Alumna and Middle School French teacher Emily Bross Quinn '04 grew up at Moravian Academy. Her parents, retired faculty members Tom and Debbie Bross, met and married at our school, and Emily and her brother Matt Bross '06 were "lifers."

In Middle School Chapel on December 4, Mrs. Quinn shared some of her favorite "Moravian Memories,"  including her pretend kitchen on the stone wall in Shields Field during her mother's field hockey practices, the carnations her father sent each year on Valentine's Day at the Upper School, and her close relationship with Dave and Miriam Devey, who Mr. and Mrs. Bross chose as Emily and Matt's godparents.

Through her stories and fond memories, Mrs. Quinn helped our current middlers, who walk through the Devey Building each day, get to know Mr. and Mrs. Devey and their Moravian Academy legacy . And as a special treat, Mrs. Devey joined us in Chapel, to hear us sing the Alma Mater she wrote almost fifty years ago. Students, faculty and staff members welcomed her with heartfelt applause. Thank you to Mrs. Quinn for this special Moravian moment!

Read Mrs. Quinn's speech below:

In the course of the last year, Mr. Bob Zaiser from the Institutional Advancement Office spoke about the names of places around campus. A picture of the building or athletic field appeared on the screen and he explained that each place was named after someone who was a member of the Moravian community. My interest was piqued because although I knew the names of all the places at both the downtown Bethlehem and Merle-Smith campuses, I was surprised that I didn’t know much about all of the people. I found this fascinating because as a student and as a teacher, I have spent so much time in all of these places and I wanted to know more. 

My Moravian Academy career began at 5 years old as a Kindergartner in the de Schweinitz building. I graduated 13 years later from the Upper School in 2004. Several of my classmates were lifers, but I had gained new friends along the way when they began in the Middle or Upper School. When I was in middle school, I spent my days learning from my teachers including Mrs. Long, Mrs. Seigfried, Mrs. Beil, Mrs. Overdorf, and Mr. Messman) crossing the intersection to get between 7E and the Devey Building - just like you. I imagined winning the lottery one day so that I could build an enclosed ramp that towered over the traffic lights so that we could easily cross and be protected from rain or snow. I guess you have gathered at this point that I have not won the lottery, but one can still dream!

It wasn’t until I went to college that I found myself reminiscing and realizing how grateful I was to have had a Moravian Academy experience. Mine, however, although similar to the one you are having now, was a little unique. When I was little, my brother and I would sometimes take the shuttle to the Upper School and go to my mom’s field hockey games and practices. We would spend time preparing delicious hors d'oeuvres and entrees with ingredients such as plants, flowers, grass, and twigs, and would sell them to the hockey girls from our store on the stone walls by Green Pond. It was a magical and imaginative playground. When I was a student at the Upper School, I had my dad as my physics teacher. Every year on Valentine’s Day, you had the chance to buy a red or pink carnation for someone on campus and attach a handwritten note on a paper heart. In general, friends would buy for friends - it wasn’t really a romantic gesture at all….just for fun. And every year, for four years, I received a very special one signed Love, Dad. 

So let’s go back to the beginning to when I was born in 1986. As I have mentioned, my parents met and worked at Moravian Academy. After I was born, my parents were looking for someone to stand witness at my baptism at Nazareth Moravian Church. A baptism often takes place in the early years of a child’s life, symbolizing their admission into a Christian Church and in this case, a Moravian church. After much thought, they asked Mr. and Mrs. Devey if they would be willing to fulfill that role and they graciously accepted. My brother came along two years later, and the Devey’s added another godchild to their list. 

By now you might be wondering, did Mrs. Quinn say Mr. and Mrs. Devey? David and Miriam Devey? Devey...hmm. Name sounds familiar? Oh yes! It’s the name of one of our Middle School buildings. It was named for a former Moravian Academy Headmaster from the 1970’s and 1980’s. It’s the name on a plaque outside the cafetorium where you can find Mr. Devey’s picture portrait.   

But to me, the Devey’s are much more than just a name on a building. Mr. and Mrs. Devey took their role of Godparents to me and my brother very seriously and made an effort to celebrate many milestones in our lives. Godparents are sometimes just a name for a caregiver on a legal document in the event that something would happen to the child’s parents... or other times Godparents are people who take on a religious role in a child’s life. Matt and I were fortunate enough to have paternal and maternal grandparents, but he and I were equally as fortunate to consider the Deveys, not only as Godparents, but also like another set of grandparents. They cheered us on at field hockey and soccer games, which came naturally for them because they both had a sincere love of sports. They came to our theater performances at school, celebrated birthdays and Christmas, visited just for fun, invited us to stay with them when they lived in Lititz, PA and in South Carolina. Clearly, they went above and beyond the basic role of godparents.

Anyone who knew Mr. Devey would probably say the same things about him as Headmaster of Moravian Academy as I would describe him as a godfather.

Each time we got together, Mr. Devey would approach me, take my hand, look me in the eyes, smile and say, “You look good.” Every single time. What I think he was ultimately trying to tell me was, “I’m proud of you, Emily. Keep up what you’re doing.” Mr. Devey had that way about him.  When he was Headmaster of Moravian, he made each person, student and faculty, feel welcome and accepted. He could and would shake every student’s hand and call them by name. When he stood up at chapel or in an assembly, the room would fall silent. It was a sign of respect, not of fear. He had high expectations for the students. He made an impact on people’s lives with his genuine care and calming presence. He was considered a paternal figure in the Moravian Academy family, helping students and families in times of need or despair. During his tenure at Moravian, he also helped to start traditions such as our Fathers’, Grandparents’, and Mothers’ Lovefeasts, our School Prayer, and the “Hip Hip Hooray” at the raising of the flag at the start of our school year. He played a vital role in joining Moravian Prep and Moravian Sem into one school - our Moravian Academy.  

When Mr. Devey passed away in 2015, there was a beautiful Celebration of Life service just across the way at Central Moravian Church. There wasn’t an empty seat that day - I had never seen the church so full of people other than on Vespers Night - and I won’t forget the number of people from all phases of Mr. Devey’s life, coming to pay respect and to hear about his life story. 

Mrs. Devey was his partner both at school and at home. When our school used to be two separate schools, there were two separate alma maters. When Moravian Academy came to be, there was a contest for creating the lyrics for the new alma mater. Mrs. Devey anonymously entered the lyrical contest and won! She is here today in fact and I am very grateful that she could attend our service this morning. Mrs. Devey has become an important figure in my own children’s lives and they are very lucky to know her.  

Maybe you have someone in your life who is like a Mr. and Mrs. Devey. Someone who you would never want to disappoint, who you respect at all times, who you look up to, who you think about when you’re about to make a questionable life choice. Would Mr. Devey be proud of me? Is Mrs. Devey still proud of me? 

I encourage you to make the most of your experience at Moravian, learn a little more about the people who have come before you at our school, spend more time with the older and wiser people in your life, and in the words of Mr. Devey, work hard and be a decent human being. Thank you. 

Read this article and other content in the Spring 2020 Moravian Academy Journal.