“I can’t imagine that the spirit of Dana will ever change,” says Ms. Wendy Secor, Director of Admissions at Dana Hall. Ms. Secor is leaving Dana Hall at the end of the 2016-17 school year so she can spend more time with her family;  her mother has just moved to the area from New York after fifty years, and her son is in the middle of high school. “I’m just taking a break,” she says.

Ms. Secor, who is the mother of two recent Dana Hall graduates, has worked in the Dana Hall Admissions Office for ten years, after taking a five-year break from working in College Counseling  on campus from 2000-2002. “Coming to the Admissions Office has been like a second life at Dana,” says Ms. Secor of her time here.

“I made this decision [to leave], but it’s very bittersweet for me as I love this school, and it will always be a part of me and apart of my heart,” Ms. Secor says of her break. She also said that she will always consider coming back to Dana.

“I love this school. It’s such a joyful and passionate place,” says Ms. Secor. “I love to see the girls become young women, and it’s such a joy to watch them find their voices. It is so rewarding to see them come in to Dana as these young girls and then see them leave so grown up. It’s just so special.” Ms. Secor also says she really loves and appreciates all of her colleagues and the faculty, saying that she feels “lucky to be a part of such a special community”

For Ms. Secor, the hardest part of working in Admissions is saying “no” to girls who apply. “That’s not a part of who I am. We are called ‘admissions offices’ because we want to admit families, so to say ‘no’ when it’s not a match is really challenging.” She enjoys reading all of the different applications because everyone who applies to Dana is “so smart and so capable,” so she struggles with turning young girls down.

While taking her break from Dana Hall, Ms. Secor hopes that the school “continues to go on the trajectory it has gone on. We’re a very hot school right now, which is exciting! I really hope that continues.”

Gabrielle de Weck ’17, a member of Ms. Secor’s advisory group, says that “Mrs. Secor has one of the biggest and warmest hearts I have ever seen. She always has a smile on her face, and she shows a deep dedication and love for the people in her life. She brightens every room she walks into, and I love her for that. She has been the best advisor to me, and my Dana experience would not be the same without her.”