Timothy Sean Stewart

Gardens

Campus Planning and Operations — Community Relations and General Counsel

About Tim

I started working in Gardens in 2016, two weeks after I graduated high school. I initially planned to take a gap year to decide whether I wanted to pursue college or the military. However, whether I was pulling weeds, laying down mulch, or cutting grass, something kept calling me back to work here. Each year I would be taught new skills and given greater responsibilities. The first week of January 2020, I woke up to a text from Betsy, who offered me a full-time position in the department. Now, I am assistant crew chief and I handle numerous tasks including leading crews on garden projects, delegating responsibilities, operating equipment, winter maintenance on the grounds, and being a reliable set of eyes on campus for Betsy.

My family moved to Mayville from Denver, Colorado when I was just a toddler, so I’ve almost always had the influence of Chautauqua nearby. My mother worked for the Gardens department for many years when I was a child, and would always suggest that I give it a shot when I finally became old enough. She would always take me and my siblings to concerts and ensure we were enrolled in special studies courses so we could take advantage of all Chautauqua could offer. During my teen years, I sold The Chautauquan Daily during the 2013-14 summer seasons. For the following three years, I worked at the Brick Walk Cafè as an ice cream scooper and finished my time there working on the deli line in summer 2017. Concurrently, my father did telecommunications work on the grounds. Needless to say, the Stewart Clan had become very familiar with the Institution by the time I grew up.

I remember attaining my Eagle rank in Mayville troop 126 just months before I began working in Gardens. While it took me some time to see it clearly, one of the most rewarding things about my job is that it provides me with a daily opportunity to practice the skills, Laws, and Oath I was taught. Those are the principles by which I live, and I’m ever grateful for the constant chance to be the strongest version of myself.

Personal Interests

Strength training, biking, reading, writing music and lyrics, singing, keeping houseplants, collecting vinyl records, videogames