Changing the Trajectory

Finn ’24 and Gavin ’26 Donelan and their mother Emily Baldwin P’24,’26 are from New London, New Hampshire. Both Finn and Gavin were four-year boys at Cardigan and now attend St. Mark’s School.

Emily Baldwin: I think maybe I’ll start and just say that I had never considered private school for my kids. I was a product of public schools, but when COVID happened, I knew we needed a different option for Finn. He was just finishing fifth grade. I knew of Cardigan because I grew up in Hanover and used to come to the dances here.

So I called in July, and fortunately there was a spot for Finn. We came up and visited, met with Chip [Audett, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid], and Finn loved it. We stepped on the campus, and I think he could just see opportunity here. He was so excited to be here and realized that it would change the trajectory of his life, and it did. 

Finn: On the first day, I was excited, but more than anything I was nervous to be in a new environment. I had been at my previous elementary school for three years, and I knew my friends and I knew my teachers well. But I remember walking into Ms. Kreuzburg’s classroom and being greeted with a smile, and I immediately felt more at home.

Emily Magnus: So both Finn and Gavin were at Cardigan for four years?

Emily Baldwin: Yes, one of my favorite things that Cardigan does for four-year boys is the little photos from each year, and it’s this huge transformation from sixth grade to ninth grade. It is crazy, and it just reinforces how important those years are. 

Emily Magnus: Finn, were you ready to leave your old school?

Finn: When COVID hit, everything started to feel a bit more unsure. I knew I wanted to be in person for school, and that was not going to happen at my old school. I just remember when I first heard about Cardigan, it was the only option for me. We took other schools into consideration, but I remember always coming back to Cardigan. I was very adamant about coming.

Emily Magnus: What was it that made you adamant?

Finn: During my tour and interview, Chip talked to me about Cardigan and presented me with an opportunity to constantly improve and be a better version of myself. I think this is really the only place where I saw that. 

Emily Magnus: Gavin, you were watching your brother go through this. Were you ever thinking about not coming here, or was it full steam ahead for you? 

Gavin: I was for sure going to go to Cardigan. In elementary school when I was in fifth grade, I would tell my friends, “I’m going to go with my brother to Cardigan Mountain School.” They were kind of bummed, and so was I, for leaving my friends, but I knew I would have a better education at Cardigan with my brother.

Emily Baldwin: I just thought of a memory. One thing that really excited me before school started for Finn his first year was the all-campus read, and it was an anti-racism book. I was just so thrilled that that was happening because public schools were restricting and changing the books in their libraries. And so that was really exciting to me too. Finn, do you remember the moment when you first felt you belonged in the Cardigan community? 

Before Cardigan, I was a very self-oriented person, and I focused on what would benefit me. I think coming to Cardigan taught me to be more community-oriented. If you don’t buy in at Cardigan, you’re not going to get as much out of the experience, because you really have to value others and help others grow.- Finn Donelan ’24

Finn: I first really felt like I belonged during a football practice in my sixth-grade year. I remember there was just one team because of COVID and everyone was together–sixth graders through ninth graders. There was one day when we were doing conditioning. Everyone else had already finished, but I had a few more ladders and push-ups. I remember some of the ninth graders came over after they had already finished and just started doing my conditioning with me to support me and be there with me. That really made me feel like I belonged in the community, having ninth graders that had my back. It definitely was a good feeling, and it made me want to be them someday to help the next sixth grader who was finishing last in conditioning.

Emily Baldwin: I love that story. Gavin, how has Cardigan changed you?

Gavin: I think it’s made me more responsible and independent. I think it’s really making me a smarter person. The academics, they’re very hard; it’s very rigorous. It makes me want to better myself and try as hard as I can.

Emily Baldwin: I see that you’ve become so much more independent this year since you’ve lived here on campus. That to me is huge. When you come home, I can tell that the skills that you’ve gained here also apply back home.

Finn: Yeah, adding on to that, Mom, I think Gavin, what I’ve seen in your independence this year is also having others rely on you, being a leader this year and having the sixth graders look up to you and need you. I think that has definitely showcased your independence; you can be a pillar of support and an inspiration to the younger kids.

Emily Baldwin: Finn, can you tell me a story about when a person’s kindness made a difference in your life at Cardigan?

Finn: Good question. It was probably during my seventh-grade PEAKS class. In sixth grade, everyone was together and it was a very small class. But in seventh grade, we branched off into a few different sections, and I remember trying to slowly find my footing with the new students. During those first few weeks when I was just trying to make new friends, Mr. Caprow [Director of PEAKS] made my PEAKS classroom a supportive environment where I didn’t have to perform. I could be myself, and that definitely helped me form some friendships that I still value today.

Emily Baldwin: Mr. Caprow is definitely the GOAT to these boys. Finn, what were the most important lessons you learned at Cardigan?

Finn: Before Cardigan, I was a very self-oriented person, and I focused on what would benefit me. I think coming to Cardigan taught me to be more community-oriented. If you don’t buy in at Cardigan, you’re not going to get as much out of the experience, because you really have to value others and help others grow. 

Emily Baldwin: Gavin, what about you?

Gavin: I would say the most important lesson I’ve learned is to make the right decisions. You always need to be kind, make the right decisions, and sometimes you have to do that by yourself.

Emily Magnus: How about you, Emily? Have there been any lessons that you’ve learned from Cardigan?

Emily Baldwin: I would say that I learned that the faculty know what they’re doing; as a mom, you think that you know better. All of these teachers deserve to be saints. This is not an easy age group at all. I think it says on Cardigan's website something like, “We know middle school boys,” and it’s so true. They know what they’re doing. Sometimes, especially when they were in sixth grade, the mama bear instinct would kick in, but I learned to trust the process, that the faculty know better.

One memory that I have of Gavin’s first year was being worried that he would be overshadowed by his older brother. But the funny thing was, one day we were walking on campus, Finn and I, and someone asked, “Oh, are you Gavin’s brother?” It was just so funny; Gavin had already established himself as his own person, and Finn was just the brother. And then Gavin took over the nickname Donnie, way more than Finn was ever Donnie.

Finn: Yeah, it was a shot to the ego.

Emily Baldwin: Yeah, but I was like, oh good, he’s found his own way. And Finn was just some old alumni guy. Gavin, what was your favorite club?

Gavin: It was flag football. I’m pretty sure it was all ninth graders, so it was me, a sixth grader, and just all ninth graders. And I remember they would give me the ball to run. And I was surprised by that. I thought they were going to give it to the other ninth graders to easily score. But they would let me do it.

Emily Magnus: Tomorrow is Commencement, and Finn, you will have the opportunity to give your brother an alumni tie. What does that tradition mean to you?

Finn: I think it means being a part of something bigger, a large network of alumni. And I think tying the tie represents the culmination of your Cardigan career and moving on into a broader world. I think for me mostly it represents tradition and it represents the values that Cardigan stands for–being the best you can be, having integrity, being courageous, and being a part of a broader community. 

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