“I know that if you talk to all my classmates or classmates that year and ask them who’s most likely to become a member of Congress, I guarantee you most would have said Kelly [Morrison ‘87], and very few would have said me,” Dean Phillips ‘87 joked. Phillips and Morrison are going through the traditional transition measures for Congressional District 3, but with a personal flair: The two have been friends since Lower School at the Hopkins Campus. They went through the same experience students are going through, down to the “senior speeches we had to do, that were so nerve-racking,” Phillips said.
Phillips, Morrison, and Morrison’s parents spoke to The Spectrum at the U.S. House Reprentative’s final town hall, a 300-person standing-room-only event at the Ridgedale Library. Morrison, continuing their friendship, surprised Phillips with a cake. The four of them took a picture together in front of the US and Minnesota flags before their interviews. Their classmates were contacted through the Blake alumni database.
Their friendship began the way most Lower School friendships do. Through the alumni database, several of their classmates were willing to share memories and tell stories. “We all rode the bus together in fifth grade,” their friend Georgie Slade ‘87 said. They continued to grow as friends, and by Upper School, they spent plenty of time together. “He used to spend half the summer at our house, because Kelly would attract a bunch of people, and he would come over with a bunch of people, and he was always kind of hanging around … he’s got a great sense of humor,” Morrison’s dad, Jack Morrison ‘63, recalled.
Phillips and Morrison, who to this day banter as they did in Upper School, have very fond memories of their time at Blake. “So we had fun. And we worked really, really hard. We studied and did our homework every single night,” Phillips joked. Morrison’s favorite memory? “Cheering for Dean on the ice,” she said. Phillips fondly recalls the “homecomings and hockey games and bonfires and … probably the same things all of you guys are doing right now.”
One of Morrison’s highlights from high school was Phillips’s sense of humor, which “won’t come as a surprise to all of you … he’s one of the funniest people in our class, he always kept everyone laughing,” she recalled fondly. Phillips won best laugh for their class in the 1987 yearbook, while Morrison, who joked that she doesn’t want students to see the yearbook, won friendliest.
Slade has a very unique memory associated with Phillips in high school: His unique music taste. “I just find that a lot of his tastes were a lot less mainstream and he was just sort of an interesting guy. His mom had a new wave punk rock boutique when we were in middle school and that was kind of fun … what I think of him is a really smart guy, but also kind of quirky and in a cool way,” she recalled.
Slade also remembers Morrison’s kindness. “I would say probably that she was always one of the hardest working students at school that I know and I also know that she was always so considerate of everybody you know, writing notes, recognizing other people and lifting them up, and that was something that was really pretty incredible,” she remarked.
To the seniors now, Phillips and Morrison have loads of advice. “Keep your mind open. Learn about things that you didn’t expect to, follow your heart, and be empathetic, know that we all go through stuff. Be there for your friends, love your family. YOLO.” Morrison recommended. Phillips agreed, adding “YOLO. And recognize how lucky you are to have this education for being afforded. And take risks because you’re never going to achieve anything unless you … face discomfort. I know that Kelly and I both know that feeling of jumping into a political race without any experience. But that’s exactly what you all have to do.”
“It’s a blessing to be afforded. When [lessons and opportunities] present themselves, don’t wait because I think we can speak for a lot of people in our country and the world. Everyone looks back one day and thinks about all the things that they didn’t do and they wish they did. Very few people look back and regret not having tried,” he continued.
Morrison offered some advice beyond Blake: “don’t let people tell you that high school or college are the best years of your life. Oh, it gets so much better. It just keeps getting better. And know that you’ll have different chapters in your life. Some of it will be harder, some of it will be more challenging. But there’s always something that will cross the road. So stay in the hope. When you’re having a bad day, help somebody. That’s what these jobs are about and it’s the best antidote. Serving other people is the best thing. So help somebody,” she said.
Morrison’s mom, Chris Morrison ‘65, is extremely proud of Phillips as he passes his seat to her daughter. “I’ve seen [Phillips] through various stages of his development and to the man that he is today, and he has been consistent in admitting when he’s wrong, taking it when he’s right, and developing new points of view about things in a way that few people do … I feel really privileged to be his friend,” Chris said. Slade agreed, adding, “I’m so proud of both of them. I think it’s great. I think that they both have really sound heads on their shoulders And I think that, because of their background being having leadership …I think that they both understand how it’s really important that they’re actually representing other people, and I appreciate that.”
Phillips and Morrison: Representatives, Blake alumni, and, most importantly, friends to the end.
