11 minute read
HOW A SMILE AND A WAVE MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
HEADMASTER JOHN M. THOMAS prefers to start his workday with a smile and by greeting families at carpool. He also dedicates a day of the week to each division to greet students in the morning by holding the door. “How can you possibly have a bad day if you start it by waving and smiling at people for 45 minutes? It’s impossible,” Thomas said.
His dedication doesn’t stop there. He embodies the “Once a Husky, always a Husky” mentality in everything he does. Whether that is cheering the Huskies on to victory, having coffee chats with parents, watching concerts and shows, supporting faculty through roundtable discussions, or kindly holding a door, Mr. Thomas is the definition of one of a kind. Lower School Teacher Rachel Hinnant P’20 stated, “What stands out to me about seeing John on campus is how often I see John on campus.”
With unparalleled dedication, vision and leadership over the past 17 years, Thomas has led Flint Hill School to be nationally recognized, guiding the education and maturation of more than 6,400 alumni.
He is an innovator whose exceptional north star is rooted in the belief that education is a child-centric vocation. As headmaster and teacher, Thomas has influenced students inside and outside the classroom. He shares his wisdom, knowledge and kindness with everyone he meets and is often heard saying, “Have I told you this story?”
Ryan Stewart ’21 shared, “While John has taught me in the classroom, something else that he taught me was how you can approach people with kindness and how it can make a difference in their lives.” Jake Shevlin ’14 said, “He taught me to be kind and believe in myself a little bit more.”
rethink what we do.
—Fred Atwood, Science Teacher
Thomas is leaving behind more than a lasting legacy. He leaves behind a piece of him in all of us at Flint Hill and a host of traditions that will continue to inspire, create wonder and foster connections between students, faculty and the wider Flint Hill School community.
“I would say one of the traditions of the School has always been change, and it’s always growing, always getting better. And he’s been a big part of driving that constant improvement, constantly trying to become better at what we do and even rethink what we do,” said Science Teacher Fred Atwood.
Thomas’ availability and genuine personal approach —sharing in both the joys and disappointments with students, families, faculty and coaches—are among the many reasons so many people cherish his leadership and, even more, him as a person.
“A leader is not about the title or the position, but it’s about serving. And so he is the epitome of the servant leader,” said Tana McNeil Taylor P’16, ’18.
What stands out to me about
–Rachel Hinnant P’20 Lower School Teacher
Over the years, Thomas’ leadership has come in many forms, whether teaching in the classroom, supporting the Annual Fund by shaving his long-time and idolized mustache, jumping in a frigid lake to bolster fundraising engagement for a student’s cause, or enjoying Klondike bars with students. Thomas’ approach as headmaster is rooted in kindness and will forever be reflected in the community’s hearts.
Before all-school gatherings and Commencement, the bell rings for the five core values; Thomas’s gift of the bell to Flint Hill and the introduction of this tradition symbolize his contribution to the School. He leads and supports people with compassion, he respects and values all equally, he acts with the utmost integrity, and he constantly imagines what is possible. He blazed the trail for all of us to continue his great work. Now it’s up to us to continue pulling the sled toward a future with a smile on our faces, opening one door at a time.
Once a Husky, always a Husky.
THE HILL
Open Mic Returns See p. 16
RISING SENIORS PUT ON WALKATHON AS A SUICIDE PREVENTION FUNDRAISER
IN EARLY 2020, Yasmeen Mogharbel ’23 and Aahna Patel ’23, then freshmen, decided to plan a walkathon to raise money and awareness for suicide prevention. But of course, they had to put the event on hold due to COVID-19.
On Sunday, May 22 of this year, Aahna and Yasmeen were finally able to hold their walkathon. The two rising seniors brought about 80 people together at Burke Lake Park in Fairfax Station for the first annual BDR Suicide Prevention Walk.
BDR stands for “before, during and after.” Aahna and Yasmeen hope to raise awareness about how suicide can be prevented before someone has suicidal thoughts, during the time the thoughts are occurring, and after or throughout recovery.
“I was talking to a younger cousin who mentioned how lacking the conversation was about suicide prevention and mental health overall. She commented on how she and her friends, who were in middle school, could have benefited from better resources and conversations about both topics,” Yasmeen said.
At the event, the seniors invited presenters to speak about the BDR aspect of suicide prevention. Headmaster John Thomas talked about “before” prevention. Kathianne Smith, a local therapist, addressed “during.” Finally, yoga teacher Briyana Patel covered the “after,” or recovery, aspect.
“We wanted to convey the equal importance of all three aspects because we feel there isn’t enough emphasis on how suicide can be prevented even before thoughts occur. We can prevent it by teaching younger generations about mental health and sharing ideas about what happiness truly is and where it comes from,” Aahna said.
“I know a lot of friends and even relatives who have struggled with suicidal thoughts,” Yasmeen said. “They were the same people who provided me with such an amazing support system when I personally struggled with them as well. This event was a way to support them, teach others a toolbox of skills and have a fun day outside.”
The BDR Suicide Prevention Walk raised about $2,500 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
“Overall, the walk was a huge success. We were not only able to raise a significant amount of money, but we were also able to spread awareness and knowledge to everyone who showed up at the event. None of it would have been possible without the support of Flint Hill and all the ambassadors we had,” Aahna said. “We learned so many beneficial lessons from it and hope to host an even better walkathon next year.”
WHEN RACHEL PAO ’23 arranged for a guest speaker to give a presentation to the Cybersecurity Club at the Upper School, she was pleasantly surprised by the students’ positive responses, so much so that it prompted her to create the Cybersecurity Speaker Series with five more presenters. “After I realized how interested people were and how great of an opportunity this was, I decided to continue it,” Rachel said.
The cybersecurity professionals who participated were as follows:
• Chris DeRusha, Federal Chief Information Security
Officer and Deputy National Cyber Director for the
Executive Office of the President. • Josh Mason, Cybersecurity Training Developer for
INE, who had an extensive career with the Air Force in cybersecurity and cyberwarfare positions. He also served as the Cybersecurity Club’s mentor and attended every club meeting. • Richard Bejtlich, a strategist and author in residence with Corelight and former Chief Security Strategist at FireEye. • Amy Bejtlich, Threat Intelligence Engineering
Manager with Amazon Web Services. • Emily Mossburg P’23, ’28, ’31, Global Cyber Leader with Deloitte. • Stephen Schmidt, Chief Security Officer at Amazon.
“The amount of information we have learned as a club is staggering. People who have never considered studying cyber now want to study cyber and pursue a career in it,” observed Rachel, who added that the presentations solidified her interest in cybersecurity. “I feel like the exposure to these cyber professionals has made a profound impact on Flint Hill, but none of this would have been possible without [Upper School Computer Science and Robotics Teacher] Mr. Snyder. He has created an opportunity for students to explore and find a passion in cybersecurity and has given me so much confidence and freedom to explore my passion and create this series for the club.”
The Cybersecurity Club was started 8 years ago by Vale Tolpegin ’18, with 5 members, for the purpose of learning more about cybersecurity and taking part in
–Rachel Pao ’23
the Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot competition. Interest quickly grew, and today, the club has 27 active members who participate in four cybersecurity competitions during the school year.
Mike Snyder elaborated, “This club creates an inclusive environment where students collaborate to deepen their understanding of computers, operating systems and networking while developing problem-solving and leadership skills.” He went on to state, “Rachel’s work ethic, charisma and enthusiasm for cybersecurity are infectious. She brought more new members to the club than any previous year, took the time to get them started and ensured that they had the resources to be successful.” He called the Cybersecurity Speaker Series a “meaningful risk” for Rachel. Snyder summed up by saying, “I am so proud of her and the team. Rachel’s efforts were rewarded when the team placed fourth in the state of Virginia and eleventh in the nation, participating against thousands of other teams in the CyberPatriot competition.”
OPEN MIC RETURNS
BRENDAN METZ ’15 began the tradition of the Upper School Open Mic event in November 2013, at the beginning of his junior year at Flint Hill. He loved music and attending open mic nights, and he wanted to give others the chance to show their talents.
Open Mic, held in the Upper School Learning Commons during the school day, invites anyone to sign up. Participants give whatever type of performance they choose, from dance to guitar to spoken-word poetry.
When Brendan graduated, he wrote detailed instructions for the next year’s emcees. Various students continued the event, but once the pandemic hit in 2020, Open Mic hit a few snags.
“Going to virtual in the spring of 2020 stopped the rest of the activities of that year, including our final Open Mic,” said Upper School Dean of Students Howard Chang. “It really blunted the ability of the graduating students to pass those traditions on to others.”
Left to right:
Jordan Ripley ’23, Mariella Silvia ’23, Ali Metz ’22, Shea Gillespie ’22
In the hectic year that followed, Chang decided to give the Open Mic responsibilities to the Student Council Association (SCA). That’s when Shea Gillespie ’22 and Ali Metz ’22 got involved. They helped put together a virtual Open Mic, prerecorded and with video transitions.
Ali and Shea both wanted to keep Open Mic alive; since Ali is Brendan’s sister, she had a great resource to go to. When Flint Hill reintroduced in-person events, Ali and Shea started putting together the line-up for an in-person Open Mic event.
At first, they had to work to find the participants. “It was hard because the underclassmen didn’t know what it was,” Shea said. “We had only had two Open Mic events for the Class of 2023.”
But in February 2022, along with fellow emcees Jordan Rupli ’23 and Mariella Silvia ’23, Ali and Shea held the first in-person Open Mic event in more than two years. After that, it was easier to get people involved.
“Once people started to figure out what was going on, they were excited. We had a bunch of people signing up,” Shea said. “You could see on everyone’s faces how much they loved being there and how much they loved being a part of it.”
“The only other time we come together is during our town meetings,” Ali said. “Giving kids who want to share some sort of talent the platform to do so for the community, that’s the best. I know it can be nerve-racking, and they don’t have anywhere else to do it.”
Ali, Shea, Jordan and Mariella hosted two more Open Mic events in 2022. With SCA backing and student support, Open Mic has the foundation to continue for many years to come.
