NMH’s work program has been around as long as the school itself—since 1879, to be exact. The program requires students to work four to five hours weekly; “work jobs,” as they are called, might involve helping in the dining hall, doing custodial work, or pitching in on the NMH farm. School founder Dwight L. Moody put the program in place, believing that students should help with the school’s day-to-day operations and know the dignity of manual labor. One curious byproduct of the program: As students become alumni, their complaints about work jobs (“I have to shovel manure?”) tend to soften into tender reminiscences (“Ah, the smell of the farm!”). Most alumni ultimately conclude that their labor was character-building—just as Mr. Moody planned.
