Getting back to thinking big

Director Vince Durnan writes from the road as the Aloha Tour of alumni events unfolds, offers a new metaphor for life at 2000 Edgehill.
By Vince Durnan, Director

Greetings from Seattle, where I’m on assignment doing some alumni travel now that public health conditions permit. There’s something about traversing time zones that always prompts thoughts that might otherwise have been buried in familiar daily routines. Color me guilty of being lost in those patterns for months — so much so that it has been a while since generating one of these columns. Here goes an attempt to remedy things and catch up:
 
Maybe my newsletter hiatus resulted from becoming an unwitting one-trick pony — writing so persistently about our COVID-19 plans and rationale at the expense of all else. It’s not easy to remember when it wasn’t Topic One. And now we’re squinting a little, adjusting to the light that’s finally dawning over those hills, having rolled up our sleeves, as it were, and done what was needed to get here. Resisting the temptation to enumerate the predictable litany of lessons learned, and realizing that the sand is running out on my USN hourglass, permit me to choose another direction.
 
My current thinking probably stems from being at the junction of welcoming 130+ new students and their families to our school community, while simultaneously attending to a basket of searches for new faculty and staff colleagues. In conversations connected to those defining and crucial processes, it’s hard not to think of what the best metaphor might be for USN. Parenthetically, I hereby confess to being constitutionally drawn to any foray into symbolic language, as has been observed frequently and deservedly over the years.
 
With that prologue, here’s what has been resonating for me of late. Maybe it’s the partisan times, or the shrill tone of the preponderance of public discourse, or the baseline uncertainty so palpable in our city (and beyond), but the notion of USN as a sanctuary has never been so prevalent in my experience. There’s something deep and moving in serving that sanctuary purpose, to be sure, and practically, contemporarily speaking, it guarantees plenty of interest in being here, plenty of work for us to do. And of course welcoming those who might otherwise have felt less than welcome elsewhere has been core to our identity for decades.
 
But being a sanctuary invokes the corresponding risk of being a bubble, of standing at a distance from the pressing questions of our day. Our relationship with the bubble at USN has always been complex. At the risk of offering what might be an underwhelming alternative option, my suggestion would be USN as a ship in transit. Not a train on a straight track, not a plane flying above the clouds, but a vessel on a changing sea, sometimes buffeted by the elements, other times on a placid expanse, taking those aboard to a destination they might otherwise have never reached — maybe one never definitively envisioned.
 
So go with me on this one. Imagine the care and competence required to plan the voyage and take care of the ship, to go beyond the bubble. Imagine all the different tasks required of the crew. Imagine the power of discoveries made en route. Think of the changes in perspective provided by the journey for those aboard, of what would have happened if we had never decided to sign on in the first place.
 
Continuing with the metaphor, it strikes me that for the past two years we’ve been hunkered down, waiting for the storm to blow through, sheltering in the safety of our version of dry land. And now we’re getting back out there on the waves, remembering routines and the teamwork that predicts success along the way. The potential of what’s up ahead has drawn some remarkable people our way, even with others finishing their tours, and the ship looks to be in great working order.
 
If and when we get this right, we can go farther, faster, and learn more than others who lack the capacity or the courage to combine what we know and what we don’t. Maybe that’s why we’re still here. It strikes me that revisiting USN’s purpose will be an important exercise in the months of transition ahead, reminding us of the singular potential of this school community. I’ll be busy in the next few months doing what I can to leave us ready to map out where we go next. Take a moment, as springtime activities move into full swing, to think about all that might be possible when we each do our part.
 
Thanks for reading as I knock off the rust,
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More USN News

List of 3 news stories.

  • Spring sports season ends with podium finishes, trophies

    The girls lacrosse team ended its season in overtime to become state runner-up. Tennis players Carter Kojetin '29 finished as a state quarterfinalist, Sophie Oliver '26 and Mary Kate Adler '28 finished as state semifinalists, and Veer Kodali '29 and Max Parker '29 finished as state champions. Meanwhile, eight runners competed at the state track and field meet in Knoxville, where Griffin Davidson '27, Caleb Freifeld '28, Drew Zwerner '28, and Jack Fruin '27, sprinted to first in the 4x800m relay and Jack also placed first in the 800m dash.
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  • Interim Director Juliet Douglas roars with laughter as students hold photos of her on sticks during the High School Awards Assembly on Friday, May 8 in Durnan Auditorium.

    USN creates the Juliet Douglas Endowed Fund for Student Success

    For the entire USN community: an invitation to give in gratitude, in celebration, and in honor of the woman who has given so much to our school. Make a gift at usn.org/giving to support students with needs beyond tuition and honor Interim Director Juliet Douglas.
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  • The team poses for a photo after competing in the Middle School Quiz Bowl National Championships.

    Middle School Quiz Bowl competes at national championship

    The Middle School Quiz Bowl finished off another successful season with a trip to the Middle School National Championship Tournament in Chicago. The team fought hard and ended the season as a top-100 program in the country, finishing 75th overall. Congratulations to the team on a great performance and to Lucas Lupu ’31, named an All Star for being the fifth-highest scorer nationwide.
    Read More
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.