Fall 2007

The Cornwell Family

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Grant, 6 feet 5 inches, 17-year-old Kelsey at 6 feet 5 inches, and 14-year-old Tosh, at 6-feet-and-still-growing, relate in many ways, but basketball can not be overstated. Kelsey, who is searching for a college where he can study archaeology and play Division III basketball, is confident that he is now a stronger player than his dad. “I’ve surpassed him,” Kelsey crows. “He’s on the down hill.” His dad agrees.

That, however, does not stop dad from coaching. “He loves being our coach,” says Kelsey, “whether we want him to or not. He’s been our coach since we were little, and he just loves it so much.” But if hoops advice from the sidelines is always forthcoming, his dad “knows when to back off,” on the college search front, says Kelsey. “He tells me to focus my choices, but he makes it clear that it’s my choice.”

Being able to navigate their lives and being equipped to embrace opportunities by keeping their options open—those are essential skills that Peg says she hopes she and Grant have taught their boys. Peg, who has directed a leadership academy for students at St. Lawrence University for the past six years, practices her ideas of leadership both at work and at home. “For me, leadership is not hierarchical. It is about people who come together in a reciprocal relationship to achieve a common goal.”

Playing basketball, cooking Jamaican and northern Italian food together, hiking, mountain climbing, and hanging out at home with Pumpkin and Jack, the two orange cats—these are important ingredients of Cornwell esprit. But nothing, say its four members, is more important than sailing. Their dad, whom they dub “an old salt,” taught them to sail when they were young, and the boys say they’re proud that they can crew successfully. When the family goes sailing, cell phones stay home. “Sailing requires absolute focus all the time,” says Tosh. “And because everything else leaves your mind, it’s the most relaxing thing you can do.”

Favorite destinations are the Virgin and Grenadine Islands and the northeastern seaboard. “I love the way you can make the sails and the hull work with the wind to move through the water,” says Grant. “I think it’s beautiful, fascinating, and always challenging. I’ve taught my boys to be sailors because if you’re a sailor, you know how to respect nature. You know how to work with the elements in a strategic and tactical way. You know how to fix things. You know how to become generally competent. You know how to navigate.”

Teaching their boys the art and science of navigation in all areas of their lives is important, the Cornwells agree. But nothing is more important than teaching compassion. “The most important thing I want them to learn is to be kind and respectful,” says Peg. “That’s what I want for them.”