By Em Ducharme, Director of Finance and Operations and Semester 8 alum
I first met Sam Critchlow in the winter of 2007. I was returning to HMI as an apprentice and Sam was in his first year as math faculty. I knew early on that he was a good egg from the series of expeditions and adventures we went on that first semester.
First came the winter training trip. We were in a tarp group together and it was during that trip that I remember the thermometer in our winter kitchen dropping to -40 our second night.
Not long after that was the first expedition for Semester 20, which was a failed attempt to go to the canyons due to the six feet of snow that fell on us as we pulled into Blanding, Utah. They closed the roads so we couldn’t leave town, and on our first night we all slept outside under one of the town pavilions, then spent the second night on the floor of a Blanding church gymnasium, and finally drove all the way back to HMI.
Next came Second Expedition, the winter trip. Sam and I got to lead together along with Molly and Christopher Barnes. I remember Sam being an appetizer aficionado in our kitchen and beginning his multi-year petition to be able to bring a split board into the field, rather than having to ski.
And finally, Sam and I got to lead Semester 22’s First Expedition to Fish & Owl canyons. It was during this expedition that I remember Sam bestowing a well-known backcountry “pearl of wisdom” to me. It came after listening to our student hiking group argue all day about what meal they should make for dinner later that night. The timeless debate of whether to cook their favorite or least favorite meal first. As we were deciding what to make for our own dinner that night, Sam said, “if you’re always eating your best first, you’re always eating your best.” I think of this often, even in front-country life!
These expedition memories can be summarized as hilarious, epic, inspiring, and just the type of experiences that make HMI so magical. And those are all also qualities I’d use to describe Sam. Silly, creative, motivating, experienced, and one of HMI’s “pillars” of the community.
Sam has such a genuine and easy way of being, which I have seen colleagues and students alike gravitate to. I know he claims to be an analyst architect at the core, but I would argue that he is just as much a spontaneous motivator. He is creative, he remembers how to have fun, and his field of gravity draws everyone around him into whatever potato-cannon type of silliness he’s creating.
He also clearly knows how to create new systems, processes, and strategies. He is a realist and can be a driver when needed. And he continues to impress me with his empathy and curiosity, both as a leader and as a friend.
At HMI, we use the “leadership grid” as one way of illustrating how each of us identifies as a leader. We teach students the most revered and effective leaders are able to step into any quadrant at any time, depending on what the situation needs. Everything I know about Sam points me to believe that he is adept at accessing all quadrants, when needed, with both logic and intuition.
I remember one day in March 2022 when we were just beginning the search for the new head of school at HMI. I sent Sam a message, saying, “You need to apply to be the next HOS at HMI! We need someone who has the analytical mind, institutional mindset, and spontaneous motivator capabilities. So seriously, think it over.” Needless to say, I was thrilled when Sam accepted the job.
When anyone asks me these days, how work is going with the new head of school, I find myself earnestly saying the same thing over and over again: “Honestly, I feel like we won the lottery. I couldn’t imagine anyone else being in this role.”
This article first appeared in the Fall 2023 / Winter 2024 HMI Newsletter