Alum of the Month October 2007

Millard Howard '54 - Small Town Roots Inspire Big Town Ambition

Millard Howard grew up in – and still lives in – his grandfather’s home in Palermo. Although Millard was too young to work on the farm that his parents owned at the time, farming was the Howard family’s way of life, as his father also worked for both a tree farm and a chicken farm.

Back in the early 1940s, Millard began school in East Palermo’s one-room school house. He remembers having particularly great teachers in the fourth through eighth grades, which was quite fortunate given how difficult it was to recruit good teachers during the war. Millard then attended Erskine Academy. He was very academically focused and history was his favorite subject. Because geometry was not offered at Erskine, he learned it on his own, and even created his own papers. Having earned a number of medals during each of his four years, it wasn’t surprising that Millard was chosen as class valedictorian for 1954.

In addition to excelling academically, Millard learned how to be a good leader at Erskine. He was a class officer, participated in the Senior Play (Pride and Prejudice), and was a member of the National Honor Society. He fondly remembers the Washington Trip, led by Bud Miller and Beverly Hancock (Miller) and remains very appreciative of the guidance of Myrtle Austin through three years of English, two of French, two of Latin, Public Speaking, and Senior Play.

Thanks to Principal Lewis Tatham, Millard received a scholarship to attend Clark University. When he was placed in a calculus class without having had trigonometry at Erskine, he again learned it on his own. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Summa cum Laude, and with highest honors in history. This success led to a fellowship at Harvard, which allowed him to achieve his goal of a masters’ degree in history.

After college, despite hoping to become a teacher, he took a job as a social worker at the Augusta Mental Health facility (now Riverview Psychiatric Center) where he worked with both patients and families. Later he moved on to several administrative positions, eventually becoming the assistant to the Superintendent.

Through it all, Millard’s love of history has never waned. He is active with the local historical society, attends many auctions, owns a large collection of books, and serves on the Palermo School Committee, now in his fourth three-year term. His service to Erskine has always remained a top priority. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for 18 years (ten as president) and is very proud of the growth in enrollment that the school experienced during his tenure. He feels strongly that as a comprehensive school – one that serves students of all abilities – Erskine is able to provide “the best experience and environment for learning.”

He offers students this bit of sage advice: by taking advantage of available scholarships, you can come from a small town and still compete successfully in the academic world. He is living proof of that!