Bret Lowry ‘93 and Trevor Hill ‘93 were regular Hackley students just like us. They competed against our rivals in sports competitions, spent hours writing English papers, and created meaningful connections with teachers and their peers on the Hilltop. After their time here at Hackley, these two alumni went on to serve in the military, something that distinguishes them from many former students. 

On November 8, these two alumni addressed the juniors and seniors during community time in honor of Veteran’s Day.

Mr. Lowry joined the students in person while Mr. Hill was on a Zoom call from Michigan. The two alumni were introduced by junior Calliope Yannuzzi and senior Dylan Firooznia, whose grandfathers both served in the military. Assistant Director of the Upper School Christopher Arnold knew about Calliope’s and Dylan’s connections to veterans and asked the two students a few days before if they would like to introduce the two alumni.   

Mr. Lowry attended the United States Naval Academy after graduating from Hackley. In 1992, during his junior year at Hackley, he realized that he wanted to attend the Naval Academy. Serving in the military became more compelling to him especially after being a fireman and having to respond to a car accident. He described having to show leadership, as he had a limited time to get the person who had been in the accident out of their car. This moment, along with increasing American patriotism as the result of the Persian Gulf War, inspired Mr. Lowry to start his military journey. 

“I thought it was really cool to have that connection to Hackley, to have veterans that were kind of in our place, but went on to do something incredible and fight for our country,” said junior Jiya Dhakad. 

Mr. Lowry shared an anecdote about arriving at the Naval Academy the summer following his senior year. When he showed up to the Naval Academy he felt prepared by Hackley and its rigorous curriculum. On his first day, along with the other freshman, Mr. Lowry was asked military-related questions he didn’t know the answers to, the first step in being pushed past his boundaries. He described that the first night he went to sleep he thought it was going to be a long summer — he felt that the other students were more qualified than him, and was already feeling challenged. However, he described that the Naval Academy’s goal was to break students down so they could come back stronger, more comfortable, and more confident than before. He described transitioning from simply being responsible for himself his freshman year to having a larger leadership role his senior year, and how this prepared him for real life. 

Hearing Mr. Lowry’s story from the Naval Academy stood out to many students.

“I think something that was really powerful was kind of his anecdote about when he first, kind of went to his first day of training. And literally, I think he said that the building was shaking because the officers in charge were screaming so much and so loud. So I thought that was really powerful…That’s obviously very easy to just frame as a negative. But he was able to kind of show how much of a positive thing this was for him and his personal development, and kind of the skills that gave it him today. So definitely I thought it was a really new and great insight on serving for the military,” said senior Rafael Castro. 

Rafael also enjoyed learning about the different branches of the military and what training looks like in general. 

Students also found it valuable to hear about serving in the military from someone who had experienced it. 

“To hear from somebody about what it was like having that pressure on you was really interesting. To hear him talk about that experience, not just his experience in the [navy], but the fact that he was [responsible for] many other people,” said Jiya. 

Some of Mr. Lowry’s service in the Navy include being deployed to San Diego and the Persian Gulf, counterterrorism in Afghanistan, and mission sets in the Middle East. He currently works for Academy Securities, a veteran-owned and operated investment bank, where he hires and trains military veterans. When asked to give advice to students, he emphasized being prepared and showing up, even though it can be hard to have all of the answers, as people are looking up to you. Mr. Lowry highlighted the importance of Veteran’s Day, wanting to remember all those who have died in service to our country because they wanted to serve. 

Next, Col. Hill spoke to the students. During his time at Hackley, Col. Hill played soccer, lacrosse, and wrestled. He attended West Point and served in the military for 27 years. Col. Hill was an Eagle Scout for nine years, and many of the Eagle Scout leaders had served in the Vietnam War, which piqued his interest in joining the military. Col. Hill shared that he wouldn’t have gotten to West Point without Hackley. The admissions office at West Point wanted to know his class rank at Hackley, which he thought was not high, but Hackley did not share it, as they do not calculate class rank. This is how Col. Hill thinks was admitted to West Point. 

“Hearing them just give their individual experiences in drawing parallels to our Hackley experience was really moving,” said Rafael. 

During part of his career, Col. Hill almost left the military but chose to stay because of the connection he felt with those he worked with. Col. Hill was in the Special Forces during 9/11, and, on the day of the assembly twenty years prior, he had been serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. After his time in Iraq ended, he once again considered leaving the military but didn’t because of the people. He stayed as a member of the training staff units and led people in the military up until this past summer. 

Col. Hill thinks that Veteran’s Day is important because of the people who have made sacrifices for our country, especially his friends and those whose lives have been lost. He also has a love for the United States. Col. Hill felt lucky to be in a room with people in the Hackley community and has made friends for life here. Additionally, he stressed the importance of his teachers at Hackley, including English teacher Anne Siviglia. Jiya has Ms. Siviglia this year, so she appreciated the connection that came with seeing someone else who was in her place. 

Col. Hill encouraged Hackley students to keep an open mind to joining the military. He thinks it would be beneficial for these students to play a sport at Hackley. For these students, he also recommends going the officer route, as they can go to college and start serving in the military at a higher level. Additionally, he told students to take advantage of the writing program at Hackley, especially focusing on written communication and public speaking.  

“I just thought how beautifully and well-spoken both of them express themselves and how, I want to be able to do that one day because it was just amazing being in the presence of people like them and being able to talk to them. I was so grateful for that experience,” said Calliope. 

This assembly was just one of many times when Hackley students have been given the opportunity to hear and learn from alumni. 

“I think that having this Hackley connection where you go to see somebody who did something amazing, but know that they came from the same place as you did is really cool,” said Jiya. She especially appreciates hearing about how alumni are using what they have learned on the Hilltop in their daily lives. 

“I really do like [alumni speakers], because, again, it’s like looking around at the people around you. Being like, this is similar to what some of us can become and achieve from embracing the Hackley experience and just being grateful for the education that we’re receiving and how it can ultimately lead to some of the things that these amazing alum are doing,” said Calliope.