what distinguishes every U.S. boy is that passion and that hunger that's really nurtured here at the school. And from the beginning in 1890, athletics have been a big part of the U.S. experience from the lower school field program up to our varsity sports. How do you see athletics contributing to a student's education and their character?

In other words, what lessons do you think sports teach that might complement the classroom? Absolutely. I know you've had guests like Mr. Mark Burns who are extraordinarily passionate about the place of interscholastic athletics in boys' lives.

We are committed to all-boy education. I have to say we're also committed to whole-boy education. is not just your transcript that you have when you graduate from here. And character and leadership education is central to everything we do. University school was one of the founding members of the International Boys School Coalition.

This past summer at the annual conference of that organization held at Belmont Hill School in Boston, we had eight university school colleagues presenting to our peers from around the world, including on character and leadership education. There are few venues for that holistic education as effective as energy glass exports. It is no surprise that so many schools' most successful alumni also happen to be their most significant extracurricular contributors because they know how to get things done, they know how to respond to adversity, they can work in teams, they can share credit, they can accept blame. These things can happen in other contexts, they do, but they happen just about without fail in sports.

I think that is what serves all of the student athletes of the U.S. Well, at U.S. and beyond. And we also talk about the whole experience. One other part of that that's been a big part of U.S. is hands-on learning, whether that's in the outdoors or in our arts.

What do you think is the importance of the arts and the outdoors in our education? Yeah. When I became dean of faculty, one of the pleasures of that role was visiting teachers classes. Most teachers do their very best work behind closed doors with a group of students in front of them.

And most adults don't get to see that for themselves. It's unusual that there would be that audience for the teaching. I vividly remember watching Mr. De La Mata teach and thinking just how different that classroom or studio space was from my own and really envying his students.

Walking into class, the light music playing, getting down to work on something that was uniquely theirs. I understood why the arts are so lively, just like as i said i understand why athletics are so integral to students experiences story as well when i was a college counselor really impressive young man academically i was talking to him about his upcoming senior schedule and he was already post ap in a number of areas um really he could have taken anything he wanted uh i think he may have even had an independent study lined up in one of the subjects i said what's your priority what do you want to do he said well the only thing i absolutely have to have is woodshop i said you want woodshop said absolutely that cannot leave my schedule ultimately there were some conflicts if he was going to take take Wichap, he wasn't going to take something else. But he said that was so important to him. And again, with my experience as well, seeing some of these incredible teachers at their craft, I knew why that was so important to him.

I think as well of experiential learning really taking root early on. The capstone or culmination project that Mr. McCarter did in the eighth grade this past year on food insecurity in Northeast Ohio, I think was really a one-of-a-kind experience for those students where they were practically applying what they were learning, where they were thinking in ever more sophisticated ways about government, about economics, about science, that is an experience that not all students get to have. I'm very proud that U.S. students get to have it.

I'm envious that they get to have it. Why do you personally believe in the value of also service learning? How does giving back to our community fit into our identity as a school? Yeah.

I remember talking at the graduation of the class of 23, and the class of 23 really set themselves apart with their school spirit. They were always at events. I still hear the names of some of the then senior leaders who had that positive impact on the underclassmen at the time. They were all students who did lots of different things.

That dimensionality, I think, is something that, again, really sets apart U.S. and U.S. students. So, the U.S. obviously has an extremely strong brotherhood, and that's one of the things we pride ourselves on. We also are a K-12 institution, but one challenge might be that our 9-12 is in a separate building about 15 minutes away from our K-8. What do you think are some ways that we maintain that brotherhood between campuses?

Yeah. We've worked on some of that connection or connectivity in recent years. I know some colleagues as we speak, for example, are thinking about ways that some of the athletic captains might be able to get in front of the middle school students to get them out to more interscholastic sports events. I really think that mentoring is not just adults and students.

It's students and students. The science research program I mentioned that Dr. Lauchs helped really to spearhead. When upper school scientists just like those sports captains are able to go to the Shaker campus with some of the middle school scientists it means the world to them They want to be those older students.

It is a challenge. if a family visits Hathaway Brown or Laurel with their daughters, they can see the trajectory. If they're holding the hand of a three-year-old, when they walk in, they're going to see the 18-year-old young woman that they want their child to one day be. We don't have that at U.S. insofar as we've got the eighth grade as the finish at Shaker. But I think there are smart ways and effective ways we can strengthen that connectivity for the benefit of everybody.

So admissions today in higher education often place a heavy emphasis on test scores. Maybe sometimes at the expense of well-roundness or some kids who may not test well but have other qualities. and while U.S. is certainly a place where these gifted learners thrive. Its founding vision also highlights the importance of students who bring interests, talents, and qualities, which we've talked about throughout this podcast. So how do you think we can continue to attract boys who contribute beyond academics and how can we maybe identify students who might not test as well but have the potential to lead and enrich our community in some other ways?

I think it comes with what every great teacher tries to do, which is meet students halfway. If we are in a sponsor group, for example, and having an open conversation, It shouldn't just be the sponsor going down a script. There should be an open conversation. I remember as an Anderson House sponsor, some of the lunches that we have had over the years on the same level, if we're talking about that Browns game that weekend, that movie that's really popular, whatever it might be. but that so many students have strengths and passions that don't maybe obviously fit into their college prep experience here is a joy as an educator here.

Also a chance to really, I think to your point, make the most of their experience. when they're bringing unique interests and talents to the school. Students and teachers see you around school in kind of your official role, but we're curious about the personal side of Mr. Gallagher. What's something students or colleagues might be surprised to learn about you?

Might be surprised to learn about me. I sing. A few colleagues who were on that trip over the summer that I mentioned to the International Boy School Coalition conference. We did go out one night and performed karaoke.

Something I've done. I have won karaoke competitions, just saying. I'm not bragging. One of the colleagues who was in attendance I think was shocked to see me head up to that stage and belt out some of those songs I know he even said to his wife that I meant business what's your favorite artist I was your favorite don't have a single favorite artist there's a there's a kinks a song I do going back to those classic rock days, sang a U2 song that night in Boston as well.

Only one ask you to demonstrate. You know, you've attended a lot of US events over the years. Is there one that really sticks with you in your mind, whether or not it's an academic event or more a sporting event? One kind of event that US has had that really just made an impression on you?

Yeah. I think they're both community events and events where the excellence of some of the contributors was really clear. the game against Gilmore last year triple overtime that victory for the hockey team I think was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had as a participant or as a spectator I was thrilled to see some little guys out there, some middle school boys, some lower school boys cheering on the upper school student athletes. I also came back that night to the basketball game here at the Honey Valley campus and that some of those hockey athletes came out and were in the stands that night, I thought was such a powerful testament to sportsmanship and community. I am sure they were tired.

Anyone would be tired, but they came out to support some of their fellow classmates. I think as well about artists. A young graduate I had the pleasure of teaching, Henry Shepard was just named the principal cellist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He had already been the youngest cellist ever named co-principal to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

It is so thrilling to see the heights that so many U.S. graduates ascend to. Their talent, your talent is so clear. And that is what I think I think of when I think back on the special US. You know, you interact with hundreds of students each year and generations of alumni.

When it's all said and done, what do you hope students at US will remember about you and your impact? If a student kind of years from now says, Mr. Gallagher taught me X, or because of Mr. Gallagher, I, what would you kind of like that X to be?

In essence, what mark do you hope to leave on people? I might go back to the beginning and your question about the values I felt I saw in the home growing up that I felt I received from my family. Hard work. I hope people would say he worked really hard.

Nobody's got a perfect record, but that level of dedication, I hope, is something that people don't question. When I was the dean of faculty once, there was an evaluation and presumably a teacher had written in a survey, he never asks us to do anything he wouldn't do himself. I felt that that was a real compliment. I think we want everyone to be at their best.

Sometimes we have to challenge others to be at their best. but we still need to practice what we preach. When that teacher said that, I felt validated, maybe even that that person felt I was an example. That would be my hope. And Charlie mentioned that you've interacted with generations of alumni.

Obviously, U.S. has an incredibly strong alumni network and alumni sports through mentoring, speaking, and philanthropy. What does it mean to you that alumni are so passionate about their time at U.S., And what does that show? I said this on Tuesday as we opened the school year here assembly. I wish everyone got to have that experience that I do in traveling around the country, around the world.

A few years ago, we had an event in the Bay Area of California. somebody who was helping put it together said what is this where are you this is a high school in ohio she said there's dozens of people coming out from their 20s to their 90s on a weeknight she said i went to high school 10 minutes from here we could never get this many people out and here you are clear across the country with all these people showing up well they continue to show up because of what bonds them together. I try to share those messages particularly with those who are here now, with you as students, with faculty and staff, because as I said earlier, education's always about the future. It's about tomorrow. At the end of July, a number of us had a chance to talk with Mr.

Jason Garrett with deep NFL experience. And as he thought about coming to U.S. way back when, he said it's a 40-year plan. It's not a four-year plan if you're looking at the high school alone or a 14-year plan if you're looking junior kindergarten to graduation. It is. most people can't quite see or appreciate that final question you know as students jack and i often discuss what motivates us to get up early and kind of give our best each day so mr goggar i want to ask what is your why what drives you personally to come to us every morning pour your energy into this community and keep doing this hard work year for year in other words what is the core reason that you continue to lead and serve in the way that you do thank you that's yet another outstanding question.

I think every student deserves to have caring adults in his life and that this school has provided that for hundreds of boys and young men is what is most motivating to me to be part of that mission. I have that, as I've referenced, experience as a teacher here. I treasure those memories. My job now is more about facilitating that experience for others, you as the students, my colleagues as teachers.

A lot of it is behind the scenes, much of it is invisible. But if we can continue to motivate, challenge, support, nurture, cheer on the boys of US. We're doing a lot right. Well, Mr.

Gallagher, it's been great having you on the show today. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights and experiences with us. To our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in and we'll hope you'll join us next Wednesday for the next episode of Late Start Show. Thank you, Mr.

Gallagher.