The Heaton Family
A Family With Diverse Interests Enjoys Shared Success
The Heaton family has been a fixture at King School since 2016. At musical performances, academic conferences, athletic events, and community service initiatives, a Heaton has often been present.
Eliza Heaton ’20 was a 14-year-old prospective student when she and her parents attended King’s 2015 winter musical. The show stoked her passion for musical theater, and by the time the curtain fell, Eliza knew this was the place for her.
“She was smitten,” her mother, Lucy Heaton, said.
Eliza’s excitement spread. Her cousin Ryan ’21 arrived at King the following year.
Then Eliza’s brother, Bryce ’23, and Ryan’s brother, Tommy ’23, entered King together for Grade 9. Ryan and Tommy’s sister, Lilly ’24, enrolled a year later.
The Heaton children — as well as their parents, David and Lucy, and Eric (David’s brother) and Nancy — embraced the school’s academic program and vibrant community, leaving their marks on every aspect of scholastic life and forming lasting bonds with students and teachers.
Eliza And Bryce
When Eliza entered King in Grade 9, she was determined to excel. She immediately pursued the Leadership Distinction. Bryce was captivated by the vibrant, welcoming atmosphere at King, and he, too, aimed for the Leadership Distinction.
“I believe that the various distinction options are a key part of King’s upper school experience,” Lucy said. “I see now the influence the Leadership Distinction had in shaping who my kids are today.”
Eliza and Bryce selected a wide array of classes and activities; they collaborated with teachers to create individualized schedules. Eliza cleverly combined her love for music with service, participating in El Sistema at King, the New Orleans Service-Learning Trip, Project Music, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
As sophomores, Bryce and his cousin Tommy earned the Tom Main Liberal Arts Fellowship to conduct a research project they called “White Supremacy Today.” Their work centered on the question “How does neofascism affect global democracy?” It involved extensive research through articles, documentaries, and interviews, including one with a member of the Proud Boys.
As Lucy watched Bryce and Tommy deliver a King Talk, she saw the strides they had made. “Presenting their research to an audience elevated the significance of their work and underscored the school's commitment to academic rigor,” she said. “It was a wonderful way for King to recognize their hard work.”
Throughout Eliza’s and Bryce’s King years, music played a vital role, allowing them to unwind, connect with likeminded peers, and escape academic stress. Eliza excelled in choir; Bryce displayed his trumpet skills in two bands. Their desire to perform was fulfilled through regular school shows and festival appearances, providing tangible goals.
In addition, Eliza started an after-school book club for Grade 1 students and discovered the magic of teaching. She merged her love of music and growing leadership skills and began giving voice lessons to Project Music and El Sistema students. “My love of teaching arose out of my admiration for my teachers at King,” said Eliza, recalling the leadership positions she held as a result of the encouragement and support of her teachers. “I felt cared for and supported in every endeavor as teachers introduced me to different roles they thought I could take on.”
After graduating from King, Eliza attended Duke University, where she was a teaching assistant in the psychology department, gaining experience while motivating her freshman students.
“Coming up with interactive, interesting lesson plans and making efforts to know my students outside of the classroom, I was able to build relationships that echoed those I had with King teachers,” she said.
Eliza graduated from Duke with a major in psychology and a minor in education, and recently joined the teacher-in-residence program at the Windward School in Manhattan.
Bryce is now a sophomore at Duke. Driven and focused, he balances work and play effectively, regularly meeting with his professors and viewing them as valuable resources. At King, he learned that approach through cultivating strong connections with teachers. Bryce continues to use his leadership skills to motivate his peers in social and academic settings.
“Both children thrived at King,” said Lucy, who described the school and its community as the perfect fit for her family. “I am grateful to King every day.”
RYAN, TOMMY, AND LILLY
Ryan, Tommy, and Lilly brought curiosity and distinct passions when they entered Grade 9.
“Having three children so close in age but with such different personalities and interests always led to concern that they each be treated as individuals and not compared to each other,” said Nancy Heaton, their mother and a King
School Trustee. “Thankfully, King put those concerns to rest. The teachers truly got to know each of my kids as the individuals they are and met their needs academically and emotionally.”
As Ryan progressed through the Upper School, he immersed himself in science and became one of the first students in the school’s Advanced Science Program for Independent Research and Engineering (ASPIRE).
Earning an internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Ryan researched renal cell carcinoma, finding that subtypes can be accurately classified using convolutional neural networks, a type of artificial intelligence. His work earned second place at the Connecticut STEM Fair and placed in the top 10 at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair.
As Ryan sought to leverage AI, Tommy, having completed the fellowship research with Bryce, discovered macroeconomics.
He explored the Federal Reserve’s inner workings, parsing decades of minutes from the Fed’s meetings and finding patterns in recessions.
As Tommy’s interest in economics grew, he sharpened other skills. During his sophomore summer, he honed his writing ability with history teacher Lindsey Rossler.
“Working closely with Ms. Rossler, I got early exposure to what it takes to write a real research paper,” said Tommy, whose resulting paper became his first published work when it was accepted without revisions by the Journal of Student Research, a faculty-reviewed journal.
“I could only do this because of the background in research King gave me,” said Tommy, adding that the love of economics and analysis he developed at King fueled his admission into the selective Quantitative Finance Concentration at the Villanova School of Business. “Early on, King fostered my love of research; my ability to excel is due to the skills that my teachers nurtured.”
When Lilly arrived at King, she was eager to try everything. After an injury that connected her with a surgeon and the challenges of recovery, Lilly discovered an interest in orthopedics and physical therapy. With the guidance of her advisor, Director of Science Research Victoria Schulman, she leaned into the sciences.
“Dr. Schulman always encouraged me to be my own person and follow my own passions,” said Lilly, who earned her EMT license and began to take ambulance ride-alongs and volunteer with a local ambulance corps. She channeled that into the Girls Advancing In Stem (GAINS) club, leading the way for other girls to become EMTs. Lilly also collaborated to host “Suture Days,” teaching students to suture wounds.
At King, Lilly took Spanish to fulfill a requirement, and she continues to study the language in college.
“My teachers at King instilled a love of Spanish in me,” said Lilly, who is also studying medicine. “Becoming fluent in Spanish will allow me to combine my interests and better help people in the future.”
Lilly is a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tommy is a sophomore at Villanova School of Business, and Ryan is enrolled at Dartmouth College but is taking time off to pursue an opportunity with an AI startup.
“One of the traits my kids learned from their time at King is self-advocacy,” Nancy said. “This has served them incredibly well, and I believe it has helped make them both successful and happy. I see that now in Ryan, whose curiosity and confidence fostered at King led him to take a different path, but one that is so right for him.”
The Heaton family’s story showcases the power of a school that nurtures individuality while creating a sense of community. From academics to athletics, the arts to leadership, the Heatons benefited from an environment where the children thrived and pursued their interests fully. Their journeys — so different, yet equally vibrant — are a testament to the school’s commitment to helping students follow their own paths. Despite varied talents and interests, they share a foundation of curiosity, confidence, and a love of learning, which, the Heatons say proudly, was developed during their time at King.