How Will You Add to Spartan Fame?
Opening of School Assembly Challenges Community to Live with Strength and Honor
As the Milton Hershey School community filled GIANT Center for this year’s Opening of School Assembly, they walked through a red-carpet experience and were invited on a journey through time, tradition, and purpose. What began as a theatrical adventure featuring one of the most important figures in MHS history, ultimately revealed a powerful challenge for the year ahead.
The journey centered around the verses many students know by heart but may not always pause to consider: the MHS Alma Mater.
Throughout the Assembly, students traveled alongside William Henry “Lebbie” Lebkicher, played by professional actor Michael Moreland Milligan, who reprised his role from the upcoming feature film HERSHEY. Lebkicher was the trusted advisor and longtime friend of Milton S. Hershey. Lebkicher served as a director of Hershey Industrial School and was steadfastly devoted to the school’s mission. His loyalty, service, humility, and commitment to others made him a living example of the qualities Mr. Hershey hoped his school would cultivate in every student.
As students helped Lebkicher recover pieces of his missing prized journal, together they uncovered the meaning behind each section of the Alma Mater. Those lessons revealed why the song remains one of the most important expressions of what it means to be a Spartan. Each stop along their journey reinforced a simple truth: being a Spartan is about more than attending MHS. It’s about belonging to something larger than yourself.
Moments throughout the assembly highlighted the enduring strength of the MHS community, the generations of students that have shaped its story, and the traditions and moments that build lasting connections between thousands of students and alumni.
As Lebkicher and students traveled through time, they got caught in a time wrinkle: the year 1776. Lebkicher spoke about 250 years of the United States and Milton S. Hershey’s place as an iconic American and his support of troops in World War II through the creation of the Ration D Bar. The visit to that year ended with a surprise reveal: the unveiling of a new Milton Hershey School flag.
The journey culminated with the final line of the Alma Mater and the reveal of the 2026-27 school year theme: Spartan Fame.
“The most important part of our Alma Mater is the last line, the one we celebrate today: ‘Lives filled with strength and honor to add to Spartan Fame.’ When we sing the song, we must know what the words really mean,” said MHS President Pete Gurt ’85.
As President Gurt explained, the theme is not about popularity, recognition, or personal success. Spartan Fame is earned through lives filled with strength and honor. It is cultivated when Spartans demonstrate integrity, serve others, lead with character, keep their standards high, and remain committed to the values that define MHS.
“Spartan Fame is built on strength and honor: learning from failure, never giving up, and doing what’s right even when it’s difficult,” said Gurt.
President Gurt surprised the crowd by closing the Assembly with live music that featured a reimagined version of the Alma Mater written and performed by MHS alumnus Marcus Paul James ’99. James then introduced Kayleigh Clark, a singer and songwriter who gained recognition on “The Voice” for some additional songs to celebrate.
As the event concluded and students prepared to go to classes on the first day, they left with a challenge rooted in the final words of the Alma Mater: “Lives filled with strength and honor, to add to Spartan Fame.” The question now belongs to every community member.