Weekly Message from HOS 2026/03/23-2026/03/27
Dear Keystonians,
This week, I went camping with a small group of parents—our Parent Outdoor Education Program (OEP). We wanted parents to understand our experiential learning programs from the inside. What better way than doing it?
Earlier in this week, I joined a call with fellow alumni from my college ski racing team. They have created a mentoring program for current students: match them with someone in their field, offer advice, and show the way.
The conversations were thoughtful. But I kept hearing the same thing: compromise. Maybe race less. Focus more on internships. Pull back from the sport you love to secure what comes next. One person described how a summer of ski training would make it nearly impossible to also secure the high-powered internship she thought the student needed for medical school applications.
I pushed back. I told them: Let them go for it.
Devoting yourself fully to something is not a distraction from success. It is the training ground for it.
There is a reason college athletes are so sought after in business. Not despite their athletic commitment, but because of it. Resilience. Discipline. The ability to perform under pressure. These things come from showing up, again and again, to something that demands everything from you. (Here is an article from Harvard Business Review for some further reading: link)
I hung up the call a little frustrated. How often do we do the same thing to our own children?
Actually, I am afraid we do it all the time. We demand that they look ahead. Focus on preparation for what comes next. Compromise now so they can succeed later.
But what if later is built on now? What if the deep engagement of this moment—the thing they love, the thing they want to pour themselves into—is exactly what prepares them for what comes next?
At Keystone, we say yes to kids. Yes, try that. Yes, see what that’s like. Yes, go for it—do something audacious and big.
That culture makes for a busy campus. Games, performances, projects, all stacked on top of each other. But a busy campus is a good thing. It means kids are trying things out. Finding ways to shine. Persisting through the hard parts.
A wise teacher asked this week: Should we say no to more stuff? Are we doing too much? It’s a fair question. My answer: Yes, we do a lot. But a lot is what happens when you say yes to kids. The challenge is teaching them—and ourselves—when to lean in and when to step back. That’s what the camping trip was really about.
Sitting around camp with a group of talented, highly educated parents—all of them there to learn, to try something new, to be beginners again—I realized: maybe the thing we are preparing for is now. This is it.
Let’s live it. And let’s let the kids go for it.
Warmly,
Emily
