Currently among the ranks at St. Christopher's are seven men who are alumni of both schools: Jim Boyd '58, Billy Abbott '78, Marshall Ware '85, Billy McGuire '89, John Green '98, Craig Chewning '00, and Karl Zensen '01 all teach in the upper school, and Davis Wrinkle '86 is director of alumni relations. They teach a variety of subjects, maintain administrative posts, and coach in nearly every facet of the school's athletic program. Representing a broad generational continuum, they collectively bespeak the many confluences that have connected these two schools for decades.

Mr. Boyd, a math teacher now entering his thirty-ninth year at St. Christopher's, cites some of the earliest players in this exchange among his influences, including longtime headmaster Robert Bugg '20, director of athletics Hugh Brenaman '23, and senior master John Brinser '27. "It was a very natural progression," Mr. Boyd says of going to Hampden-Sydney. "They were the sort of men I wanted to emulate."

John Green, now in his fourth year of teaching English in the upper school, attests that the progression from Hampden-Sydney back to the classrooms of St. Christopher's was equally natural. "Studying things like rhetoric and learning from teachers like Hassell Simpson reinforced a love of learning," he explains. "The approach to education at Hampden-Sydney made me want to remain a student, to continue learning. The teaching profession is a great way to do that."

Craig Chewning, a math teacher and wrestling and lacrosse coach, adds, "The quality of the faculty at Hampden-Sydney inspired me to teach."

Chewning and the others are quick to name former professors whose approaches they emulate. And just as the teaching styles of these alumni bear the marks of the Hampden-Sydney professors who have influenced them, the campus itself bears the marks of the Hampden-Sydney alumni who have influenced St. Christopher's. Chamberlayne Hall's west wall, for example, bears a plaque that reads "Keep Off the Grass," dedicated to Dr. George McVey '61, headmaster from 1973 to 1998.

Hampden-Sydney alumni working at St Christopher's today: FROM LEFT, Jim Boyd '58, Billy McGuire '89, Billy Abbott '78, Karl Zensen '01, John Green '98, Craig Chewning '00. Not shown are alumni Davis Wrinkle '86 and Marshall Ware '85.

"He could be in his office with the governor," explains Billy McGuire, head of the upper school's science department. "But if you cut across the grass, he'd be at that window and you'd be hearing about it." McGuire compares Headmaster McVey's "attentiveness" to Hampden-Sydney President Josiah Bunting's personal action: Bunting marched into a Board of Publications meeting to reprimand McGuire and other Tiger staffers for an inappropriate joke in the April Fool's paper.

"I love those memories," McGuire says. "Getting chastised by the headmaster or the college president isn't exactly fun, but it sure lets you know that you aren't just a number, that you're really part of something. That level of accountability and involvement is an important part of both schools."

Dean of Students Billy Abbott, who deals with day-to-day discipline in the upper school, teaches two periods of history, and coaches wrestling, says that this kind of close-knit environment is invaluable in the pursuit of character development, a goal implicit in the missions of both Hampden-Sydney and St. Christopher's. Mr. Boyd feels that the shared emphasis on the liberal arts is also an essential component in the character-building formulas of each school. And he says that another commonality-single-sex classrooms-makes achieving that goal much simpler. "Involvement in the glee club and the arts, the nurturing aspects of friendship-those things would not occur as readily in a coeducational classroom," he says. "Removing that element of social distraction is just one fewer variable in a world of so many variables."

These shared characteristics are one of the reasons that Hampden-Sydney alumni are well suited to teach at St. Christopher's, as McGuire recently found out in his search for a new 10th grade chemistry teacher. "We were flying in people from all over the country for interviews. All the candidates were good at chemistry but not good at relating to people, or vice-versa. But then we looked at Karl Zensen '01. He had excelled as a chemistry major at Hampden-Sydney, and I know for a fact that you don't get through those guys in Gilmer without knowing the science, so he was a great candidate in that respect. And he had the right people skills and a broad range of interests, both of which are often a by-product of Hampden-Sydney as well. He's been just the ticket. He works harder than anyone I've seen, and he's a real crackerjack teacher."

In his short tenure, Zensen, now heading off to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Washington, started the school's climbing team, spearheaded the development of a diversity education program, and proved a highly effective leader in Halsey Waterman, the school's co-educational outdoor adventure program.

McGuire, who as a Hampden-Sydney student was active in the fire department and the radio station, says that activities and responsibilities like the Waterman program, in which he also participates, encapsulate one of the most appealing characteristics that St. Christopher's and Hampden-Sydney have in common. "It's fulfilling to teach at a place that doesn't focus on one thing. It's like Hampden-Sydney-there are so many facets. Both schools require you to be good at lots of different things, and that's rewarding for both students and teachers."