The student who saved “on the quad” and who  graciously started a new era in the daily schoolwide emails of the lunch and dinner menu is graduating. But happily, the torch he carried will continue to burn.

Couper Gunn ’18, has been here since 7th grade,  took on the role for the past year, changing what was formerly known as “On the Quad” into “Couper’s Quads,” a daily offering of on-campus events, reminders, pictures, notices, and affirmations. “Make it a great day” was Couper’s consistent sign off, a positive message he repeated in his speech at Baccalaureate on Friday, May 25.

On Saturday, May 26, Couper graduated; however, this does not mean that Couper’s Quads is coming to an end. Couper hand-picked rising senior Caleb Stern to take on the role next year.

“On The Quad” was a schoolwide email that began in 2012, originally used to lead students to the new school website. As years passed it  became the hub of school news. The news varied daily, but it was always reliable to let students know the meal menus.

This year the Communications office had to let “On The Quad” go in order to provide more time for other projects.

Kate Snyder, the manager of “On The Quad,” said, in an article published in The Willistonian on September 30, 2017, “All these new ways of communicating are wonderful, but they take time to maintain, plus our office has some big new projects on the horizon for the Admission and Advancement offices. All of that meant that, regrettably, we couldn’t continue the daily email.”

Caleb Stern ’19 was approached by Couper after track practice this spring and asked if he’d like to take over the helm.

It took Caleb by surprise, but Caleb was more than willing to take over.

“I’m looking forward to it!” Caleb said. “I think it’ll be great to continue the tradition, and I think I’ll do all right.”

“I foresee Couper’s Quads playing the same role it played this year, more or less,” he added. “I will continue to send out the menus every day, but who knows, I might spice things up a bit.

Couper said he’s enjoyed using his platform to connect with the student body.

“From something that I decided to do in English class when we were talking about it one day, I never thought this would be something that I would have been doing for the entire school year,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed connecting with the students in this way and I am so happy it will continue next year.

Couper is confident Caleb will carry on the legacy — and he’s happy Caleb will keep the name the same.

“I wanted someone who understands what it means to connect with the students this way and to be relied on,” he explained. “The first person to pop in to my mind was Caleb. I felt like he would do a great job. He was very generous to allow the name to stay the same as a kind of legacy for me at the school, which I am so proud about. I hope that this email lasts forever.”