DA alum Gregg Cooper recently retired from Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) stewarding the Financial Investment Committee including oil and non-oil industries. Currently a resident of Avon, Colo., he serves on boards supporting local government efforts. Gregg attributes his professional success to Denver Academy which helped him embrace open thinking and took him from “potential failure to success.”

Gregg encourages other DA alumni to get involved through volunteering, serving on the DA Board of Trustees, or through planned giving. Gregg is a newly inducted member of the DA Legacy Society.

Read on for a Q&A with Gregg.

At age 14, I had failed out of school. By age 15, the passageway was opened by Denver Academy to allow my mind to focus. I am grateful to say I have worked in 40-plus countries, completing five expat assignments, and designing ventures within M&A (mergers and acquisitions) and public policy. I retired at age 53 as a result of Denver Academy.

I am beginning the next chapter; to focus on others versus self. This is only possible because of past years, and again, from my foundation at Denver Academy.

It is perfectly acceptable — and preferred — to think outside the box. Better yet, it is perfectly acceptable and preferred to think exactly as one's mind does. There's no wrong answer. DA students are quite bright, but think “differently.” Again, there's no wrong answer and this should be embraced.

Joe Delmonico and remembered friend John Schneider. They changed my life for the better. I also thank Steve Tattum for teaching self-responsibility and related accountability. (Once, they both encouraged/supported me to write to the author for an unanswered question regarding a translation in Dante’s Inferno.)

Post-school years, I am lucky to have come to know current DA Head of School Mark Twarogowski and the tireless devotion he has shown over the years.

As a student: The experiential trip to Russia, an outright leveraging event for work. As an adult: Serving with the DA Board of Trustees. Not only does the Board support the DA community, but it has created some of the best friendships under the paradigm of creating an ever-better Denver Academy.