A gift that changes everything

“Seven years at Watkinson certainly enriched my life with opportunities of a lifetime, providing me with the confidence, intellectual curiosity, and discipline I needed to adapt to college life and my research position at Harvard.”

Arjun Kapur, Lifer at Watkinson ’12 & Harvard University ’16

“I'd like to tell my donor that I appreciate everything that she's done, and that her family has done, just for me to be able to come to this amazing school and get the great education that I need. I thank her with everything in the whole wide world.”

current student Desteni D. '27

Change A Life, Fund A Lifer is our next bold step in establishing a new and heightened giving culture at Watkinson.

A student who comes to Watkinson as a sixth grader and stays for seven years, experiencing everything the school has to offer, becomes a “Lifer.” These students thrive at Watkinson and beyond as their place in the school deepens and solidifies over time. Developing in a safe and encouraging community, Lifers develop confidence in themselves and a love of learning, leaving behind traditional fears — of public speaking, of failing, of trying new things — and become mature, thoughtful, intelligent, compassionate thinkers and doers. Part of this benefit comes from the educational continuity they enjoy when they move from 8th to 9th grade, a seamless transition designed to help students develop in authentic and powerful ways.

These Lifers also change Watkinson with their insights, their experiments, their commitments, their questions. We are a better school for their presence.

Change a Life, Fund a Lifer recognizes the importance of this relationship. A commitment of $250,000–$1 million from a donor covers the cost of a Watkinson education from 6th grade through graduation and changes the life of a student in the process.

Investment in this program demonstrates the collective belief in the power of a Watkinson education.

Thomas Murphy

Director of Development