From values to valedictorians: One family’s path to achievement

Manny Matsudaira, the youngest of the Matsudaira clan, was the 2025 valedictorian of Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
Patrick L. Sullivan

Manny Matsudaira, the youngest of the Matsudaira clan, was the 2025 valedictorian of Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
CORNWALL — “Matsudaira” can be translated from Japanese to mean “peaceful pine,” evoking a sense of enduring strength that reaches great heights.
The Matsudaira family of Cornwall has embodied this symbolism with a stream of six successful children.
Rachel Matsudaira, a current counselor at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, is the mother of six children who each attended the school. Her husband, Yoshihiro Matsudaira, died earlier this year before their youngest son graduated as HVRHS’s 2025 valedictorian.
The family resided in Japan for twelve years doing missionary work before receiving a grant to come back to the United States. They landed in Connecticut and began to thrive.
At HVRHS, each child placed in the top percentile of their classes and five of the six became either valedictorian or salutatorian.
While there were many factors that led to her children’s success, Matsudaira spoke of a few she felt were most important.
Firstly, the children were all raised close together as a family unit rather than as individuals, and looked to each other for inspiration and instruction. “The oldest one sets the pace, the tone, and they kind of all follow in suit,” Matsudaira explained. After her oldest son became valedictorian, the others also began to view that as a goal.
Many of their extracurricular activities were family oriented, such as every kid playing the same sports, which helped manage taking care of such a large family.
The family was raised to deeply value their Christian faith, reading the Bible daily and living by its scripture. One of their favorite verses is, “Do your best unto the Lord,” as it establishes a set of expectations for each child, not backed by just the parents’ wishes but by God himself.
Matsudaira also spoke of the multicultural influences on her strategy of raising her family. Not only did she live in Japan, she also met many other international Christians during her time there, allowing her children to experience a “third culture.” She was able to pick and choose strategies from the many cultures she encountered to raise her family the way she believed was best.
All having entered adulthood, the Matsudairas are now spread across the U.S. but still keep in close contact with each other.
Matthew, the eldest, lives in Florida, and works both as a consultant and as an independent oil painter.
Marina, the second oldest, attended Harvard University and tutors kids alongside her full-time job as a stay-at-home mom to three children of her own.
Manuella, or Ella, graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in architecture and is preparing for her architectural exams while, like her brother, oil painting.
Micah just received his degree from Springfield College and has moved to Boston, managing a gym and using his exercise science to manage sports facilities.
Melody is a rising junior at Davidson College, studying biology and tentatively interested in cancer research and treatment, or perhaps osteopathy.
The youngest, Manasseh, or Manny, is attending Harvard, potentially majoring in economics and environmental policy.
To those who are also raising children or considering it, Matsudaira advises thinking about the big questions. “There are so many things we think we value. I say this from experience that we don’t actually value it,” she said.
She also highlighted the importance of forming relationships with other people. It is the close relationships you have, such as the bonds between her family, that will support you in times of need.
“Make your relationships right, become the person that you’re going to value and that leads to a good legacy. You don’t have to be famous.”
The HVRHS boys rejoice around Jackson McAvoy after he scored the game-winning goal against Shepaug with just two minutes left to play.
WASHINGTON — Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s boys varsity soccer team advanced to the Berkshire League tournament final after a 1-0 win over Shepaug Valley High School in the semifinal game on Friday, Oct. 24.
Jackson McAvoy scored the game-winning goal with just two minutes remaining.
The victory marked HVRHS boys soccer’s first victory over Shepaug since 2020.
“Finally,” said HVRHS Coach Adolfo Portillo after the game.
HVRHS will play top-ranked Nonnewaug High School in the BL final. Nonnewaug advanced to the title game by beating Northwestern Regional High School in penalty kicks (4-3) after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
The championship game will be played at Nonnewaug beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28.

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Students dressed in neon lined the soccer field for senior night under the lights on Thursday, Oct. 16. The game against Lakeview was the last in a series of competitions Thursday night in celebration of Homecoming 2025.
As homecoming week reaches its end and fall sports finish out the season, an air of school spirit and student participation seems to be on the rise across Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
But what can be attributed to this sudden peak of student interest? That’s largely due to SGA. Also known as the Student Government Association, SGA has dedicated itself to creating events to bring the entire student body together. This year, they decided to change some traditions.
Spirit week from Oct. 14-17 was unlike those of the previous years. From wearing Housatonic merch to Boomer vs Baby day, this year’s spirit week held a little friendly competition to see which grade could participate the most.
“I think that students are bored of the same old activities and events, so it’s good to switch things up even slightly to incentivize interest within students,” said SGA president and senior Mollie Ford. “Plus the point system is super beneficial because it gives students a reason to participate.”
The school spirit sentiment can be seen outside of just the school. Senior Simon Markow is known for his photography throughout the community, and has dedicated time to help Housy sports teams’ social media posts.
“Since I’ve started photography, I think school attendance [at sports games] has gone up,” Markow said. “I feel this year, students will be more aware of games and are more likely to be at the games.”
Whether it’s a pink-out volleyball game or an under the lights soccer match, it’s likely you’ll see some familiar faces.
Social media has played a large role in this over the years. Almost every student organization at Housatonic has an Instagram account, and it’s helped reach students more efficiently than a poster or email would.
“The increase of social media use, with the help from me but as well as the teams themselves has definitely increased student interest,” Markow said. “With Housy teams posting more about their upcoming games, and my help showing the cool goals, spikes, or touchdowns, it’s enlightened students to watch the games themselves.”
In a small school, promoting pride has proven to be a challenge. But this year’s senior class has made some adjustments in the hopes to change that.
“The SGA community has spent the last few years really focusing on student participation, because we think it’s the students who contribute to a better climate,” Ford said. While Housatonic’s student body may be small in size, it seems they certainly aren’t small in spirit.