Dirk Dixon ’70

Fifty-four years after graduating from Milton Hershey School, Dirk Dixon ’70 continues to spread the word about and give back to the school that changed his life.

In 1962, Dixon was in a fourth-grade class in Florida for the second time. He was facing the possibility of having to return for a third year. The Space Race between the United States and The Soviet Union caused his classroom to be overcrowded due to its proximity to the Kennedy Space Center. Dixon’s teacher didn’t have time to help him and placed him in the back of the room so she could devote her energy to the star pupils.

“My self-esteem was in the basement,” Dixon recalled. “I could not read very well, and I was almost 10 years old. I didn’t have a clue what math was.”

He also had difficulty making friends since his mother’s profession as a waitress was not perceived to be as important as those of parents who worked in the aerospace industry. His life changed, though, when his grandmother learned about MHS. His mother agreed the school might be the change the young boy needed.

“I got friends when I came here,” he said. “Many of them are still friends today.”

Dixon also met mentors who helped him realize his academic potential. He recalls MHS teacher Wally Conway telling him that he was smarter than he realized. Dixon took Conway’s words to heart, and his successes began to mount.

 “Next thing I know, I started liking math and science,” he said.

For the next seven years, MHS teachers and houseparents instilled in Dixon the importance of a positive spirit, strong work ethic, and determination to persevere. He carried those lessons into a successful engineering career.

“Several times, my bosses would tell me that they really appreciated how proactive I was,” Dixon said. “I saw something that needed to be done and I did it without anyone having to ask me. Thanks to MHS, those skills are just part of who I am.”

Dixon’s strong work ethic didn’t stop when he retired. Never one to sit still, he picked up several part-time jobs in the Hershey community. Now, as a guide with Hershey Trolley Works, he shares how MHS changed his life and the lives of almost 12,000 graduates.

“I tell those riding the trolley that I am a very grateful graduate of this school,” he said. “There is no way that I would have the life I had if I hadn’t been here. A lot of my classmates will tell you the same thing.”

Dixon also gives back to MHS through the Harrisburg Chapter of the MHS Alumni Association. The chapter partners with MHS students on volunteer projects in the community. The members also host Easter and pool parties for students who stay on campus during breaks. MHSAA also helps him stay connected to graduates who share his appreciation for MHS. He also helped a group of alumni rebuild a bench at Hershey Gardens that Milton S. Hershey would sit on.

“The school means a lot to me,” Dixon said. “I try to do anything I can to help.”