“Teaching is challenging, and it takes patience in and out of the classroom to be a good teacher. You have to be patient with students, be patient with yourself, with the timeline of your class, knowing full well results will come.”

When Aidan Winn graduated in 2018 from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., he knew he wanted a career in education. He just wasn't sure of the aspect.

He was in the Science in Society Program with concentrations in biology and sociology at Wesleyan, a school that he said teaches students to be lifelong learners and creative thinkers. It’s a philosophy that is in synch with Loomis Chaffee. When he was offered a job in the admission office at Wesleyan, he accepted. Before long, he knew he wanted to be a teacher. He came to Loomis Chaffee for the 2021–22 school year and teaches multiple science courses.

In addition to teaching science, Aidan is assistant director of the summer enrichment program, assistant girls swimming coach, and the dorm head of Taylor Hall.

“My brother says I can’t make up my mind,” Aidan said. “The joke is that this year I'll have four different jobs on any given day, which I think is amazing.”

Aidan said each role serves a different purpose for him.  

“Teaching is a level of sincerity,” he said. “Summer program is a level of responsibility [that] I feel for the staff I work with and the kids. Coaching, there is the athletic component which is core to my identity. And then the dorm is all about the community, which I think makes boarding school so special. I’ll get to be present for watching [students] grow and take a sense of pride and responsibility in that. So there really are four parts of my life I am nurturing by the different roles. I feel lucky to have those responsibilities. It’s a privilege.”

Swimming has played a formative role in Aidan’s life. The sport took Aidan from his local YMCA to the club level, then high school and college. He was an assistant coach at Wesleyan after he graduated and now is an assistant coach at Loomis.

“Swimming taught me diligence, persistence, that work will always work,” Aidan said. “If you put in the work, you will see payoff.”

That lesson carries over to all areas of life. “And it taught me the value of being active for my body and my mind,” Aidan said.

Aidan injured his back late in his freshman year at Wesleyan and did not compete as a sophomore. He returned to competition as a junior. After more than a year off, he said he was not sure returning was the right call.

“I needed to rely on a lot of people to help me get there,” Aidan said. “It was a tough decision to try to come back, but I extrapolate a lot of meaning from that time well outside of sports. I do not think sports are everything. We think they are when we are young and we identify as an athlete, but there is so much more to our lives and our personhood. So I think about swimming and my return to the team and the support from friends and family not just as a swimmer but as a person, and that has helped me have a deeper appreciation for the people around me and who I am today.”

Music and theater have been creative outlets for Aidan along the way. He was in theater productions in high school and at Wesleyan. He has been playing the drums since he was young, performing with bands in high school and college. These days he occasionally gets together with some people at Loomis to play.  “There’s nothing like playing music in a band or a group,” Aidan said. “It is a really special feeling.”

When you hear him talk about his colleagues, you get the sense there is something special about that, too. 

“A lot of people at Loomis are wonderful teachers, and they all bring something different to the profession,” Aidan said. “I have had a unique privilege to learn from so many of them. One thing most have in common is patience. Teaching is challenging, and it takes patience in and out of the classroom to be a good teacher. You have to be patient with students, be patient with yourself, with the timeline of your class, knowing full well results will come. Being more patient — I don’t think I would have learned that if it wasn't for the remarkable people I work with.”   

These people have helped show him the way.

“One thing I love about Loomis is that everyone takes that responsibility of working with young people really seriously, and that is really inspiring,” Aidan said. “I didn’t know if I would like working at a boarding school and like being a teacher, but the students are challenging and rewarding and the sense of joy I get from working with them, you can’t replace that.”

Asked whom he would choose if he could have dinner with anyone, past or present, Aiden said he would pick two: swimmer Dara Torres and musician Jerry Garcia. 

Torres competed in five Olympics and in 2008, at age 41, was the oldest swimmer ever to qualify for the U.S. national team. She won three medals in the 2008 Olympic Games and 12 medals overall.   

“She came back to the sport at 40 when she was a mother, and I would love to sit down and talk to her about the experience of doing that,” Aidan said. 

Garcia, the late songwriter, lead guitarist, and vocalist for The Grateful Dead, is Aidan’s favorite musician of all time. “I grew up with The Grateful Dead and continue to listen to them every day,” Aidan said. “He was a fascinating individual, deeply flawed, but also incredibly creative and a pioneer in music, and I would love to just get to know him.” 

Which led to another question: Favorite ice cream?

“Chocolate chip cookie dough,” Aidan said.