How a Surprise Reunion Reignited a Commitment to Country Day

When Addison Woodward moved to Cincinnati from Minnesota in 1956, he and his family needed to find a high school midway through his junior year. As he searched for the right one, he happened upon Cincinnati Country Day School.

When Addison visited Country Day, the campus was in the middle of a major renovation, but Addison was able to see past the construction and sense that the school would be a good fit for him.

“Country Day was more of a two-by-four kind of place at the time because they were getting ready to move into a new building the next year,” says Addison. “But I felt that the teachers were wonderful and that it was going to be an easier school for me to adapt to.”

Football season just ended when Addison enrolled at Country Day, so he joined the basketball team and started practicing right away.

“I was a good athlete at my previous school,” says Addison. “So, joining the basketball team, and, in the spring, the baseball team, allowed me to easily make new friends and adjust to life at Country Day.”

Addison appreciated the small class size at Country Day because he felt like he could develop friendships more easily. Even now, he still keeps in contact with a few of his classmates by attending mini-reunions in Michigan, Tennessee, and New Mexico.  

After Addison graduated from Country Day in 1958, he received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Toronto. He taught psychology at Albion College in Michigan for four years and then moved to Governors State University in Illinois where he continued to teach psychology for the next 30 years, for 23 of which he was the chair of his department.

Life had pulled Addison away from Country Day as an institution but one day, former Country Day faculty member and alum William (Bill) Hopple Jr. `39 called Addison to let him know he was in the Chicago Heights area and wanted to see if they could get together.

“We didn’t visit for very long, maybe 30 or 45 minutes, but after being away from Country Day for about 20 years, that random call and short visit with William got me reinvested in Country Day.”

From then on, he has been a generous supporter of Country Day.

“The first gift is important,” says Addison. “Once you begin supporting something you believe in, it’s easy to keep giving.”

Even though Addison graduated almost 70 years ago, he still generously gives to Country Day.

“When I was at Country Day, there was no diversity,” says Addison. “But I really appreciate what they are doing now with their efforts to significantly increase diversity. I usually donate to support tuition aid so that deserving people from all backgrounds can attend such a great institution.”