The Family Next Door

Patrick O’Leary is one of 11 residential faculty members who live on the HPA campus. While some residential faculty members live in apartments, O’Leary and his wife, Hui Chun, are dorm parents, one of eight families who live alongside students in a dorm.

“We’re the family at the end of the hall,” O’Leary said. “We’re always accessible, always here as a support unit.”

When you live together closely, as in a dorm, you come to learn things about people that would otherwise go unnoticed.

“A lot of the real magic happens when kids from different backgrounds become very close,” he said. “That happens a lot in the dorms. Everyone mingles. Everyone knows everyone very well.”

It’s also exciting to watch the kids in his dorm grow as individuals during their years at HPA. O’Leary, who also taught and lived in Taiwan and met his wife there, said international boarders, in particular, are amazing to watch. “These kids are bilingual or trilingual, as well as being fluent in more than one culture. They’re able to move between cultures seamlessly, with tolerance for everyone.”

A high comfort level with other cultures comes in handy after graduation, when many of the kids move on to college on the U.S. mainland or elsewhere in the world. “The social piece in college is just as challenging as here,” O’Leary said. “But these kids are confident. They realize they can move on to the next step and do a fantastic job.”

O’Leary, who previously worked as a professional musician and photographer, also comes to know HPA students in his role as a history and photojournalism teacher, and as a coach, speaks wistfully about their time here. “It’s a real heartfelt thing when you get to know these kids,” he said. “It’s great when they leave because they always come back to say hello. It’s a lifelong relationship.”