five questions for evie hidysmith ‘13

friends forever

five questions for sffs alumna—and pandemic coordinator—evie hidysmith ‘13

Evie Hidysmith always knew she was going to come back to her beloved San Francisco—she just didn’t expect it to be in the midst of a devastating pandemic. It turns out that this was exactly where she was meant to be, serving in a crucial role at the Urban School (where she graduated from in 2017) and looking for ways she can center equity and promote change in the local independent school landscape.

We were so happy to welcome Evie back to campus this past fall, and she sat down with Alumni Engagement Coordinator Dan Sullivan to talk about her work at the Urban School and her inspiration.

1) Why did you choose to come back to the Bay Area after attending college on the East Coast?

I was never going to stay away from San Francisco. The only reason I left is because I felt like college was the only time I was ever going to leave. I wanted to try it out, but I knew I was going to come back. I grew up in San Francisco and all of my family is from here. I’m obsessed with the history of the city and I’m fascinated by the way it’s changed as I’ve grown up. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

2) What drove you to take a job at an independent school?

The answer to that question is complicated. I wrote my college thesis on private schools, wealth, and progressivism. I explored a lot of my own experiences both at Friends and at Urban and interviewed some students and teachers at those schools. I tried to interrogate the experiences of students on financial aid at schools like these because that’s what my situation was when I was there. It’s almost impossible for an independent school to be completely equitable and so I felt really uncertain about working here, but I also know that if I’m not working here someone else will. Independent schools aren’t going to disappear anytime soon and by working in one, I have an opportunity to make it more equitable and improve it.

3) What does your role as the pandemic coordinator at the

Urban School entail?

A lot of spreadsheets and emails! I read the guidelines that get issued by the San Francisco and California Departments of Health and think about how to implement that guidance at Urban. A big part of what I do is considering how to balance what keeps our school community the most safe with what allows us to maintain our daily lives and routines. I’m also teaching, tutoring, and generally filling in when someone needs an extra adult. I love being around teenagers and being in a school environment. It brings me so much joy!

4) What’s next for you after your role as a pandemic coordinator ends?

I’m hoping to get a degree in social work. I want to work with teenagers, but I don’t know exactly what I want to do. I love working in a school right now, but I also have really complicated feelings about working there. I know that I want to work in a community. Being a one-on-one therapist wouldn’t work for me because the boundaries are too harsh and the time is too limited. I want to be in a community and be able to form relationships.

5) How did your time at Friends influence how you view the world?

The honest truth is that Friends has influenced me a lot. I’m still really close with a lot of the people who I met when I was here. Because of our time at Friends, we can talk about the world in a similar way. There is a way that Friends teaches students to constantly interrogate the world. Friends encourages children to be curious and constantly investigate the world around them. My teachers were people that loved me and cared for me and knew how to teach me, but weren’t always right. The relationships that I built with them taught me how to question and understand how things work in the world. •

Do you know an SFFS alum who you think we should profile in our “Friends Forever” column? Please let us know by reaching out to akinney-moe@ sffriendsschool.org. Thank you!