Page 9 - NJC Magazine_Fall_2018

Neuchâtel Junior College remains a healthy vibrant school — we continue to enroll ambitious students with great expectations and bright futures. Supporting these students and the school are many thoughtful and enthusiastic parents who make such a significant investment in their children.
There are many people to thank who have worked tirelessly on behalf of NJC and on whom I have relied. The first must be my wife, Colleen. Without her constant support, understanding and humour, I could not have invested the time and energy required to do the job effectively.
Our community has the most loyal group of alumni that I have ever known. Countless graduates have reminisced with me about their time in Neuchâtel being their best and most influential year. It is you, who treasure your memories of this place, who have ensured that
our traditions and priorities are unchanged for future generations of ‘Neuchies’. The College would not have survived were it not for your generosity and dedication. I am truly grateful for your belief in my leadership, and in the future of Neuchâtel Junior College.
Many of you have been a great support to me and I feel it fitting that one of my final tasks should be to thank all of you. It has given me such pleasure to be able to help you along as students, to have known your wonderful children, and such satisfaction to come together with many volunteers in advancing the school. It has given me great joy to welcome back to the school the many wonderful alumni who share my love for Neuchâtel Junior College.
Finally, it is my honour to thank my many colleagues and cherished friends — the talented teachers and staff who greeted me each morning and those who have supported me in easy and challenging decisions, all of which have been intended to benefit our remarkable school.
This, my final year as Head, has been an excellent, productive year on many fronts. Our fundraising is as strong as it has ever been, enrollment reached a 7-year high, and our collective efforts have created a brilliant strategic plan, which will serve the school well in years to come.
Today, as I write this note to the community, spring 2018, the campus has never looked more beautiful to me — the trees are coming to life, the spring sunsets have been magnificent, and the students are buzzing with excitement and achieving excellent results in their academic
and extracurricular activities. They do us proud with their recent
accomplishments at NESDA, Model UNs and on the sports fields, but most of all with their positive spirit and boundless enthusiasm.
The school is in very good shape and I think it is a sensible time for me to share our legacy with our new Head of School, Mr. Andrew Keleher. I believe that consistent leadership is good for a school like NJC and I hope that he and his family will have as happy a tenure as we have enjoyed.
Of course, I will miss the people I have met. I will miss the students who have enriched my life; I will miss the staff who have made this job so enjoyable; I will miss the friends I have made in this magical place; I will miss the fondue and the raclette and the rösti, and the Swiss wine; and of course, I will miss the view from the school across Lake Neuchâtel to the Bernese Alps. We are moving back to Hamilton ‘mountain’, but somehow, as much as this area of southern Ontario holds much charm for us, it will not be quite the same.
My sincere thanks go to those of you who contributed to the Bill Boyer Scholarship and the William Boyer Bursary Award this year.
I am deeply touched by these tributes, initiated by the Tan family and past CAC Chair, David Binet. I am grateful that through these endeavours, generations of bright students will have the opportunity to spend a year at such a remarkable school.
Colleen and I feel very fortunate to have served NJC. It has been my greatest professional role and my most valued responsibility to guide this extraordinary school, and to help foster the growth of so many exceptional students and faculty.
You have my lifelong gratitude for giving me this opportunity. À la prochaine,
Wm. S. Boyer
Former Head of School
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