Hobart and William Smith Colleges

29 July 2013 Oliveria '13 Joins Buckley School

Andrew Oliveria 13 has joined Buckley School, an independent school for boys located in New York City. Oliveria is a business and development assistant, responsible for managing the school accounts and working on Buckleys Annual Fund and Centennial Campaign, as well as the planning and execution of alum and parent events. This year marks the centennial of the schools founding.

Im joining Buckley School at an exciting moment in their development history, he says. Two thousand thirteen marks the kickoff of their Centennial Capital Campaign which will help to fund the physical expansion of the schools facilities, including the renovation of two new townhouses in Manhattans Upper East Side which will be dedicated to arts and science classroom space.

Oliveria found this position through collaboration with Carney Sandoe which is a placement firm working with independent primary and secondary schools. The Buckley School was founded in 1913 as a boys elementary school and today provides a curriculum from kindergarten through ninth grade.

This first position with a private school is, Oliveria hopes, the first step toward achieving his ultimate career goal. My dream is to be a headmaster he says. More and more the role of headmasters in schools is not just head master (or head teacher, as the role historically entailed), but instead a more holistic sort of helmsman leading the school. Headmasters deal not only with academics, but alum and parent engagement, communications and the cultivation of a schools image.

Oliveria graduated with a B.A. in architecture and English from Hobart College. While a student, he was a member of the Hobartones and served two terms as the chief of alumni affairs for Chi Phi where he worked on cultivating and expanding alumni involvement and alumni giving. He also worked with Associate Dean of Hobart College Chip Capraro on researching, compiling and writing a comprehensive history of Hobart and William Smith. He provided the Hobart student address during Commencement ceremonies this past May, reminding fellow graduates of the importance of place in their lives.

Theres a special bond that graduates of these Colleges share, something so hard to put your finger on, something so hard to convey; when you meet a graduate out in the world, whether theyre from the class of 2011 or the class of 1961, theres an unspoken understanding that you are a part of something special, something that most people never have the chance to understand, explains Oliveria. Going off of this sentiment, in the four years Ive had at HWS I developed a deep appreciation and reverence for the communities and the environments fostered in small residential academic communities; they build stronger, more confident, life loving people.