Through the school’s global outreach trips, select faculty have the opportunity to travel the world from South Korea to Spain and share the school’s vision with families. Mr. Fabio Witkowski, head of the visual and performing arts department, and Ms. Johanna Haan, director of leadership giving, have been on several of these trips.
Mr. Witkowski travels both as a part of school trips and on his own as part of his career as a concert pianist, performing in concert halls around the world. He spearheads the orchestra’s annual summer trip to Spain and has traveled and performed with students in a variety of countries, including Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and South Korea. The process aims to not only help the music program by giving student musicians the opportunity to perform internaionally, but also by publicizing the school across the globe. Mr. Witkowski said, “Anytime we’re traveling, when playing in Germany, Spain, Singapore, we’re kind of wearing the ‘Hotchkiss hat’ and representing the school by talking to prospective students and families. Sometimes, people will hear about Hotchkiss for the very first time.”
Last November, Ms. Haan traveled to Hong Kong and South Korea with Head of School Mr. Craig Bradley. As a member of the Alumni and Development office, Ms. Haan’s trips focused on creating connections within the global Hotchkiss alumni community. She said, “Our team travels across the U.S. and around the world to build and maintain relationships and community with our alumni and parents, while sharing campus news and seeking support for the school’s important initiatives, like the new Dining Commons, financial aid, the Hotchkiss Fund, and more.”
Mr. Tom Drake, instructor in history, and Mr. Erby Mitchell, dean of admissions and financial aid (who were unavailable to comment for this article due to their travel schedules) regularly travel to represent the school as well.
Mr. Drake frequents Asia as part of alumni outreach efforts and Mr. Mitchell travels worldwide to help promote the school’s image and recruit applicants.
Coordinating the trips, however, is more complex than it appears. For Mr. Witkowski’s trips, booking concert halls, practice venues, hotels for large groups of student performers, and teachers for lessons is just the tip of the iceberg, and planning for this year’s Hotchkiss in Spain music program (which is primarily a student travel program) has already begun.
While on the trips, faculty ambassadors run on a tight schedule. Ms. Haan is typically in meetings from breakfast through dinner before a Hotchkiss event in the evening, while Mr. Witkowski tries to squeeze in hours of piano practice between meetings with parents, often over lunch or dinner.
Looking ahead, Mr. Witkowski will travel across Asia during the March break. It will be his first time visiting China in years, due to the pandemic. Mr. Witkowski said, “There are so many friends, families, and students to catch up with.”
Ms. Haan is currently planning a trip to London in April and to mainland China in March, as well.
