Rodgers Palmer, Class of 1985
As
a young student at The Lexington School, curiosity, questions, careful
observation, and a good-natured wallow in minutia characterized Rodgers
Palmer. He remembers first grade in Miss Bale's room. The programmed
readers at first appeared to be insurmountable hurdles, but they soon
enticed Rodgers to learn to read. By the time he tackled books 23 and
24 with their focus on the Greeks, he was hooked, and his love of Greek
mythology began. Former teachers recall that Rodgers excelled in
everything he attempted because he had an inquisitive mind, a tireless
work ethic, and a passion for learning.
Grades 5-8 introduced math competitions. Math Bowl and MATHCOUNTS provided opportunities to
use learning in productive, fun ways. Former coach and math teacher
Betty Cox remembers Rodgers as “one of the brightest, most inquisitive
students [she has] had the privilege of teaching.” Part of the class of
‘85, Rodgers worked side-by-side with classmates who pushed one another
to achieve to their fullest. For Rodgers this has meant high school at
Phillips Exeter, college at Princeton, and graduate school at Yale
where he received his Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry.
Science and math captured Rodgers at an early age, and he always thought he
would be a physician. As his journey unfolded, doctoring gave way to
scientific research. The isolation of research led him to McKinsey and
Company, a world-wide management consulting firm. At McKinsey for the
past six years, Rodgers has worked “as a practice expert in the
organization.” With his knowledge of how organizations work, he helps
large companies figure out ways to make change. Rodgers helps banks,
large pharmaceutical companies, oil companies, telecom companies, and
chemical companies look at their businesses through fresh eyes. Rodgers
has great satisfaction seeing “how our ideas can help shape the
direction a company takes.”
One might wonder how degrees in molecular biology prepare someone for organizational consulting.
Rodgers says, “McKinsey offers me an opportunity to think critically
about problems, meet interesting people, and learn a lot of new things.
Rodgers
has strong opinions about the value of his Lexington School years. He
states, “I have always maintained that if you assume that each phase of
your education costs roughly the same amount (it doesn't, but for the
sake of argument, let's say that it does), and you could only choose
either 1.) TLS, 2.) Exeter, 3.) Princeton, or 4.) Yale, then I would
spend my money at TLS. It's not that the other places weren't valuable
and didn't contribute enormously to my learning and where I am today,
rather that I've always believed that TLS provided me with the
foundation to continue to learn and expand my horizons. And while the
content of what I learned at TLS is not really important, the manner in
which I learned and the curiosity of the environment that I learned in
was so valuable to any future endeavor (from high school, to graduate
school, to work). I really think that ...TLS helped unlock the
potential of every subsequent experience.”
Rodgers currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Selene Sumin Ko whom he met on
a blind date. Rodgers claims, “While I would like to say it was love at
first sight for both of us, it was more for me...then I had to convince
her!” Selene, a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School,
works for the United States Department of State. Both travel
extensively with their work. Within one year, both she and Rodgers were
on six of the seven continents.
Although he travels around the world with his work, Rodgers feels that "the balance between everything
that you do is what's important.” He believes that balance is also the
greatest challenge each of us faces. He credits Ron Heifetz, co-founder
of the Center for Public Leadership and lecturer in public policy at
Harvard College, for helping him formulate his philosophy. Heifetz
asserts, “...[L]ife is a series of choices that everyone makes around
two seemingly polar opposites. And the challenge is not picking one or
the other; rather it is finding a way to achieve both at the same
time.” So Rodgers works to find balance in “big picture aspirations and
the day-to-day activities, making a difference to the people around
[him] and making a difference more globally.”
We are thankful that all of our alumni create the historical memory that contributes to
the core of The Lexington School today. “Within these halls of
learning, a proud tradition grows” because alumni like Rodgers Palmer
work to make the world a better place and still take time to remember
their roots.