Robert Hugh Young

FAVORITE MEMORIES OF WILLIAMS

Williams-in-India with Professor Gaudino
Soccer and an undefeated regular season our senior year
Freshman English; History with Robert Waite
A spring break solo bike ride from Philadelphia to Charleston, S.C.
Everywhere you looked, the mountains

WILLIAMS CLUBS / ACTIVITIES

Soccer
Williams-in-India program
Junior Advisor

CURRENT INTERESTS, PASSIONS, AND ORGANIZATIONS

My kids and grandkids
Community Partnership School, a private elementary school for low-income, low-wealth families
Beyond Literacy, a non-profit that, among other things, provides training for high school equivalency tests

LIFE SINCE GRADUATION

The first 25 years after graduation included two years in the Peace Corps in Morocco, three years in law school at Georgetown, a marriage, the birth of my two wonderful sons, Matthew and Brian, and 20 years practicing law.

The next 25 years saw lots of change. My first wife and I survived a largely amicable divorce, and in 1999 I married Carol Cinotti, one of the most upbeat and energetic people I have ever known. Carol brought two girls, Rachel and Aly, from her first marriage, and together with Matt and Brian they created a lively household. We settled into an old Tudor home in Merion, Pa., just outside Philadelphia, and in the following years we faced the typical joys and challenges of a blended family with two working parents and quickly maturing kids. The boys both took up rowing in high school and parlayed that into offers from Harvard (Matt) and the University of Pennsylvania (Brian). Their work ethic was rewarded with seats in the first varsity boat during each of their three years of eligibility. I thought soccer at Williams was challenging until I watched the boys practice year-round and endure spring semester double sessions (6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.), all while carrying a full class load.

In 2007, I went from private practice to serving as general counsel of Airgas, Inc., a NYSE-traded company engaged in the manufacture and distribution of industrial and medical gases. Carol left the practice of law and started her own interior-design business, to which she continues to devote boundless energy. Matt went into investment banking, Brian into commercial real estate, Rachel into human resources, and Aly into yoga and wellness instruction. My years at Airgas were highlighted by a successful 18-month battle to fight off a hostile takeover attempt and the eventual friendly sale of the company in 2016.

In 2015, Brian married Laura Stocksdale. They have been joined by delightful daughter Cora and have another girl on the way in February. In 2016, Matt married Callie Traver, and they have been blessed with monster-truck-loving Sebastian and the ever-smiling Lillie. With the kids launched, Carol and I downsized into a Cape Cod-style house in a beautiful Bryn Mawr, Pa., neighborhood, and a few years later purchased a vacation house in Stone Harbor at the Jersey shore. As hoped, the shore house has been a terrific spot to enjoy with the kids and grandkids.

To keep myself out of trouble in retirement, I have been volunteering at Community Partnership School, a private elementary school for low-income, low-wealth families in Philadelphia, and at Beyond Literacy, where I tutor adults interested in advancing their reading skills. I serve on the board of both organizations. Before Covid, I also enjoyed driving needy patients to and from their cancer-treatment appointments. After 40 years of work, it has been rewarding to have the chance to give back a little.

As I think I said 25 years ago, ultimately it is all about the people in our lives. Family, friends, work colleagues, former classmates . . . Thank you, Williams, for surrounding me with great people and for providing part of the foundation for a fulfilling life.