HB Magazine - Winter 2022

California Dreamin'

Thayer Sylvester Hoe ’93 loves the Golden State...and Hathaway Brown

Thayer Sylvester Hoe ‘93

Kate Harding Lincoln ‘93 and Thayer checking out an Apple computer in the eighties.

How does a young woman from Northeast Ohio become an avid surfer? “Just like anyone else,” says Thayer Sylvester Hoe ’93. “Get a surfboard, paddle out, realize the ocean is much stronger than you, and try again!”

Perhaps it’s that same no-nonsense spirit of adventure and determination that has taken Thayer on an incredible journey from her early days as a “lifer” at Hathaway Brown to her present day role in Northern California as mother to two teenage daughters and CEO and co-founder of Carve Designs, a leading provider of women’s surf-inspired swimwear and apparel. “I have a huge amount of gratitude for the formative role school played in my life,” Thayer says. “I would not be where I am today had I not had my HB experience.”

That appreciation is what inspired Thayer and her husband, Martin, to support HB’s Principle Scholars Program which provides a four-year scholarship. “I hope to help a student find a path that might be meaningfully different from where they would end up otherwise,” Thayer explains. “HB provided me with valuable critical thinking skills and I am excited for another young woman to have that same experience.”

“We are incredibly grateful for Thayer’s generous commitment to make such a profound impact on a student’s life,” says Head of School Fran Bisselle. “Her gift will set a student on their course for future learning and success.”

Thayer’s HB journey began when she and her family moved to the Cleveland area when she was in preschool. They were immediately drawn to the best-in-class education offered at HB that her aunts, Ann Sylvester ’61 and Elizabeth Sylvester ’70, had experienced as students. “It was an amazing experience to be part of a school at different developmental stages,” Thayer remembers. “It didn’t feel like you were a fourth grader in a high school or a tenth grader in a primary school, but you still felt like you were part of a bigger institution.”

4th Grade Graduation Ceremony, Spring 1985

The school was a place of academic rigor for Thayer and her younger sister, Alexandra “Alle” Sylvester Vargas ’95, but also a social safety blanket. “My family was going through a lot of transition and that wasn’t always easy at home,” she recalls. “The advisors or division directors were people we could trust and talk with when we needed to. We loved school!”

Members of the 1992 HB lacrosse team

Thayer soaked up the academics, activities and traditions HB offered. “The Halloween parties were just amazing in Prime,” Thayer laughs. Even today, she keeps a picture in her office with her kindergarten classmates dressed up in crazy costumes. As an older student, she remembers enjoying the Middle School musical, Upper School assemblies, senior speeches and the iconic IDEO tradition. She was an active member of Model UN where she participated in national competitions and was a valued member of the lacrosse team.

After graduation, Thayer returned to the east coast where she attended Trinity College but, for her, the Golden State was magnetic. After completing a management training program at Gillette Company, Thayer joined a private equity firm in San Francisco where she found that although she had many interests — law, engineering, even Japanese! — she had a passion for the small business world.

Around that same time, a dear friend invited her to join her in Mexico to go surfing, the elusive California sport Thayer had discovered a love for after moving to the west coast. But the cold waters of Northern California required wetsuits and Thayer was unsure what to pack for the warmer Mexican waters. To her surprise, her friend told her to buy men’s board shorts because the surf clothes for women were more for teenagers and not functional clothing for active surfers.

On that trip to San Pancho, as the friends waited for the waves to roll in, they hatched a plan to design surf apparel for active women. “Of course we knew nothing about clothing nor did we know how difficult and competitive the women’s activewear space is,” Thayer says.

For about three years, the friends continued working in their respective jobs but would meet for dinner with their laptops. They wrote a business plan, did research at the library, and collaborated until one day they decided it was time to launch their business. They began selling rashguards and board shorts in 2003, and today Carve Designs has grown into a complete beach lifestyle brand that can be found in national retail stores like REI and Title Nine.

As Thayer reflects back to her time at HB, she realizes how the early seeds were planted for her to find her path and how the school’s motto to “learn not for school, but for life” has always held true. “I was the kid who had no idea what I wanted to do,” she explains. “What HB taught me and what I continue to hold dear to myself is the importance of being intellectually curious and not being afraid to learn new things. If you continue to pursue things that challenge you and try to surround yourself with the best people you can, you’ll be surprised with what unfolds in front of you.”

Here’s to the continued journey that unfolds and the waves rolling in.