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| on the mountain winter 2013-2014
I AM SKS
Scott Hunt, SKS Faculty
Where I’m from
Susanville, California. Many might call it the “sticks” of
Northeastern California. My mothers’ parents had a 1000+
acre cattle ranch and you could see mountains more than 30
miles away in Nevada.
Why I came to teach at SKS
I worked for a company which was bought out by another.
My severance package was generous, I was getting up there in
age, and I didn’t want to spend half of my time on business
travel. I had done a lot of coaching and enjoyed working
with kids, so I thought of teaching. With two of our sons
having graduated from SKS (and one more two years later),
and living in Cornwall-on-Hudson for 30 years at the time, I
decided to talk to Headmaster Phil Riley, and…wouldn’t you
know it…the physics teacher was leaving. So here I am, 13
years later!
What I get out of teaching at SKS
It keeps me younger. This may sound strange, but as
exasperating as working with adolescents can be at times,
the rewards are many. In many ways, you can say that I have
learned more from my students than they probably have
from me.
My biggest accomplishment as a teacher
Having a student say “thank you” and mean it…especially on
graduation day.
The best advice ever received
The first two came from Dad and the last from Mom: 1)
No one owes you anything; 2) “Scott, you can make a lot of
mistakes, but make sure you never make these two: tell me
a lie, and be called lazy by one of my friends in the lumber
mill.” [Note: I worked my way through college in lumber
mills.]; 3) Do onto others as you would have them do to you.
The hardest thing I ever had to do
Being a parent. But it has also been my biggest joy and honor.
Every day I wondered if I was doing the right thing and
things haven’t really changed all that much. But I have the
greatest wife in the world to help me through it. In the end,
all we can do is offer unconditional love and acknowledge our
mistakes.
