Andover has accepted postgraduates as old as 23 since the PG’s program began over two centuries ago. Other PG’s of the past came to prepare for college entrance exams., and college preparation remains a common goal for current PG’s. The current PG’s program is commonly associated with athletes, and their strong contributions to athletic teams are warmly acknowledged among the student body. However, some students believe that athletic PG’s do not contribute as much to the greater Andover community as do students who attend the school for more than one year. Yoni Gruskin ’07 said, “I’m a big proponent of Andover coaches recruiting heavily for athletic teams here, but I would rather have recruits who spend more than one year at the school. Even though PG’s are typically extraordinary individual athletes, they tend to clump together and isolate themselves and they don’t always buy into the team concept. I would prefer that we use repeat freshmen, sophomores, and juniors as our main recruits.” Girls Varsity Volleyball Captain Cassidy Carpenter ’08 remarked on having PG’s Dawson Joyce-Mendive on the volleyball team, “Dawson is absolutely amazing on and off the court. She was a leader and a great example. It always helps to play with someone with a higher skill level. Her play helped elevate everyone else on the court.” Meghan McCafferty ’10 said, “Dawson added so much to the team. She’s a really good player, and everyone on the team liked her. She was very generous about helping other players and never made you feel inferior to her if you needed help. She gave me advice when I was having trouble with a new skill.” Dawson’s team gladly welcomed her and never saw her as being dissimilar from the rest of the team. Carpenter said, “There were always PG’s jokes going around, mostly instigated by [Dawson], but it was never like she was different from any of us. She was an integral part of this year’s team.” Boys Varsity Crew Captain Rush Martin ’07 commented, “Post grads do not have a major effect on the school community as a whole. Though they make enormous contributions athletically, off the court, ice, field, etc., they behave as normal students for the most part. Some are more academically focused, while others are not, just like the PA student body.” Martin added, “For the school, it helps keep Andover competitive in some of the arenas deemed deserving (football and hockey, in particular). Andover PG’s are normally multidimensional and contribute to the Academy in areas other than athletics.” Boys Varsity Hockey Coach Dean Boylan wrote, “I certainly consider the postgraduate student athletes who have played for us over the years to have been positive additions to our teams and to the school community in general…I believe that the PG’s program is consistent with Andover’s goal to challenge all of its student athletes to achieve their fullest potential.” Less commonly discussed are the PG’s attending PA for academic pursuits. Kemper Scholars are among academic PG’s. The 35-year-old program allows five students per year to be a part of the PA community by granting a yearlong scholarship. Aline Dubois said of herself and fellow Kemper Scholars, “We add diversity on campus; we talk a lot in classes, such as International Relations for example.” Varsity Baseball Captain Sam Conte ’07 believes, “PG’s’s are definitely a benefit to this school. As proud as we are about our academics at Andover, athletics and the success of our teams can be equally important to many members of our community. PG’s bring with them not only the energy of new students, but also the maturity and level of preparation that translates to success on the playing field.”
