MUNNERLYN CAMPUS INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT and Admission Changes

Episcopal’s Institutional Advancement and Admission teams began operating under one umbrella in a new organizational model for the school on January 1. As previously announced, after 14 years of service to ESJ, Missy Ketchum, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement, retired, and Sam Hyde Geisler ’00, former Executive Director of Admission & Enrollment, moved into a new version of this role at the start of 2023. This change will ensure a cohesive experience for our families throughout their ESJ experience.

In Sam’s nine years at ESJ, she has demonstrated outstanding success in admission and enrollment and made significant contributions in the expansion of Episcopal to include our two Lower Schools. Sam’s experience at ESJ and her deep appreciation for our special culture, coupled with her previous experience in marketing and communications, makes her uniquely qualified to lead this newly envisioned organization.

Ryan Riggs has been named Director of Major Gifts (previously Director of College Counseling). Ryan began working at Episcopal in 1994, and has been a teacher in the History Department, Dean of Students, and Director of College Counseling during his career. His institutional knowledge and connections with generations of ESJ families position him well for this new role.

Additional staffing changes include Julie Carter being named Director of College Counseling from Associate Director of College Counseling.

Amy Gay has been named Director of Admission and Enrollment from Director of Admission, Munnerlyn Campus.

Andrea Rizzi has been named Director of Enrollment, Munnerlyn Campus from Associate Director of College Counseling. Marcus Wells ’90 has been named Dean of Students, Munnerlyn Campus from Director of Enrollment,

Munnerlyn Campus (he remains Head Football Coach and Program Director), and Stephanie Day is now Institutional Advancement Assistant from College

Counseling Assistant. Traci Cory will move to College Counseling Assistant from Welcome Center Coordinator. Kelli Chunn will be Director of Admission, Munnerlyn Campus, beginning this summer. She will serve the remainder of the year as Director of Lower School Admission & Enrollment, St. Mark’s Campus.

I found the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. As the day passed, the rugged cliffs surrounding the bay changed color—beginning their day bathed in brilliant jewels and ending their day shadowed in pastel watercolors. I saw primitive rock and cave paintings and wondered who created these and how it was possible the colors were so vibrant after baking in the sun for more than ten thousand years. I learned that one person can make a difference.

I traveled to Bahia in hopes of finding the whale shark and I did! To slide off the side of a small Mexican fishing panga and come face-to-face with the giant whale shark was something I had dreamed of. I often visualized myself entering the water and swimming next to the world’s largest fish species. The experience was not at all what I expected. My first view of the shark was from the panga. The shark was at the water’s surface with its mouth wide-open. As it swam slowly by, I could see that the shark was feasting on plankton. I slipped into the water and swam toward the shark. My heart was pounding and my eyes were tearing up. I hadn’t expected the experience to be so moving. As I moved closer to the shark, I was looking straight into its open mouth. For a moment I forgot there was work to be done. Photos were taken and data, including gender, size, and GPS location were recorded. The data and photos that were collected during my time at the Field Station were uploaded into a database. I, along with the other educators I worked and studied with, were thrilled to learn that one of the sharks we encountered was new to the area. We were the first to collect data on this animal and were given the task of naming it. “Oscar,” as he is now known, has found his place in the whale sharks of Bahia’s Database.

While I wish that I could take all of my students to Baja and fill their souls with adventure, I hope that they will enjoy our upcoming lessons; Baja will be woven throughout our second semester studies in Marine Biology. These shared stories, I hope, will open my students’ eyes to the wonders of nature and ignite in them a desire to become life-long learners.