Alumnae News & Highlights

 

"After graduating from Colgate University, I lived in New York City for two years with my two best friends from Hathaway Brown School. We had a substantial crew from the Class of 2016 in the city and spent a great deal of time together. I feel so lucky to have remained so close with my tight-knit group from HB and know they will always be sisters to me, no matter where we go in life. 

With my chapter in Manhattan coming to a close, I decided to move to Sydney, Australia. I had spent a semester abroad there back in 2018 and had always wanted to return. I shared this update with the head of alumni at The Island School during an event in the city and she connected me to Jenny Martin Allan ’03, who also attended The Island School. Jenny and I had exchanged a few emails before I connected with her on LinkedIn. I will never forget the moment I opened up her profile because I was in complete disbelief; Jenny and I had not only both attended The Island School, but we had both attended HB and grew up in the same suburb of Cleveland. Our parents quickly recognized one another’s surnames as they had crossed paths growing up as well! Soon after, I reconnected with a few of my former HB teachers who also offered to connect me with Jenny. So even though we were already connected through The Island School, we were on track to find each other through our HB network. 

A few months before I moved, I had the chance to briefly chat with Jenny and her husband, Derek, on FaceTime. They offered to pick me up from the airport and host me for as long as I needed upon my arrival in Sydney. I took them up on their offer and spent my first week down under with Jenny, Derek and their two boys, Graham and Freddy (pictured below). To have an incredible family like the Allans waiting for me on the other side of the daunting, long journey brought an extreme amount of comfort to both me and my parents.

Throughout the past five months, the Allans have played such an important role in my transition into my new life in Sydney. I cannot explain the extent to which they have helped me get my feet on the ground. Jenny and I have become incredibly close as we have such aligned values and experiences. One of our favorite pastimes is reminiscing on our HB and Island School memories. We often find ourselves playing our favorite “did you have so and so as a teacher?” game. I regularly spend time at the Allan household where I get to join in on family dinners, movie nights, bush walks, and the serenity of life in the northern suburbs of Sydney.

Moving to the other side of the world alone comes with countless barriers and challenges, but Jenny and her family have made me feel incredibly safe, supported, and looked after. They have truly become my Sydney family - my home away from home - and for this I am eternally grateful.”

-Eliza Judson ’16