Judicious Jo
The cheers of the girls’ cross-country team echoed across the field, growing in sound and energy. The runners stay huddled even after the chants have come to a halt. They lean into the center of the circle as Joséphine “Jo” Tess Chopin de La Bruyère delivers one of her famous inspirational speeches, preparing her teammates mentally for the race about to begin.
“Everybody’s competitive. Everybody wants to succeed,” she explained. “Some people think of that in a negative light, but I like it. I think it pushes everybody to be the best they can be.”
A beloved teammate, dormmate, student and peer, four-year senior de La Bruyère is known for having a drive and unfaltering positivity that seeps into every aspect of her life at Exeter, from running cross country to serving as a proctor in Langdell Hall to leading the Mock Trial team.
Many of the girls’ cross-country runners attribute the team’s close-knit relationship to de La Bruyère’s alacrity. According to alumna Sarah Brown ‘17, “Jo is always down for an adventure, whether this includes a five mile unicycle ride, icing in the river or ninja-rolling over fences to the cross-country tree.” In addition to being energetic, de La Bruyére is a determined and charismatic leader who encourages every member of the team to give their best effort. “She’s a very hard worker and inspires that same type of hard work in the people around her,” upper and fellow cross-country runner Grace Gray said. “She goes after her dreams, but at the same time, she cares for a lot of people, and that’s really inspiring to me.”
De La Bruyère’s determined and supportive nature is also evident in her involvement with the Exeter Mock Trial Association, where she is now serving her second year as co-head. After joining the team as a prep at the urging of upperclassmen in her dorm, she quickly developed a strong affinity for the club. To this day, she still appreciates the unique ways that Mock Trial challenges her. “In Mock Trial, there’s always a way to be right. It’s just about who can argue their side better. It offers me the opportunity to study the law, work on Harkness in what I think is its purest form and ultimately destroy the competition—all three things that I love,” she said.
Senior Anna Clark, a fellow Mock Trial co-head and cross country runner, considers de La Bruyère to be one of her “best friends and idols” and admires her constant enthusiasm. “She will correct my dangling modifier in the middle of a conversation during a run. She delivers a closing statement that forces me to lean in without realizing. She is one of the most hard-working people I know,” Clark commented.
De La Bruyère spent this past summer working at the District Attorney’s office in the Domestic Violence bureau, applying her skills from Mock Trial to a real professional setting. “To see the law in a more personal context where it actually affected real people was a wonderful experience. It gave me a chance to explore what the law is like outside of mock courtroom, and I became more passionate about it,” she said.
An avid scholar of politics, history and languages, many of de La Bruyère’s other passions and pursuits have been humanities-oriented. Her 430 research paper on the Supreme Court case “ Muller v. Oregon” was one of four recipients of the esteemed Negley Prize earlier this year. “Jo’s writing is well-organized, lucid and well-supported with evidence,” History Instructor Betty Luther-Hillman said. Her colleague, History Instructor William Jordan agreed, praising the paper for being “insightful, deeply researched and a joy to read.”
De La Bruyère is conducting a 999 study on absurdism in mid-20th century French theater this term as an effort to intertwine her passion for history with her love of French. She developed an interest in French absurdism and existentialism last winter after reading The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco in her French 505 class. “I’ve been loving it, and I can definitely see myself studying this subject in the future,” de La Bruyére said.
Having attended a small all-girls school in New York City before coming to Exeter, de La Bruyère says she was looking for “something bigger.” Besides the relationships she has fostered in this community, her favorite part about her Exeter experience so far has been the extent to which it has forced her to keep improving. “Everybody’s competitive. Everybody wants to succeed,” she explained. “Some people think of that in a negative light, but I like it. I think it pushes everybody to be the best they can be.”