The Conroy Distinguished Visitor regaled students with tales of his military service from the depths of the seas to the upper echelons of the U.S. government.
April 4, 2024
For varsity hockey players Harry and Treva, mutual respect is the key.
BY JACQUELINE PRIMO LEMMON
Before St. Paul’s School brought New Hampshire natives Harry Dermody ’26 and Treva Murphy ’25 together as roommates in Coit North, a shared love of hockey brought them together on the ice. “The first time we met officially was when we first got [to SPS]” for the 2022-23 academic year, says Dermody. “But we played against each other or at the same hockey camps and stuff since we were little … we just happened to never formally meet.”
There is a calm fluidity to the interactions between Fourth Former Dermody and Fifth Former Murphy — a forward and a goalie, respectively, on the SPS varsity hockey team —that suggests compatibility both on and off the ice. In conversation, they are unhurried, quick to affirm and expand on each other’s comments without interrupting, and equally quick to point out each other’s academic and interpersonal strengths. “Harry is a genius at math,” says Murphy, who often taps his younger roommate for help understanding calculus concepts. “Treva is probably the most organized person I know,” says Dermody, reflecting on the ways in which the upperformer has helped him navigate the balance of his academics and athletics.
In their dynamic, it’s easy to see the way the pair’s different academic interests and even their different grade levels contribute to their friendship. Murphy says there are a lot of benefits to the School’s vertical housing system, in which students of all forms share a dorm, and in their case, even a room. “Last year … there were some [Sixth Formers] I would look up to,” he says, explaining that he likes being able to provide that same type of support for Dermody and other younger students in the dorm. Dermody echoes his roommate’s sentiment, noting that having a “connection with kids that are either older or more experienced than you … really helps foster your own experience being here.”
In addition to looking to challenge themselves academically, both boys were drawn to SPS because of the School’s hockey program and the chance to push their skills to the next level. “I looked at a couple schools, but St. Paul’s was the one I liked the most, and it was a pretty easy decision for me to … come here,” says Dermody, who attended ninth grade in public school before reclassifying as a Third Former at SPS in the fall of 2022. Murphy spent eighth and ninth grades at the all-boys Cardigan Mountain School before joining the School as a new Fourth Former that same year.
Everyone here has that compassion and that kindness that we really strive to develop, which I think is one of the best things about living here.
— Harry Dermody ’26
At the Hockey Center and in their house, the boys agree, mutual respect and trust is essential, and being mindful of one another’s routines and preferences as roommates is paramount. Murphy prefers to do his homework in one of the dorm’s study pods later at night, while Dermody works in their room after dinner so he can get to bed early — especially during hockey season. When he comes back to the room from studying, Murphy keeps the lights off and stays quiet so he doesn’t disturb his sleeping roommate.
The roommates’ friendship even extends to their parents. “Our parents are good friends, too,” Murphy says, “so Harry and I see each other [often] and always hang out.” Among other things, the boys and their dads plan to go on a fishing trip together over the summer.
As the pair gears up for a Spring Term that will find them on different sports teams — lacrosse for Murphy and baseball for Dermody — they want incoming students to know that living at SPS means there are outlets of support if you need it, whether that’s a coach, teacher or, yes, a roommate. Says Dermody, “Everyone here has that compassion and that kindness that we really strive to develop, which I think is one of the best things about living here.”
