Francis Miller ’09 graduated almost fifteen years ago. The world, Westtown, and the people who are involved with the school have experienced drastic changes during that time. The Brown & White conducted an interview with this alum to delve into his current life and to find connections to his former endeavors at Westtown.
“Currently, I work at a school in Southern China, called Avenues…I’m also an advisor for the Model UN club here,” said Miller, who enjoys his job of college advising. “I really love to bicycle, that’s something I got into recently.”
As a student, Miller was focused on athletics.
“When I was at Westtown, I mostly did soccer, swimming, and tennis…I was involved with The Brown & White briefly; I wrote a couple of articles. I was very involved with the music program. I played tuba.”
Miller was a day student for a couple of years before boarding as a junior and senior.
After Westtown, Miller went to the University of Pennsylvania, a world-renowned school.
“I studied Physics and Chinese…Aesthetics, Architecture, Archaeology, stuff like that.”
Miller visited Westtown recently, in October, for the 15th reunion of the class of 2009. The thing that surprised him the most was the change in floor.
“Main Hall has a tile floor now, whereas before it was these wooden blocks that expanded and contracted with the season. So, whenever you walked along the hall, it would be very squeaky.”
Some parts of campus, however, remained the same.
“The meeting house is still exactly the same, the cushions are still exactly the same,” said Miller. “The dorms are pretty much the same.”
Miller did note one considerable difference with the dormitories, however. “When I was at Westtown, there weren’t any doors to the dorms, it was just a hallway. So you would go up the stairs and walk onto the dormitory. Now, you have to swipe in and stuff, for security.”
In terms of advice for current students, Miller spoke about friendship as a central part of his success.
“Make good friends, and be a good friend,” Miller said. “Surround yourself with people who will bring out the best in you or challenge you to be better…That will impact who you are in so many ways, and it’ll allow you to achieve whichever dreams you have.”
When asked about specific teachers that had an impact on Miller while he was at school, he highlighted Teacher Ted Freeman.
“[T. Ted] was very inspirational. He also led a couple of trips. I remember going to Greece,” Miller said.
Additionally, Miller highlighted his senior project to a school in Ghana as one of the memorable experiences he took away from his time at Westtown. “That was when I realized that I wanted to try studying abroad, or working abroad,” Miller said.
Francis Miller is a perfect example of someone who used Westtown as a stepping stone to larger successes, and he realized his passion for learning different things and experiencing other cultures during his time at Westtown. A true global citizen, Francis Miller embodies the values that Westtown teaches to its students.
