Judy (Tansey) Hunt ’61
Heritage Society Donor
For decades, Judy (Tansey) Hunt ’61 has been an active and enthusiastic participant in many roles at Kent Place: alumna, Trustee, Alumnae Board member, and member of the Heritage Society. Judy decided to name Kent Place in her estate plans after “serving on the Alumnae Board and the Board of Trustees and getting to really know the breadth and depth of what the school offers its students,” she says. “I want to make sure that funding is there for future young women, and for the capacity to develop programs according to the needs that society demands.”
Judy and her two sisters are all KPS graduates. She described their education as a gift from her parents: “Kent Place gave me a solid education,” she says, “and through knowledge we gain confidence. With confidence we can take on leadership. I think that’s what Kent Place has done exceedingly well.”
After KPS, Judy earned her bachelor’s degree from Manhattanville College, then channeled the confidence and leadership skills she had learned into her career and volunteer work. Her family moves across the country and back east again allowed Judy to explore assorted retail business opportunities at both ownership and managerial levels, as well as grassroots participation in assorted community and not-for-profit organizations. A highlight of her volunteer experience has been her involvement with Bottomless Closet in New York City, which provides business clothing, interview coaching, and career development counseling to job-ready women transitioning into the workforce.
Judy was close friends with the late Missy (Burke) Partridge ’63 P ’89, who served as Chair of the Kent Place Board of Trustees and later as Director of Alumnae Relations. With Missy, Judy traveled around the country meeting with alumnae, encouraging them to give back to Kent Place and stay connected with their alma mater. Judy was a cofounder of the Partridge-Hurley Scholarship Fund, in honor of Missy and former Kent Place employee John Hurley, which provides financial aid to faculty and staff whose children would like to attend Kent Place. Her work here and in her local communities landed Judy the Kent Place Alumna Community Service Award in 2006.
Judy has many fond memories of her time at Kent Place, which have guided her back to the school as a volunteer and donor. She says she loves the traditions of STAR and Step Sing, and also remembers her favorite teachers; she can still picture Ms. Sampson and Ms. Moulding, sitting at their desks or leaning against the blackboards in their classrooms. In fact, they’re part of the reason she continues to give to the school. “They were just real characters, very warm individuals,” Judy says. “And we were really blessed. So I want the school to be able to keep up that quality of staff, and clearly it has. It’s an amazing group of faculty.”
As much as Judy is connected to Kent Place’s past, she’s also excited for its future. She says she finds programming around the Ethics Institute to be particularly important, and she appreciates that Kent Place has become more diverse since her time as a student: “To me,” she says, “the student body now represents the world.”
She’s also looking forward to seeing the new Leadership Center for Athletics, Wellness, and Performing Arts come to life. “Athletics and dance — all the extracurricular groups — they build camaraderie,” she says. “When these women graduate and move on to their other cities and communities, they understand teamwork, and they get involved with their communities.”
Judy Hunt embodies the concept of selfless service, and her impact at Kent Place has been profound. And now, with her planned gift, she hopes her legacy will help the school, as she puts it, “stay steadfast with building its curriculum to be current and state-of-the-art, and giving girls the tools they need to succeed in the world.”