John and Judy Chester have a long list of reasons to be grateful for their connection to Wellington—namely their children, Jack ’16, Elizabeth ’18, and Anna ’20, whose Wellington educations are helping to open doors for them. 

But talk with the Chesters and they will make clear: their gratitude starts with John’s parents, the late Jack and Cynthia Chester. “The reason our children were able to attend Wellington was through the generosity of John’s parents,” says Judy. “They paid for their educations and were also significant donors. And now, because of their generosity, we also have the ability to support Wellington.”

The Believing Campaign provides a great opportunity for Wellington families to give back. “Our children have benefitted, and us vicariously, from the gifts of people before us. The campaign allows us to do the same thing for the future generation,” says John.

As a member of the Board of Trustees, Judy has an insider’s window into the power of philanthropy. “This campaign will not only improve Wellington’s facilities, but will also improve programming,” she says. “Both go hand in hand. We’re a progressive school, so we seize opportunities to try new things that will make learning and teaching better. In today’s environment, we need flexible space to enrich the experience for students.” 

Wellington’s close-knit community, small class sizes, and exceptional faculty and programs empowered the Chester children to succeed. Jack graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2020 with a computer science degree and now works as a software engineer in San Francisco. “He had success at Wellington in advanced mathematics,” says John. “The teachers challenged and encouraged him in his interest in programming computers.”

Daughter Elizabeth, who served as student body president at Wellington, is in the strategic communication honors program at the University of Colorado Boulder, and works in the university’s career services center. “Wellington helped shape her into being an independent thinker with really strong communication skills,” says her mother. “When she was student body president, she had to give a lot of speeches. Now she’s giving presentations to other college students on how to interview and write resumes. It’s a very select group of students who are chosen to work in that office, and to be chosen at the end of her freshmen year for that level of responsibility—we couldn’t be prouder of her.”

And Anna is finishing her first year at the University of Colorado Boulder's Leeds School of Business after graduating from Wellington in 2020. “She was really spurred by her interest in economics,” says Judy. “She took as many economics and finance courses as Wellington offers and seemed to really soak that up. She was pretty fearless about applying to business schools.” 

With their children prepared to take on their respective goals, what do the Chesters say to encourage other Wellington families to support the campaign? “This is your opportunity to be part of something greater that will benefit not only your children and grandchildren, but will enable Wellington to flourish in the future. If we believe in Wellington’s approach to education and believe we’re creating future leaders, then it’s important we make sure Wellington is well equipped to do that in the future.”

Do you believe in Wellington? Join the Chester family in making a gift to the Believing campaign today. Learn more at wellington.org/believing.