Honorary Alum David Rich taught Latin at Shipley for over three decades, bringing a “dead” language and ancient stories to life with his charismatic teaching style, and inspiring two generations of Shipley students along the way. So what has Mr. Rich been doing since retiring in 2021?

After an impromptu visit to the Berkshires during the pandemic, Mr. Rich and his wife, Wendy, found themselves drawn to the area. He now calls Great Barrington, MA, home, immersing himself in the thriving artistic community there. When he’s not re-igniting his passion for playing the piano, you might find him re-writing Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis, “The Dream of Scipio,” as a play. ”I taught it to Shipley Latin students for 30 years, and it is routinely cited as the most thought-provoking work that they studied.” The play—which weaves together music, philosophy, mysticism, and spirituality, with unexpected appearances by Mozart, Kepler, and Plato—promises to be as exciting and thought-provoking as Mr. Rich’s classes.

A true lifelong learner and an artist at heart, Mr. Rich’s intellectual curiosity will undoubtedly continue to shape his creative endeavors and inspire those around him in the years to come, just as it did at Shipley, where his legacy of learning, artistic exploration, and the pursuit of knowledge endure.