Celebrating 50 Years of Diversity at Church Farm School: Nigel Greaves '95

When Nigel Greaves' stepfather passed away from cancer when he was in 9th grade, he found himself unmotivated and without “inspiration to look forward.” He struggled for a few years at a large Catholic school in the north Bronx before he and his mom, Caryl, decided he needed a change. She was friendly with Bill Seymour ’78, an alumnus of the school. “He shared his story with my mom, as he is so proud to do. He said it changed his life, and maybe it could help me, too.” Following a tour, Nigel enrolled for the 1993-94 school year.

Nigel says that the diversity of the Church Farm School student body was incredibly important to him. “I don’t know if I would have come if it were not so. My family is very diverse, I have first and second cousins that run the complete spectrum of race. We’re a very tolerant family and believe everyone should do what makes them happy. At Church Farm School, that was the atmosphere too. It felt like home.”

An only child and a self-proclaimed “momma’s boy,” Nigel said Church Farm School “was a big adjustment but I welcomed it. I really dove right in.” In particular, Nigel enjoyed being able to try any sport he wanted to (he played both baseball and soccer), and studying English with Mr. Ray Greenblatt and Mr. David Stout. “They were big influences on me. I remember in Mr. Greenblatt’s poetry course, we were studying the comparisons between Shakespeare and Langston Hughes. Learning about those revered figures had a big impact on me,” he says, even inspiring him to join the school newspaper. “It was incredible to put things into practice that I was learning in journalism class: writing, editing and storyboarding.” Nigel’s interest followed him to Ithaca College, where he attained a degree in sports information and communications. There, he was able to pursue some amazing internships with organizations such as the NFL, a NY sports radio station, the Dodgers and Kings in Los Angeles and even the New York Giants. Unfortunately, Nigel says, “the doors were opened for me as an intern, but not as a full-time employee.”

He ended up working for the New York City Parks and Recreation Department, with a focus on budgets and city finance. This position led to greater interest in the nonprofit sector, and he worked as a school counselor in Washington, DC, and for the United Way before settling in at his current role at the YMCA of Metropolitan Hartford, which he commutes to every day from his home in Springfield, Massachusetts. “CFS changed the trajectory of my life,” Nigel says. “I don’t know that any other boarding school would have provided me with the diversity that I so valued at CFS.”