Some opportunities feel professional.

Others feel personal.

For Andrew Waugh, accepting the role of Admissions & Student Engagement Associate, Research Fellow at Franklin Academy feels like both.

After spending the past several years working in boarding school communities across the country, Waugh will officially join Franklin Academy in August, bringing with him a background in student life, residential programming, enrollment strategy, and experiential education. More importantly, he brings the perspective of someone who once sat in the very seats many Franklin students now occupy.

Waugh is an alumnus of Brehm Preparatory School, a boarding school designed for students with learning differences. That experience, he says, continues to shape nearly every aspect of his approach to education, student engagement, and school culture.

“The best parts of boarding school were never just the classes,” Waugh shared. “They were the conversations in the dorm common room, the moments after study hall, the traditions, the late-night laughs, and the people who made campus feel like home. That sense of belonging changes students.”

That philosophy has become central to his professional work.

Most recently, Waugh served at Tallulah Falls School, where he worked in residential life and student activities while simultaneously completing graduate studies and building research focused on student belonging and retention in boarding schools. Prior to that, he worked with the Royal Thai Scholars Program at Brewster Academy and previously served at Brehm Preparatory School in admissions, alumni relations, and summer programming.

Across those experiences, one theme consistently emerged: students thrive when they feel connected to the life of a school beyond academics.

That idea eventually evolved into Waugh’s doctoral research, which he refers to as “The Second Enrollment,” the idea that students make a second decision to stay at a school long before families ever sign a re-enrollment contract. Through relationships, involvement, mentorship, and residential experiences, students slowly decide whether a school truly feels like home.

At Franklin Academy, Waugh hopes to strengthen both the enrollment and student experiences simultaneously.

“Admissions and student engagement should never operate separately,” Waugh said. “Families are not just enrolling in classes. They are enrolling in a community. The campus visit, the tour, the student interactions, the activities, the dorm culture, all of it matters.”

The move also represents something deeper personally.

For Waugh, returning to a school community centered around supporting students with learning differences feels less like a career pivot and more like a return to purpose.

“As someone who benefited tremendously from this kind of environment, there’s something meaningful about coming back to this work,” he said. “Schools like Franklin change lives because they help students see themselves differently.”

Outside of his work in schools, Waugh is also the founder of Beyond the Bell, a growing education platform focused on boarding schools, student life, enrollment strategy, and educational leadership. Through articles, interviews, and storytelling, the platform has connected readers from across the independent school world while highlighting the importance of community, belonging, and student-centered leadership.

As this next chapter begins, one thing remains clear: for Andrew Waugh, education was never just about getting students into schools.

It has always been about helping them find a place where they truly belong.