Tandem Founder John Howard and Alum Nathalie Heyward (TFS '76) Speak about Tandem's Early Years

Our Speaker Series on January 31 featured Tandem co-founder John Howard, who came to regale the community with his thoughts on and stories of Tandem's early years. He brought along Tandem alum Nathalie Heyward (TFS '76), who shared her own experiences of Tandem in the '70s. Howard said that he and co-founder Duncan Alling faced many obstacles as they opened co-ed, integrated Tandem School in 1970. The school's progressive, college prep mission with mottoes of Kindness and Wisdom and Freedom with Responsibility met with local skepticism. Those opinions began to change in 1973 when six of the seniors in the first graduating class were admitted to UVA. John spoke about the importance of kindness, of strengthening yourself so that you can help others, of leaving Tandem with what you have learned and going out to change the world. He both inspired and challenged today's Tandem students to embrace and stay true to those guiding philosophies. Nathalie spoke with humor about the Tandem she experienced after being at a more strict school, and shared some great stories of student life here. Both of them answered many student questions with honesty and humor. What a gift it was for our community to hear from them today!
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