Malbert “Mally” Smith’s father is an educational researcher, so early in Mally’s school career, his parents quickly noticed the glaring discrepancy between his high verbal and comprehension skills and the scores he was getting in the classroom.
“There was no real ‘aha’ moment. I was not succeeding in the classroom. I was frustrated and felt like I was missing things. There were no resources or support for me.” This led Mally’s parents to begin homeschooling. He immediately recognized the academic benefits of being the only student in class but recalls missing friends and the social aspects of school.
Then his parents found Hill Learning Center. “I began attending Hill when it was in the yellow house but was just about to transition to the fancy building you’re in now.” Mally laughs as he says, “I remember the ladybugs that the yellow house had a number of, and I remember the playground. This will sound funny, but I also remember the refrigerator that kept the chocolate milk and ice cream for Fridays.”
“One of my fondest memories was the Halloween parade. You got to show off your costume. I just thought it was cool that we got to do that.” At Hill, Mally found that the individualized instruction and patience he experienced through homeschooling “was emulated but gave me the social pieces too.” He had friends and was among other students who were like him, smart but learned differently.
Mally reflected on how Hill was different from the other schools he attended. “I think there are great teachers in every educational setting. But if your classroom is designed to hold thirty students, teachers can’t cater to their individual needs and help them flourish. Hill’s small classrooms helped me gain my strength and my confidence back. I have long thought that we should stop trying to make kids fit into the current educational system and instead make school a place that fits them. That’s Hill Learning Center.”
Mally is passionate about the topic of education and wants to remain in policy and politics to help others. “The most surprising part of my personal evolution was going from ‘the classroom isn’t a good fit for me’ to being a lifelong learner. I have ADHD, and I can get hyper-focused if it is something I’m interested in. The higher up I went in school, the easier it got for me because I got to pick what I wanted to study and could focus on what I was interested in.” This clearly paid off for Mally, who has a bachelor’s degree in political science and gender studies as well as two master’s degrees in policy and politics from George Washington University and the University of Cambridge. “When I think about me now, my career and its connection to Hill… Hill taught me the things I was good at and what I needed help with, so I left Hill knowing how to navigate the world of learning.”
From his home office in Washington DC, along with his officemate, a labradoodle named Homey, he serves in the Biden Administration as a bridge between the US Department of Labor and Congressional Affairs. He summed up his experience at Hill this way: “I found that what made a real difference for me was that Hill really provided an opportunity to gain my confidence in a classroom. I was able to meet the challenges in an environment where I had helping hands to get me through it.” Mally is proud to share that his niece will be the next Hill alum in the family. She is in her first year at Hill.