INDELIBLE PAW PRINTS

As the 2021-22 school year reached its end, nine cherished colleagues with 232 combined years of service to Collegiate retired. Their legendary dedication to our School is remarkable. At Collegiate, we all strive to embody our School’s core values, and these nine retirees have been daily examples of honor, love of learning, excellence, respect and community. Although they are departing from the campus, the indelible Cougar paw print that each of them leaves behind will remain — imprinted in both Collegiate’s history and within each student and colleague they have helped grow.

ERNEST CRUMP

When Ernest Crump began his work at Collegiate in 1999, little did anyone realize the impact his presence would have on the Collegiate community. With the restructuring of the Custodial Department, Mr. Crump retired at the end of October.

His work in the Lower School began in Burke Hall, where his care of the facilities and the students, faculty and staff in those spaces left a lasting impression on all who came in contact with him. His quick wit and caring nature made working with him a pleasure while his notorious love for the Dallas Cowboys and affinity for fishing provided plenty of conversation and connections.

As a natural people person, it would come as no surprise to anyone who knows Mr. Crump that not only is he immensely popular with his coworkers and the students in Lower School, but he is also very popular in his hometown of Cartersville. He would often make connections between his hometown community and his coworkers by including important milestones and birthdates of his friends at Collegiate on the Cartersville Community calendar. It was his quiet way of showing his appreciation for his friends at Collegiate.

CATHY GREGORY

After seven years of service, Cathy Gregory, Lower School Director of Student Service, retired at the end of the school year. Ms. Gregory joined Collegiate in 2015 as the Chair of Academic Services in the Lower School, and, in 2020, she became the Lower School Director of Student Services. Prior to her time at Collegiate, Ms. Gregory spent three years as the President of the Virginia Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. In addition to the decades she’s given to teaching in public schools in Virginia, she spent several years as the Director of Special Education in Caroline County.

Throughout her career, Ms. Gregory has been recognized for her excellence. She was the recipient of the Clarence B. Williams Award for Excellence in 2018. During her time spent in public education, she was recognized on six different occasions as “Teacher of the Year” and “Outstanding Teacher.”

Ms. Gregory is looking forward to spending time on her sailboat and with her family. Please join us in thanking Cathy for all that she has done and in wishing her smooth sailing in her retirement.

PAMELA LOWE

After 13 years of working in the Lower School, Pamela Lowe retired at the end of the school year. Ms. Lowe began as a Lower School substitute in 2009 and accepted a full-time role in 2010 as a Kindergarten Teacher. In 2017, she made the move to the 1st Grade hall as a Teaching Assistant and has continued to share her many talents with the 1st Grade team. Ms. Lowe began her teaching career as a Lower School teacher at the Lovett School in Atlanta, Ga., and after a family move to Texas, she taught 1st Grade at The John Cooper School. So many children have been fortunate to have Ms. Lowe’s expertise and presence in their learning environments.

Pamela is the mother of two Cougar alumni — Wescott ’18 and Carter ’20 — and has shared that she is looking forward to spending time with her family. She is particularly eager to have the flexibility to spend more time with her parents. Please join us in wishing Ms. Lowe the very best in this new chapter of her life. The Collegiate community is grateful for all she has given to the School.

STEVE ODEN

During the three years that Steve Oden worked as an Upper School Science Teacher at Collegiate, he encouraged our best and brightest Cougars to make exciting discoveries on a number of concepts and topics.

Mr. Oden arrived on North Mooreland Road with an impressive 30 years of teaching experience. He had been teaching Introductory Oceanography at Virginia Commonwealth University as an adjunct professor since 1989. He worked at Patrick Henry High School for 18 years, where he taught a variety of science courses. Mr. Oden served as a co-instructor with the Math Science Innovation Center to develop and teach science and math units across the region.

During his time here, Mr. Oden fostered a love of learning in each of his students and nurtured them as they developed the skills that prepared them for the future. Please join us in wishing him the very best in this new chapter of his life.

Editor’s note: For the profile on Karen Doxey, who retired after 35 years of service to Collegiate, please see our spring 2022 Spark.

The Guiding Light of Missy Herod

Missy Herod’s distinguished career at Collegiate has been defined by doing right by students and colleagues.

By Weldon Bradshaw

It was August 1982, and Missy Herod was at a crossroads.

What’s next? she wondered as she pondered her options.

She’d been a multi-sport star at Collegiate where she earned the 1972 Reed Athletic Award and at Ursinus College (Class of 1976) in Collegeville, Pa., a western suburb of Philadelphia, where she played on national championship field hockey and lacrosse teams.

She’d been a jack-of-all-trades for five years at Kimberton School (near Valley Forge) where she’d taught, coached, headed the health and wellness program and served as athletic director.

She’d traveled to South Africa and Great Britain to (among other roles) coach hockey and teach physical education.

She’d directed international tournaments in both hockey and lacrosse.

She studied sports medicine at Temple University and business at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and hoped one day to start a sporting goods company that would provide gear designed specifically for female athletes since many in her day wore ill-fitting men’s equipment.

She reveled in the connections, challenges and opportunities to serve, and at this point she strongly considered returning to Philadelphia, finishing her MBA, pursuing her business dream and coaching at the college level.

She’d also been offered a one-semester position at Collegiate School filling in for a newly hired teacher from England who was unavailable until she received her visa.

So, yes. What to do?

That’s when her mother Jacqueline Herod, the executive director of the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and a longtime community volunteer, provided wise counsel. “I thought my job would be to go out in the world and make a lot of money and take care of myself and my family,” Ms. Herod recalled one day recently as she reflected upon her 40-year Collegiate career, which came to an end with her retirement in June. “She’s the one who said, ‘Teaching will be the most important thing you’ll ever do. You might be poor, but you’ll be happy, and you’ll love going to work every day.’ She was right.”

From the time Ms. Herod returned to North Mooreland Road, her career has been a case study in skillfully multi-tasking at NASCAR speed.

Early on, she taught, served as Assistant Girls’ Athletic Director and coached field hockey and soccer until the mid-2000s when she stepped back to devote her time to administration and teaching health and physical education. Eventually, she became director of student activities, and in recent years, as the landscape shifted and the demands of the position expanded, she assumed the role of Associate Director of Student Life. Among a host of responsibilities, she served as an Upper School advisor and oversaw a cornucopia of clubs and activities. She directed Pageant, Baccalaureate and Commencement, the prom, countless dances, Homecoming and myriad other extra-curricular opportunities. She coordinated Special Olympics and yearin, year-out found joy in watching Collegiate Sophomores interact supportively and thoughtfully with special needs kids. She has also served as a trusted confidante for students who seek her out for her wisdom, insight, sensitivity and compassion.

Despite the complexities of each endeavor, she managed to make everything look so easy.

“I’m just trying to keep students motivated and involved and find an activity for everybody,” she said. “I want everyone to feel included. I truly believe that’s one of the benefits of this school: there’s something here for everybody.”

What’s kept you here all these years? I asked.

“The students, for sure,” she replied without hesitation. “Learning from the students. They’ve kept me young. I love coming to work every day just to see the students. The job has helped. It’s changed almost every year. There’s so much going on. I need that stimulation. There’s no way to get bored here. Every day, I think, What am I grateful for? What student walked in here, spilled their heart and left feeling better? I’m the luckiest person in the world because I’ve loved coming to school every day.”

You’re still young, I reminded her. If you love the job, why stop now?

“I feel young at heart,” she replied. “I feel like I can keep going, but I want to be involved in Richmond and go out and help other people. I’ve done what I can do here. It’s time for new blood. It’s time for people to come in with new ideas.”

Ms. Herod will hardly remain idle in retirement. Foremost on her long to-do list is training Jaxx, her medium goldendoodle and third therapy dog, who she will take to local hospitals and wherever else the need arises.

“When there’s been a national catastrophe, a hurricane or a tornado, I’d like to be able to load up my dog and go and do therapy work at a site,” she said. “I just feel like I have so much more to give in that area.

“I’ve seen the benefits of dogs helping patients and helping students. I’m an introvert, a behind-the-scenes person. I’m quiet. If I have my dog, people will talk to the dog and ignore me. I feel like I can do something valuable, but my dog’s helping me do it.”

Ms. Herod’s heart, though, will always be at Collegiate, where she’s transformed that temporary gig into a distinguished career defined by doing right by students and colleagues, perpetuating time-honored traditions and paying forward the gifts of her mentors: her coaches Gwen Donohue and Mary Grubbs, the venerable Catharine Flippen and Julia Williams, who succeeded Mrs. Flippen in 1972 as head of the Girls School.

“Mrs. Flippen was a big influence,” Ms. Herod said. “I think that’s a big part of who I am. She emphasized doing for others without expectation of reward or approval. That’s why I think it’s important to be in the background. In all of her talks to us, she emphasized doing the right thing. If someone needs help, you give it. Sit with the person who’s sitting alone. A kind word never hurts anybody. She made a big difference in my life.”

40Y EARS AT COLLEGIAT E

MISSY HEROD

A Knack for Discovery

David Bannard, who joined the Collegiate School faculty in 1989, has maintained a passion for math and teaching that has brought out the best in students.

By Weldon Bradshaw

When David Bannard began his teaching career way back in the fall of 1969, technology in schools consisted of little more than a manual typewriter, overhead projector, slide rule and a hand-cranked mimeograph machine.

Mr. Bannard made do, of course. Every teacher did in those days because those antediluvian devices were all that were available and only the most nimble and creative minds could envision anything more advanced.

Life was about to change.

“A huge influence on my teaching has been the development of technology,” said Mr. Bannard, an Upper School Math Teacher who retired in June after 53 years in education, the last 33 at Collegiate. “About three or four years into my career, calculators became available. Ten years in, we got desktop computers. That really changed my approach to teaching.”

A native of Long Island, Mr. Bannard graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., then earned a B.A. in economics from Yale and an M.A.T. in mathematics from C.W. Post University.

“When I was interviewing for college,” he said, “the admission officer (at Yale) asked me the question, ‘What do you want to do?’ I said that I probably wanted to go into business like my father but I was also considering teaching because I’d had fun running camps in the summer.

He said, ‘If I have any advice to give you, I’d say try teaching first because you’ll get better experience and responsibility than you’ll get in any other job, and you can always switch very easily.’ Spring of Senior year, I had no idea what I wanted to do. That’s when I decided, What the heck, I’ll give teaching a try. Never stopped.”

As this master teacher and mathematics guru neared the conclusion of his long, productive and meaningful career, one in which he’s earned both the Joanne Pratt Award for Teaching Excellence (2006) and the Ann Griffin Award for Excellence in Teaching (2018), he continued to approach each day with alacrity and dedication.

What is it about teaching that excited you way back when and continues to excite you 53 years later? I asked.

“Originally,” he began, “it was the ability to be creative, to work with kids and decide every day what I was going to do and how I was going to get things across in a way that kids understood. It was the idea that it was a challenge every day.”

Just as Mr. Bannard’s passion for math, teaching and bringing out the best in his students has influenced generations of young men and women, likewise he’s drawn inspiration from mentors whom he feels inculcated in him the love for teaching math. One was Groton colleague John Choate, whom he references as “one of the most influential and really inspiring math minds I have ever met.”

In the mid ’80s, Mr. Bannard began working with a group at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. “We were trying to figure out how to incorporate technology into the teaching of math,” he said. “We tried to introduce math concepts through problems rather than teach math concepts and do problems with them.” At about the same time, he began three-plus decades of teaching for a week each summer in the Exeter Mathematics Institute at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. In the early days, when the event was called the Anya Greer Conference for Mathematics and Technology, he connected with colleagues who had grown up as he had before the advent of rapidly emerging modern technology but were fascinated by the myriad possibilities and undaunted by the challenges created by seismic change. “We were figuring it out on the fly, absolutely,” he said. “It was fun. I was working with a lot of really smart, good people, some of the best and most innovative minds in the country. One summer, someone did a session on SMART Boards, which were brand new at the time. I came back and asked Patrick [Loach, Head of the Upper School who then oversaw Collegiate’s technology initiatives], if there was money in the budget for one. He got me one around November. Basically, that’s how SMART Boards came to Collegiate. I learned about it by just playing with it that week at Exeter.”

What’s kept you fresh, motivated and willing to learn as your students have learned? I asked.

“Some of it,” he said, “is developing new courses. Math modeling is one. It’s basically taking the math you know and applying it to big problems. For example, over the course of the last 20 years, Lake Mead in Colorado at the base of the Colorado River is down to about 36 percent of its maximum level. How do you fix that? Or how do you fight the wildfires in California? The problems end up being more specific than that. The problem descriptions will be a page long. It’s not a 15-minute problem. It’s a two-week problem. It’s a research problem. Students will write five-to-20-page solutions. The solutions are quite complex.”

What motivates kids to take Math Modeling? I asked.

“They find that the independence is wonderful,” Mr. Bannard replied. “A major element is group work. They have to work with three other people to solve the problem. That means they’re collaborating. It’s very much what they’ll have to do in the future.”

He also mentioned another creation called fractal geometry.

“It’s the geometry of nature,” he explained. “The geometry we learned in high school is the geometry of flat surfaces, Euclidean geometry. It doesn’t explain very well the bark of trees, the geometry of clouds, of mountains…basically of nature. That’s a whole new geometry. Ninety-nine percent of it has been developed since 1980. It’s fascinated me ever since. It’s been a source of my continued intellectual growth and interest. To me, it’s been important to find an interest that goes beyond what you taught last year. Change a couple of percent each year.”

What advice would you give the 22-year-old David Bannard? I asked.

“I did get great advice,” he said. “The key intellectually has been to keep learning and trying new things.”

DAVID BANNARD

33Y EARS AT COLLEGIAT E

Since 1992, Kate Parthemos has given her time and energy to the School in a variety of ways.

By Weldon Bradshaw

I can still hear the night noises.

The crickets chirping in my grandmother’s side yard. Owls hooting in the woods across the way.

The rustling of the leaves on the giant magnolia trees outside the second-floor bedroom window of the house in the country where my father grew up, moved away, but truly never left.

The engine-hum of cars careering down a two-lane stretch of Rt. 460, then the flash of their headlights in the darkness and roar of their engines as they round the nearby curve, then the screech of their tires when the driver finds that curve sharper than he expected.

The train rumbling along the tracks far off in the distance, then the clanging of the caution bells as the gates lower, then the sharp blast of the train’s air horn just before it passes the intersection with the town’s main drag and speeds off into the night.

Where’s it going? my pre-teen self with a great big world ahead of him always wondered. How awesome would it be to jump aboard and hang on for dear life and feel the cool wind blowing in my face? Where would I get off? The next town? The one after that? Or the next? Or maybe I’d ride forever. I never took that leap of faith, not in a literal sense, anyway.

With the passage of time, though, I’ve reflected often on those long-ago images, especially when a far-away locomotive whistle pierces the clear night air, then offered a prayer of humble gratitude for a sometimes challenging, often exhilarating and always meaningful journey that became my 50-year stopover at Collegiate.

All that said, teaching and coaching wasn’t my original career choice. Sports writing was, and in my first two years out of the University of Richmond, I learned the craft from the best in the business at the Richmond News Leader. As a junior and senior at UR and during my second year at the newspaper, I also coached what we now call Cub sports and somehow got this crazy idea that I could save the world.

In 1972, Collegiate advertised for a Boys School English teacher and coach. I applied and interviewed. The pool of applicants was shallow, and I received an offer. Assured that I could freelance, I took the plunge, promising myself (and Jennings Culley, my editor) that I’d stay three years max, then return downtown and resume my journalism career.

Interesting how things work out, isn’t it?

The path that brought Kate Parthemos ’71 back to Collegiate School 30 years ago was both circuitous and really, really interesting.

Let’s start with the “back to” part.

A 1971 Collegiate alumna, Mrs. Parthemos is the eldest of six siblings — including Rives Fleming ’83, a longtime teacher, coach and advisor — who spent 13 years each on North Mooreland Road.

She was in the second class of women to matriculate at the University of Virginia where she graduated with a B.A. in religious studies before she ventured into the working world.

That’s where “circuitous” and “interesting” begin. Adventuresome, too.

Between college and her return to Collegiate in 1992, she worked a variety of jobs from resident manager for an apartment complex in Charlottesville to manager of the Dale Carnegie office in Cincinnati to banking to gate agent for Delta to driving trucks on the tarmac, loading baggage and fueling airplanes for Piedmont at RIC.

Yep, you heard right: fueling airplanes.

“I’d just gotten back to Richmond,” she says with a smile, which, by the way, is a constant part of her countenance. “‘Ramp rat’ was the opening they had. I carried an extra ladder on the truck so I could get up to the bottom of the ring with this fire-hose size gas hose. I was actually the first girl to fuel an airplane at the Richmond airport. It was a good group of people that I worked with. Everyone was a lot of fun.”

She moved next to the Pine Factory where she served as both a store manager and construction manager.

Her first Collegiate assignment was as receptionist in the Lower School. Two years later at the behest of Dr. Bob Sedivy, vice-president for finance, she relocated across campus to oversee the Cougar Shop, which at that time handled textbooks, supplies and a handful of spirit items.

After 17-plus years, she moved once again, this time to the Hershey Center, where she assumed the role of Fine Arts Assistant to support the performing arts and, over time, all arts-related endeavors.

The never-a-dull-moment job, which involves coordinating with Collegiate faculty and staff as well as outside organizations, is multifaceted, and that is right up Mrs. Parthemos’s alley. “It’s everything from scheduling to work orders, reservations, box office manager, ticket sales for everything,” she says, naming just a few of the myriad tasks she’s undertaken with her good humor, unflappable demeanor, grace and legendary organization. “For many years, I helped with costumes for the 8th Grade and Upper

50Y EARS AT COLLEGIAT E

Service for the Soul

For 50 years, Weldon Bradshaw has served as a link to Collegiate’s past, keeping alive the spirit of those who set the tone for the School of today.

By Weldon Bradshaw

WELDON BRADSHAW

School plays. Now, it’s just the 8th Grade play but supporting the people who come from outside to do the Upper School plays. If there’s an event in this building, I’m here.”

When the 2021-22 term came to a close, Mrs. Parthemos retired, which for her had little to do with slowing the pace.

It means more time for family. She and Stel, a retired county attorney in Chesterfield, have been married almost 35 years, and their son Chris, a 2006 graduate, and his wife Emily Helft and much of her extended family live in town.

It also means opportunities for travel, catering, gardening and volunteering in the food pantry at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Ginter Park as well as attending and pitching in with the behind-the-scenes management of Collegiate events that have been part of her life for so long.

Working behind the scenes is her modus operandi and a labor of love. That’s where she’s happiest. That’s where she’s most fulfilled. For Mrs. Parthemos, you see, it’s never been about attention although in 2021 she received it in the form of the Anne Jones Staff Award for her loyal and exemplary service.

“I like being helpful and useful,” she says. “When you support people by making their lives easier, you’re making your own life easier.”

Even when it comes to the simple, unglamorous, mundane tasks like rearranging rooms or marking seats in Oates Theater or coordinating transportation or “bearding” kings for the Pageant or schlepping music stands and chairs to the Grover Jones Field for a pep rally or Convocation or conducting temperature checks or assisting with afternoon pickup or…the list goes on?

“It’s not a big deal for me,” she says. “If I’m here and I can do it, I will. Things need to happen. I’m happier in the background than in the limelight. There’s satisfaction seeing the job done well and seeing things go smoothly and supporting the people I’m here to support. I’m happiest when this place is working well. That’s when I’ve done my job right.”

Humble service, I observed as we were finishing our conversation, seems part of your DNA.

“You want to give back to the places and people you care about,” she says. “I feel like I’ve been so lucky to work in a place that I love with

30Y EARS AT COLLEGIAT E KATE PARTHEMOS people I love. Every time I’ve switched jobs here, I’ve thought it was the best job. I definitely know the past 10 years have been the best part. Being in this building with these talented and creative people…that’s fed my soul.”

My gosh, where to begin?

Sitting inconspicuously on the back row at my first faculty meeting (beside Charlie McFall as he drew up football plays), I listened as the venerable Malcolm U. Pitt Jr. referenced Collegiate as a Family School. Though I’d never heard the term, I quickly learned that “Family” was a theme that permeated the institution’s culture and manifested itself every day in many ways.

It came to life in the form of mentorship, and in the early days when I needed all the help I could get, there was no shortage of guiding lights to show me the way.

Petey Jacobs, the Athletic Director, espoused sportsmanship, competitive spirit, fair play, loyalty, honor and respect and through both words and bearing set the tone for our program that lives on today.

Ned Fox, the Boys School head and my English guru, conveyed firmly but gently that I was a teacher first and coach second (rather than the other way around) and helped me understand that I could derive as much satisfaction from nurturing students to value grammar, write well and appreciate literature as I could from training them to excel in the athletic arena.

Bill Reeves, Ned’s successor, brought extraordinary compassion, gentleness and wisdom, modeled tolerance and respect, played to our strengths (although, with me, he had few to play to) and brought out the best in all of us.

Richard Towell, a math teacher par excellence, became a big-brother type sounding board who, when I’d get frustrated and start yet another I’mgoing-back-to-the-newspaper rant, reminded me why teaching was a calling rather than a job.

Jim Hickey, the legendary track coach and quintessential guide on the side, taught me the importance of surrounding myself with good, dedicated colleagues, empowering them to perform their duties and having a lot of fun along the way, all lessons that paid great dividends as I grew in the profession and spent 48 seasons as a head coach in three varsity sports.

The Family School concept came to life, too, in the form of abiding support and uncommon kindness when life got tough. Over the years, we’ve experienced trials and tragedies within our School community and on a larger scale, but we’ve instinctively and invariably rallied to protect, encourage and care for one another, even in the darkest hours.

The Family School concept came to life, too, as blessings bestowed quietly, humbly and graciously: friends taking time to listen or sharing goodnatured repartee at the lunch table, students saying “thank you” when they leave a classroom or offering a heartfelt “good morning” when they pass in the hall, or a graduate sharing a moment, sometimes amusing, sometimes poignant, from years past that made a positive and indelible impression.

Times have changed, of course, since that day a half-century ago when I began this journey with the men and women who would become icons. Faces have changed. Methods have changed. Our School has changed, that’s for sure, but the time-honored mindset of we-do-many-thingswell-but-what-we-do-best-is-take-care-of-eachother hasn’t. For that, our predecessors would be incredibly proud.

Serving Collegiate has been an honor.

I’ve been blessed to coach, mostly cross country and track, for most of my professional life. Our teams have enjoyed success and earned the respect of our competitors, but the true joy has been seeing young men and women challenge their limits, find strength, endurance and courage that they might not have believed they had, and apply the lessons of sports to life beyond the arena.

I’ve been blessed to teach many talented, motivated 7th Grade guys, but the true joy of the classroom experience has been helping that reluctant, anxious, back-row 13-year-old unlock his gifts and find his voice.

I’ve been blessed for 21 years to share with our community the “Reflections” column, which, according to my original charge, “reflects” the soul of our school, and I’ve been blessed that so many friends have trusted me to tell their stories.

I’ve been blessed to share the journey with dedicated, resilient and inspiring colleagues, many Collegiate graduates themselves, with parents who entrusted their children to our care, and for almost 36 years with Emily, my wife and soulmate, who brightened her 3rd Grade classroom for three decades and who has stood steadfastly beside me through victory and defeat and kept the promise for better and for worse and in sickness and in health.

And as the years became decades, I’ve been blessed to serve as a link to our past, keep alive the spirits of those who set the tone for the Collegiate of today and perpetuate through humble stewardship a culture built on trust, honor, integrity, and mutual respect which will, I am confident, endure forever.

Retiree Roundtable

Five of this year’s retirees have given 30 or more years of service, each having contributed in legendary ways, including opting to continue working through the pandemic in order to help their beloved School navigate.

Recently, this extraordinary group sat down with Head of School Penny Evins to reflect on their years at

Collegiate and hopes for the future of our School.

Of course, even though you are retiring, you never really leave the Collegiate community, and your service will be felt for years to come. That being said — what is the one thing you will miss most about working at Collegiate?

MISSY HEROD: For me it’s the children. Talking to them in the halls, connecting with them when they come into my office — I’ll miss all those conversations.

KATE PARTHEMOS: Obviously the kids. I’ll miss seeing those faces come in the door and hearing them greet each other.

DAVID BANNARD: The kids are always number one, and my colleagues are a close second. I will certainly miss the collegiality of having lunch together and all the other moments of bonding with your peers.

WELDON BRADSHAW: I think what we’re all saying — albeit in different ways — returns to the reason why we got into this profession in the first place: to teach kids, coach kids and share the experience with colleagues. And all these years later the reasons are still the same. Things may have changed but the reasons are still the same. During your time at Collegiate, you have been tremendous mentors to so many members of our community. Who were some of your mentors? What did you learn from them?

DAVID BANNARD: I think back to one 7th and 8th Grade teacher and baseball coach that I had growing up. He just got me excited about learning. I also had a high school math teacher that got me excited about math and helped me understand that learning can be fun. And three colleagues in particular — one from Groton, one from North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and one remarkable geometer from Atlanta — all of them helped me with the idea that the great problems are the problems where there should always be more questions.

KAREN DOXEY: I think so much of being an educator begins with how you relate to students and how important it is that we are both challenging them and also really supporting them. That has been Collegiate’s focus forever, and it is the thing I cherish the most, because, in that way, you felt that you really could have an impact. You can support the students but you also need to challenge them so that they can grow. That’s what my mentors have taught me. MISSY HEROD: My mother was a mentor to me. When Collegiate called, my mother pointed out that I could be far more satisfied by staying in education. Julia Williams, who was Head of the Girls School when I returned to Collegiate, taught me grace and poise under pressure. Gwen Donohue was Director of Athletics when I was here and she was remarkable. I saw how she never gave up on a student. She taught me that inside every student you just have to unlock the door and let them out, to stick with it and never give up on a student.

WELDON BRADSHAW: There are many mentors. I found myself in the midst of Petey Jacobs, Mac Pitt and Jim Hickey. They taught me how to deal with winning and losing in the right ways, about loyalty, about sportsmanship, about, with Coach Hickey, how to take a large staff of people and empower them to do the best they could. There’s Ned Fox, who taught me from the beginning that I was a teacher-coach — not a coach-teacher — and that I could get as much enjoyment out of teaching a kid to be better at English as I could helping them on the athletic field. There’s Bill Reeves, who saved my life in numerous ways. When he came here, in 1976, he used the phrase “academic excellence with compassion.” He modeled compassion as well as anyone I have ever known along the way. He was such a gentle, calm presence that made the community better. I think any of us that have been at this a while could go on and on and on about mentors.

We have incredibly brilliant students at Collegiate. I often think of it as a symbiotic relationship — that the students teach us just as much as we teach them. What are some things that students over the years have taught you as an educator?

KAREN DOXEY: The kids along the way have taught me so much. As a coach, I realized how talented and creative our students really are. When I had a really good set of captains, I knew that the kids were the real leaders. Our students can do so much more if you just let them take on challenges.

KATE PARTHEMOS: To Karen’s point: If you have high expectations, these students will live up to them — and exceed them. When you see these kids come in and find what they are passionate about and blossom it is so exciting to be a part of.

DAVID BANNARD: I’ve learned that, with creativity and skill, students will always go beyond expectations. That has been fun about running Math Modeling for all those years: seeing students doing great work and making discoveries.

MISSY HEROD: The students have taught me so much, such as: how to use my cellphone, how to take short cuts on my laptop, the lyrics to the latest songs the kids are singing. They taught me how to be a better teacher. I grew up in a time when teachers felt they had to have control in their class, and my students have shown me that some of my best classes are when you let the kids lead. They’ve taught me how lucky I am to have this job and how lucky I’ve been to watch them grow up.

WELDON BRADSHAW: The best teams are the ones that have good leadership within the team. Sure, you give them direction. Sure, you give them a practice plan. Sure, you tell them when to meet the bus. But if you’re confident enough in what you’re doing that you can let the team leaders lead, then that’s when you have something very special. To see students dig down deep and be there for their teammates and support each other — it’s something I’ve seen reinforced each year and it’s one of the reasons coaching has never really gotten old. To be in a position to see kids flourish and find something within themselves and see those smiles on their faces — that’s just something special. What is one aspect you hope will never change about the School? And what are some of your hopes for the future of the School?

KAREN DOXEY: Our kids, our coaches and our parents do such a good job of being respectful and being classy both within and outside our community. Continuing that sportsmanship — treating others with respect — and relating it all back to your values, is important. That’s been what is so great about Collegiate. You feel very confident about sticking with your values because they are so important. People here at Collegiate really believe in the mission, and that’s why it has been such a great place to work. You always want to tap into opportunities like teaching leadership through athletics and continue that growth. There are more things Athletic Directors can do to make the experience even better. The School does a great job already, but you can never have enough.

MISSY HEROD: I think honor has always been big at Collegiate. If you go back to the School’s founding, you find that honor pops up everywhere. Integrity is there, too. I can remember signing the Honor Code at the Upper School Honor Council when I was in 5th Grade, It just sticks with you. I would like to see us continue with those values. I think we have to make decisions based on the best interest of our students rather than listening to the other voices out there. We have to continue doing what is right, what is just and what is in the best interest of our students, because we want to make sure they can go out and make a difference in the world for the better.

DAVID BANNARD: I think the community is one of the critical values here. I think we have a community that really cares about each other. We have a place where kids can be themselves and where they feel like they can be what they are growing up to be. I hope we can keep that.

WELDON BRADSHAW: You stay around here long enough and you deal with some challenges. I’ve found, over the years, through all of that, that this has been home — very much home. I hope that anybody feels that way — whether they’ve been here as long as any of us have or if they’ve just walked in the door. People here take care of each other. I often use the metaphor of the baton relay race. It’s the idea of taking the best you have and giving it to the next person. All of us, together, make each other better. I’m very proud to be connected to Collegiate. I’m very proud to wear Collegiate gear out in the community, and being part of this community is something very special. What are some of your favorite memories of working at Collegiate?

MISSY HEROD: That’s easy! Standing in the back of Commencement — you [Penny Evins] were next to me — and watching all the students standing up, embracing each other and singing “Hail Collegiate” together. I will always remember that.

KAREN DOXEY: For me, the best memories come from the reality of how far we’ve come. My very first years here we had just gone co-ed, and we’ve come a long way in supporting each other, cheering for each other, going to see each other’s games and respecting each other. It’s been really fun to see that progression.

KATE PARTHEMOS: I’ve been lucky enough to see my son on stage perform everything from Oberon in Midsummer Night’s Dream to the peddler in Oklahoma!. To see him learn from teachers I’ve had myself speaks to the community of Collegiate. Connections like that make Collegiate really special.

DAVID BANNARD: I’ve got to say that my favorite memories are from being in the classroom. You remember a lot of the incredible, talented kids, but I think I remember more of the kids that struggled. Being able to form a relationship with them and get them doing things they didn’t think they could do and helping them see their potential — that is something really special, and it’s something I’ll always remember.

WELDON BRADSHAW: Echoing what David said: Taking the kid that is a reluctant runner and seeing them running when they are adults, or getting an email from them once they’ve graduated saying that they’re still at it. Those moments of helping, in some small way, create a culture of fitness. Or having a kid that didn’t like to write at the beginning of the year and seeing them find joy in writing. On a personal note, during maybe at the lowest point in my life, in 1985, going to the faculty picnic as a single parent with a couple of sons and meeting a single parent that was a Lower School Teacher with a couple of daughters, and thinking I’d never get involved again. Well, we’ve been married for 35 years now… To share the journey both personally and professionally with her has been nothing short of amazing. So much of my life has been changed by experiences here and I could not have asked for any better.

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