Kitty Rothschild ‘80 said, “The concept of experiential learning, learning by doing things, like organizing County Fair and doing Big Brothers and Big Sisters embedded a sense of community, responsibility, and purpose in me that have been the grounding principles of my life.”

Reclining in a plush chair in the Harris Center, Rothschild, mother of Nathan ‘12, Julian ‘16 and sophomore Gabe, explained on April 25 how her 14 years as a Colonel impacted her career to an intimate crowd of around twenty Upper Schoolers and faculty. Senior Class President Talia Garg interviewed Rothschild in the pilot session of Lunch and Learn, an initiative that the alumni office and U.S. administration intends to fully implement next year. The idea is that each month a different alum will talk to students about their occupation and takeaways from their Parker experience.

“It is for students to listen to someone’s story who was once in their shoes,” Associate Joe Bruno, Director of Alumni Engagement, who created the program alongside Upper School Head Justin Brandon, Middle and Upper School Director of Studies Sven Carlsson, and Upper School Dean of Student Life Christian Bielizna, said. “I’m always looking for ways to connect our alums with students in terms of career paths and internships. It’s one of the more challenging things to do, so when they came to me with that idea, it morphed into what it is.”

Rothschild spoke of her passion for opera during her time at Parker — an avid singer, she participated in the annual musicals and the Special Chorus elective — and her eventual realization that the demanding, travel-heavy performing arts lifestyle wouldn’t suit her beyond college.

Through various internships at TV stations and film companies, while and after she attended Smith College, one under award-winning director Ken Burns, Rothschild discovered her interest in and talent for producing. When she moved back to Chicago, she joined the advertisement industry and served in leadership positions that involved frequently flying to California to oversee offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

To spend more time with her family at home, Rothschild took a break from the job, and instead volunteered in Parker’s Development office helping to coordinate three auctions and other fundraisers before becoming the Chief Operating Officer at Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, an organization which works with schools to apply social and emotional learning into their curricula.  

“I didn’t go back to an ad agency to sell things I didn’t really care about,” Rothschild said. “When I went back to work, there was the opportunity to have more alignment with purpose.”

Sophomore Jared Saef appreciated the opportunity to hear from an alum. “It was really interesting to hear how Parker shaped Ms. Rothschild’s career and how it changed trajectories,” Saef said. “It was also nice to learn some of the ways Parker is the same and different than it was years ago.”

Even Rothschild’s son Gabe left the lunch with a better understanding of his mom’s work and her connection to Parker. “It was cool but also a little embarrassing to listen to my mom talk,” Gabe said. “I still learned some things I didn’t know before, like the specifics of her career path and who she worked with.”

The main fix Bruno wants to make is the low turnout.  “Kitty Rothschild is an alum who is very involved, exceptionally smart, fascinating, and loves Parker, so off the top of my head, that’s who I chose to invite,” Bruno said. “Her career might seem a little vague to some, so maybe I’d try to get someone — like an actor at the Steppenwolf Theater here in Lincoln Park — with a more specific career that will appeal to a certain group of students, which could lead to higher attendance.”

As Bruno’s plans for the event continue, Saef looks forward to future speakers. “I’d definitely like to see the program continue and one way I think it could gain popularity would be to make the sessions mandatory, at a time like MX or graderoom,” Saef said. “Many students would like the program and learn from it, but it’s hard to get people to come during lunch because of other commitments and busy schedules. They could also choose speakers based on jobs that interest students — one type of alum I’d like to hear from would be an architect or someone who does urban planning.”

The second pilot Lunch and Learn session took place at 12:35 p.m. on Friday. The speaker was Courtney Lance ‘76, co-founder of the Pruno Project, a literary and creative initiative bringing awareness to wrongful conviction.

Garg said, “it’s a pretty amazing small Parker world.”