A Saint David ’ s Education Prepares Young Alums for 21st Century Success
A proud member of the Class of 2009 , Caleb Haddad connected with the Strategic Communications office to reflect on his Saint David ’ s experience and discuss how his formative years at East 89th Street are directly connected to his success as a young professional in New York City .
Head of Training for the Analysts in North America . This past spring ( 2022 ), I was promoted to the FP & A Manager of New York City , taking on the World Trade Center location , and within the last month my role expanded to the FP & A Manager of the East Coast , which includes the Boston store and future East Coast locations . In the near future , I plan to pursue a Master ’ s in Business Administration .
How did your Saint David ’ s experience influence your skill-set and future aspirations as a student ? Throughout my time at Saint David ’ s , I was exposed to a multitude of subjects , sports , and extracurricular activities . This multifaceted approach created a strong base for my high school and college education , and has benefited me immensely in my career . At Eataly , I am often challenged to learn new concepts and to work creatively with various departments . My education at Saint David ’ s prepared me well for these collaborative challenges .
Caleb - For the Saint David ’ s community , tell us a bit about your educational and professional background . I began my time at Saint David ’ s in the fall of 2000 as a Kindergarten Omega student . Graduating in 2009 , my high school years ( 2009- 13 ) were spent at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn , NY . While attending Wesleyan University ( where I majored in Economics ), I interned for Eataly , and upon graduation in 2017 , I was offered the position of Financial Planning and Analysis at the Flatiron store . In 2021 , I took on the additional role as
“ Joyful Balance ” is the theme of our 2022-23 academic year . How does this term relate with your own Saint David ’ s experience ? When I reflect on balance , I think back to learning about the left and right sides of the brain , and how each side plays a uniquely different role . To me , joyful balance is derived from balancing the utilization of both sides through one ’ s day-to-day activities . This was a major component of my education at Saint David ’ s because of how both the academics and arts were shown throughout the curriculum ; and based on the ideal of “ balance in all things .” During a single school day , I could attend a math class and exercise my left brain by learning a geometrical concept , then attend an art class and use the right side of my brain to draw or paint , then attend a Humanities course and learn about how Leonardo da Vinci incorporated math into his artwork . While each of these components are important individually , together they form an equilibrium that is the backbone of a successful education . Additionally , learning about da Vinci ’ s balance of math and art served as a lesson to me in school that the two sides can and should be combined , and that is something I ’ ve carried in my work to this day .
As a young alum , what do you find that connects fellow alums together ? Following your high school and college education and life experiences , what resonates the most after all of these years ? To me , it is our shared memories that resonate the most and connect fellow alums through the years . There ’ s nothing more
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