Bridgton Academy Alumni Bring Real-World Leadership to Students
Every year at Bridgton Academy is unique—in fact, it just so happens to say so in our mission statement. The Class of 2026 had a special opportunity this year to experience something unique, enduring, and beneficial well beyond their time at the Academy.
In the spring of 2025, Bridgton Academy collaborated with two distinguished alumni, retired Brigadier General David Brigham ’84 and retired Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Carlos Canino ’84, to create an opportunity that would allow David and Carlos the opportunity to discuss leadership and share their experiences with the students of today. What evolved was a year-long journey and an intimate weekly seminar focused on leadership development, life, and the lessons learned along the way. It was as ancient as it was modern and was given the name the Servant Fitness Seminar.
A Seminar Rooted in Experience and Service
Following a 32-year career as a U.S. Army Green Beret and senior leader, David Brigham transitioned into leadership education, where he began exploring a question that would ultimately reshape his understanding of leadership itself: “What is leadership?”
While studying historical and contemporary leadership theories during his doctoral work at James Madison University, Brigham became less interested in how theories differed and more interested in what they shared in common—self-awareness, emotional regulation, resilience, behavioral alignment, relationships, recovery, attention, and purpose. During this same period, he became increasingly influenced by Robert Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership Theory and its unapologetic focus on service to others.
Those ideas eventually evolved into the Servant Fitness Seminar, a developmental framework organized across seven interconnected domains of human functioning: mental, behavioral, emotional, social, cultural, physical, and spiritual fitness. Rooted in both science and lived experience, the framework reflects Brigham’s belief that leadership is ultimately less about position or authority and more about learning how to intentionally show up for others under increasingly demanding conditions.
Humility, Integrity and Virtue
A central component of the seminar’s curriculum was the book Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke, which includes 20 short stories and parables of timeless wisdom. The students used this text as a foundational guide for their weekly discussions, exploring its twenty virtues—such as humility, gratitude, and courage—to define what it meant to lead with character. By reflecting on the book’s timeless parables, the students learned that true leadership is not about title or authority, but about the behavior and integrity one brings to their community.
The course met on Thursday nights during Bridgton Academy Study Hall. General Brigham and Mr. Canino kept a strong presence, either by returning to campus regularly for in-person sessions or connecting with the students via remote video conference.
“These Leadership meetings not only framed different leadership strategies but also taught us how to be mindful of emotional triggers and external noise in a young man’s life.” — Matt Honekamp ’26
As Dave espouses the seven domains in his Servant Fitness model: mental, behavioral, emotional, social, cultural, physical, and spiritual fitness. All supported by psychological research, given a real-world or tangible perspective in class, and followed up with active journaling and sharing by the students in the group. This is not another “how to lead others” seminar; it is a “how do I care for myself and others” seminar, allowing participants to be the best leader possible. Students were able to hear about real-world experiences from Dave and Carlos, with Carlos often adding poignant messages from his days as an undercover agent.
“In the Servant Fitness Seminar, we’re teaching young men that real leadership starts with service, discipline, and accountability. Our goal is to build habits and character that carry far beyond Bridgton—into teams, careers, and life. Those three traits; service, discipline and accountability served me well numerous times in the field.” — Carlos Canino ’84
Exceptional Engagement and Gratitude
The reception to the Servant Fitness Seminar from both students and staff was exceptional. Each week, the students were reported to have become more engaged, actively absorbing the lessons and mentorship provided by the two leaders.
“Our success is often a reflection of how well we respond to our environment and the noise within it. This leadership group has taught me that structured daily routines, personal reflection, and deciding what values I stand for are good starting points in progressing my leadership journey.” — Jack Foley ’26
“During this leadership class I have started to focus on smaller things throughout my day, like noise or signals. For example, there was a day after school I had a lot of homework but was on my phone, and that was what came to my mind; ‘was this signal or noise?’ It is also reassuring to hear from guys that have done so much in life they use the same techniques they are telling us, true servant leadership.” — Jerin Keogh ’26
Bridgton Academy was profoundly grateful for the dedication and expertise that General Brigham and Mr. Canino gave back to their alma mater. Their commitment to mentoring the next generation of leaders was a testament to the enduring spirit of the Academy.
“During my time at Bridgton Academy, I was blessed to be a part of the Servant Fitness Seminar with David and Carlos. Throughout the year, Mr. Brigham shared with us many valuable lessons in leadership along with great insight from his experience as a leader in the military. Dave and Carlos’s stories not only made the class interesting, but it showed the real importance of everything they were teaching in the class and how it is used in the real world. As a parting gift they generously gave us all compasses. These compasses act as both a literal and figurative map reminding us of our time in the Servant Fitness Seminar and how to act as a leader.” — Waylon Rhorer ’26
Advancement Officer and Assistant Football Coach, Matt Burgess ’88, the on-campus contact for Dave and Carlos, stated, “Alumni often speak about ‘the difference’ BA made in their lives and that can mean many different things to many different people. In my twenty-five years at Bridgton, this Servant Fitness Seminar is the closest thing I’ve seen to putting ‘the difference’ into a package for us to deliver to our young men while they are here. I can’t wait to assist David and Carlos with offering this programming again next year.”
Bridgton Academy, Brigadier General (Ret) Brigham, and Special Agent in Charge (Ret) Canino look forward to the continuation and evolution of the Servant Fitness Seminar for the Class of 2027 by including more faculty and guest speakers from the greater Bridgton Academy community.
