ESTER AND ARTHUR BROOKS SPEAK AT MONTROSE

As the second guest in the Montrose School Women of Noble Purpose residency, Ester Munt-Brooks spent two days with our students and faculty. On the evening of February 25, she was joined by her husband Arthur Brooks for a presentation as part of the LifeCompass Institute Speaker Series. 

“We love Montrose. We think it’s incredibly important and a good investment for your daughters,” said Arthur Brooks as he greeted the crowd. 

In their joint presentation, Ester and Arthur shared both their lived experience and decades of research about the philosophy and science of love, how to build stronger bonds with your spouse, and how to find and nurture deep friendships. 

Arthur Brooks is a national columnist, author of multiple #1 New York Times bestsellers, renowned public speaker, host of the Office Hours podcast, and professor at Harvard. Ester Munt-Brooks is a Catholic educator dedicated to helping ordinary people deepen their faith and apply it to daily life.

Both the evening presentation and the residency were sponsored by the Elizabeth Schickel Foundation. 

During Ester’s residency, she participated in class discussions, joined a panel of current parents, visited club meetings, and delivered an address to our entire student body. “Love with your heart, not just your emotions,” Ester told the girls. “What we do with our heart is who we are.”

Like Nichole Mercier ‘94, who shared her own powerful story with our students in November during her time as our Innovator-in-Residence, Ester’s message to our students focused on finding and living out our noble purpose. As Montrose students often hear, they are each unique and unrepeatable, and they are learning – with support from their teachers, mentors, and parents – to discern their gifts and interests in order to be able to change the world for the good. 

This discernment process can be summarized in three main questions:

What is my passion or interest?

As children of God, we are all called to love one another, to will the good of one another, and to actively work to bring about that greater good. This means, no matter what our calling or path in life, we need to observe, reflect, seek counsel, pray, and pay attention to the Holy Spirit and God’s will for us. As St. Josemaria Escriva said, we need to seek “the good of the moment.”

At Montrose, students learn to develop what we call a life compass, which helps them “know what to do when they don’t know what to do,” as Head of School Katie Elrod often says. The girls are supported in this process by their team of teachers, mentors, coaches, club advisors and parents.  

What am I good at?

A student’s time at Montrose is an opportunity to practice and try new things – not merely learning a new skill or subject, but learning how to become a better person through that activity. Montrose’s signature Habits curriculum focuses intently on helping girls form the habits that help us on this path, as they grow in good habits of mind, heart and character. 

What does the world need?

Ester talked about the different dimensions of womanhood that she has developed in herself throughout the course of her journey, as a professional musician, wife, mother, student, radio host, and public speaker. She encouraged the girls to develop their full capacities to be able to use the virtues they acquire across all aspects of their lives. 

Thank you to Ester and Arthur Brooks for sharing your wisdom with the Montrose community!