PETER MILLSPAUGH
Senior, Landon School
PETER MILLSPAUGH LOOKS forward to chatting with middle schoolers as a prefect, one of 14 student leaders chosen by peers and faculty at the boys’ school to mentor younger kids about leadership and teamwork.
“They look up to the seniors—I remember looking up to them when I was in middle school,” says Peter, an A student who has taken nine honors and five Advanced Placement classes.
The 18-year-old earned cum laude honors this year for his academic work, and also played center on the football team last fall. He worked out often in the weight room, watched game film after school, and brought a positive attitude to practice. “When the seniors are working hard and staying focused, the younger guys take note of that,” he says.
Players on the school’s baseball team also noted his unwavering work ethic and chose the Bethesda teen to receive the Hard Hat Award in 10th grade.
Associate Headmaster John Botti admires Peter for his “combination of talent, creativity, well-roundedness, passion and compassion,” and for his sense of duty to his peers. “Some high achievers make accomplishment their highest good and ignore the humanity and generosity embedded in all acts of education. Not Peter—he was one of the best classmates that I have seen in 17 years of teaching,” Botti says.
Peter partially credits his leadership abilities for helping him complete an 81-mile hiking trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in 2013. “It put things in perspective,” he says. “It was so mentally and physically taxing that you’re thinking: If I can do this, I can conquer anything.”
Peter paints to relax and plans to continue in college. “It can be really soothing to slow down,” says Peter, who painted the self-portrait in the photo. “Often times, you get lost in this rhythm and you focus on the piece and get in the zone.”
Photo by Michael Ventura
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