Featured Story
Arty Selkowitz ‘61 Speaks to Jewish Affinity Group
On Thursday April 13, the Jewish Affinity Group (JAG) welcomed Arthur “Arty” Selkowitz ‘61 to the Hilltop, to hear about his experience at St. Luke’s, and his life since graduation.
Though only here for his junior and senior years, Arty described his time at St. Luke’s as the most important years of his K-12 education. He explained: “I really began to get serious about learning, and I had teachers who inspired and demanded that of me.” Dr. Kidd in particular stood out, as he taught Arty how to write well, and he relied on that instruction heavily throughout his career in advertising.
When he graduated, Arty was one of 5 Jewish students in his class of 28. He explained that he did not feel a sense of anti-semitism on campus, but the school was much more homogenous during his time, especially since it was an all-boys school. He was very impressed by the fact that a Jewish affinity group exists at St. Luke’s today. Atara Loewenberg ‘24 gave a brief history of the group, explaining that much of the focus of the club today revolves around creating community for Jewish students attending St. Luke’s.
Arty took the School’s motto “Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve” seriously after leaving the Hilltop. After retiring from a successful career in advertising, he spent 20 years as the founding Board Chairman of Stamford’s Mill River Park Collaborative, helping to transform an overlooked part of the downtown area into a vibrant community space. He recently stepped down from his position as Chair of the Mill River Board, and now serves as Co-President of the Board of The Avon Theatre Film Center in Stamford.
“I really enjoyed having Mr. Selkowitz talk to us because it was super interesting to learn about his experience at St. Luke's and listen to him tell us how he took what he learned here and brought it into the real world. It was a really special experience and I'm glad that as a club we were able to learn from him” - Atara Loewenberg ‘24.
Thank you Arty, for sharing your story!
JAG is a student club whose mission is to serve as a safe gathering space for Jewish students in the Upper School, to connect with each other and to educate the greater St. Luke's Upper School community about Jewish culture and traditions.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
