Cranbrook Schools, located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, is a comprehensive, college preparatory learning environment, composed of Cranbrook Lower School Brookside (PreK through grade 5), Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Girls and Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys (grades 6 through 8), and Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School (grades 9 through 12 with day and boarding programs). Cranbrook Schools is a division of Cranbrook Educational Community, which also includes the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Art Museum, Institute of Science, and other affiliated cultural and educational programs.

Below is a brief sampling of some of the notable alumni who make up our large, international alumni community.

A part of the Cranbrook Educational Community, Cranbrook Schools is an independent school – differentiated from a private school by the fact that it has no affiliation with and receives no funding from any government, religious, or outside organization of any kind.

Cranbrook enrolls students from the pre-kindergarten level through grade 12.

The elementary school level is called Cranbrook Lower School Brookside or “Brookside.” The youngest students (prior to first grade) are taught in the Vlasic Early Childhood Learning Center – a dedicated part of that campus. Cranbrook Lower School Brookside is co-educational and is home to students through the fifth grade.

The middle school level (grade 6-8) is taught as single-gender education. The boys attend Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys, and the girls attend Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Girls.

The high school level (grades 9-12), or “upper school,” is called Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School. These grades were taught as single-gender until 1986. Prior to 1986, the boys and girls schools were known, respectively, as Cranbrook School and Kingswood School Cranbrook. Male and female students interacted at school social events. Since 1986, these grades have been taught as co-educational, with boys and girls beginning the re-integration to “co-ed” in grade nine.

In addition to serving students from more than 80 cities throughout Michigan, Cranbrook Schools also has boarding students (at the high school level) from 13 other states in the U.S. and 16 countries from around the world. The Cranbrook Horizons Upward-Bound program (www.schools.cranbrook.edu/HUB) is one of the largest and oldest in the country, and one of the only such programs based in an independent school.

The school prides itself on racial, cultural, and economic diversity. Thirty-seven percent of the student body is made up of minority or international students. Cranbrook Schools provided more than $7 million in need-based financial aid to nearly one third of its students in the past year—the largest amount of any independent school in the state.

Cranbrook Schools is consistently among the very top schools in Michigan in number of National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and AP Scholars. Over the past five years, the average graduating class received over $6 million in academic scholarships from colleges and universities.

Willard Mitt Romney entered Cranbrook in the fall of 1959 at age 12 (grade seven) and graduated on June 12, 1965 at the age of 18. All of his siblings likewise attended and graduated from the school including Lynn Romney in 1953 (Kingswood), Jane Romney in 1956 (Kingswood), and Scott Romney in 1959 (Cranbrook).

Romney met his future wife, Ann Davies, while he was a senior and she was a sophomore. Ann Davies graduated from Kingswood School Cranbrook in 1967.

Mitt Romney delivered the commencement address to the Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School graduating class of 1995.

Romney was apparently very active in campus life. According to his senior yearbook, his activities included: “Cross Country, hockey manager, Glee Club, Pre-Med Club, Church Cabinet, The Forum, Pep Club, Blue Key Club, American Field Service, World Affairs Seminar, Speculator’s Club, Homecoming Committee chair, assistant editor of the yearbook, ‘The Brook,’ and Inter-House Council Form 6 Representative from Stevens Hall.”

Despite Cranbrook boasting many long-serving faculty and staff, no one at Cranbrook Schools today was affiliated with the school when Romney was a student (1959-1965). As such, there is no one at Cranbrook who can offer any personal observations, anecdotes, or stories about any aspect of his time here or what he was like as a student.

Cranbrook School

Commencement Address by Governor George Romney

June 12, 1965

I am very happy to have the opportunity to share this special occasion with you boys and your parents and friends and all of the members of the faculty who are here. As has been indicated, this is a special occasion for us as a family, too, because we not only have had two boys in Cranbrook but we had two girls in Kingswood and I know you boys in Cranbrook don’t think much of the girls in Kingswood, but in any event, our two daughters went there and this is the end of putting children through Kingswood and Cranbrook for us.

Your Headmaster said that he would be very happy for me to make a special announcement before you get your diplomas and that is that, in a few minutes, as you go out of the chapel, representatives of the Alumni Association are going to give you some blanks to fill in so that you can make a contribution to the institution! Now I think they ought to do that before you get your diplomas, but they have so much faith in you they are going to do it afterwards.

Two weeks ago it was Michigan Week and when I was up in Grayling they said they would like to have me go by the grade school. There were youngsters from the kindergarten on upward lined up in front and they wanted me to say a few words so, in the course of my comments, I asked them . . . I said, “What’s the most important thing that has come into the world in the last sixty years?” Some of the older students began to call out different things, but this little youngster right in front – he just pointed to himself. And he was right – Me!! There is nothing more important than the individuals who make up this earth than the world’s population. And each person is more important than all of the gadgets and things that we have.

I think the most important thing that will shape your lives and shape all lives, are what you think about religion – whether you are religious or whether you have no religion. The reason I say that is this: nothing of consequence is accomplished in this world without a good basic philosophy. And without faith, because in no big task – in no big decision – do you have all the information you need to make the right decision and all the staying power and drive and ability you need to accomplish a major task. And this means that you need guidance through prayer, and you need faith in something greater than yourself to turn forward. All of us have problems and obstacles. Overcoming problems and obstacles and overcoming bad habits takes a power greater than our own and this can only come from the source of all power.

Another thing which is going to influence your future importantly are your friends. And particularly your girl friends, and the one girl friend whom you finally take the greatest interest in. She will have more to do with shaping your life than probably anybody else. Consequently, you ought to determine whether she will make you make more of yourself than you would without her influence. If the girl you’re interested in doesn’t inspire you to greater effort than you would undertake without knowing her, then you’d better look around and get another girl. A girl’s influence can be either for good or for bad and unless her ideals and objectives are equal to yours, then her influence on your future will not be a constructive as it should be.

In the field of habits, I think there are two areas of habits that are particularly vital. What are your health habits? This is particularly true in this country where we have so much to eat that it’s kind of hard not to overeat. We have so many things to get us around which keep us from having to strain ourselves in any way that we don’t get much exercise. If you lose your health you are like a car with an engine that’s not operating properly. If you lose your health completely, why you’re gone completely. But your health is vital.

It is also important to maintain habits which develop good character and in my book this includes personal purity. I do not think that immorality can be engaged in without an individual’s life being weakened. And without denying the individual of his complete fulfillment. Developing character is going to be more important than your education from now on. At Stanford University they made a check on their graduates over a ten-year period and particularly those who had failed after they had left the institution in their chosen fields of endeavor. Out of those who had failed, 80 percent had failed not through lack of knowledge, not for lack of skill, but for lack of character.

I would like to suggest that you learn to do something with your hands as well as your head. I agree with Mr. William S. Knudsen who was president of General Motors when I first came to Michigan 25 years ago. He said if you want to be really well-balanced and well-developed and want to be able to think logically and clearly, you need to be able to do things manually as well as mentally.

Your work is obviously going to have a great influence on your fortune and your future and you also need to understand your country. You cannot reach fulfillment unless you understand what the United States of America represents. This country is essentially different. It has unique principles; it has unique institutions; it has principles that are not intended for us alone and one of your great opportunities will be to demonstrate the effectiveness of these principles in your lives, and through example and persuasion to help other peoples of the earth to enjoy what can be done with principles that are eternal in their nature. And this country is the last hope of earth and one of the recent foreigners to recognize this fact is a proctasorian (sic) by the name of Father Sussberger. He pointed out that in his opinion we have lost our convictions that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States are meant for people everywhere. And that we don’t appreciate the unique social institution of universal education and the unique economy we have developed which makes customers out of workers and share progress generally with people as customers. He also expressed concern about the attitudes of the people of the earth towards us as the result of the excess emphasis that reaches them in connection with our material pursuits – the movies and other things. He said, “I am deeply convinced that if America does not do what it is up to America to do, and do it quickly, the world is very close to being lost.” In my opinion this means much more than doing what we have to do with gadgets and guns. It has more to do with our ideals and our principles and our institutions.

There are some great shortages that need to be filled and while there are shortages they provide opportunities for giving one’s life for something worthwhile. I have already indicated that character is essential. The greatest international mind with which I am familiar is Sir Charles Malik from Lebanon, who is the former President of the United Nations General Assembly. He says that in this struggle between tyranny and freedom in the world which is taking place that our own hope of winning that struggle is by producing men and women of superior character and quality. He points out that those who would like to subject your children to tyranny excel in their material wealth, their basic material resources – natural resources – and in their numbers.

Now we have a shortage of good homes and good families and this is becoming an increasingly serious problem in America because the family is the foundation unit in society, and with as many families taking up, and as many young people turning to, the life of crime as the result of the lack of home influence primarily, one of the things we desperately need is better families. We need more people who will volunteer to involve themselves in helping others, which has been the mainstream of our progress in this country. We need workers who will work skillfully and honestly and we need to get away from the idea that I think is developing, that a person who has qualified himself in a profession is superior to a person who has qualified himself in a craft. The idea that a lawyer and doctor is automatically a superior individual to a good plumber, for example. An excellent plumber is superior to a mediocre lawyer and doctor and any society who thinks otherwise has become a cynical society. Whatever field you get into, excel. It’s the excellence of your work that fundamentally counts.

Now these are things we need. This nation is gravely threatened without as well as within. I think the internal threat is greater. I think the greatest threat to the future of this nation is the decline in religious conviction, moral character and family life with the resulting increase in juvenile crime and delinquency – with over half the major crimes in this state committed by young people 21 years of age or less.

Good morning! I am a graduate of 1965 – if you can do your math quickly, you will calculate that was 30 million years ago. Even then, I thought that as a Cranbrook graduate, I had all the answers. One day, on a field trip to Western Michigan, a classmate and I happened upon a farmer with a herd of sheep. We asked, “if we can guess the number of sheep in your herd, can we have one of the sheep as a prize?” He agreed. Our guess: 1,657. Miraculously, we had guessed right. He was amazed at our good luck. And as we picked up our animal and began to leave, he made the following proposal. “If I can guess what school you boys go to, can I win my animal back?” We agreed. “You boys go to Cranbrook School,” he said. Dumbfounded, we asked, “How did you guess?” “Well,” he said, “put down my dog and I’ll tell you.”

And now, 30 million years later, I offer congratulations to you and I offer more humble counsel.

I begin with a TV show I watched when I was in high school called “Let’s Make a Deal.” A contestant was given a small sum of money by the moderator and then given the choice to trade the money for an unknown prize in a box or behind a curtain on a stage. The prize might be very valuable, or worthless. With each successful trade, a new, bigger offer was made. One afternoon, a young man who had received $500 was offered to trade for the items hidden behind a curtain. The audience cheered and urged him on, and he looked for support and guidance to his wife. He chose to trade, and when the curtain parted, he saw a modern kitchen complete with new appliances of all types. He was ecstatic. His wife jumped up and they danced and hugged. And then of course, came the next offer. Another curtain and another stage. Perhaps this is the one that had the automobile with the boat and trailer. Again the agonizing decision. Again, he chose to trade. But this time, as the curtain parted, it revealed 10 boxes of cabbage. He had just made the worst financial decision of his life. And you could see it in his face. His wife slumped in her seat, and the audience quieted. The host moved quickly to the next contestant.

It has occurred to me that life has much in common with “Let’s Make a Deal.” But in life, the choices are much more important and more lasting. Some choices may require you to trade – the things you choose will cause you to forego others. What will you trade for, and what will you give up?

Sometime ago I learned of an account of one man’s choices. Terence Fox, CEO of Iroquois Brands, said the following in an airline magazine: “I often sit with men who run much larger companies than mine who tell me they close their briefcases on Friday night and don’t given them another thought until Monday morning. I say that’s hogwash. They can’t. They don’t. I can’t. I don’t. They work like hell. I work like hell. I can’t run a business, a family, a charity, a civic committee, and do everything well. Nobody can. I run Iroquois and it takes everything I’ve got . . .” “What did it take? Total, 24-hour, seven-day-a-week commitment and dedication. My golf game has gone from a 4 to a 12 handicap. I no longer hunt, my marriage faltered after five years, I’m rarely home, and I’m constantly traveling. Many a Saturday night, while I’m having dinner alone in a strange airport, I say to myself, “You’re here only because you chose to be.”

Terence Fox made his choice. It is not one I would have made.

Unlike the TV game, in making life’s choices you are given clues about what is hidden behind the curtain. For centuries, writers have told us the consequences of our choices. They are found in literature, biographies and event holy writ. Some people, like myself, believe the Bible is inspired. Others feel that it is written by some of the greatest scholars of the last six millennia. One of its most quoted passages offers this advice about life’s choices, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”

In my view, one of life’s greatest treasures – heavenly treasures, if you will – is one’s marriage and family. When Golda Meir, one of this century’s great world leaders, was asked one morning on the Today Show what was her greatest achievement, she responded, “raising my daughter.” Will you choose this curtain, and how much will you be willing to give up to enrich it?

One of the most important treasures in my life has been my faith.

Another treasure is integrity. Simply, integrity is living your life in a way that is consistent with your deepest personal values. Let me tell you how to know your core values. Think of the four people you respect most who have ever lived on earth. Perhaps Moses, or Gandhi, Eddy or Mohammed, or Jesus, or Lincoln, Curie, Washington, King, Meir. And now, what characterizes their lives to you – what values do you associate with each person? Do several values repeat themselves across the four people? These values, the values in those you respect most, are your core values. If you go about your life, your profession, your relationships in a way that is consistent with these values, you will live with integrity. And you will be at peace. Integrity, peace – these are heavenly treasures worth choosing.

Will you choose to sit on the sidelines in the great battle for justice, equality of opportunity, decency, and freedom, or will you join with the “tramp of the 22 men” on the field? In life’s great contest, strength and athletic skill are not at issue. It is courage, selflessness, and love that are called for. And winning is not the only success; entering the fray is success, in and of itself. In the words of Teddy Roosevelt, “In the battle of life it is not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of a deed could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the area; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have tasted neither victory or defeat.”

Let’s Make a Deal. What will you choose? What will you trade? May your choices be provident, for on them hang happiness and peace and lasting treasure which cannot be corrupted – for you and for our world.