Cathy and Paul Watkins Bid Farewell to Peddie

The morning of her interview at Peddie in 1989, Cathy Watkins nearly didn’t make the drive from Baltimore. A graduate student at the Maryland Institute College of Art, she had never considered teaching at an independent school.

“I woke up that morning and said to Paul, ‘I don’t think I want to live in New Jersey. I’m not going to that interview,’” she recalled. Her then-boyfriend, now husband, encouraged her to go anyway.

That fateful meeting with Interim Head of School Ann Seltzer proved serendipitous in more ways than one. Seltzer had recently heard Paul, an accomplished novelist, speak on NPR’s “Fresh Air” about his latest book. Soon, what began as a job interview for one became an opportunity for both. Cathy joined the visual arts department, while Paul — initially wary that full-time teaching might dull the edge of his writing career — agreed to teach evening classes part-time and was designated Peddie’s writer-in-residence.

Growing up, Paul had attended “very strict” all-boys boarding schools in England — “uniforms and all that sort of stuff” — and assumed teaching at a boarding school would feel too familiar. Instead, he discovered a passion for the classroom.

“Not only did I enjoy it, but I particularly enjoyed [teaching] high school. I kept fighting against it because it didn’t fit into this kind of narrative I created for myself,” Paul said. “Now I’m super proud of being here, and I’m such a total blue and gold.”

When Cathy and Paul arrived at Peddie, they weren’t yet married and, as such, were not invited to live on campus.

“We were banished to some banana-colored condominium complex,” Paul joked. They married soon after, and Cathy became department chair. Eventually, they moved into Octagon House, a residence that, according to school records, they have occupied longer than any faculty member has lived anywhere on campus, ever.

“We love the quirkiness of that house,” said Cathy. “I mean, it’s very drafty. It’s a good old house with tall ceilings. It is just fun. People say it’s haunted.”

Paul added, “Doc Martin, the school archivist, stopped me the other day and wanted the official word on whether it’s actually haunted. I hate to dispel the myth, but I do think we have a lot of squirrels.”

The Peddie that Cathy and Paul encountered in 1989 was a very different place. The transformative Annenberg gift was still years away, and the arts program was in its infancy. Cathy was the only full-time visual arts teacher in the newly opened Swig Arts Center.

“We had a part-time music teacher. The choir that year for Vespers had two people in it,” she remembered. “There was no instrumental program, and Harry Holcombe was the full-time theater teacher. We were literally knocking around in that building [Swig] that first year.”

Under Cathy’s leadership, the visual arts department evolved into what she described as an “extremely rare” program at the high school level, one that emphasizes experimentation and creative risk-taking. The 2022 addition of the Donna L. Sands ’82 Exhibition Hall and specialized studio spaces have allowed students to push artistic boundaries even further.

“I have a special soft spot for the senior thesis shows that go up in early May. The seniors who’ve been in Honors Studio Art all year have invested a great deal of their time, and also their vulnerability, their heart, into making the work,” Cathy said.

Meanwhile, Paul — the reluctant teacher — found his calling in the classroom. His creative writing and history classes became legendary among students, distinguished by his theatrical approach to storytelling. He would arrive to class with duffel bags full of artifacts, allowing students to handle historical objects and try on period military coats. His gift for narrative transformed history into drama.

“There’s never a year gone by when I didn’t at one moment look out and see that particular focus of gaze of a student who is having that moment, where, even if they’re not thinking, ‘Oh, I want to be a history teacher,’ they are passionate about something,” Paul said.

Cathy and Paul reflected on what they’ll miss most about Peddie: the fresh start each school year brings, the unexpected moments of discovery in their classrooms and the holistic connections that make boarding school life unique.

“I know I will miss the interactions with the perpetual, youthful student body,” Cathy said. “The beginning of each year and the excitement of seeing how students will respond to a particular assignment prompt.”

One of their fondest memories involves raising their children, Emma ’14 and Oliver ’17, within the Peddie community.

“We were really lucky in that there were a number of other faculty families at the time,” Cathy said. “Everyone learned how to ride their bikes out there. Everyone learned how to skateboard and ride scooters, and they had amazing make-believe games in the bushes with their dolls and on the far fields built forts.”

Paul added, “My memories of walking into the house, kids running past me — kids who weren’t mine. And just the idea that you never knew quite where people were, but your house was just a pit stop on the way to their house. And then, of course, they all matriculated to Peddie.”

Reflecting on his wife’s legacy, Paul highlighted the deep and lasting impact Cathy will leave on Peddie.

“There are certain people who, through a combination of longevity and commitment, somehow become part of the DNA of the establishment,” he said. “Every now and then there’s a rock that appears in the stream, and the stream can’t wash away that rock. Similarly, I think there will always be a part of her here.”

Cathy, in turn, credited Paul with teaching her an important lesson:
“Not being afraid to be completely eccentric, willing to throw caution to the wind, and frankly, at times, just make a fool of yourself in the service of livening up the room or driving home a certain point,” she said. “I think it is a tremendous legacy.”

Their next chapter will unfold at their lakeside home in Northwest Maine, a place Paul described as “endlessly rejuvenating,” where motorboat rides across the water take an hour and solitude is abundant. It’s a retreat that naturally encourages reflection.

“It forces you to slow down and notice things,” said Cathy. She looks forward to spending time in her art shed, while Paul will have space to write.

“It’s extraordinary how much there is to nourish yourself within the world out there,” said Paul. “And we’ve had a great adventure, but it’s only made me realize how many more there are to have.”