Thrive here,
then everywhere

School fairs, living-room conversations, alumni reunions, and a few very full itineraries: behind the scenes with some of the people helping future Bobcats find their way to Brewster.

A school fair table can hold only so many viewbooks. This fall, Alice Mann has been finding that out, having just returned from an intense, two-week recruitment trip in Japan and China.

“At most every fair I’ve been to this year, I’ve had a line of families waiting to talk to me,” said Brewster’s Director of Admissions.

The questions are as individual as the students asking them. Could I keep playing the sport I love? What happens if I need help in math? How do you make friends when everyone is new? What would it actually feel like to live at Brewster?

Answering those questions is one of the most enjoyable parts of admissions travel. Getting to that conversation takes considerable work, and a community whose reach extends well beyond Wolfeboro.

As Brewster celebrates a strong enrollment year and a student body representing 27 countries and 26 states, the admissions team is already on the road helping the next group of students imagine their possibilities here. Their itineraries offer a glimpse into how a school community comes together, one introduction at a time.

A Very Full Day, Far From the Office

If you stop by Brewster’s admissions office during the fall, there is a good chance someone’s desk will be empty.

Someone may be visiting a school in New England, meeting a family in Colorado, or preparing for an evening fair across the world. The team’s travel plans extend from nearby communities to destinations across the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Behind each trip are school appointments, conversations with educational consultants and placement directors, outreach to prospective families, and connections with current parents and alumni. A day can include four or five meetings before an evening fair even begins.

For Mann, who joined Brewster nine years ago and is in her first year as Director of Admissions, that pace brings both challenges and rewards.

“I feel energized from travel in addition to being exhausted,” she said. “It’s a balance.”

Being away from family and moving between appointments can be demanding. But then a student asks a thoughtful question, a parent shares what they hope will be different at a new school, or someone encounters Brewster for the first time, and the purpose of the trip becomes clear.

Sometimes, the Best Place to Start Is a Living Room

Mann grew up on a boarding-school campus, where her father worked for more than 30 years. She understands the rhythms of this life from the perspective of a child, an educator, and an admissions professional.

That experience helps her appreciate how personal the boarding-school decision can be.

Meeting a family where they are comfortable can change the conversation. On the road, that might mean sitting in their home and hearing more openly about a student’s interests, challenges, and hopes.

“Meeting them in a space where they’re really comfortable,” Mann explained, gives families room to talk about what they actually need in a school.

Those conversations help the admissions team understand the person behind an inquiry or application. They also give families a chance to begin building a relationship before making a trip to New Hampshire.

For Mann, that is one of travel’s greatest benefits: the opportunity for a real connection.

Many Miles, Many Brewster Hats

For Bryce Richmond, Assistant Director of Admissions, a travel itinerary often reflects several parts of his life at Brewster.

Now in his fifth year, Richmond has served as an admissions officer, lacrosse coach, dorm parent, and strength and conditioning coach. When families ask about student life, he can draw on relationships formed in the office, on the field, and in the dorm.

His recent Colorado trip took him through Denver, Boulder, Aspen, and Vail, meeting prospective families, current families, and alumni while attending boarding-school fairs. In Seattle, he combined a school fair and a current-parent visit with a lacrosse showcase.

The work begins before he arrives.

Richmond reaches out to families already exploring Brewster, contacts parents and alumni in the area, and looks for opportunities to make introductions. A meeting might happen over coffee, lunch, dinner, or in a family’s home.

“I’m always happy to meet with anyone,” he said.

His coaching role also makes travel a year-round undertaking. Tournaments, showcases, and camps create opportunities to meet students who may first discover Brewster through athletics, then become interested in everything else the school offers.

Back on campus, Richmond helps connect families with coaches and works with athletics colleagues to understand their programs’ roster goals. That coordination helps families explore how a student’s athletic interests could fit within a broader Brewster education.

The Community Travels With Us

Ask Richmond about alumni, and his enthusiasm is immediate.

“Our alumni are amazing.”

On the road, he meets people whose Brewster experiences have led them toward different careers, interests, and lives. Those conversations give him stories to bring back to prospective families and reminders of how long a school’s influence can last.

A recent visit with an alumnus in Boulder, whose path included entrepreneurship and a growing passion for art, offered one such example. Hearing how graduates continue to discover their interests gives fresh meaning to Brewster’s mission to prepare diverse thinkers for lives of purpose.

Current parents contribute another essential perspective. They know what it feels like to consider boarding school, help a child prepare, and watch that child begin to find their place.

Their introductions and honest conversations can help another family take the next step.

“Our parents are phenomenal about that word of mouth and talking with prospective families,” Richmond said.

Faculty and staff make those connections meaningful when families arrive on campus. Teachers explain what learning looks like. Coaches discuss opportunities to participate and grow. Student tour guides share their own experiences and answer the questions students most want to ask.

The admissions team may make the trip, but the story they share belongs to the whole community.

Bringing the Conversation Home

The enthusiasm Mann is seeing at fairs has been one of the pleasures of this fall. Families are arriving with questions, waiting to learn more, and following up to explore what Brewster could mean for their child.

For the team, that interest is encouraging. It also brings a responsibility to listen carefully and help each family understand the school beyond its photographs and programs.

Mann remembers her own first visit: turning toward campus, taking in the lake, and arriving at an admissions office that felt welcoming and relaxed.

Today, she and her colleagues work to offer that same sense of welcome, whether the first meeting happens in Wolfeboro or thousands of miles away.

And when families do come to campus, she has one additional recommendation: leave time to explore the town.

“Really feel our community for yourself,” she said.

That is the invitation behind every carefully planned trip, busy fair, and living-room conversation. Come meet the people. Ask your questions. Imagine what you might try here.

We look forward to getting to know you.

Plan a campus visit or meet our admissions team to begin your Brewster conversation.

Behind another conference title is a team that believes in one another, a coach who has helped generations of students grow, and a Lakes Region community that makes the experience 
possible.

The congratulations were already arriving on the ride home.

As Brewster’s golfers returned from the October 28 MAISAD Championship at Fox Ridge Golf Club in Lewiston, Maine, former players were calling their teammates and successors. Alumni and parents were reaching out to Coach Byron Martin. Across generations, Bobcats were sharing in the celebration.

Carson MacDonald, Charlie Martin, Owen Novelline, Mason Patriarca, Keller Peacock, Ebbin Perkins, Matteo Sollazzo, and Jacob Troubh had brought home Brewster’s fifth consecutive conference championship, adding their own chapter to a tradition that extends well beyond the course.

The team arrived in Maine following an undefeated league season shaped by several close matches. As temperatures climbed into the 40s, Brewster’s six championship competitors took on Fox Ridge’s challenging layout and demanding greens.

Led by captain Charlie Martin, the Bobcats established an early lead. Through nine holes, Ebbin Perkins was tied for first individually, Charlie held the second-lowest score, and Jacob Troubh was playing his best golf of the season with the third-lowest score. Keller Peacock, Carson MacDonald, and Matteo Sollazzo contributed solid rounds as the team headed into the back nine.

Brewster finished with three of the day’s four lowest scores, securing a commanding victory and a record-setting fifth straight MAISAD title. The team’s sixth-position golfer delivered its second-lowest score, a powerful example of the depth that made this championship possible.

“Our bread and butter, and what won it again, is the depth,” Martin said. “We have kids that work hard at all spots. Every part of the team’s important.”

For Martin, now in his 33rd year at Brewster, that belief connects this team to the players who came before it. When the calls began on the ride home, he could hear how much the tradition still meant to them, and how proud they were to see it carried forward.

A Coach Who Said Yes
Brewster’s competitive golf program began with a few interested students, encouragement from their families, and a coach willing to give something new a chance.

Martin’s background was in soccer and tennis. His own introduction to golf came during graduate school at St. Lawrence University, when a group of hockey players invited him to join them. He enjoyed it, eventually bought clubs after arriving at Brewster, and began helping with the school’s recreational program.

Later, when students and parents asked for competitive golf, he agreed to help launch a team. The plan was to do it for a year, then find another coach.

That one year became a defining part of his Brewster career.

Getting started took persistence. Martin searched for players, found opponents, and asked people to help. Former Head of School Mike Cooper helped establish a relationship with Lake Winnipesaukee Golf Club, giving the young program an extraordinary place to practice and compete. Local professionals offered instruction. Faculty members volunteered their time. Community members opened their courses to Brewster students.

Martin remembers those contributions with gratitude. His pride in the program is matched by his appreciation for the people who have helped it grow.

Today, his coaching emphasizes course management, understanding the game, recognizing individual strengths, and helping students make thoughtful decisions. This season, local golf experts and members of the Wolfeboro community, Bob Hughes and Dick Totaro, were also among those contributing their time and expertise.

“Realistically, we are all helping each other,” Martin said.

A Father, a Son, and a Team
For Martin, this championship season carries an especially personal significance: the opportunity to coach his son Charlie through his senior year.

Before arriving at Brewster, Charlie told his father he wanted to play varsity golf. Martin encouraged him toward the developmental program. Charlie had a different goal.

He wanted to earn a place on the team.

He worked for it, made varsity as a freshman, and quickly established himself among its leading players. That first year included a hole-in-one and a six-under-par nine-hole round that set a Brewster record.

Yet when Martin talks about coaching his son, he returns to Charlie’s care for his teammates.

“What I was most privileged to see was his ability to work with others,” he said.

Martin described Charlie as a talented teacher, someone willing to share his technical knowledge and help another player find an adjustment or understand an idea. Alongside former teammate Will Hunter and other student leaders, Charlie has helped sustain a culture of encouragement and shared improvement.

There are other longstanding connections within this year’s roster. Martin coached Carson MacDonald and Keller Peacock in middle school lacrosse, years before getting to coach them as senior golfers. Watching those relationships grow across different teams and stages of adolescence has made this season particularly rewarding.

The result is a team whose strength reaches beyond individual scores. Players help one another prepare, work through challenges, and keep improving. Each has a role in carrying the program forward.

An Extraordinary Place to Play and Learn
Fall golf at Brewster is a special experience.

Afternoons unfold across the changing landscapes of New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, where students encounter different courses, different conditions, and new decisions with every round.

This season, Martin said, Brewster golfers played 10 different courses.

Lake Winnipesaukee Golf Club, the varsity team’s home course, provides an exceptional championship setting. Kingswood Golf Club offers a classic Donald Ross design within a very short distance of campus. Bald Peak Colony Club has become another valued setting for rounds and practice, while relationships with Province Lake, Indian Mound, and other regional courses broaden students’ experiences.

These opportunities have grown through years of relationship-building, and through the way Brewster students conduct themselves when they arrive.

Martin teaches his golfers to appreciate the privilege of playing these courses. Respect for the grounds, consideration for others, and gratitude toward the people who welcome them are expectations of representing Brewster.

Those lessons give real meaning to the school’s commitment to place-based education. The surrounding community becomes part of students’ education, offering opportunities to develop judgment, independence, responsibility, and relationships.

The annual Winnie-Cat tournament is a particularly joyful expression of that connection. Now in its sixth year, it pairs Brewster golfers with Lake Winnipesaukee club members for an 18-hole tournament followed by a reception, dinner, and awards. Students and members get to know one another through a shared love of the game, strengthening the community around the program.

A Tradition Worth Joining
The program’s growth is easy to see.

Martin once searched for enough students to put a team together. This year, approximately 32 students came out for varsity and junior varsity golf, with JV now in its second year. Both teams are coeducational, reflecting the program's continued growth and opportunities for students.

Some players have continued their competitive careers in college. Tyler Berkman ’25 went on to NCAA Division I golf at St. Bonaventure, and Martin noted that Will Hunter is now playing at the Division III level at McDaniel College.

For students who love golf, Brewster offers the chance to pursue that passion within a school community that knows them, challenges them, and supports their growth. The program brings together competitive athletics, meaningful relationships, and an exceptional setting—an experience that helps students discover what they can accomplish and what they can contribute.

“We are about fun,” Martin said. “We are about the love of the game.”

That love was evident in the calls and messages on the ride home. It lives in the alumni still following the team, the community members sharing their time, and the students helping one another become better players.

Congratulations to Carson, Charlie, Owen, Mason, Keller, Ebbin, Matteo, and Jacob, to Coach Martin and the coaching team, and to everyone who helped make this fifth consecutive championship possible. You have given the Brewster community so much to celebrate and the next generation of Bobcat golfers a wonderful tradition to carry forward.