More than Fun
Hope Rupley: Activities Director, Class II Dean, Varsity Tennis Coach

Hope Rupley affects every student’s Milton experience. "I just want to make students’ experiences here positive, to help them make connections that last, to serve the greatest number of people possible, in different ways."

Most students know that Hope is the agent behind the social activities of all kinds—large and small, spectacular and simple—that liven their lives outside of class. From her lookout, a glassed office perched in the center of the nonstop Schwarz Student Center, she can “know what’s really going on,” as she says.  “You can tell plenty by observing, and we’re so available to students right here. It’s easy for them to be in and out and for us to get to them,” she says.

Week in and week out, Hope and her team of Student Activities Association (SAA) members work hard to design and run gatherings—vans to movies or shopping, Boston ventures, showcase campus events, parties, or simple snacks and big-screen TV-viewing: an array of opportunities, some collection of which are bound to appeal to Milton students.

In the past, SAA members were all elected. Hope has built lots of responsibility into their roles, so while the heads are still elected each year, she set up an alternative to election several years ago for building her working group. Anyone can apply; candidates go through an interview process; and then Hope and the senior leaders choose the new members. You need to want to do the job to get it. SAA members run weekly meetings; they delegate tasks and follow up; they attend most events; and—a major responsibility—they bring ideas to the group. Members’ “homework,” as Hope puts it, is to ferret out ideas about things to do that will appeal, from conversations on the fields, in the hallways, in the common rooms, or over lunch.

What’s new and well reviewed in the weekend world at Milton? Oktoberfest—with live bands, booths and food got top billing, as did a holiday party with extremely popular cider muffins and glass mugs to paint and take home; Massage night, before exams; a trip to Improv Asylum with faculty member Peter Parisi; and the Jewish Student Union’s (JSU) Bar Mitzvah dance. The success of these events leads Hope to think that the upcoming Psychic Fair with Norman the Magician and the May Spring Carnival will draw happy crowds. Old favorites continue to build prestige and appeal, too: A Capella Night (college groups that include Milton alums); the hypnotist’s visit; and the well-loved Beatnik Café.

What Hope has learned, over the years, is that simple things really work: TV and snacks; free movie passes or free dinners off campus; a van to the Ice Cream Smith in Milton Lower Mills, film and discussion groups (with snacks, of course). “What students learn,” Hope says, “is that if an idea is reasonable, we give it a shot, and most requests are reasonable.”

While planning and running activities can take up space on a page, Hope’s sense is that the most challenging and rewarding work relates to guiding her class as Class Dean, and coaching the varsity tennis team, rather than organizing activities. As dean and coach counseling, supporting, motivating and teaching is paramount. Managing her three roles together “rounds things out nicely,” she says. “They all converge. There’s plenty of crossover, and my full connection with students allows me to really know them, to know what makes them tick. I’m in a position where I can influence their development and experience in major ways.” In fact, on top of her deep involvement at Milton and her two small children, Hope has enrolled in a program in counseling and guidance at Lesley College. Does that make you feel like you don’t do enough with your time?

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