From the New Head of School: Sam Critchlow
This past June, HMI celebrated its 25th birthday, welcoming hundreds of alumni, former staff and trustees, and families back to campus. This summer represents a homecoming for me as well. Having left HMI twelve years prior, I have returned to a place that is both deeply familiar and impressively changed. Our community is larger, more diverse, and conscientiously inclusive. Our campus is better designed to support teaching, learning, and living. Our school now welcomes high school graduates and adult educators as program participants.
As HMI has grown, so too has the financial support of our community. Your generosity has allowed us to build nine on-campus housing units where half of our faculty and staff now live. Fundraising has also allowed us to increase the percentage of students receiving financial aid by 50% since 2011–a truly inspiring achievement. For your support in these efforts, I am deeply grateful.
As we continue to grow and take on new, ambitious goals, I remember the vision, audacity, and determination that brought HMI into existence. I think of the dedication of our staff, apprentices, and trustees; I see the generosity of our alumni, families, and friends; and I am reassured that we will thrive together. The HMI community is an incredible force: it is what propels us forward, and what has brought me back.
Sam Critchlow
Head of School
scritchlow@hminet.org
(719) 486-8200 x101
From the New Director of Development: Ray McGaughey
After eight years of serving as HMI’s director of admissions, I am so excited to transition into the role of director of development. My connection to HMI dates back to 2005 when I attended Semester 15 (then called RMS XV). HMI left a profound impact on me as it has on so many other students. I wanted to give back to this special place, and HMI became my first “favorite nonprofit.” I made my first donation of $10 in January 2006, just a few weeks after graduating! I am proud to have donated nearly every year since.
As I step into this role, it is a joy to start learning about the many other alumni, families, and friends of HMI who also love and support this school. Over 700 individuals donated to HMI last year, collectively raising over $1.7 million to support financial aid, faculty/staff compensation, and campus improvements. The median gift was just $26. Just as I began donating shortly after my semester, so too do recent young alumni. Semester 48, which concluded in May 2022 won the Summit Challenge for highest class participation. 85% of the cohort donated to HMI with a median gift of $16.
In the coming months, I look forward to (re)connecting with as many of you as possible. I plan to join Sam on his “Meet the New Head” tour this fall and meet some of you then. If we miss each other, please reach out at any time to discuss supporting HMI…or just to say hi!
Read more in the 2023 HMI Impact Report.