Mr. Jim Yanelli, Director of Student Activities, is retiring after three decades at Choate. As someone who has initiated several traditions and systems that the student body benefits enormously from, he has been an essential part of the Choate community.
Mr. Yanelli never really planned on becoming the Director of Student Activities when he first came to Choate from Berlin, Germany where he worked and lived from 1973 – 1981. He said, “I came here at that point — and this is going to sound very weird — I was a serious bodybuilder, and Choate was in the process of installing Nautilus equipment, which was state of the art at the time in the early ’80s in terms of pulleys and cables and all those kinds of things for effective muscle development. I thought, ‘Well, that’s kind of cool. I can work out at Choate and work part-time in the evenings and on Saturday nights [as the Assistant Director of Student Activities], and I’ll do it for a year and then move on to something that’s more keeping with my degree.”
“The reality is, the need here was so apparent and the opportunities so great — more doors kept opening, and I found myself with lots of responsibility quickly,” he said. “It became clear quickly that while we had a new facility, which is actually the old SAC, we didn’t have any programs. No one went out, for example, to rent a video that was a big deal at the time. We had eight little lights for dances, and kids would have to sit there all night and push buttons to make the lights go on and off. We didn’t really organize any kind of regular events, so I started talking to kids about what they felt we should be doing and started doing it.”
Not only has Mr. Yanelli been the Director of Student Activities, but he has also taught German and previously been the Head of House in Memorial House, co-head of the Peer Educators Program, and co-head of the Prefect Program. He said, “I have had the good fortune and the inclination to want to stay with Student Activities. There were opportunities that came along, but to me, being in an environment where you have to be responsive to kids — you’re not giving homework assignments; you’re not telling kids to take their feet off the furniture — you’re in a role that makes you accessible. If you have your doors open and your ears open, kids will tell you what they need in terms of programming.”
Over the decades, his job has evolved tremendously. “I always use the analogy: there’s the building, and then there’s the ivy that grows up on the building. Because I’ve been here so long, the ivy has grown up on the building.” Some of his newer responsibilities included working in liaison with the Choate Store and the E&R laundry service, organizing processes for campus storage, managing campus vending, and building the student travel program.
What pleasantly surprises Mr. Yanelli the most is that many of the programs he created still prosper. “For example, the Deerfield Day Pep Rallies had dwindled to the extent that the head of school, Mr Charles Dey in the mid 1980s thought of cancelling them. The Tech Crew and I decided that we would have the best possible Pep Rally, and that rejuvenated them — the Pep Rally continues.” He also invented Harvest Fest, Holiday Ball, the Third and Fourth Form Spring Formal, First Hurrah, Last Hurrah, Incendium, and Freaky Friday. Daniel Heredia ’19, a member of the Tech Crew, said, “It’s interesting to think that one person has pioneered this whole effort. Not only does that require a great deal of work — to create all of those frameworks and to make it all happen — but it shows you how creative the role is.”
In addition to bringing immense diversity in event programming, Mr. Yanelli has improved the quality of weekend activities through Downtime and the Weekend Activities posters. He said, “When I came here, we started thinking on Thursday about what we were going to do on Saturday. It just made everything slap-dash and last-minute, so I have worked hard over the years to develop a program for the whole term — that was kind of radical.”
Mr. Yanelli shared that he started considering retiring about three years ago when he moved out of Memorial House: “I thought, ‘Well, you know, it’s very unusual for a sixty-something-year-old person to be managing fun for high school kids. It seems like someone who is maybe forty years younger would be better suited for the job — it does take a lot of energy.’”
Although the School is still in search for someone to replace him, Mr. Yanelli is hopeful that someone will be able to fulfill his duties successfully. “If I disappear overnight tonight, there would still be a dance on Saturday. We have a fairly solid program and a rhythm that makes sense for this community, and I’m sure that whoever is doing the job next will have their own ideas. There is still room to grow — room to respond to student need and new student interest,” he said.
Ms. Alex Long, Assistant Director of Student Activities, who has worked with Mr. Yanelli for more than eight years, said, “He’s the best. He’s so knowledgeable about Choate, and in working with him, you really learn to think about the little things.”
Ms. Long added, “I’m going to miss his humor. I’m going to miss his work ethic — he’s very dedicated to our student body, and I’m going to miss that the most.” A statement that rings true throughout the School as it prepares to lose a transformative figure for the school.
