As she rides on her bike across West Quad North withher distinct red mittens, Agatha Kip greets students crossing main street with an inviting smile and “hello.”
Kip, Nutrition Counselor and Sports Dietitian, works with Isham Health Center and Paresky Commons to both promote healthy eating habits and educate Andover students and faculty about nutrition. Her role during her 33 years at Andover, however, encompassed much more than giving dietary advices.
“I watch you all grow up, I watch you find your way. I may give a student advice in ninth grade, or twelfth grade, or in yoga class, or run into them in the salad bar, and [I love] somehow seeing, ‘How did they use that advice? Was it fruitful? If so, how?’” said Kip.
Through her various additional roles on campus, such as House Counselor and Instructor in Yoga, Kip has built many memorable relationships on campus.
Kips specifically recalls her students in Whitney House in 1997, when they helped Nicholas Kip, Instructor in Classics, propose to her, the start of their 16 year marriage.
Nicholas Kip worked with the girls in the dorm to keep his proposal a surprise and to bring Aggie Kip to the common room.
“One of the girls [in Whitney House] was a wonderful artist, and they made cute posters, and they had balloons, and it was really sweet. It was really very, very much like a family. I think when you have that, that’s a pivotal moment in life, to feel like where you are for your job is your home,” Kip said.
She also remembers a group of boys who came to Bertha Bailey as juniors and stacked the dorm for the rest of their time at Andover.
“They gave me flowers for Mothers’ Day, and the day they graduated, they gave me a huge bouquet and I remember I carried it when the kids were marching down the Great Lawn,” said Kip.
In addition to the nutrition committee and her work-duty kids, Kip’s close relationships with students enable her to incorporate their suggestions into her work.
“When we were coming up with the new menus, I insisted on putting on the Power Bar because students would always say, ‘Could we have different kinds or different flavors of hummus?’…every chance I have to change the menu, I include their suggestions,” Kip said.
“All of you, even if you’re not athletes, you all really like high performance. You like when you can go to class and get through the day, even if it’s a long day, it’s important to you all, so that’s why I love to do this,” she continued.
