Hastings’ Last Hurrah

17 years ago, Patrick Hastings taught his first English class at Gilman School. Since then, many students and colleagues have been impacted by him in ways that few teachers achieve. Unfortunately, Mr. Hastings is leaving our community to work in the Rare Books and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. 

When Mr. Hastings first landed at Gilman in the Spring of 2007, he envisioned it as a career-long post. He remarked that there is “no better job than being a Gilman English teacher.” Over the course of this past year, the Library of Congress approached him with an exciting and unique opportunity. Mr. Hastings believes that working there will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

Although he is thrilled to pursue a new phase of his life, Mr. Hastings says he will miss Gilman dearly. As a teacher, Mr. Hastings loves coming to work and engaging in all types of conversations with Gilman boys, whether fun and nonsensical banter or formal dives into literature. One of the aspects he admires most is students’ ability to switch so quickly from small talk to serious discussion, stating,  “I have always been so impressed by Gilman students’ capacity for deeper thoughts and interpreting how literature connects and matters to life in general.” 

Mr. Hastings has also been a very involved coach at Gilman. He is best known as head JV soccer coach, but he also served as the fresh-soph lacrosse coach for twelve years. He loves seeing Gilman players “compete, improve, beat Loyola, win games that maybe they shouldn’t, grind out the losses, and always play with class and grace.” He has a lot of respect for the Gilman athlete.

Over his meaningful career at Gilman, Mr. Hastings has made countless memories. One of his favorites is Andrew Harris ‘12 blowing away the entire Upper School by eating a whole Chipotle burrito in around twenty seconds. He also reflected fondly on his time as the director of the Writing Center, particularly the countless conversations about music, stand-up comedy, and film there. He loved the promotional films the Writing Center used to create, including a Zoolander short and an Outkast music video. He commented that the student staff of the Writing Center once again shows the incredible diversity and talent of Gilman students, as some wrote the skits, some acted, some filmed, and some produced. 

Other incredible memories that Mr. Hastings will take with him are Nedum Ebo’s (‘24) fantastic goal against Spalding to send JV soccer to overtime and varsity lacrosse’s insane comeback against BL in the 2011 semifinals. He also cited Mr. Smyth and Zane McFarland ‘13 performing guitar and mandolin together in the auditorium, and working with Rob Heubeck on planning the 10th-grade Humanities class. He learned from working with Rob Heubeck and Ryan Carrey, two incredible History teachers, how to bridge and make connections between what students learn in History class and what they read in English. 

When reflecting on his impact on Gilman, Mr. Hastings hopes that he has helped his students find and learn to trust their authentic voice. He said, “I hope that I have helped instill in Gilman boys the courage to use their voice to speak up for what's right and to spread respect for others. I hope to have played a small part in giving my students the confidence to trust their natural voice as they express their thoughts.” He also hopes that he has shown Gilman students that they can be themselves and take pride in their work. 

Many of his colleagues had very nice things to say about him. Fellow English teacher and Dean Eric Coles said, “He’s just a good person to touch base with, both for English topics that you need to vent, or think about, or have him think about, but also athletically he is a great person to talk to.” Mr. Coles stated that he is also always receptive to new ideas, whether it be about a new book or a change in the curriculum. Kelsey Carper, another English teacher, said that Mr. Hastings is incredibly kind, generous, and compassionate. She says that he has been an incredibly supportive colleague, and agreed with Mr. Coles that he is an “infinitely useful sounding board.” Ms. Carper said that his door is always open when she has questions or ideas, and stated, “I’ve grown as a thinker and teacher immeasurably under him as department chair.”

 Finally, Matt Zealand, Spanish teacher and JV soccer coach, said that Mr. Hastings is the essence of the triple threat; a great teacher, coach, and advisor. “He really does model the Gilman Five in everything he does, as a father, as a friend, and as a husband.” Mr. Zealand also reflected that even though Mr. Hastings is younger than him, he has served as a mentor, and said that Mr. Hastings is “one of the rare times where I’ve had a peer that I’ve also really considered a mentor, especially a younger peer.” Mr. Zealand finished by saying that Mr. Hastings is everything you want in a faculty member and models the Gilman mission perfectly. As a coach, Mr. Zealand will forever remember the memories he has made with Mr. Hastings, notably creating an all time JV starting lineup just a few weeks ago to celebrate their time coaching together. It is without a doubt that Mr. Hastings is beloved and respected by all of his colleagues. 

Perhaps the greatest reflection of Mr. Hastings' legacy at Gilman is how much his students love him and his class. Leo Eiswert ‘26 said that he always enjoys and looks forward to Mr. Hastings’ class, and appreciates how the environment is welcoming and inclusive. He said, “Instead of having a more strict, formal environment, we sit in a circle and discuss the book, and I love to take a deep dive into the scripture that we are reading.” Leo also said that Mr. Hastings really tries to get to know his students, and it seems like he cares about how they are. Leo is going to miss that student-teacher relationship when Mr. Hastings is gone. Leo ended his interview by stating, “It's impossible to encapsulate all of Mr. Hastings in a few words, but I’d say he’s funny, charismatic, and a real intellectual in a modern society.” 

Toby Rosenband ‘26 also exclaimed about his love and respect for Mr. Hastings. He said, “I love Mr. Hastings’ class, from the engaging conversations to the heart-to-hearts that we have,” and that Gilman is losing “a great man and a great role model.” Toby said that Mr. Hastings always wants his students to succeed and that he is the type of guy a student goes to for advice.

Finn Tondro ‘24 said, “Mr. Hastings is an example of what all teachers aspire to: someone who stands both as a model of excellence in academia outside of the classroom, and at the same time is a devoted, down to earth, and relatable educator who leads high schoolers to better appreciate English literature and the craft of writing.” Having taken both Mr. Hastings’ “Joyce’s Early Works” class and his “Postmodern Literature” class, Finn has loved his time with Mr. Hastings, as do all of the students who get the pleasure of having him as a teacher. 

Math Teacher Adam Braverman was in Mr. Hasting’s first-ever Gilman class back in 2008. He said that while his class was not always easy to deal with, Mr. Hastings earned the respect of him and his classmates and challenged each of them to become better readers and better analyzers, a trend Mr. Hastings has continued throughout his entire teaching career. 

Losing Mr. Hastings will leave a big hole in our community. If you see him around, wish Mr. Hastings success as he heads off to work in DC. Nonetheless, Mr. Hastings has said that he would love to return to Gilman. He’s thankful that when discussing his departure with Brian Ledyard and Henry Smyth, the two have referred to it as “an extended leave of absence.” We can only hope.