Faculty Awards

COLLEGIATE FACULTY RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE

At the All School meeting for faculty and staff held in August, just before the 2022-23 school year commenced, 10 exceptional faculty and staff members were celebrated for their tremendous talents and contributions to the School. Division heads shared remarks highlighting each of the employees while Interim Head of School Billy Peebles helped present the awards.

ANNIE RICHARDS

2022 Ann Griffin Award for Excellence in Teaching

EMMA HARRISON

2022 Lower School Craigie Endowment for Teaching Excellence Award

PAIGE TINNEY-REED

2022 Clarence B. Williams Award

ASHER ROLFE

2022 Andrew Jackson Brent Award

KAREN CRIBBS

2022 Middle School Craigie Endowment for Teaching Excellence Award

SARAH DUNN

2022 Lower School Hamill Family Endowment Award

BLAKE GOLDSMITH

2022 Middle School Hamill Family Endowment Award

LIZZY MARCHANT

2022 Martha Elizabeth Schwarz Award

FACULTY & STAFF

CLARA PETTUS

2022 Class of ’77 Anne Jones Staff Award

MATT TOGNA

2022 Upper School Hamill Family Endowment Award

AWARD WINNERS

LEADING WITH PURPOSE

Funded by endowment support, Stan Craig ’23 attended a research internship that helps students with speech therapy.

There are, for each of us, challenging mountains we need to climb. True leaders, ascending the mountains set before them, will help guide others facing similar obstacles. With sustained devotion to serving others, Stan Craig ’23 is one of those benevolent leaders. As a 6th Grader, Stan, grappling with a speech impediment, attended an intense two-week speech therapy program at the Hollins Communications Research Institute (HCRI). Deconstructing the practice of speaking syllable by syllable and breath by breath, the program at HCRI gave Stan the lessons and the confidence he needed to help transform him into the strong speaker he is today. As Stan grew up, he continued to succeed at Collegiate School as he progressed through each division. He is a student that pursues excellence with enthusiasm and conviction, and he maintained the speech practices he learned during his time at HCRI. But he understood that there were other people that could benefit from those same practices. Like all great trailblazers, Stan began thinking about how he could help others facing challenges similar to his own. In the spring of 2021, Stan began a GoFundMe campaign that raised $10,000 for the HCRI, which helped award scholarships to attendees at HCRI’s stuttering treatment center. “I wanted to do anything that would help other people at the program,” Stan says. “Giving other people who really need it those same opportunities — and making the program itself more accessible to others — was really important to me.” Then, as Stan embarked on his final summer before his Senior year at Collegiate, the School granted him a portion of the William “Bill” Reeves Renaissance Student Award, which he used to attend a research internship at HCRI. The endowment grant gave Stan the opportunity to continue his work with HCRI, where he connected with participants at the speech therapy center and explored in detail the methods of — and science behind — client therapy speech training. “What I did over the summer was work with the speech technicians to help quantitatively categorize a participant’s speech with certain therapy programs,” Stan explains, “which means we would take samples of a participant’s speech and then discuss what therapy methods would be most effective. It was impactful in a new way for me because I learned more about the quantitative measures of speech and voice onsets.” Each summer, as part of Collegiate’s commitment to promoting a challenging and supportive educational experience, the School awards grants to Upper School students who complete a rigorous application process. The endowments allow students to explore meaningful areas of study in their chosen subjects of interest. This past summer, 14 Upper School students pursued enrichment experiences, ranging from programs such as Stan’s to intensive college preparatory courses, funded by endowment support. “I’m so grateful for the grant I received from the School’s endowment,” Stan says. “That Collegiate has opportunities like this is really great, because they allow people to explore things they’re passionate about that they might not be able to do without it.” Stan’s support of others, as always, endures. After his research internship over the summer, Stan began working with a student who recently attended HCRI’s speech therapy program. Each week, Stan takes what he learned through the support of the Reeves Renaissance Student Award endowment and works with a Richmond-area student on speaking skills. They practice breath control and syllabic progressions, and Stan helps the student with his confidence. “With these new speech strategies, I’ve been working with this student to help him with his speech and just generally help him with school,” Stan says. “Having a stutter has nothing to do with intelligence or personality, and having conversations with students like him helps pave a path forward for people. To be there for someone, to help them become more comfortable with who they are — I’m really grateful I’ve been given the opportunity to do that.” Endowments play a vital role in allowing students to explore their passions and interests, which better prepares them for future success. The following are the students who participated in this summer’s engaging endowment programs.

WILLIAM “BILL” REEVES RENAISSANCE STUDENT AWARD

• Ashwin Aggarwal ’24, Collegiate Through the Years/StoryCenter • Stan Craig ’23, Research Internship: Hollins Communications Research Institute Stuttering Treatment Center • Michael West ’23, Harvard University: Summer STEM Program

MARY PARKER MONCURE VADEN ENDOWMENT FOR CITIZENSHIP AND THE ARTS

• Taylor Aaronson ’23, Move Mountains Medical Mission • Abby Bauhan ’23, Wind Walkers: An Exploration of Learning Differences and Horses • Mallory Brabrand ’23, France: French Language and Culture • Kyla Coffey ’24, Drexel University: Two Weeks of Interior Design • Maria Haddad ’23, William & Mary: Discovering Virginia • Molly Hutchison ’23, Brown University: Summer Medical Program

THE JESSICA JOSEPH ENDOWMENT

• Treasure Brown ’24, Brown University’s Leadership Institute

SAMUEL D. JESSEE ENDOWMENT FOR LEADERSHIP

• Ellie DeWitt ’23, Northwestern University: Leadership in Medicine • Charlie Loach ’23, Georgetown Economics Policy Academy • Carter Williams ’24, Georgetown University One-Week Medical Academy

THE ROGER “DOC” HAILES STUDENT ATHLETE AWARD

• Luke Bowling ’24, FOCUS Rocky Mountain Trip

JOHN R. LOWER MEMORIAL ENDOWMENT • Luke Bowling ’24, FOCUS Rocky Mountain Trip”

A FRESH START

A chance to begin paving the way for new discoveries, Collegiate’s first day of school is greeted with enthusiasm and smiles.

In the morning sun, Collegiate’s North Mooreland Road campus resplendent with a late-August glow, students stepped towards the new school year with broad smiles. Each academic year begins with this jubilant freshness. It is a day of new beginnings, a chance to begin paving the way for more educational experiences, discoveries and connections. Near the Lower School, varsity football players donned their jerseys and greeted their younger peers as the latter arrived on campus. The students gathering outside of Luck Hall, some beginning their Senior year and others beginning Kindergarten, shared a moment of camaraderie and excitement as the football players guided the students into the Lower School. “It’s really meaningful when a younger student looks up to you,” one student-athlete remarked. “And to begin the year with that small connection is special.” Head of Middle School Tung Trinh waved to families as they pulled through the carpool arrival by Jacobs Gym. Behind Mr. Trinh, some students cruised down the sidewalk on bikes while others ran to embrace friends they hadn’t seen since the gradebooks closed at the conclusion of the 2021-22 school year. Still other students, eager to begin the year, only remembered to wave goodbye to their parents after racing towards Flippen Hall. I love the first day of school at Collegiate,” one parent said as their student made their way to the first class of the year. “You really feel the energy and support that goes into the school year.” Towards Seal Academic Commons, Upper Schoolers provided a special welcome to their fellow Cougars: students cheered and tossed green-and-gold necklaces as their peers arrived on campus. Music blared, cheers filled the campus and glee was abundant. Then serenity descended, and everyone diligently settled into their classrooms for their first day. These are the joys that we begin the year with, and these enthusiasms, which are experienced in some form by our entire Collegiate community, persist throughout the year.

LIFELONG BUDDIES

Continuing one of Collegiate School’s sweetest traditions, Seniors of the Class of 2023 connected with their Kindergarten buddies for the first time in September, beginning an enduring relationship.

The two classes will spend time together throughout the year playing games, swapping stories and learning from each other. The connection between Seniors and their Kindergarten buddies is formative; the Seniors are given a mentorship role and the Kindergarteners engage with students that they can look up to as role models.

COLLEGIATE HOLDS HALLOWEEN PARADE

In an annual tradition, Collegiate JK1st Grade students showed off their best costumes the morning of Halloween as they paraded around campus. Some of our Cougars dressed funny, some dressed spooky, but all costumes were downright adorable.

A TRANSCENDENT EXPERIENCE

A connection between two Collegiate Cougars — one alumni and one current student — enlightens a career path.

By: Weldon Bradshaw

What can you learn in just a week?

Plenty, as Collegiate Senior Marshall Ryan discovered this past July when he accompanied a team from Extra Mile Pediatrics to Guatemala to provide medical care to children and support for their families in the towns of El Paredon, El Naranjo and Sipacate. The lessons he gleaned from his intense, on-the-job training were powerful, meaningful and inspiring, so much so that his experience ministering to an underserved population only solidified his longtime plan to pursue a career in nursing.

Dr. Jeff Mapp, Collegiate Class of 1997, and his wife Kimball, a pediatric nurse, founded Extra Mile Pediatrics in 2018. In addition to their work in Guatemala, volunteers serve five communities in El Salvador and travel to each country twice annually. Their model focuses on returning to the same locales treating the same patients and monitoring their growth and development, all the while earning their trust and that of their families.

Mapp has been Marshall’s pediatrician his entire life and knew of his calling.

In Marshall, Mapp saw himself at about the same age, when as an aspiring physician he accompanied Dr. John Ward, a neurosurgeon at the VCU Medical Center, on a mission trip to Guatemala.

“You take someone like Marshall who theoretically feels like, this is where I’m heading, then you introduce him to this type of medicine,” Mapp says. “My first experience in medicine was in that world as well, so I know how impactful that can be.”

Marshall spent his time performing very much the same duties that Mapp performed on his first mission trip in 1999: taking vitals, shadowing medical personnel, comforting anxious patients and their families, and assisting wherever needed.

“These children are going to the doctor for the first time,” Marshall says. “They don’t know what’s going on. My job was to be there for them and explain what was happening. Every single time I had to get a vital, I had to explain to the child what I was doing.

“Like taking blood pressure. They all got spooked because it’s a monitor squeezing their arm. I had to explain at a level they could understand.”

Since the explanations were delivered through translators, Marshall’s naturally gentle, reassuring demeanor and tone created a positive experience for young, often wary and frightened patients.

“With the language barrier, it’s hard to convey your sympathy,” he says. “They hear it, but they don’t always understand. You feel sympathy for a child who’s crying the entire time. Sometimes, words would get mixed up between the translator and the parents. It was a little tough, but we got the hang of it.”

Perhaps his most memorable experience occurred in a village near Sipacate, a town known for salt mining, when a girl about his age entered the medical compound.

“She was wearing torn clothes and obviously didn’t have many resources,” Marshall says. “She informed us that she had mild asthma and needed inhalers because she’d left her inhalers at her old house that she’d moved from.

“She works in the salt mines every day. She doesn’t go to school. She takes care of her two younger brothers. She explained her battle with mental health.

“Hearing her life story about how she was in a coma and hospitalized and seeing it with my own eyes was really tough because I wanted to help and be there and give her something she could take with her and use. So we gave her food for at least five days. We gave her electrolytes and two inhalers, and we sent her off.”

Then, he took a walk to process what had just occurred. One of the nurses, noting his concern, walked with him.

I wanted to give her more, Marshall told the nurse.

You already gave her enough, his friend replied. You gave her your attention. You truly gave her an experience she can remember, like the doctor isn’t scary, and I can come back.

“I was emotional afterwards,” Marshall says, “because of how close we were in age and how much we had in common and seeing the other side of it. I told her, ‘You’ve got this. Keep your head in the game.’ I don’t know how I did it, but I did.”

Marshall grew from the experience, one he feels grateful for Mapp having encouraged.

“I want to go into nursing because I’ve always wanted to help other people,” Marshall says. “I’ve always wanted to be there and comfort friends when they’re going through tough times. So I want to be there for patients when they’re going through rough times and need help…that’s the short answer, but it’s the truth.”

CONNECTS COLLEGIATE’S COMMUNITY

Spirit — passionate, loud, speckled with green-and-gold zeal — rose from the Collegiate body gathered on Grover Jones Field for Convocation, the School’s annual celebration to kick off the year. The event began with the entire student body — including Kindergartners perched on top of the Senior buddies’ shoulders, wearing the smile someone wears when they have just made a new lifelong friend — processing class by class onto the football field, with parents, Trustees and faculty and staff joining in on the festivities. The event was a joyful celebration of our Cougar community as we embarked on a new school year together.