Alums forge new bond with MHS

Posted on Wed, Oct 8, 2008 by the Chronicle

Alums forge new bond with MHS

By Jeff Werner

It wasn't that long ago relations between the Milton Hershey School and its alumni association were rocky. But, as they say, the past is prologue and today, the association and the school are enjoying a new partnership of trust and transparency. Bob Heist, who is nearing the end of a two year term as the president of the 6,000-member-strong Milton Hershey School Alumni Association (MHSAA), was in Hershey this past weekend for homecoming, enjoying the interaction with students and the school and recalling the impact MHS had on his own life.

"It's fantastic to see all the people here," said the 1982 graduate, who shared some thoughts with the Chronicle while in town. "We're back to an environment where everyone looks forward to coming here and celebrating home-coming with friendships and reunions. It's exciting to see the high, positive energy."

Before becoming president two years ago, Heist was a member of the board during a tumultuous time between the alumni association and the school, marked by divisiveness and internal conflict which coincided with external conflicts within the town of Hershey, the board of managers and the administration of the school.

"Through our annual election process, the members of the association elected board members who wanted to move away from all of that divisiveness and conflict - and we did that," said Heist.

The healing began with a letter of apology to the school and the board of managers, written by Heist and published in local papers in January 2007. The letter reopened what Heist calls "a very strong, positive communication with the Milton Hershey School administration and managers.

"It's all about the children," said Heist.

"If we're divisive and we're in conflict with each other that trickles down to the students because alumni don't come back and participate in fellowship weekend, they don't reach out to be mentors for students, they don't participate as ambassadors.

"The fact that we're working together in joint programs where we can bring alumni back to an environment that's not riddled with conflict is tremendous," said Heist. "And the alumni want to come back, they want to participate in programs with the students. It's all good for the school, it's good for the alumni association and most importantly it's good for the students to know that they've got a strong alumni association that works with the school, that helps them when they transition into college or their careers."

Since reopening communication with the school, Heist said members of the administration routinely participate in alumni meetings, "talking to us about what they're doing at the school and answering questions about what's going on at the school in various programs and initiative that they have.

"There are times when we fact check by going to the school and asking to talk to the person in charge of the data and they showed us the data.

"We're very comfortable with our relationship and the level of communication and the level of transparency that we've been provided," said Heist.

That stands in contrast to information being put out by Protect Hershey's Children, a group of Milton Hershey alumni who accuse the school of failing to fulfill Mr. Hershey's legacy.

Heist, last week, reiterated his invitation to PHC to bring its concerns and issues to the alumni board for a thorough vetting.

"We've made it very clear at our board meetings that we welcome any alumni group or alumnus who wants to express themselves about an issue. Bring your issues to us, let the board consider them, seek out the information by taking them to Milton Hershey School and then make an informed decision based on the facts," he said.

"Unfortunately," he said, "that hasn't happened (with PHC). Our invitations have not been accepted."

Heist said it's frustrating "to have people who are part of our great association that don't want to bring those issues to the board and give the board an opportunity to conduct an investigation, seek out the facts and then provide those facts.

"If they were to come into the family and allow us to investigate issues, if there is merit to those issues the voice that we have would make change and would make a difference," he said.

"For better or for worse, at any given moment, we're still all members of the Milton Hershey School family," said Heist, "so all we can do is continue to say our meetings are an opportunity for people to come and put issues to the board so that the alumni association, through its board representation, can take those issues and investigate them and bring back the facts."

When asked to comment specifically about PHC's statements, Heist, a trial lawyer from Chicago, said he has seen nothing but unsubstantiated allegations and statements that run contrary to what he has observed personally at the school.

Heist said the school's leadership has been nothing but responsive to every issue brought before it by the association.

"Over the past two years as president, I have worked closely with the Johnny O'Brien and Pete Gurt leadership team and Ralph Carfagno and the alumni relations office and I've looked at the numbers. I've looked at the information I've seen first hand what this school means to the children today and I have no doubt Milton Hershey's intent is being fulfilled," he said.

Enrollment, he said, is up 50 percent over what it was five years ago and the school is reaching 1,800 students in anticipation of being around 1,850 this year, up from 1200 four years ago.

"That's very successful. That's carrying out the mission," said Heist.

While enrollments are climbing, attrition rates are running at historical averages, said Heist. "The attrition rate right now is at the same level it has been historically for the past 30 years," he said.

Heist also spoke to springboard academy, a learning campus designed to help new middle school students transition into MHS's residential learning environment. The new academy, which opened last year, has been another target of PHC, which says the facility has been problematic, leading to abuses and other problems among the students due to overcrowding and other issues.

Like any new program or new initiative, said Heist, "it's not going to be perfect right off the bat. Anyone who thinks that you just put in a new initiative and it's going to run smoothly doesn't understand how things really operate.

"What I've seen are adjustments," said Heist. "They (the school) recognize a problem and they make adjustments. And they modify the program in a way to address concerns.

"There's going to be a certain learning curve," said Heist, "and there's going to be bumps in the road."

Having toured the facility and seen it in operation, Heist said he has concluded "it's a great concept. It's something they continue to work on and try to make the appropriate adjustments to provide the benefits that they can for the students.

"From what I've seen, it's helping students transition from what we used to describe as the outside world into what is a very structured, very rigid environment. It's not perfect right now, but they're working on it.

"People lose sight of the fact that the environment students are coming from is one of below poverty level with a broken home, lack of discipline, lack of parental structure. When they come here, they are put in a new environment with rules and structure," said Heist. "There's going to be a period of initial rebellion or a lack of following rules. It doesn't mean the program isn't working, it just means that you have to make modifications and changes where needed and I think they're doing that."

Heist said he encourages any alumnus who has concerns to "just come back to campus and talk to the kids. If you don't come back and talk to the kids and you don't come back and talk to your board and administration it's hard to value assertions that aren't substantiated," he said.

In looking back on his own experience at Milton Hershey School, the Chicago lawyer said he owes his success to the school.

"It has helped me become who I am and by whatever measure of success that is, I owe it all to Milton Hershey School," he said.

After graduating from Milton Hershey School, he went onto the University of Illinois where he earned his bachelors degree and then his law degree. He worked as a lawyer for a few years before returning to school to earn his Masters in Business Administration. He now has his own practice in Chicago.

"And I owe it all to everything I got here," he said. "This school gave me absolute strength and a solid foundation for a very strong work ethic. Whenever I was struggling in college, I would always harken back to what I was taught here - to get down, get into it and work through it."

But what's even more exciting, he said, is to see how kids today are still being helped and are benefiting from Mr. Hershey's philanthropy and his goal to provide children from impoverished conditions, with the same opportunities and grow them into healthy, education, good people who can be a strong, productive part of society.

"We're coming up on 100 years and it's still happening, it's still working and his vision is still being carried out every day," he said.