Meet the Staff: Jamie Boyce
Let’s get to know Assistant Director of Admission, Head Coach for Girls’ JV Ice Hockey, and newlywed Jamie Boyce! Hailing from Stamford, Connecticut, she is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York, and came to Brewster after two years as the student activities coordinator, athletics assistant, and assistant girls’ hockey and softball coach at Kimball Union Academy. She has also participated in youth hockey development as a counselor or coach for organizations including Elite Camp, Chelsea Piers Connecticut, National Hockey Training Camp, Princeton Girls Hockey Camp, Rinksport, and Southern Connecticut Storm Special Hockey, Inc.
Q. Let’s start with your incredible sports experience before you arrived at Brewster. While earning your Psychology degree from Union College, you were a four-year forward on the Division 1 women’s ice hockey team there. Prior to college, you were a multi-sport athlete at the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts: soccer, field hockey, ice hockey, and softball. If you could be an Olympic gold medalist in one of those sports, which would you pick and why?
A. My dream for my whole life was to play on the USA Olympic Ice Hockey Team! Although that dream didn’t come true, I was fortunate enough to have teammates who played at that level, and I got to play Division 1 at Union College. Hockey’s always been my #1 love, but my family would always tell me I was actually better at softball than hockey.
Q. Like a lot of staffers at Brewster, you wear many hats. Is it possible to share what a typical day looks like for you?
A. A typical day for me is waking up between 5 and 6 a.m. to walk my dogs, Lou and Lily, get ready for work, and be sure to get breakfast—the most important meal of the day! If I am interviewing a family that day, I prep myself on what the student is interested in, and help give the family all the information they need about Brewster. I follow up with families who have visited campus, see if they need help with getting started on the application, or if they want me to connect them with program directors, coaches, etc. After being in the office, depending on the season, I will head to practice, then come home and make dinner—my husband and I love cooking Hello Fresh! After dinner, I like to just hang out with my dogs and husband and watch TV, or read my Kindle before bed.
Q. The Brewster Open House event went really well in October. What questions are you hearing most from prospective students? How about their parents? What interests them the most or concerns them the most?
A. The questions we hear most often are “How often will I be able to come to campus to see my son/daughter?”, “Where do I do my laundry?,” “What are your technology policies?”, and our favorite question, “When can I start at Brewster?!” or “Could I go back to high school so I could go to Brewster?!”
Q. I’ve said that last one myself! You run a group at Brewster called Women Who Workout (also known as WWW). What’s that all about?
A. This is my third year running Women Who Workout, and I love giving female faculty members a comfortable space to build strength and confidence in the weight room. It can be intimidating going to the weight room, and I have no problem walking into any weight room and getting to work! I started the group three years ago because I know how much more enjoyable it is to have a group or team together in the weight room rather than working out on your own. Fitness is so important for both our physical and mental health. Being a former D1 athlete, and a person who suffered a back injury in high school (two fractures and a dislocated L5 Vertebrae), I realized the importance of taking care of our bodies, since we are not getting any younger, and it has only benefited my life both physically and mentally.
Q. You’re a newlywed..congratulations! Will you tell us about your fellow and the big day?
A. Thanks! My husband, Brendan, and I got married on July 13, 2024, at the Mount Washington Resort, and we couldn’t ask for a more perfect wedding weekend! We always talk about how grateful we are to have had the people we love with us for our big day, and we also loved having a smaller wedding because we were able to spend time with everyone! Brendan is a Data Analyst at Huggins Hospital, which is right down the street. He went to boarding school himself (St. Paul’s), and he played ice hockey at Norwich University. We went to Aruba for our honeymoon during Thanksgiving break!
Q. Random question: Cats or dogs?
A. I love both cats and dogs. I currently have two dogs, and I had a cat as a kid. But if I had to choose, I would say dogs.
Q. Here’s a less controversial random question: What’s your favorite dessert?
A. My all-time favorite dessert: Chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce.
Q. Did you have a chocolate wedding cake!?
A. We had a four-tier cake that alternated between an Oreo chocolate cake and vanilla cake. I am also an Oreo enthusiast!
Q. Okay, last random question, we promise: Best concert you've ever been to?
A. The best concert I’ve been to was at Red Rocks, and it was Halsey! Although I do not regularly listen to Halsey, that venue was the most incredible venue I have ever been to, and the acoustics were absolutely amazing!
Q. Red Rocks, the open-air amphitheater out near Denver?
A. Yes. A concert at Red Rocks should be on everyone’s bucket list!
Q. What do you do when you’re not working or coaching?
A. When I’m not working or coaching, I am with my dogs, walking around campus or on the Cotton Valley Rail Trail!
