Seoyeon Kim ‘26
St. Mark's welcomes back a returning faculty member, Mr. Hutch. You should have already met him in our first evening chapel, which, I assume, everybody attended, but a brief mention is never enough! Hence, here is a deep dive into his world—from his hobbies to what brought him back to St. Mark’s, this interview is all about getting to know Mr. Hutch.
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Jay Hutchinson. I happen to be a priest, so I'm actually a reverend, just like Reverend Talcott and Reverend Solter. But nobody calls me that [laughs]. Most students in my last school called me Hutch or Coach or something like that. You can just call me Mr. Hutch, or whatever you want.
Are there any trivial facts that you want to share with St. Mark's?
I was here before. So that's something that always surprises people. Trivial facts... I grew up in Pittsburgh. I was born in California and lived all over the place. My father was in the Army and an advertising executive for LIFE Magazine, so we traveled quite a bit.
What do you like to do in your downtime?
I'm a big exercise guy. I love to work out, walk Ajax, my big black Newfoundland dog that lives with me here at St. Mark's, go hiking, and water ski. I love being active and going outdoors.
Which sports will you be coaching?
I will be coaching wrestling and boys lacrosse here.
What was your past relationship with St. Mark's?
We[Him and his family] were here from 1996 to 2000, and I taught two classes and coached three sports. I coached girl soccer at that point, and wrestling and boys lacrosse. And at the same time, I was getting my master's degree in divinity. So, I was commuting in and out of Boston.
St. Mark’s was a very different school then. It was more traditional. We lived in the Carriage House, across from Choate House. It was a great place to live. My son, Jack, was born while we were here on my first tour of duty. So that was really wonderful.
Which courses did you teach?
I taught a New Testament and, I think, Hebrew Scriptures class. The religion classes were not as expansive and diverse as they are now. I taught two religion classes while I was here before.
What led you to rejoin this community?
I didn't sign on to work here until July. And actually, Mr. Warren offered me the contract at the beginning of August. I was a very late hire, and it was just one of those things where my wife had left the school we were at previously in Delaware, St. Andrew's. She was working in Boston and living in New Hampshire, so [there was a lot of] going back and forth. I was looking for something closer to my family because you have to go through New York, New Jersey, and Turnpike to get to Delaware. It was prohibitive. So I left St. Andrew's and moved up here. I didn't know what I was going to do. [Eventually,] I signed on with a church in Londonderry, NH. So, on Sundays, I lead services at St. Peter’s Church in New Hampshire. Then I saw that St. Mark’s needed a religion teacher so I applied and was very fortunate to be offered the job.
Are you going to be involved in our Belmont Chapel?
Not as of now. I was hired as a humble religion teacher, so I'm just teaching three sections of JCI (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — a religion course offered at St. Mark’s) and one section of Ethics and Morality. And then coaching and working in the Sawyer dorm. And that's it for now. Other than that, I'm very passionate about the environment, so I'd love to do something with St. Mark’s sustainability efforts.
We have S4S if you are interested. It’s a big, active sustainability group at St. Mark’s.
Great. Well, I need to get in touch with those folks.
How does it feel like to rejoin St. Mark's so far? Do you see any specific changes since you left St. Mark's in 2000?
Yes. This school is much healthier, welcoming, and much more progressive than it was before. Many of the traditions that tended to exclude have been eliminated. And so I feel as though it's a more accepting and open place. I mean, obviously, we still have work to do. I'm hoping to work closely with Mr. DaSilva and support his programming. But [we are] definitely on the right track. Students are much more friendly. Here’s the thing I've really noticed. Students here now are much more grateful. They're much more thankful for the blessing of being at St. Mark's, which is a great place, and I love it when they say “thank you” at the end of the class or to one of the FLIK employees.
So I read in the faculty directory that you're rejoining St. Mark's on a one-year appointment.
Yeah, yeah.
What will your life look like at the end of this academic year?
[Laughs] Who knows? [Laugh continues] Who knows? Because as I said before, I have an interim job as well. So I'm still in a big-time transition. I don't know. You've got a new head coming in. I've just gone through a head transition in the school that I was at before. So I might be able to bring some wisdom to that, but I am open to where God calls me since I feel as though God called me here to St. Mark’s. If it's just [meant] for one year, something else will materialize. I've gotta have faith in that, and I've gotta have hope.
Those are all the questions I have. Do you have anything else to add?
Well, first of all, thank you very much for being interested. And I want to try as best I can to get to know as many students as I can to connect to as many, you know, of you that I can. And I hope everybody will see me as somebody who's really open, loving, warm, and welcoming. And someone, if you want to ask me any questions or if something is bothering you and you want to talk about it, I would love to do that.
I sincerely thank Mr. Hutch for being so helpful throughout the interview and sharing about his life and insights. The St. Mark’s community is blessed to have him back and his presence opens up a new chapter in our religious education, sustainability work, wrestling, lacrosse, and the overall community. If you happen to cross paths with Mr. Hutch, don’t hesitate to say hello and extend him a warm welcome back to our community!
