Jonathan Rounds ’70

Paying It Forward: How One Alumnus’s Life-Changing Opportunity Inspired Him to Pave the Way for Others

Growing up in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Jonathan Rounds ’70 had limited educational opportunities.

“Northfield Mount Hermon changed the trajectory of my life,” he shares. “I was going nowhere, and Mount Hermon saved me.”

But it wasn’t an easy adjustment. Jonathan’s experience at Mount Hermon challenged him on every level, in ways he had not been challenged before. “I was woefully unprepared—academically, socially, and emotionally,” he says.

Jonathan credits the invaluable support of his teachers, coaches, and advisors, who helped him gradually navigate his new environment. His friends and the wider Mount Hermon community also helped him adapt and thrive. “I credit many of the positive things in my life to the lessons I learned during those formative years,” he reflects.

Jonathan’s family paid what they could; but without scholarships provided by the school, his life would have been drastically different today. “The majority of my education was paid for by the generosity of Northfield Mount Hermon alumni,” Jonathan says. “And so now, because those alumni gave to a school community that changed my life, I give back what I can.”

Inspired by the generosity of those who came before him, Jonathan chose to make a gift to NMH in his living trust. This allows him to not only take care of his family but to help other deserving students receive the life-changing education that NMH provided him with more than 50 years ago.