In honor of our upcoming 90th year, Ryan Smith ‘14 has been collecting stories from alumni about their time at Mooreland and what they are up to now. If you are interested in letting us know about your memories of Mooreland and what you’re up to now, please CLICK HERE and fill out the online form. You can also contact Ryan by emailing alumni@mooreland.org
Thanks to David Bernstein ‘73 for being our first Alumni Spotlight! The following was written by Ryan:
Today’s Monday motivation comes from David Bernstein’s ‘73 yearbook quote by Jonathan Livingston Seagull, “Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you, all they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you’ll see the way to fly.”
The first alumni spotlight of the summer is David Bernstein who is a 1973 graduate of Mooreland Hill School. David came to MHS for 7th to 9th grade and was involved in many extracurricular activities. David was captain of the J.V. Football team, a member of the Varsity Basketball and Baseball teams. While on the JV Football team David was recognized as an All-League selection at his position, offensive halfback. He was also part of the 1973 Varsity Basketball team that also went undefeated and were C.I.S.A.L Champions. David’s recollections of the team sums up best, how dominant the ‘73 team really was, when he says “The key to that team was my best friend (then and now), Alex Schwartz. Alex was very tall and got a lot of rebounds. We had a guard, Billy Wolf, who could shoot the lights out. David Hicks played forward and was very good. Tim Howe was a guard who could both pass and shoot. Paul Gallo could shoot and was VERY fast.” The ‘73 team had everything you needed to be successful, lights out shooting, speed, height, and defense.
Not only was David a key contributor on the sports team but was also an important member in making the Knapsack (Yearbook). When asked about his favorite memories at MHS, he says, “Playing 4 Square at recess and tossing a football with my best friend; lunch with friends and faculty; surviving my brother and his classmates (class of 1970).” Not only was Mooreland a place where David made some good memories but it also helped him academically, “English classes gave me such a strong foundation that I was able to take the AP exam in high school without AP English and got 6 college credits. Three years of Latin also gave me a strong foundation. Summer reading requirements created a lifelong love of reading.” The foundation set at MHS helped David to be successful in high school and beyond where he found a love for government and public policy at MHS.
In 1976 he graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon and then went on to graduate from Drew University in 1980. David majored in political science and history, after graduating from Drew University, David moved to Washington DC where he attended George Washington University to get a masters in Public Administration. However, David did not stop there in his educational journey. In 2000, he got a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Organizational Behavior and Development from George Washington. David’s dissertation Local Government Performance Measurement Use: Assessing System Quality and Effects, won the dissertation award from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration and the Outstanding Public Administration Dissertation Award from The George Washington University. Since 1983, David has been working as a professional program evaluator and was the founding member of the American Evaluation Association. David owns a consulting firm, DJB Evaluation Consulting and is the Director of Evaluation for the General Commission on Religion and Race of the United Methodist Church. One of his favorite memories is the quality of education that he received at MHS because it forced him “to think logically.”
Thank you, David, for letting us interview you! If any alumni would like to be interviewed, please email Ryan Smith at alumni@mooreland.org