One morning, Nick DeChello ’08 was walking around campus when, after seeing several faculty members enjoying time with their dogs, was struck by a great new business idea: a faculty dog calendar.
“Our Choate community does not spend enough time enjoying the beauty of these animals, so we felt that a calendar would be the perfect solution,” says DeChello. He and his group, consisting of Omid Nassar Bigdeli ’08, Fred Masotta ’08, and Alex Cohen ’08, have been working on the project for a few weeks now and hope to have it finished by the end of next week.
Though the calendar consists exclusively of faculty members’ dogs, DeChello and his group feel confident that it will be a big campus-wide seller. “I know that the ‘The Dogs of Choate’ calendar will be a big hit amongst many of the teachers whose dogs are featured on a month and those who enjoy the sheer beauty of the animals,” says DeChello, “but also hope that the students will represent the largest customer base because they are the largest group on campus.” In addition to the selling of the calendars around campus, they will also be available for purchase during both Alumni and Reunion Weekends.
The prospect of a faculty dog calendar received mixed reactions from both students and faculty. “I think the calendar idea is interesting, though I am unsure of the target audience,” says English teacher Mr. Cobb, owner of Atticus, a five-month-old golden retriever. “I would buy a few copies if my dog was in it, but am not so sure otherwise.”
Other teachers, such as English teacher Ms. Devine, soon to be owner of the eight-week-old golden-doodle named Bran, feel that the calendar will be a big hit among the teachers and faculty. “I thought [the idea of a faculty dog calendar] was pretty clever,” says Ms. Devine. “I was delighted when I heard that nearly every faculty member responded to the e-mail and all wanted their dogs in the calendar...I wouldn’t be surprised if over half of the faculty members bought a calendar.” She, like Mr. Cobb, was unsure of the potential for selling the calendar to students, but plans on purchasing a copy of the calendar even if her dog is not in it.
Students are largely unsure of whether or not they will buy a copy of the calendar. Geetanjali Talpade ’10 says, “I may or may not buy [the calendar]. I probably would if there were dogs featured that belonged to my teachers, but otherwise it wouldn’t appeal to me.” DeChello and his group hope to attract a larger student audience and give back to Choate by sending 100% of all profits made to the Senior Class Gift instead of a charity.
Two separate twelve-month calendars will be available for purchase, as 24 faculty members have already confirmed that they will put their dog in the calendar. Calendars will sell for around $15 and will be available for purchase in the senior section of the Dining Hall during the three lunch blocks in the upcoming weeks.
