Darlington's Career Day featured a keynote address by Dwight Hutchins ('82), senior partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group, today in Morris Chapel. All students in grades 9-12 participated in the special event. Click here to watch a video of Hutchins's address.
"Dwight is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in consulting, leadership and education," Head of School Brent Bell told those in attendance. "You are preparing to hear from one of the most historically consequential students in the history of the school. He’s been a trailblazer and game changer for Darlington since the day he set foot on this campus in 1973."
As a student, Hutchins fully embraced his Darlington experience, gleaning all he could from every moment. He made friends from all over the world, joined the wrestling team, and explored his passion for science, even working on the school’s first PC with now-retired teacher Rick Buice.
"If you take everything that you've learned from here, from Darlington, you can go anywhere and you can go everywhere," Hutchins told students. "Darlington not only opened its doors to me. It opened the world to me."
Hutchins left after his junior year to accept a four-year engineering scholarship to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Darlington’s rigorous academics had qualified him for early admission, so he jumped at the chance. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, and an MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School.
"You will become teachers, lawyers, doctors, real estate agents, business executives and more," said Hutchins. "I strongly suggest you find something interesting, that you work with interesting people, and that your work makes things better than they were before. In doing so, it's not just a great job or career; it’s a great life. And, in my case, one that has taken me from a little house in North Rome all over the world."
In addition to his role with The Boston Consulting Group, Hutchins also serves as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University. Previously, he led Accenture’s programs in Singapore, where he was also chairman of the Singapore American Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves as a member of Darlington's Board of Trustees.
"I'm on the board for two reasons," he said. "I'm thankful for the life that Darlington has enabled me to live … And beyond just saying thanks, in keeping with Service Beyond Self, I – like all the rest of the board members, current and past – want to make sure that Darlington is around for another half century and more, to do the same for you and for those that come after you that it did for me.
"With what countless people have done over the past 100+ years to today, the school has never been in a better, stronger place," he continued. "It's a special place that is giving you many unique things. … To have access to different points of view from different cultures and different places in the world is special anywhere, and it’s truly special in Rome. If you're a Roman, double down on how special this place is and how fortunate you are."
After his keynote address, Hutchins was presented with a Darlington School diploma since his early admission to college meant he never actually received one.
Click here to read an article about Hutchins that was published in a 2022 issue of Darlington Magazine.
Darlington's Career Day sessions, led by 32 additional alumni, covered a broad range of interests. Career fields represented range from business, medicine and law to entertainment, consulting, research, and more. Alumni speakers included Charlotte Baker ('02, LD '22), Kelsey Ann Williams Bassel ('12), Hannah Montgomery Bay-Schuck ('10), James H. "Trip" Booker III ('96, LD '19), Catherine Morgan Bottger ('08), Jaclyn Brass Brooks ('10), Garrett Brown ('09), Elizabeth Husser Creech ('93), Izzy Hortman ('08, LD '15), Jean M. Early ('76, LD'14), Dr. William L. Edwards ('07, LD '20), T. Alexander Ezell III ('94, LD '20), T. Tylon Garrett ('10), Ella Carpenter Givens ('17), Lee J. Hark ('89, LD '17), David P. Huguenel ('03, LD '23), Dwight N. Hutchins ('82), Abigail Vincent Key ('09, LD '19), Kimberly King ('05), Thomas Kuckhoff ('09, LD '19), Dr. Dusty W. Large ('02, LD '14), Virginia Smith Parrino ('97, LD '22), A. Kennedy Penn-O'Toole ('99, LD '16), Michael Scott Poley ('03), Jeremy E. Powell ('99), Daniel H. Powell ('08), Mark Rogers ('94, LD '12), Mary Kelly Steeves ('98, LD '12), Dr. Frank D. Stegall Jr. ('02, LD '22), Dr. J. Henderson Stegall IV ('11), Dr. Alea N. Vick ('13), Patrick R. Wilson ('08, LD '20) and Jennie Hutchins Wright ('99, LD '16).
Career Day is sponsored biannually by Darlington School's Alumni Council.
