Andrew Bordwin ’82

Alumni Voices

Andrew Bordwin ’82

Beaver Reflections:
I was class of 1982. I came in 7th grade and went all the way through. It’s been, what, 30, oh my, next year is going to be 40 years. I like getting old but, man, that’s a little much. I had a great experience. There’s a long list of really formative people. In middle school, Jane Baker and Ann Grayson were really important, teaching us how to read critically. Miss Thompson was kind of like finishing school when it came to writing. Larry Gladwin for six years of Latin really made me understand language. Doug “Major” Cohen was the photo teacher and he really supported my growing love of photography when I was 12. Since I was 14, I wanted to be a professional photographer and he really supported me in that. Ellen Driscoll is someone who I’ve stayed in touch with a little bit because I’ve admired her work. She did a big mosaic project in the subway in New York and I got in touch with her about that. She was very young when she taught so our age difference now that we’re both older is not so great.

What is #happeningnow in your life:
I was 17 when I graduated. I’m 56 now. I went to NYU and I ended up getting a double major in classical civilization and photography. Then I just started working in the field, started working as an interiors and architectural photographer. And that’s what I have done, I’m a photographer. I have a video production company now, too. I started training in aikido, which is a martial art. I’ve been doing that for 30 years. I also play drums. While I was in NYU I started playing in this band. Eventually we put out two albums, one in 1981 and 1989. We just recently put out our third album after a thirty year hiatus. We did a tour last summer with seventeen dates across the country. So it’s always been photography, music, and martial arts. And art — in ‘98 I started collaborating with a guy named Adam Ames and he and I work under the name Type A. Last but not least, I got married in 1991 and I have two kids, one of whom is 18 and the other’s 21. We live in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. I went to NYU and I never left, and I married a girl from Long Island.

“The pandemic is the great revealer. I feel like many people are emerging with a better understanding of the concentric circles of their life. A better understanding of themselves, a better understanding of their immediate family, a better understanding of their community and the nation.”

– Andrew Bordwin ’82

Advice to current Beaver Students:
There’s so much that this generation is facing that I don’t think they want to hear from an old guy like me. Show up on time; I think that’s really important. I think it’s really important to do what you love. Nothing replaces hard work. Luck favors the prepared. Beaver is a deeply privileged place to be, so you’re starting out from an advantage; don’t mess it up. That’s all I can tell you.

Beaver Country Day School admits qualified students of any race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, handicap status, national origin or ethnicity to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, handicap status, national origin or ethinicity in the administration of its educational, admission, financial aid, athletic or other school-administered programs or policies.