The ReMarker | Feb. 2024

ReMarker Volume 70, Issue 4

S t . M a r k ’ s S c h o o l o f T e x as

Friday, February 2, 2024

“WORKING WITH PEOPLE AND HELPING THEM BE AT THEIR BEST TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS AND GET THROUGH TOUGH SITUATIONS. IT’S WHO I AM. IT’S IN MY DNA.” -WILLIAM ATKINSON ‘95, NEWLY APPOINTED HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL

HOMEGROWN After a multi-year, nationwide search to find a Head of Upper School, the school found their man in William Atkinson ‘95.

PHOTO / ZACHARY BASHOUR

Familiar faces fill vacancies

“I THINK THE HATS YOU WEAR IN ADMINISTRATION HAS TO DO WITH

CARE FOR PEOPLE AND THE SCHOOL,

After comprehensive searches to fill two imperative roles, the School found who it needed at home. Marion Glorioso-Kirby, who has been part of the St. Mark’s family since 2004, was appointed Head of Lower School and William Atkinson, a 1995 graduate of the School, will take over as Head of Upper School.

AND FOR ME THAT ISN’T HARD TO DO.”

For more coverage:

-MARION GLORIOSO-KIRBY, NEWLY APPOINTED HEAD OF LOWER SCHOOL

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A profile of Atkinson and his journey from being a student at 10600 to the newest member of the school’s administration.

History of Division Heads at St. Mark’s—and how one of them has significantly more turnover.

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PHOTO / COURTESY DAVE CARDEN PERMANENT FIXTURE After spending a year as Interim Head of Lower School, Marion Glorioso-Kirby will take on the role officially.

Inside Issues......................................... 3 Academics................................. 8 Life............................................. 13 Focus......................................... 14 Reviews.................................... 20 Editorials.................................. 21 Sports...................................... 23

On the Web

After two decades of service, and most of that in the Fine Arts Department, Glorioso-Kirby returns to the Lower School as its division head.

The long, complex path to filling these roles ends with the appointment of two household names.

Our digital coverage includes: A Memorable night in Spencer Junior Luke Laczkowski celebrates his 1,000-point milestone and hits a game-tying 3 in an overtime victory

A look at the impacts of referee shortages Video coverage of kart-racing 8th grader Extended coverage of winter weather

and so much more.

Scan to visit the ReMarker website

Inside

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ReMarker Cathey’s Column

Fourth down from the free throw line

Friday, February 2, 2024

14

Emerging from embers

Design Director

The last time I talked to him, we argued.

Tomorrow marks eight years since a close friend of mine, Hudson Wade, passed away.

On Feb. 4, 2016, Hudson lost a courageous battle with leukemia. The next morning, my parents came to my bedroom to break the news. I can’t tell you how I responded, but whatever level of sadness a fourth grader can feel, I was feeling all of it and then some.

Hudson and I spent a lot of time together the five years we both went to Dallas Christian School, most of that time spent on the football practice field. We were both coaches’ kids, sons of alumni. Hudson left the next year when his dad took a Head of School position in Abilene. I left DC the next year, and we didn’t ever speak in person again.

His funeral was a rough day. It is the most I remember crying up to that point. I sat with my parents, listening to friends and family reminisce on a life cut too short.

I was shocked—in truth, I still am—that I walked the halls with someone that died.

There’s something about having a friend die at a young age that shatters any sense of youthful immortality one might have.

And being so young, I don’t have many memories of being with him. I can’t remember all the forest walks and cardboard hill slides. The games of tag between Hudson, his sister Caroline, Kate Capshaw and me are too numerous to recite in detail.

But I will never forget fourth down from the free throw line.

If I knew that that day last time I would ever speak to Hudson Wade, I’d let him be right. I don’t care if the second graders won.

I would have said something different.

But I do wish we could argue again. I wish we could scream at the top of our elementary lungs about playground football or the Rangers game.

But we can’t.

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Bulletin

Noah Cathey

It was the last day of first grade. Fourth down from the free throw line for the game.

“Blue 42, Blue 42. Seeeeeet, Hut,” a kid yelled imitating the varsity quarterback.

As soon as he took the snap, everyone on the court knew where he was going.

“Watch the corner,” I yelled like I was Ed Reed. “He’s going to the corner!”

As the orange NERF football flew through the air, the playground went silent.

The guy secured the catch, but he was out of bounds. At least from my angle. I ran over and started celebrating with my classmates, as we had just taken down those mean, obnoxious second graders.

All of a sudden, we hear a voice screaming from the other side. “He was definitely in bounds,” he yelled. All of the big boys screamed in agreement with this crazy kid.

A verbal fight broke out between the first and second graders and I was in the middle of it. Me and a kid I knew all to well.

We argued for until the teachers decided it was time for both grades to return to their respective buildings.

I couldn’t believe I had spent my last minutes of recess arguing with some sore loser who was just mad that he had lost to a bunch of first graders.

Three years later, that sore loser died of cancer.

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The community works to open Fire Station 41

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Pedal to the metal Jordan Envani’s road to competitive karting

24 All in the family

Basketball coaches sharing the game with their fathers

against 04 Up the clock

we happy 06 Are and healthy?

for 07 Shooting the stars

Marksmen Wellness Center helps students fight against ADHD

A deep dive into the nutrition and satisfaction offered by SAGE lunches

Alan Stern ‘75 achieves a lifelong dream by traveling into space

year, 13 New new habits

it 23 Paying forward

Faculty and staff, including Coach Dilworth, discuss their plans for 2024.

just 26 That’s how we row

Sam Acho ‘07 returns to 10600—but he’s back this time with his son Caleb

Three former marksmen experience success rowing together at MIT

IN BRIEF LEADERSHIP LOOP The Inclusion and Diversity Leadership Council (IDLC) is debuting a Leadership Loop for Middle School titled “Our Roles, Our Stories: A Journey into Inclusion and Diversity.” The program will take place during Middle School Assembly and include a presentation and an engaging activity. This event is coming as the IDLC prepares for Marksmen Multicultural Night on Feb. 28.

ROBOTICS One of the school’s First Lego League (FLL) robotics team, comprised of fifth graders, recently placed first out of twenty at their qualifier tourna-

ment on Jan. 13. The Upper School First Tech Challenge (FTC) recently completed their third competition and are currently first place in their league. The Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST) robotics team placed second out of 71 teams at the championship on Dec. 3rd.

the distinction of being the only school in the country to have two students win.

Fellow senior Nathan Meyer was also named a Winner, one of just 30 in the country. As a result of their win, Flanagan and Brown also received the privilege of going to Miami for National YoungArts Week to learn from experts in their YOUNGARTS In the nation- field and exhibit their work. al YoungArts photography competition, two seniors - JUNIOR SEMINARS The College Patrick Flanagan and Hud- Counseling department son Brown - were named began their series of talks Winners with Distinction. with the class of 2025 on These two are among only 10 Jan. 24. The seminars, photography students in the which take place during country honored with the one free period during title, and St. Mark’s bears the eight-day rotation,

will walk juniors through all the steps of the college applications process.

BASKETBALL Junior Luke Laczkowski has reached the 1,000 point milestone in his high school career. After breaking the threshold in late December, he was honored before the team’s win before Greenhill, where Laczkowski hit a shot to send the game to overtime. Laczkowski is fourth in scoring and fifteenth in rebounding in the metroplex, averaging 24.0 and 7.6 per game, respectively.

Freshman Dawson Battie is thirteenth in DFW scoring with 18 points per game.

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Friday, February 2, 2024

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Businesses bet big on DFW Due to the regions regulatory landcape, central location and pro-business environment, dozens of companies across America have relocated their headquarters to the DFW area.

ON THE MOVE Corporations like McKesson and Toyota have moved to DFW over the last several years while companies Goldman Sachs are continuing to build their presence here with increased workspace.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION / HILTON SAMPSON

O

By Hilton Sampson and Kevin Ho

ver the past decade, an increasing number of multinational corporations have moved their headquarters into the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) area.

DFW’s central location, high quality of living and pro-business environment have quickly gained notice around the country, making the metroplex a desirable location to live and work.

The surge of relocations is not confined to just one specific industry — companies in a multitude of sectors are intent on establishing themselves in DFW to join the growing number of businesses that have made the region home.

One of the dozens of corporations that has relocated to the metroplex over the last several years is McKesson, a global healthcare company that distributes pharmaceuticals as well as other medical goods, services and information.

Ranked as the largest Fortune 500 company in DFW after Exxon Mobile’s relocation to Houston, McKesson now operates out of Irving, Texas, having moved from San Francisco nearly five years ago.

For CEO Brian Tyler, one of the primary factors in the decision to relocate was the talent pool of qualified workers available in the metroplex.

LARGEST DFW CORPORATIONS listed as Fortune 500 companies as of Jan. 4, 2024

COMPANY:

ANNUAL REVENUE:

1. McKesson

$263,966,000

2. AT&T

$120,741,000

3. Energy Transfer

$89,876,000

4. Caterpillar

$59,427,000

5. American Airlines $48,971,000

The robust, competitive labor market in DFW provides the high level talent McKesson needs to fill their positions.

According to the Texas Tribune, last fall, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services named Dallas a national hub for medical innovation. McKesson and other industry leaders in the metroplex appreciate this distinction, as it will bring more healthcare specific talent to the region, bolstering the already strong talent pool.

Even hiring workers from across the country has become easier for McKesson after their move to the metroplex.

“It was very difficult to attract people to relocate to San Francisco,” Tyler said. “We have found it much easier to recruit people to Dallas.”

DFW’s location in the heart of the country has also been a positive for both Tyler and McKesson. While in San Francisco, traveling across the country was often a burden.

“I can’t tell you how many six hour flights I’ve been on across the country to the east coast to visit customers or manufacturer partners,” Tyler said.

But now, due to DFW’s central location, two international airports and position at the junction of interstate highways, traveling to any corner of the country has become easier, allowing Tyler to be more efficient with his business travel and save valuable time.

Another key factor in McKesson’s decision to move to DFW is the regulatory framework in place in Texas. Known for its pro-business environment, Texas does not have a corporate or personal income tax at the state level, making the state an attractive destination for national corporations.

The cost of living here is also generally more affordable than other large cities across the country. For McKesson, moving to DFW allows employees to live a more affordable lifestyle.

In addition to affordable living is the area’s versatile framework, which Cullum Clark ‘85, Director of the Bush Institute at SMU’s Economic Growth Initiative, believes to be another major component of the incentive for companies to relocate.

“It’s not only lower cost,” Clark said, “It’s also that the Dallas Fort Worth area has a diverse economy that makes it a really good place to do business.”

This diverse economy encompasses a wide variety of communities that residents can live in. From Uptown to the Park Cities to the suburbs, DFW offers a plethora of neighborhoods for individuals to choose from to join companies.

Beyond the logistical aspects of relocating, Tyler is grateful for the hospitable nature of the metroplex, which has made the move and transition particularly streamlined.

“I’ve lived in 10 or 12 different cities with McKesson over the years and by far Dallas was the most welcoming to me personally, but also just to our whole business in general,” Tyler said.

He believes that this welcoming, pro-business environment will continue to attract corporations for years to come.

“I do see it as a bit of a virtuous cycle,” Tyler said. “The more companies come here, the bigger the talent pool gets, the more attractive it becomes to have a business here. I think as long as those fundamentals stay in place, Texas is going to continue to grow.”

Clark also believes that the influx of business still has not reached its full potential.

“I think there’s tremendous momentum,” Clark said. “The factors that have driven this enormous movement of companies into North Texas are very strong. So there’s no reason to think that suddenly that movement would stop on a dime.”

But the large wave of companies reveals obstacles that might put pressure on DFW’s continued development. Although Clark believes that these challenges are manageable, people should be wary of consequences and strive to solve problems at hand.

“When you have lots of growth, you have questions about rising traffic and increased competition for well-located real estate, which can drive up home prices,” Clark said.

“That presents a challenge for people who are trying to buy their first home. Increased population also puts a strain on infrastructure, power infrastructure and water supplies.”

But for Tyler, looking back on the decision to relocate, he knows McKesson made the right choice.

“I often get asked, you know, well, whatwould you do if you could do it over again?

What would you do differently?” Tyler said.

“And the thing I say is, I would have gone 10 years earlier.”

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Friday, February 2, 2024

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The time crunch

Teenage boys are diagnosed with ADHD far more than girls, making it hard for students to budget their time. But the school is here to help. The Wellness Center on campus is designed to help students stay on top of their work.

PHOTO / BEN ADAMS BURNT OUT With many students struggling to manage their time effectively, they can often run into late nights of homework and studying. Without the ability to handle work ahead of time, students feel the effects of procrastination as assignments and assesments pile up, which can lead to poor academic performance and mental health.

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By Hilton Sampson and Arjun Poi

he Wellness Center, located on the first floor of Centennial Hall, is built for Marksmen.

The Center is fitted with a student study room, filled with flashcards, markers and an expert on time management, Academic and Wellness Specialist Eliza Rosenbloom, seated just 5-feet away, creating a perfect environment for a successful studying.

Yet despite the fact that almost every student around campus could benefit from the Center’s resources, the study room often sits empty.

The reason why many students here fail to work ahead and manage their time effectively is often overlooked, and procrastination is considered a normal study tactic.

Some say it’s just what boys do.

The cause of this underdeveloped skill can first be seen in the brain.

A person’s time management and organizational skills, known as executive function, determine their productivity and efficiency navigating through situations in their daily life.

For boys, brain development can lag from 12 to 24 months behind girls, allowing girls to hone in on their executive function skills earlier than boys.

This discrepancy often leaves boys lacking executive function through their teenage years until the brain fully develops around age 24.

“There are studies out there that show there are differences (among boys and girls) in neural networks or pathways in the brain, yet there is no evidence of structural differences,” Upper Scool Counselor Dr. Mary Bonsu said. “Their brains look the same structurally but they use different cognitive strategies to achieve executive tasks. Studies where teachers are asked to rate their students suggest that executive skill development happens at a different rate in boys than with girls.”

Executive function deficits such as ADHD, which is diagnosed far more often in boys, make it even harder for boys to stay on par or close to girls in terms of time management skills.

Specifically in school, when students’ executive function skills are truly put to the test, it’s common for boys to struggle with time management.

“The lack of organization game begets the procrastination game,” said Dr. Matthew Housson, psychologist and owner of The Housson Center, which provides psychological and educational services to families in DFW. History instructor Michele Santosuosso has seen this phenomenon first-hand.

7

ADHD among men

years old

is the average age when ADHD is diagnosed

12.5%

6.4

of men have ADHD

42%

increase in diagnoses in the last 8 years

million children ages 4-17 have ADHD

2 in 3

of those diagnosed with ADHD are male

Before coming to the school, Santosuosso worked at Ursuline Academy in Dallas, an all-girls school, for nine years. When she taught there, students would take four classes a day, with each class lasting 90 minutes.

For Santo, implementing this type of schedule would be challenging here, given that boys, in general, have more trouble than girls getting through longer periods.

When the school schedule changed to include two 70 minute periods a day, Santosuosso realized she had to make changes in her teaching methods.

“I love the new schedule because it is hard to do a simulation or trial in 45 minutes,” Santosuosso said. “That summer going into the year that we had the new schedule, I had to really look at my flow, knowing not to expect young guys like freshman and sophomore to sit and listen to me yap for those longer periods.”

In order to keep her students attentive during 70 minute periods, Santosuosso splits the period into two sections, often dedicating one part to student-led discussions, documentaries or debates and one part to teaching.

In Santosuosso’s experience, as students mature into adults, they are better able to focus in their longer classes. However, she still believes that the issue of boys falling behind in school is a problem.

“When I was at Ursuline, it was, ‘How do we get more girls in STEM?’” Santosuosso said. “And we did it. Well, now it’s going the other way. If there are numbers that are showing that now it’s pivoting the other way, and numbers don’t lie, let’s even that out.

We did it for girls. We need to do it for boys.”

Bonsu believes that part of the reason boys are falling behind is due to these underdeveloped executive functions. Combined with stress from the classroom, they can create a real problem for students.

“It really is a vicious cycle,” Bonsu said.

While these challenges can be daunting, there are several ways students can develop their executive function skills, starting with sleep.

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Wellness Center boasts new study room

By Arjun Poi

PHOTOS / BEN ADAMS A HELPING HAND The Wellness Center offers the perfect environment to help students succeed (top). In the student study room, they can enjoy a refreshing escape from the halls of Centennial (bottom).

The optimal amount of sleep for teenagers is roughly nine hours and 20 minutes.

“When you go under that number, you are compromising the amount of serotonin, the amount of dopamine, the amount of norepinephrine, all these really important brain chemicals that are related to attention, arousal and organization,” Housson said.

Getting sufficient sleep is vital to a student’s energy and focus the next day, improving executive function and overall efficiency.

“A lot of this is studying smarter,” Bonsu said.

“Executive function is efficiency. It’s not about becoming smarter.”

Any way to improve efficiency helps a student come closer to their executive function potential.

“When we talk about executive function skills, they’re just like muscles,” Housson said. “You can go to the gym and work them out and build them at any time, but the earlier you start, the more incremental benefits you get over time.”

Housson knows a strong sleep and exercise routine can go a long way. But a student taking initiative to independently reach these markers takes it one step further.

“Junior year, the student needs to be as close to independent in their functioning as possible,” Housson said. “If you’re waking up your junior to get up (as a parent), you need to stop and let them figure out what it’s going to take to get him out of bed.”

Junior Deven Pietrzak has found his stride with managing his time.

As a member of the debate and math team, a baseball player and part time tutor, Pietrzak has a lot to balance with his schoolwork and academic pursuits, yet he’s developed a successful method of managing his time.

By utilizing free time and off periods while at school, Pietrzak is usually able to complete his daily homework before even going home.

“I’ll prioritize it based on urgency,” Pietrzak said.

Completing assignments ahead of time allows Pietrzak to focus more attention on his extracurricular activities after school hours.

But even with more time, Pietrzak occasionally faces situations where his commitments and schoolwork build up, putting him in stressful situations.

But by putting his head down and focusing on working, Pietrzak finds he can work efficientally.

“A LOT OF THIS IS STUDYING SMARTER. EXECUTIVE FUNCTION IS EFFICIENCY. IT’S NOT ABOUT BECOMING SMARTER.” -Dr. Mary Bonsu “You have to do everything eventually,” Pietrzak said, “so even if it’s hard to start, I just do it.”

Yet thanks to his strong executive function skills, Pietrzak is usually able to avoid these kinds of situations. Pietrzak thinks setting ambitious goals in his various disciplines helps him be so effective with his time.

“It’s just a lot easier to put in work for something and to spend time on something when you’re really motivated to do it because you have those goals,” Pietrzak said.

In addition to good time management skills, Bonsu also knows motivation is an important executive function that can improve day-to-day efficiency.

And for those lacking executive function, it can be difficult to call attention to the fact that they are struggling and could use help.

“I think there’s an importance of looking in the mirror and saying, ‘hey, I’m struggling with this,’” Housson said. “And there’s going to be people around you who have different organizational skills who can be helpful. I would use the resources around you to the degree to which you can.”

For boys struggling with their time management skills, Academic and Wellness Specialist Eliza Rosenbloom recommends visiting the Marksman Wellness Center, located in Centennial Hall in C104.

“We’ll work a lot with guys on study skills, study scribe strategies, time management, you name it, we have it,” Rosenbloom said. “We try to meet the student where they are and find and tailor support to them.”

For many with jam-packed schedules, during busy weeks of the school year with assignments and assesments piling up, it can sometimes be stay on track.

And this is exactly where the Marksmen Wellness Center comes into play.

With the addition of Roosenbloom to the office this year, students now have access to an expert on time management and organizational skills, making these stressfull situations just a little bit easier.

Rosenbloom was drawn to the school because it tailored her interests in mental health and supporting children.

“14 is the age where symptoms of mental struggles start to appear,” Rosenbloom said.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with kids, and this is something I’m interested in. I can help them earlier rather than wait until they’re really struggling in adulthood.”

At the beginning of the school year, the former Counseling Department was restructured into the Marksmen Wellness Center, redefining the home of the school’s guidance counselor and organizational experts.

This restructuring also added a student work space into the office.

Revamped to handle student’s time management skills, the Wellness Center is built to assist anyone on campus.

The room features school supplies and studying materials and can be reserved.

“The study room is available for individual and group studies,” Rosenbloom said. “Guys have come in here ahead of Spanish quizzes and written their conjugations on the whiteboard and have made it a really productive resource. We have many, many tools — calculators, pens, pencils, paper, highlighters — whatever you need to be your best self academically.”

With Dr. Gabby Reed, Director of Marksman Wellness, Bridgette Redondo-Doan, Lower School Counselor, and Upper School Counselor Dr. Mary Bonsu, the Center offers social and mental health support.

While many know the Counseling Department as a place to receive emotional help, now as the Wellness Center, having bolstered their academic assistance, the Center can leave leave an even greater impact.

“For academic support, we have Mrs. (Julie) Pechersky, who is the director of academic success, and then myself,” Rosenbloom said.

“What I’ll usually help guys with is time management and study skills. Then we can tag team that mental and academic wellness to make it more holistic.”

Rosenbloom gives advice to students who may be nervous about going to the Counseling Office to ask for help.

“If you’re curious, just stop by,” Rosenbloom said. “If you have any questions, we’re happy to answer them. We have several tools. There’s a good amount of guys that have utilized the resource, so they’re welcome to ask their friends to see what their experience has been.”

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How to fuel a Marksman

SAGE provides a plethora of food options; however it is up to students to take advantage of the food.

By Eric Yi and Tejas Allada

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n a world where the typical workload of a teenage student requires extreme focus for eight grueling hours, tending to additional rigorous athletic commitments and participating in a wide variety of extracurriculars, the importance of a reliable, healthy food source has become important for kids’ physical and mental health.

However, considering that high school curriculums have become extremely demanding recently, this issue has become more and more prevalent than ever.

According to a study conducted by BBC, students, as of this year, are lacking in their daily dietary regimens and completely skipping meals to keep up with their educational requirements. As a result, they are showing elevated levels in burnout and school-related stress.

At such a diverse school with boys taking part in so many different activities, the problem arises on campus as well.

“I do skip lunch here and there,” said Sophomore Kian Foshee. “My day is super busy. I wake up really early and have to quickly drive over to school because I live so far away. I also have sports and clubs to go to, so for things like homework and studying for tests, I don’t always have time to do them, and I’m forced to complete those Kian Foshee things during my lunchtime.”

Sophomore For Foshee, the problem supersedes a student’s neglect in eating and brings into question how lunch providers can appropriately address every students’ specific need. As a vegetarian, Foshee and others with dietary restrictions struggle to reach their specific caloric and nutrient goals considering the incredibly limited options that are suitable for them. And even if the options that day do satisfy their goals, students claim it doesn’t have the best flavor.

The primary food provider of the school, SAGE Dining Services, has attempted to combat this issue by serving a diverse assortment of different palettes and eating options to compensate for people who face such restrictions.

“As far as allergies are concerned,” said SAGE employee Lola Miller, ”We make sure that as students come into the servery, all of the screen and the line signs and the tablets all list the allergens that are in each dish. This makes it very easy for a student to

PHOTO / MATTHEW FREEMAN

REFUELING Sophomore Richard Wang reaches for his plate after choosing a variety of foods.

come into the servery, look at the dish, look at all of the tagged allergens and make sure all of the items are safe for them.”

While SAGE does provide transparency for allergen and ingredient information, athletes, on the other hand, require a full scope of what they put into their bodies to fully assess what options they should consider. For varsity wrestler Sophomore William Taylor, the exact macronutrients of each meal is crucial to meet weigh-in requirements and compete in tournaments.

“The day or two before a tournament, I usually take down my sodium,” Taylor said. “So if it’s Asian food on a Wednesday, then I won’t eat and just drink

“I DO SKIP LUNCH HERE AND THERE. MY DAY IS SUPER BUSY. I WAKE UP REALLY EARLY AND HAVE TO QUICKLY DRIVE OVER TO SCHOOL BECAUSE I LIVE SO FAR AWAY.” Kian Foshee some tea or something. The day before, I just won’t eat anything to stay under weight. It would definitely be a lot easier if I knew the serving size and portions though.”

Although most student-athletes with eating restrictions and specific goals understand the content of what they are eating, for the average Marksmen, the only true objective on their mind when entering the lunchroom is to simply find good food, regard-

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28 42

According to a poll of students, 30 percent believe SAGE does not meet their dietary needs, 28 percent believe they do and 42 percent believe that it meets a portion of their needs. less of the actual ‘healthiness’ of it. For this specific reason, SAGE aims to offer the healthiest options for all students.

“The way the SAGE program works is we have a protocol of what we need to follow as far as making sure we have two protein and one vegetarian option every day,” Miller said. “And so when we build our menus, we build them with those criteria in mind and send it to our dietitian who reviews and sends the menu back to let us know if there’s something that isn’t quite meeting those health standards.”

Screen time experts speak to local parents

By Christian Warner The St. Mark’s and Hockaday Parents Association recently held their annual joint meeting on Jan. 24 featuring guest speakers Amy and Dr. Kwabena “Bobo” Blankson who discussed the effects of screen time on their children.

During the hour-long talk, the Blanksons spoke on various issues and questions that all parents have.

Their answers to these questions explored psychological health and stressed the importance of connecting with the child in unexpected ways.

One of the most frequently asked questions by parents is how to find the limit between too much screen time and just enough. The Blanksons suggest a baseline of 2 hours, but adjustments should be made in order to suit each child. The time spent on a screen in and of itself is not the major issue; rather, what the time is spent doing proves to be more harmful.

“Is playing on your phone for an hour the same as watching the Cowboys vs. the Packers for an hour? I don’t think so, especially if (the kid) is watching the game with (his or her parents),” Kwabena said.

One suggestion made by the Blanksons brought up strategies for proper communication between the parent and child. Speaking as therapists, the Blanksons have found that using the same strategies they use for their patients also works for their own kids.

These strategies, which they call motivational interviewing, are meant to create a safe space and personalize the kids’ situation with the parents by providing opinions from both parties.

“It doesn’t mean telling (each other) all of your deepest and darkest secrets, but it means not freaking out when (your kid) has done something wrong.

You want them to come to you and say, ‘Hey, I need help.’ But if all (the kid) thinks is that (the parent) is going to punish them and take away their phone, (the

kid) won’t,” Kwabena said.

The Blanksons closed by talking about a “red light, green light, yellow light” system for when to seek help from a professional. Oftentimes, parents wait too long to seek help for their child, leading to a problematic situation where the damage has already been done. The Blanksons agreed that once a parent sees a sign or symptom of mental health problems, there is no harm in seeking professional help.

“There are a lot of professionals out there who are willing to help kids. It’s really for guidance to (establish good boundaries),” Dr. Kwabena said. “For professional help out there, there’s Coaching for Your Teen… medical help if you feel like it’s a bigger issue,” Amy said.

With the substantial amount of resources both online and local, staying informed with healthy strategies can benefit the mental health of all people, both kids and adults alike.

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Friday, February 2, 2024

OUTER SPACE On his mission to space, Alan Stern ‘75 wore both the patch of his mission group and the patch of the school, showing his appreciation for the community.

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PHOTO / COURTESY VIRGIN GALACTIC

Stern achieves lifelong cosmic dream Astronaut Payload Specialist Dr. Alan Stern ‘75 shares his experiences on his trip to outer space that took place in Nov. 2023. After working at NASA for years, Stern’s finally earned his opportunity to reach the stars. But this trip was only a trial run for his space flight later this year to do more astronomical research.

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By Arjun Poi and Doan Nguyen

he legacy of the school has reached altitudes of 29,032 feet above sea level — the apex of Mt. Everest, the highest point on the planet.

It’s explored the Mariana trench: the deepest point on Earth.

It’s traveled the world with thousands of alumni.

And this past November, Dr. Alan Stern ‘75 packed the St. Mark’s insignia in the pocket of his astronaut suit to the final frontier — outer space.

Stern wanted to travel among the stars as soon as he learned about them — even before he came to the school. He considers the school to be instrumental in his career’s success.

“I give St. Mark’s a lot of credit,” Stern said. “It wasn’t just an education. It made me the man I am, and, of course, it taught me to be very competitive.

That was all I needed to get from where I was to where I am now.”

Getting the opportunity to explore space is ridiculously competitive. Just breaking past the Earth’s atmosphere is a project worth millions of dollars.

The program that Stern and 20,000 others applied to was looking for 12 people to do both.

“In the old days, if you didn’t get selected by NASA, there was no way to go to space,” Stern said.

“I got a lot of advice from the mentors and people who told me: ‘You probably won’t be able to do this.’”

The odds were against him, no matter how prepared he was. Stern made it to the top 100 out of 20,000 applicants. He passed all the medicals and the psychological tests with flying colors — but, didn’t get the job.

He was disappointed; his dream was within arms-reach, and he was right there. Stern was trying to find his way into spaceflight, but he needed to

change gears.

“You’ve got to make a living, and you can’t make a living as an astronaut — if you’re not an astronaut,” Stern said.

Stern found a way to pursue the career he loved without giving up on exploring space. For the next thirty years after getting his PhD, Stern worked tirelessly as a planetary scientist until he could find the opportunity to go to space.

He published over 320 scientific papers. He served as NASA’s chief of all Space and Earth science programs, directing and managing the Science Mission Directorate’s annual budget of $5 billion.

“I GIVE ST. MARK’S A LOT OF CREDIT. IT WASN’T JUST AN EDUCATION. IT MADE ME THE MAN I AM, AND, OF COURSE, IT TAUGHT ME TO BE VERY COMPETITIVE. THAT WAS ALL I NEEDED TO GET FROM WHERE I WAS TO WHERE I AM NOW. ” ALAN STERN ‘75 And finally, his opportunity arrived.

Stern was appointed by NASA to do astronomical research on a suborbital space flight in late 2024.

To prepare, he did a trial run in Nov. 2023, going to space for the first time in his life.

“I carried a mockup of the equipment, and we were practicing the timing and the techniques to do the NASA flight,” Stern said.

He had two main goals during the hour-long flight. The first was easy: Stern had to wear sensor units attached to gloves to record how his vitals changed in space. The second goal was significantly more challenging. Within the span of an hour, Stern had nine flight objectives to accomplish, but he enjoyed the challenge.

“Not accomplishing seven out of nine (objectives) or eight out of nine, but rather nine out of nine made the trip really enjoyable,” Stern said.

He was so preoccupied that he hardly got over 30 seconds in total to look outside and appreciate the view, but it wasn’t his priority — he was there to work. And the last thing Stern wanted to do was fail.

“There are a lot of elements that make it possible to fall short of your objectives,” Stern said. I didn’t want that to reflect on me, personally, and I didn’t want to reflect upon my employer and people who had confidence in choosing me to fly as opposed to someone else.”

With millions of dollars and high expectations put into this project, Stern found himself confident in his abilities and his preparation.

“We trained pretty hard for it, and we got everything done.” Stern said. “It really wasn’t that hard, but that’s because I was really focused on it. We did a lot of training. We took it very seriously, and when it came showtime, we were ready to go.”

While most people fear stepping out of their comfort zone, the thought of competition only makes Stern strive for more. Stern believes he was born with the drive to take risks, “like people are born left-handed.” And going to space has the ultimate, imminent risk: death.

“You have to be straight with your loved ones and your friends about the fact that it’s not an unreasonable risk,” Stern said. “New frontiers are risky. You just have to be careful to measure the risk and be realistic, not naive.”

Despite the skepticism and odds, Stern fulfilled one of his lifelong dreams. And he’s still eager for what lies ahead in his career.

“I didn’t think there was anything that held a candle to the purpose as a scientist or engineer,” Stern said. “That’s all I ever really wanted to do. Fortunately, it all worked out.”

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ANALYZE Students from English 10 read the Shakepearean play, Macbeth.

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

Number of English majors on steady decline

With the number of students deciding on humanities majors experiencing a sharp decline, is it still necessary for students to take four years of English?

By Rohan Kakkar, William Kozoman and Christopher Guffey

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he English major is losing popularity— and fast. Throughout the past decade, the number of students majoring in humanities courses has greatly decreased.

While the humanities majors may be losing popularity in colleges across the country, the school emphasizes the subject’s importance with four required years of English in Upper School, which is unlikely to change anytime soon.

For some, their passion comes at a young age, and Cristian Pereira ’21 followed his to Yale, where he is currently studying English.

“I would say I always preferred writing and reading over math,” Pereira said. “Writing always came a lot more naturally to me.”

Pereira was one of few students who knew exactly what they wanted to study in college.

Although he decided to pursue English early on, his high school experience with English helped to further promote his passion for the language.

“In high school, my English classes were my favorite,” Pereira said. “A really transformative class for me with English was Ms. Schwartz’s AP English Literature class.”

While in high school, students might be expected to read a book and create a standard five-paragraph essay with textual evidence to support their thesis. In college, however, literary analysis goes far more in-depth, with students having to analyze books to its roots: the grammar, sentence structure and how it changes a book’s tone or meaning.

“It’s a really difficult skill to learn because you have to analyze each word and each punctuation mark,” Pereira said. “For example, why is this

comma here, and how does this comma affect what is being communicated in this sentence?

And how does that sentence affect what’s being communicated in the paragraph? How does that connect to my overall argument?”

Although Pereira is passionate about English, he interns at Bank of America, working in their investment banking division. While banking may not seem like the traditional route for an English major, Pereira believes that his liberal arts education can be a huge asset for finance, especially in critical thinking.

“I really subscribe to the liberal arts idea of focusing your education on teaching yourself how to think instead of teaching yourself how to do,” Pereira said.

However, there is another critical reason why Pereira chose to major in English: its intrinsic principle to teach students how to think. Pereira’s best advice for high school students is to “make sure you build that foundation for yourself by enriching your critical thinking skills” through reading or history to keep your thinking skills sharp, as they are incredibly invaluable.

“Even if you’re not studying English, choose something in your life that enriches your ability to think because it’s going to be extremely valuable for the rest of your life,” Pereira said.

“Eventually, you may lose that job, or you get put in a position of leadership, and now you have to make a lot of decisions for yourself, and you’re no longer just someone following instructions. I think that’s what I really value about the English major.”

Although there is a great emphasis on English at St. Mark’s, very few seniors choose to major in English at their future colleges. Humanities instructor Dr. Martin Stegemoeller believes

Exploring Biology Sophomore Benjamin Standefer PHOTO / JOSEPH SUN

that the politicization of English departments is partly to blame.

“English departments are just hyperpoliticized now,” Stegemoeller said. “It used to be about reading and learning to love literature.

Now, I can see why kids don’t even want to do it.”

And even though it seems to be negatively affecting the English major, he doesn’t know if the issue will go away anytime soon, though he has seen some progress.

“It may just be a downward spiral until a lot of English departments just have to shut down,” Stegemoeller said. “There are places, though, like a new university in Austin that are trying to promote a more neutral environment in their schools.”

However, Stegemoeller still believes that going into an English major is not necessary to enjoy the substance of the language.

“Of course, people can always read and enjoy literature on their own,” Stegemoeller said. “I think more and more people are doing that now instead of doing it in college.”

Although the English major is becoming less popular, the ability to think for oneself that stems from a liberal arts education is vital to the future of the country.

“I think at some point that the ability to think is actually going to become more valuable than the ability to do a job skillfully,” Pereira said.

“There are just going to be so many resources that can do the skills for you, so then your value is just going to be in your ability to make decisions.

I think that in ten years or so, there’s going to be a huge revival of the liberal arts because it’s going to become even more valuable than it is today.”

“My research is on phylogenetic and structural analysis of transcription factors, so it’s involved in stem cells and maintaining clear potency in stem cells. It’s going well, and I’m hoping to get published by the end of the year.”

“It wasn’t until I attended Dr. [Dan] Lipin’s 9th grade biology class that I fell in love with the subject. He helped ignite the spark that fueled my still burning passion for the field.”

“From Dr. Lipin’s class, I’ve explored various research opportunities and continued a rigorous approach to mastery of every aspect of the subject. I hope to pursue something biology-related in my years beyond St. Mark’s.”

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WRITING YOUR WRONGS During a presentation to an English 10 class, Dr. Kincaid tell them that ethical work is more personal than academic.

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PHOTO / COURTESY SCOTT MOORE

The relationship between ethics, English During the 2024 Literary Festival, ethicist Dr. Elizabeth Kincaid used her presentations to five upper school English classes to discuss morality and the personal value of tradition-based reasoning.

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By Noah Cathey

hen answering the question ‘What is the story you want to tell?’, sophomore Kazim Hussain became troubled. Feeling befuddled by the prompt assigned to him by the Literary Festival guest writer, Hussain walked to the front of Nearburg 114 to converse with ethicist and theologian Dr. Elizabeth Kincaid.

This question was one of four questions first posed to the class. The fifth? A question humans have been trying answer since the beginning of time: ‘What does a good life look like?’

Kincaid, a native of Higland Park, Texas and former student of Victor F. White Master Teaching Chair David Brown at Highland Park High School, used her time with upper school students to discuss writing in ethics and tradition-based reasoning. After walking them through a modern-day example involving the relationship between Kanye West, hip-hop culture and the Black church, she posed five questions to Marksmen, all involving how their own background and values influence what they want in life. Kincaid has found that looking internally has great significance.

“I can tell them all the stuff about Aristotle,” Kincaid said. “It’s a lot of facts, right? I think the goal of being formed as an ethical person is learning how to engage in ethical reflection.’”

Kincaid’s style of teaching ethics has been inspired by her previous educational experiences and developed through years of experience. After graduating

from Highland Park, Kincaid received her B.A. from Rice University in 2002, followed by a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin’s Law School in 2005.

“I got good grades in a lot of history and english courses at Rice, and for most people who do that, the logical next step is law school,” Kincaid said. “I found it incredibly challenging. At this point, we were doing the Socratic method. I loved working with the cases.

What I practice now—tradition-baed reasoning—isn’t that much different than law school. Working with common law and engaging with historic cases is the same.”

After a career as a white-collar criminal defense attorney, Kincaid turned to the business world as a private equity professional dealing with high-profile companies and their workplace practices. Wanting something more fulfilling, she turned her focus to researching virtue ethics with Jesuit and Catholic theology. She now serves as the Legendre-Soulé Chair in Business Ethics & Director of the Center for Ethics and Economic Justice at Loyola University New Orleans. Although she currently works with high-level, complex ethical problems, Kincaid can trace her experience of knowing the difference between right and wrong back to as early as four years old.

“I was taking a nap, and kept getting up to play with my tea set,” Kincaid said. “My parents came in and asked, ‘Were you out of bed?’ And I would say that I wasn’t, and then they would leave. I’d get up and sneak to play with the tea set. Of course, my parents, who were watching through the door, came in and were like ‘You are lying to us.’ And I was. And I knew it.”

That experince is one that Kincaid recalls when thinking about the simplicity and commonness of ethical decision making. She believes that looking introspectively allows one to better understand their own perspective, which will enhance their sense of morality something — she has been able to do since working in ethics full-time. She finds this work equally challenging as her previous endeavors, but more fulfilling.

“It’s challenging in a different way,” Kincaid said.

“They are all highly abstract and demand a lot intellectually. There is a high expectation. I am in a publish or perish world. But, I get to answer questions I care about more. When I’m up late writing­, and I don’t always want to write, I feel excited in a way I didn’t when I was doing legal work.”

The work of an ethicist is intended to be an analysis and interpretation of humanity and its moral condition. Kincaid, now a prominent researcher in the theologic sphere, has seen herself grow as her work continues.

“I am more myself,” Kincaid said. “I’m more the person I was called to be. By having the freedom to live this type of life. I’m really grateful because it doesn’t work out this way for everybody. There are a lot of people I know are smarter than I am who have not had the opportunities I’ve had. I actually have a job where I wake up everyday and say ‘this is fun.’”

For additional coverage of the Literary Festival, including backgrounds on all four guest writers, visit smremarker.com

Poetry Out Loud competition provides students with new perspective

By Rohan Kakkar Poetry Out Loud, a national competition that shines light on the art of poetry, requires countless hours of memorization and practice— leading up to a single recitation in front of a crowd.

English instructor Dr. GayMarie Vaughan uses the competition as a means for students to experience new poems.

“I think we do (Poetry Out Loud) because it brings poetry to life in the classroom; a lot of times students just study and analyze poetry,” Vaughan said. “I think students have to think about language differently and process it differently, and this allows students to understand poetry differently.”

This year’s winner, senior Thomas Whitehurst, advanced from a runoff in his class before competing against the top five students in the school during

the Upper School assembly to win.

“I was in creative writing with Mr. Brown, and he offered us the choice to recite a poem for the class,” Whitehurst said. “I really urge people to try it, especially before senior year, if you are interested in a fun experience.”

One of the poems Whitehurst had to memorize was If we must die, by Claude McKay. Whitehurst described the poem as both ‘powerful’ and very ‘concise’.

Thomas Whitehurst “It’s a lot of language,” Senior Whitehurst said. “It starts with ‘if we must die’ and sets the scene but then repeats and then brings in that call to action. I just fell in love with the poem.”

Although Whitehurst was not originally a huge fan of poetry, he began to perform more and more poetry throughout his time in Upper School, developing a deeper appreciation for it.

“We had two mandatory poems when I was in AP Chinese last year, one of them being Levi’s ‘Quiet Nights’,” Whitehurst said. “I took it upon myself and ended up finding a kind of fun poem to memorize, Levi’s ‘Drinking Alone by Moonlight’, which was 14 lines and I thought it was fun to learn.”

Whitehurst still wants to keep pursuing poetry and plans on studying liberal arts in college.

“I have to be fluent and an eloquent speaker, and poetry really helps with that,” Whitehurst said. “I can really appreciate the nuances of the English language and I will definitely memorize more for fun. I think it’s sort of a fun hobby.”

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AN IRON WILL English instructor Dr. GayMarie Vaughan struggles to control her emotions as she stands in front of her unruly class.

PHOTO / BEN ADAMS

Teachers navigate mental wellness

As teachers leave the profession at a rapidly increasing rate, there is a crucial need for supportive environments for educators as well as empathy and mutual respect between students and teachers.

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By Oliver Peck and Joseph Sun

eheaded. That’s a word you would expect to hear when talking about Henry VIII or medieval crusades centuries ago.

But, just a few months ago, Benjamin Reese, a seventh grade Georgia teacher, was arrested on third degree charges for threatening to behead a student.

The first questions that come to mind is ‘what did the student do?’ and ‘why might Reese have exhibited such an exaggerated reaction?’

However, it was not what was said that ignited his emotions, but just the tipping point of his stress.

In addition to often inadequate pay and benefits, many teachers are leaving the profession due to high levels of stress and often feeling underappreciated and disrespected. These stresses, in addition to outside events in their life, can often translate into the classroom, highlighting the hidden key to solving the teaching crisis: providing for teacher’s mental health.

“There’s a false judgment about teaching that has always bugged me where people might say ‘you get two months off ’,” history instructor Michelle Santosuosso said. “However, the mental and emotional stress of teaching is maybe only similar to nurses and doctors.”

Though there’s many things that factor into the stresses of teachers, students can be a large source of it.

“I think that both students and teachers need to remember that we’re all human here, and we’ve all got this responsibility to treat each other with respect and empathy,” Upper School counselor Dr. Mary Bonsu said. “Remember that you don’t know everything that someone is going through.”

One of the most difficult things for a lot of people can be putting away their personal life at school.

While students could have difficult home life, and there’s always going to be teachers that are going through a lot of personal stressors, there needs to be a mutual responsibility to put that away in the classroom.

“It’s prioritizing and knowing that you’re here to do a job and so you focus on your job,” Bonsu said.

“You’re not a robot or anything like that, but at the end of the day, your job and your classroom requires you to be a certain way and to do things in a certain way. If you’re a student, you’ve got to take your notes

and get through the lesson. If you’re a teacher, you have to be attentive — there’s all these expectations.”

It’s important to not take the joy out of teaching, as most teachers go into the profession because it’s what they love to do. This is only possible by honoring and respecting their time, energy and preparation and trusting that they have the best interests of students at heart.

“Sometimes, it goes to this ‘student versus teacher’ kind of dynamic where it’s them against us,” Bonsu said. “And at that point, we have lost sight of why we are here.”

In addition to the stresses that come purely from teaching, it may be difficult to develop a connection between the students on an emotional level.

“Let’s say I have three classes per day with 17 kids in each,” Santo said. “That’s a lot of personalities.

And that’s just in the classroom. Now what about the three who stopped me at lunch and said, ‘hey, I need to meet with you.’ Sometimes it just gets to that point where I have nothing left to give because I’m mentally drained, and then I feel guilty because that’s part of who I am.”

“WE'VE ALL GOT THIS RESPONSIBILITY TO TREAT EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT AND EMPATHY. AND REMEMBER THAT YOU DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING THAT SOMEONE IS GOING THROUGH.” Dr. Mary Bonsu With all these different personalities comes changes, as teachers have to adapt their lessons and teaching styles to the different learning styles.

“I think one thing that students forget is that the teacher is in charge of every student that is in the classroom, whereas the student is only in charge of himself,” drama instructor and Interim Head of Lower School Marion Glorioso-Kirby said. “As a teacher, we have a responsibility for educating the 12, 16, 18 boys that are in our rooms.”

The mood of teachers in the classroom can also greatly affect students, either negatively or positively.

“Every teacher has to send out confidence, positive energy and joy that the students can reflect back,” Bonsu said. “It's a whole social interaction between the teachers and the students, not just an educational

interaction.”

These interactions can extend beyond the classroom, even to a student or teacher’s home life, leaving a big impact on that individual’s mental health.

“I think the piece that surprised me the most,” Glorioso-Kirby said, “is that even when I left campus to go home at the end of the day, I continued to think about either something that students said or an interaction I had with a student, or maybe a lesson that didn’t land or didn’t come across as well as I had expected.”

Many efforts have already been put in place to help mental health in the community, as the Marksmen Wellness Center is open to both students and teachers alike.

“The school has so many great resources as far as our counseling office, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to Dr. Gabby and just said, ‘Oh my gosh, this is what’s happening, or I'm so worried about my own son, or I’m so worried about my own mother’,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “Like the things that are heavy on my heart, I can go and talk to any one of them. Having the right people and the right community around you is what is the saving grace for teachers and their mental health.”

For Glorioso-Kirby, balancing teaching and stepping in as the Head of Lower School provides a challenge. Tasked with two demanding duties, she has to find a way to split the little time she has.

“The student piece affects me the most, because I want to be able to give my all and my very best in everything that I do,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “Every teacher, every student, every conversation, I want it to have my full attention and my full focus. And I think when you’re pulled in so many different directions, you start to feel like you can’t really give your best to any one of those things because there’s only so much to go around.”

Bonsu believes that the mental health of teachers is often overlooked because they’re always supposed to be the ones taking care of others.

“Teachers are adults, so it’s just expected of them that they’ll continue giving themselves,” Bonsu said.

“And so I think it can be overlooked by students, and it can also be overlooked by the people they report to as well, as everyone’s expected to just put their junk aside and get to work.”

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Eight Marksmen selected for AllState Orchestra

By Weston Chance

THE BUBBLE In such a tight-knit community, some Marksmen may occasionally feel distant from the outside world.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION / JOSHUA GOFORTH

A home away from home As Marksmen leave the den and pursue higher education, they are also leaving behind their friends, family and home. While they adjust to college, alums find various ways to also adjust to their new lives.

By Joseph Sun and Kevin Ho

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lone — no parents and no friends nearby to rely on — for the first time in their

lives.

College is an invitation to restart, to meet a wider, more diverse group of people and to make new connections that can’t be found here.

The transition from about 100 people in each grade to several thousand in a graduating class makes magnitudes of contrast. The occasional acknowledgment students give to others while passing them in the hall disappears, and the familiarity with every person in the grade is gone.

“It’s a big difference. You’ll see people on your walk to class that you’ll never ever see again,” Brett Honaker ‘21 said.

A campus occupied by over 30,000 students, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) is almost its own little city.

“In terms of making friends in class, most people just tend to mind their own business,” Honaker said.

“You really only make friends in discussion classes, where you work in groups, because during lectures, everybody’s paying attention and not talking at all.”

In addition to hardly knowing other students, connecting with professors also becomes difficult, since they are responsible for hundreds of students. In contrast to many teachers here, who are at most responsible for under a hundred students, the teaching seems more impersonal.

“I definitely did miss getting to talk to the teachers a bit more,” Morgan Chow ‘23 said. “But again, that’s to be expected. There’s so many peo-

ple at school.”

While most colleges do offer smaller classes where students can converse with the teachers daily, many required courses that all students must take are still lecture-based.

“Especially for my math class, (since) it is a lecture class, you’re just sitting there writing stuff down,” Chow said. “It felt a lot more intimate at St. Mark’s, like in Dr. Feng’s class, I felt very open to talk.”

In a vastly different environment, students also lose the people they depend on the most: parents. Waking up in the morning and not having reassuring conversations or sharing warm breakfasts with them is a reality that many college students have to adjust to.

“For me, I rely on my parents a lot,” Nicolas Gomez ‘22 said. “Not having the support of physical parents, in your house while you’re doing homework, and then giving you dinner, things like that. Not having a sta-

“I’m really EXCITED to go back and see more people.

I really feel like I have found a COMMUNITY of people that I really connect with. I’d say it’s starting to become my home.

- Morgan Chow ‘23 ble home environment is the biggest change, socially.”

While the new and diverse environment of a college may seem daunting for some, it was always something that Chow looked forward to experiencing.

“To me, it’s not a bad thing that I don’t know everyone in my class,” Chow said. “I’m really happy with the

people that I do know, and I want to get to know more people. And also, the fact that it’s such a bigger class compared to St. Mark’s makes it a lot easier for me to find people that I connect with, because there’s so many more people that I can meet and get to know.”

In colleges, students are from across the U.S. and throughout the globe, creating a community that is exponentially larger. But this is not necessarily a drawback — the newfound heterogeneity offers more opportunities for unique connections and friendships.

“There’s a wider variety of people with different backgrounds,” Chow said. “So, it makes it a lot more interesting to get to know these people.”

Despite the changes that graduating seniors have to make when entering college, a welcoming atmosphere still exists. At Columbia, Chow found most of his new friends mostly through extracurricular activities, something that Marksmen can relate to.

“I’m in an acapella group and a business club based on entrepreneurship, and both of these clubs are kind of small,” Chow said. “When I’m in the audition process or applying to these places, I’ve met a lot of people.

You find people who are not similar to you but people whom you can still really connect with.”

With his new friend group, Chow feels a strong sense of belonging, which he believes will continue to grow as his time at Columbia lengthens.

“I’m really excited to go back and see more people,” Chow said. “I really feel like I have found a community of people that I really connect with. I’d say it’s starting to become my home…

I’m really proud to be a Columbian.”

Eight members of the Upper School orchestra earned a place in this year’s Texas Private School Music Educators Association (TPSMEA) All-State Orchestra, including senior Miller Wendorf, juniors Daniel Sun, Andrew Xuan, Adithya Munshi, Jediel Sarfo, Brandon Kim and freshmen Ilan Gunawardena and Collin Ku. The prestigious and highly competitive event is open to private school students from all over the state, requiring students to undergo a rigorous application process. According to Orchestra Director Sarah Choi, students begin preparing their submition at the end of the previous school year, in May. “The governing body for (orchestra), the TPSMEA, puts out two rather challenging etudes that students need to prepare,” Choi said.

“They come out in May and I recommend my students to work on them over the summer, since everybody has a little bit more time (then) to do some foundational work. Then, when school returns, and everybody’s schedule fills up, it’s very hard to put in the work necessary to do well. So our students have been pretty diligent about that, and they can let it sit back off a little bit when school starts.”

The students practiced until Thanksgiving, which is when the first round of recordings are submitted and judged. After judging, the results are sent to the applicants, telling them whether or not they earned a seat in the orchestra.

“The music for the clinic and concert was released around Christmas time,” Choi said. “They are to work on it on their own, and on Thursday [Jan. 25] they went to a location where they gathered together as an orchestra, where they actually have to do one more audition. We had somebody rank one in the auditions for bass, meaning that he earned the first chair. However, when he gets there, the seating audition means that those that took the time to learn the new music will have an opportunity to show that and earn a better seat, so his chair is not guaranteed.”

After the students were reshuffled and reseated, they began rehearsals in the afternoon of Jan. 25, until the final dress rehearsal on Jan. 27.

Finally, they performed at SMU later on that same day. Junior Andrew Xuan, violinist and three-time member of the All-State orchestra, is glad that he has the opportunity to participate every year.

“After putting in the hard work, you get to come together to make music with a group of similar people for a few days,” Xuan said. “You get to have fun playing and making music, and I’ve bonded with people during those experiences.”

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Choristers shine in TPSMEA AllState competition

By Doan Nguyen

PHOTO / COURTESY VERONICA PULIDO STUDY TIME Students across the school — and the nation — are vying for a competitive advantage for the most selective colleges.

Pulido guides underprivileged students to higher education Director of College Counseling Veronica Pulido has helped countless students with college applications. In addition, she is a member of the Future Leaders Program, where she can use her expertise to assist students in their journey to higher education.

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By Joseph Sun and Kevin Ho

he college application process is notoriously frustrating. For people who do not have a strategy through the maze of admissions, it might seem impossible to navigate successfully.

Even more obstacles arise when students can’t afford essential college-prep programs that have the potential to boost standardized test scores. In some cases, the lack of resources and constant stress prove to be too heavy of a burden, and not following through with college applications appears to be the most viable option.

In order to tackle these systemic issues within the admissions process, the Brewer Foundation’s Future Leaders Program (FLP) provides students with valuable support along the journey.

Veronica Pulido, Director of College Counseling, joined the program and its mission several years ago. As a teacher in FLP, Pulido also currently acts as a liaison between it and the school.

“I’ve been a part of the Future Leaders Program since the inception of seniors. This has been a program that’s been around for 15-16 years already,” Pulido said. “It definitely is another opportunity to really encourage and to support, and for students that may or may not have resources to look at college counseling, in particular, from different DISD schools.”

Along with college counseling help, the Future Leaders Program aims to prepare students from ages 12 to 18 in school, offering tutoring in various subjects.

“Almost every Saturday, we’ll have a different lesson for each of the programs,” Pulido said. “And so lots of teachers, [including] a DISD teacher and potentially a private school teacher will co-teach with each of the classes.”

These classes teach many topics, ranging from algebra to psychology to film. However, when students start to reach junior and senior year the classes start to shift.

“The emphasis is college in general. We’ll bring in guest speakers, college admission reps and different people who can assist on different levels,” Pulido said.

“And it is their opportunity for four hours on Saturday to take advantage of the time commitment.”

As college enrollment continues to decrease nationwide, some students are still left with unanswered questions.

“We help them by breaking it down further in terms of ‘why are we going to college?’ or ‘what is a major and

what does it even mean to have a major or a minor?’,” Pulido said. “It seems like common sense, but if a student is a first-generation college student, they’re just not going to have a lot of information. They’re not going to know some of these things.”

In addition to learning about college fundamentals, FLP also guides students through the rigorous admission process.

“We’ll start in the summer for seniors to get to know the student so the student feels more comfortable even opening up for an essay,” Pulido said. “Everybody has to be vulnerable in terms of making that connection with a student and to say, ‘I’ve already gone to college, this is all about you.’ But let me learn more about you and establishing that relationship.”

Angel Campos, a sophomore attending the School for the Talented and Gifted at Townview, originally joined the program to specifically prepare for standardized tests he plans to take, such as the PSAT and SAT. And ever since then, he has actively participated in the program and now views his academic progress as a sign to keep going.

“I only have two years of high school left, and I really want to continue doing this,” Campos said. “This program has really opened my mind more, and I’ve been able to improve in the classroom. My teachers noticed and told me about this too.”

Campos believes that the program is a valuable opportunity for students to take advantage of if they wish to better develop and sharpen their academic skills.

“I want to tell people that they should definitely consider joining the program,” Campos said. “The thing with FLP is that some people don’t want to wake up early on Saturdays and want to sleep in after a long week of school. But for me, I thought it could really help me with college. So I decided to go that first Saturday.

We started learning a ton of stuff, and the teachers were awesome.”

Since the start of FLP, the program has helped many students similar to Angel, and that number continues to grow. After working with so many students throughout the years, Pulido has seen many dreams come to fruition.

“We get to know the students on an individual basis, you know, especially what a student has gone through,” Pulido said. “Getting that phone call or getting that text from a student that they’ve matched to a college, it is just amazing to be able to have worked with the student and to have that match.”

A record-breaking 17 Marksmen performed in the Texas Private School Music Education Association (TPSMEA) AllState Concert Jan. 25 to 27. Across three different regions and hundreds of aspiring choristers, Marksmen took many of the top spots in their respective divisions. Some were even given the opportunity to perform their own solo.

Director of Upper School Choir Tinsley Silcox has been cultivating this year’s batch of choristers since the beginning of the school year in preparation for the concert.

“The work starts in August: the day we get back to school,” Silcox said. “By the end of September, they audition with little snippets of music by themselves in front of all the other students waiting their turns to sing. It’s intimidating.”

This process forces choristers to overcome nerves and perform even when going through stage fright. Five judges sit in the front, marking every tremble in their voices and falter in their breath. The judging is extremely thorough and detailed; instead of a traditional one through ten, TPSMEA grades on a scale of 300. With this style of critique, even the most minute of mistakes can dock points off.

Silcox believes, however, that this experience is worth the stress and struggle.

“Marksmen are used to a 20 to 30 person choir, filled with only tenors and bass singers,” Tinsley said. “The All State Choir is a 200-voice choir, and students sing with other voice types like sopranos and altos. ” As All-State is one of the most important and prestigious fine arts events that private schools can offer, every member of the school’s choir strives to have the opportunity to participate in this concert, but, due to the competitive nature of the event, there are always a few that barely miss the cut.

“If I’d had my way, everybody would have made it,” Silcox said. “The hardest part for me is to tell somebody ‘you didn’t make the ensemble this year,’ but that’s just encouragement to try to do even better next year.”

Sophomore Andy Li made All-Region for the baritone division last year, but just missed the mark for All-State. Fueled by his failure to make the cut this year, Li went on to place sixth in the state and went on to sing with the 200-voice choir in Richardson.

“We practiced this whole semester for [TPSMEA],” Li said. “It really means a lot because it just proves how much work that we put into this school and to the choir to be able to experience this.”

PHOTO / COURTESY TINSLEY SILCOX CHORISTERS Students pose after the AllRegion concert in early January.

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PHOTO / ANDREW HOFMANN

PHOTO / COURTESY ANDREW HOFMANN

New year, new habits: embracing difficulty In an effort to set new, positive habits for 2024, faculty and staff members came together to challenge themselves.

By Matthew Hofmann and Christian Warner

D

arkness envelops him like the warm blanket he wants to return to. The only heat on this cold day is the hand warmers taped down onto the handlebars of his bike.

The only sound he hears is the grinding of the gears, turning and turning, as he pedals through the quiet streets of Dallas.

He pants, exhaling a visible trail of breath in his wake. The winter sky shows its first glimmers of warmth as he pedals down the final street to the school.

For Admission Officer Korey Mack ‘00, the 45-minute bike ride to work was just one leg in an arduous challenge known as 75 Hard, an ordeal he adapted as a New Year’s resolution for 2024. A gallon of water and another workout wait for him later in the day; 10 pages of a book already completed before leaving his home.

Two workouts a day: The 75 Hard — a self-im-

provement challenge — requires two workouts a day: one indoor and one outdoor, each one 45 minutes minimum. While physically, the workouts are demanding; the mental challenge of pushing yourself to workout twice a day is the most difficult.

Finding the willpower to avoid compromises and excuses requires Mack to reflect and decide if he is truly dedicated to making himself a better man.

“When you start to invest yourself in something, then you’re much less likely to let it fail,” Mack said.

“For me, that’s what the 75 Hard has provided. I need more discipline on the weekends, to be frank.

I’m very disciplined in my work days. I wake up, I drink water, I come to school working out on the way on my bike, I do my job here, and then I ride my bike home, which constitutes my second

On the Web Three ReMarker staff members share their experiences stepping back from social media. Visit smremarker.com for their full stories.

workout. On Tuesdays or Thursdays, I come and have a faculty workout for 45 minutes. We work at 6 a.m. and then I usually run anywhere from two to five miles after that faculty workout. I think this has given me a context in which to demonstrate the discipline that is within me.”

Remaining accountable for these workouts is made significantly easier when working with others. That is why strength coach Kevin Dilworth teamed up with Mack and custodian Laura Gomez to complete the challenge together.

“It is mostly a mental thing,” Gomez said. “You have to ask yourself why you get up each morning to go workout. It helps to have two people to work out with in the morning. It’s just, you have to go get it each day.”

10 pages per day: One of the most overlooked

components of the 75 Hard Challenge is often the reading associated with it. Easily forgotten on busy days, this component of the challenge requires one to recenter and improve oneself each day with the required motivational or nonfiction books.

For Mack, the reading requirement meant a whole lot more than just completing the task for the day. He used this requirement to further deepen his faith by rereading the Bible, a once arduous but now enjoyable task he had completed once already the previous year.

“It’s not about reading the pages to check them off,” Mack said. “Now I have a better command of what I’m reading. I also get to start my day off in fellowship with God’s Word and have that with me moving forward into the day.”

For Dilworth, reading motivational books helps him stay focused on his goal. By analyzing and applying the messages of the pages he reads to his life, he hopes to become the best version of himself.

“What I love about the 75 Hard is the books,”

“I spent, at a minimum, 28 days watching a 15 or so second video and scrolling again.

Basically, an entire month of 2023 that I will never get back.

Dilworth said. I’m reading a book right now called The Mountain Is You. (The author) talks about self-sabotaging and how you’re telling your mind to make you talk yourself out of it… I feel like I’m gonna be my best hero because of this book.”

No Missed Days: If one task remains uncom-

pleted by the end of the day, the 75 Hard must be restarted. No excuses can be made as the challenge requires full dedication. Mack finds the 75 days to be a true test of his will power and detirmination.

“I feel like excuses are things that you tell other people to justify your behavior, and compromise to me, is a much softer word,” Mack said. “Compromise Kevin Dilworth in and of itself is not detrimenStrength Coach tal. But when you compromise on the things that you deem important at one point, just because the work that you need to do to maintain that commitment gets hard or life happens, that commitment is not as important to you today.”

The completion of a challenge like this does not mean an end to the positive habits built during the challenge. According to Mack, that is the main goal of setting a challenge like this: establishing positive habits that, once so entrenched into your daily life, are impossible to unroot.

“I want to continue the program,” Mack said. “I don’t want to get to day 76 and be like, ‘Okay, perfect, I’m done.’ I’m thinking about this challenge as building lasting changes that I hope to implement in my life for the long term. I’m in the middle of it, and looking forward to day 75. But I’m also looking forward to day 76.”

“I began to use social media as a coping mechanaism to deal with the work I had to do. I didn’t know what to do or how to have fun without my phone.”

Would I want to do it again? Also probably not, but I’m more than glad I did — I learned the most about myself, without the lives of others telling me who I should be.”

Matthew Hofmann Life Section Editor

Zack Goforth ReMarker Editor-in-chief

Arjun Poi Issues Section Editor

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Friday, February 2, 2024

A new community born from ashes After the 2019 tornadoes ripped the roof off of Fire Station 41, 5920 Royal Lane has sat unoccupied fomore than four years. Now, the station is set to reopen this month, bringing with it a rejuvenated sense of hope and a new home for the firefighters of Preston Hollow.

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By Linyang Lee and Dawson Yao

hey moved swiftly past the old iron-gray squat rack in the bay towards the lone ladder truck. The fire engine had just left on a damage call out west to respond to the tornado.

Now they had just been toned out to do the same.

“Head west. We have tornado damage. We have injuries.”

It was a massive tornado. EF-3. Touched down and moving fast across Dallas.

The firefighters hopped in and slammed the truck door shut — taking seats next to the Station 41 headless horseman decal on the window. Other headless horsemen stared at the firefighters from the other decals and banners around the bay — he’s the Station 41 mascot after all. The wind howled outside.

Bricks. Wood. Concrete. Crumbling — crashing down. The wind shrieked around them.

Electricity cut. Lights out. Glass and debris everywhere.

The wind lifted the almost 40,000-pound truck slightly off the ground.

Everything was everywhere around the truck. On its roof too.

They were stuck inside.

By the time the firefighters radioed for help and got out of the truck — the tornado was long gone.

So was the roof.

It had flipped over the building. Well, actually, without a roof, Station 41 wasn’t much of a building anymore. All that was left covering the two-and-ahalf bays were a few 61-year-old structural beams.

Bricks and wood lay in heaps everywhere. The ladder truck wasn’t horribly damaged — but the ladder on the top of the truck was bent.

The firefighters’ cars, though, were a different story.

By sunrise, all their cars were in shaded parking spots, courtesy of the Station 41 roof.

A side-view mirror lay hanging over the shattered glass on the ground from the side of a pickup, its ceiling caved in from the weight of a metal pipe.

Back windows gone, ceilings dented, other cars in the lot took up the weight of the station’s roof.

Bricks. Wood. Concrete. Everywhere.

Rubble lay scattered around the tables and chairs.

Bits of wooden ceiling panel hung from the remains of the roof. Trees limbs peeked into whatever was left of Station 41. It seemed like all was lost.

But it wasn’t.

The old squat rack and rusting weights lay where they were before. The original lettering outside the station spelling out “Fire Station 41” over the middle bay was saved. A plaque with the names of all the retired firefighters who had served at 41 was salvaged.

And above all the wreckage, above all the debris, above all the ruin, the headless horseman of 41 was still standing, ready to fight another battle.

Only a couple hours earlier, it was a typical Sunday night. Only hours prior, tired parents played mahjong, enjoying the last bits of bliss the weekend provided before the work week the next day. Under the light shower of rainfall, procrastinating students performed their weekly ritual of avoiding calculus homework, promising to just watch a little tiny bit of Netflix and YouTube. Security guards went about their nightly routines, rotating golf carts and patrolling campus.

And for the firefighters at Dallas Fire Station 27, the story was much of the same.

Like any other Sunday night, they put on the Cowboys game in the kitchen.

Like any other Sunday night, they talked and laughed as they watched Brett Maher’s 65-yard kick off for a touchback.

But unlike any other Sunday night, their captain came barging in.

“Man, there's a tornado! It's a tornado! It's on the ground! It’s coming this way!”

The firefighters didn’t believe him. More than half of the time, tornado warnings are false alarms.

But before they can even get words out to react, the broadcast of the first six-yard play is replaced by WFAA Channel 8 News. In big, bold, red text are the words: “Emergency: Tornado touchdown nearby.

Take cover immediately.”

The weatherman confirms the news. He details the tornado’s flight path, and issues a stern warning to stay indoors and under firm structure.

But before he can even finish his sentence, the bells rang. They were getting toned out, and the firefighters were already out the bay.

Under a greenish sky, the engine flew west through the rushing wind down Northwest Highway, taking a right at Harry Hines.

A tornado siren was ripped out of the ground, blocking their path — they had to go through the AutoZone parking lot to get past.

Power lines were downed. Motels destroyed. Bars had their roofs torn clean off.

Apocalyptic.

HEADLESS HORSEMAN Traditionally the logo for the Preston Hollow firemen, the old headless horseman has been redesigned, now with a tornado to symbolize the disaster of the past.

There was no sleep that night. Instead of witnessing the Cowboys’ 37-10 victory, they spent the night and morning knocking on people’s doors.

“You guys alright? Is anyone hurt? Is the gas leaking?”

Two command posts were set up — one on Harry Hines and the other on Marsh and Walnut Hill.

Thirteen other fire departments came out to help provide mutual aid.

More than 400 first responders were armed with pens and a clipboard, knocking every door and ringing every bell. Flashlights pointed everywhere, they cleared each house in four to five minutes and moved quickly onto the next.

Some answered the door clutching their pets. One man in his 70s came out pointing his hogleg western-looking revolver at the door as he opened it. A yellow and white DART bus lay overturned on the sidewalk, blinkers still flashing. The driver stood outside, looking at the wreckage.

Apocalyptic.

But thankfully, they all said the same thing.

“Yeah we’re fine. Nobody’s hurt.”

As the firefighters continued triaging, the sun

climbed slowly up the sky, casting shadows over all the fallen trees and buildings.

They continued on, street after street, knocking every door and ringing every bell. They continued on for ten hours — straight through the next morning.

Seven injuries were recorded that night. And thankfully, there were no deaths.

Still, more than 900 buildings were damaged. Trees were scattered over roads. Wood, rubble, concrete — everywhere.

Schools — gone. Churches — gone.

Places called “home” — all gone in mere seconds.

But all that could be done was to band together and pick up the pieces.

All that could be done was to try to continue life as it had been.

For everyone in the area, the next few months were about trying to find some sort of normalcy beneath the rubble. And for the firefighters, the work was no different.

The two command posts were taken down. New routes had to be memorized to avoid roads blocked by trees and powerlines. Hazardous Materials teams worked on gas leaks.

But really, like everyone else in the area, life as firefighters returned pretty much to normal — responding to calls, heating up the grill for some truck burgers and having their morning coffee. Almost everything was back to how it was.

Only — the headless horsemen of 41 no longer had a firehouse. Soon after the building was decommissioned, they were no longer the headless horsemen of 41. They split apart, assigned to different stations.

Torn from their home.

But even with shattered power lines, and even with the tornado’s nigh on irreplaceable damage, and even with the hollow destroyed, signs of rebounding were already underway.

First responders began clearing up debris. Volunteers began fundraising to help the most affected.

And, the morning after the tornado, Lt. Nelson Rossy began work on rebuilding the station.

It’s his ninth major firehouse project. It’s also his ninth year working as the facility planning coordinator for Dallas Fire-Rescue, where he makes sure every single one of the 59 stations runs smoothly without any maintenance issues — all by himself.

“Every day, you’re running out and putting out little fires here and there,” Rossy said.

But when he came to Dallas, he never thought he’d be a first responder. After all, he’d gotten his degree in accounting. He loved solving problems and dealing with numbers. But Rossy needed a job — and at one of Dallas Fire-Rescue’s job fairs — firefighting seemed like it might be good fit.

It certainly turned out to be a good fit, though.

He’s stayed with Dallas Fire-Rescue for the past 29 years, working as a first responder and for the first responders.

Like any other firefighter, he’s seen crazy things — from the savage struggle overdosers put up as soon as the naloxone brings them back to hot tar landing on his helmet. Like any other firefighter, he loved fighting fires on the front line — everything from holding the nozzle steady as it spewed hundreds

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RECONSTRUCTION The new, state-of-theart fire station (top left) is packed to the brim with new facilities to provide the best possible living conditions for firemen. It includes a grill station with custom benches (top right) and a decontamination room to prevent the spread of carcinogens (bottom right). Hanging on a wall inside the station is a plaque built in the makerspace (bottommost right). The original lettering hangs on the inside hallway of the station (middle left), saved from the debris of the old station built in 1958 (middle right).

PHOTOS / LINYANG LEE

upon hundreds of gallons of water at the burning building to going up the ladder truck to cut a hole in the roof to ventilate. And like any other firefighter, he knows that each one of them calls their firehouse “home”.

So for the past four years, Fire Station 41 has been on his radar in one way or another — the demolition of whatever was left of the old station, the design of the new facility, and the work to put up the temporary one.

Though he is the facility planning coordinator, much of the process has been out of his hands. Insurance had to kick in, the site needed to be evaluated and everything had to go through the city’s internal processes.

But once the temporary fire station — basically a big tent to house the truck and a trailer to house the firefighters — was finally set up, after years of delays blamed by the city on various shortages, permitting issues and COVID, the headless horsemen were finally back together.

They operated in four-man shifts. But even for just four men that trailer was small.

“How are we going to live in that thing?”

But once they got used to the cramped trailer, they had a rodeo of a time. Every morning, when they would change shifts at 7 a.m., they would have coffee together with the next group of guys, joking around and just loving it.

“What are we gonna cook today? Or are we gonna go out to eat?”

And like always, when the bells hit, they would mentally switch gears and rush to the fire engine to make their run. Just as they always had.

But even though they were back together, they were still missing one part — a real, permanent firehouse.

As construction began, funding for the firehouse covered basically everything — a tornado safe room, customized wooden furniture with the Dallas Fire-Rescue logo, and a transition zone to make sure no carcinogens enter the firehouse after a call.

There were, however, a few things the funding couldn’t cover to help complete the fire station, and Rossy reached out to Eugene McDermott Headmaster David Dini. Recognizing the potential for the school to help with the new fire station, Dini exchanged emails with Rossy, discussing ways to get involved and eventually inviting Rossy to campus.

Wandering around the school with Rossy, Dini showed him the makerspace and all the tools in it — the miter saw, the laser cutter, the CNC mill.

“What if we built a plaque here as a gift to the station?”

And after a discussion with Makerspace Director Stewart Mayer, a 5-foot tall plaque was set to be cut and engraved with Rossy’s own wording for the dedication of the building.

They started exploring other parts of campus. Rossy had heard that the school had a choir.

“We have a dedication ceremony when we reopen, and I was thinking the choir could sing the National Anthem.”

For Dini, it was an done deal. They wandered into the chapel where the Upper School Choir happened to be rehearsing. After being introduced to Rossy, choirmaster Tinsley Silcox asked if he wanted to hear the National Anthem right then and there.

Rossy asked if he could video it. And the choir began to sing.

“O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hailed…”

Dini could see it was moving to Rossy.

The way the chords fit together. The dynamic swells.

The harmony.

And in that moment, Dini envisioned it all as he stood there, already fast forwarding to the dedication ceremony.

“That moment felt like divine providence,” Dini said.

“Just walking into the chapel and having that happen at just the right time only happens once in a while.

Everything fell into place just right.”

Firefighting isn’t about the Sunday night football at the station or driving the engine around the city. It’s about saving lives.

And for most first responders, it’s the gratitude they get for their work that keeps them coming back.

When the local pizza shop never hesitates to give the first responders free New York-style pizza — it means a lot.

When they’re out for lunch and the guy sitting at the table in the corner pays for them — it means a lot.

When the family of the older man who had a heart attack comes by the station with brownies and cookies a few days later — it means a lot.

To them — it’s all beautiful. For them — they’re just thankful.

And so even though it took four years, they’re just glad to be home.

Editor's Note: This story is a compilation of the narratives of multiple people, all of whom were close to the rebuilding procss of Fire Station 41.

Many thanks to Lt. Nelson Rossy, fireman Michael Bowser, Headmaster Dini and the firefighters of Fire Station 2 for their contributions to the story.

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Life

Atkinson, Glorioso-Kirby

PHOTO / ZACHARY BASHOUR

INVOLVED Atkinson enthusiastically talks with his sixth-grade humanities students.

Since returning to campus, he has taught various grade levels across schools.

After years of searching for a lasting Head of Upper School, the school recently decided to appoint William Atkinson ‘95 to the important role, which has, in the past, seen many different figures come and go.

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By Zack Goforth

illiam Atkinson ’95, the newly appointed Head of Upper School beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, is here to stay.

As he prepares to fill a historically dynamic role, Atkinson emphasizes his dedication to the school.

“My wife and I have a daughter in Pre-K at Hockaday,” Atkinson said, “and we love Dallas; this city means quite a bit to us. We’re here. I absolutely have a long-term understanding of this new role and look forward to committing to it for the next few decades.”

Having first enrolled at the school in fifth grade, Atkinson walked across the commencement stage in 1995, just as so many future Marksmen will, and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he then transferred to Southern Methodist University (SMU), receiving his bachelor’s degree, and becoming a police officer, a calling that Atkinson believes his mentors helped him realize.

“I loved [being a police officer]. I truly loved it. But then I had another opportunity presented to me by [Former United States Secretary of Defense] James Mattis, where I was offered the chance to teach U.S. Marines.”

Since his tenure educating Marines in human be-

havior pattern recognition analysis, Atkinson believes working with students was always in his blood.

“Even as a police officer, I gravitated towards teaching. I taught at a high school, I taught at a college, I taught at a middle school. I was a field training officer, so I taught new police officers as well and taught at the community policing academy. I didn’t know I was gravitating towards all these educational opportunities at the time, I was just young and interested.”

Atkinson returned to the school as an eighth-grade football coach, a role that allowed him to work with many familiar faces, and has since received a Masters of Education from SMU. “I came back to coach middle school athletics, and the following year I did student teaching with Rebecca Jenkins,” Atkinson said. “She was working remotely and then I was offered a full-time job.”

Initially, Atkinson believes his hiatus from the school lead to feelings of uncertainty, which were resolved quickly.

“Before I started coaching, it’d been a long time since I had been at St. Mark’s,” Atkinson said, “so I was involving myself in a very intentional process while I was getting my masters and student teaching: I wanted to try coming back to campus, so I was asking myself, ‘do I resonate with the boys? Do I even feel like this

is still home to me?’ And luckily, I felt immediately at home and a strong relationship with the boys. It was a very thoughtful process of coming back here and making sure it was the right match, but I’m so happy for the process because it really got me to the right place.”

Reflecting on his time on campus, which has changed in more ways than one since he was grabbing his backpack and hustling from one class to the next, Atkinson believes the school is headed in the right direction.

“I always tell people [St. Mark’s] would be so proud of the things we’ve kept and so proud of the things we’ve changed,” Atkinson said. “The school is different in many ways, but the core experience is still similar to what I had. Continuity of experience is very important for our boys.”

And as Atkinson prepares to step into his new shoes as Head of Upper School, he is certain he will apply all his experiences, accumulated at the school and after graduation, to the role.

“Working with people and helping them be at their best to achieve their goals and get through tough situations — it’s who I am. It’s in my DNA,” Atkinson said.

“That also takes a tremendous amount of training and education, so a lot goes into this. But it’s all a part of me.”

PREVIOUS 11 HEADS OF UPPER SCHOOL

PREVIOUS HEADS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL

1992-2000: Eric Benke

2015-2016: Scott Gonzalez*

2000-2001: Scott Gonzalez*

2016-2018: Patrick Andrén / current Assistant Head of School at Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut

1994-2017: Warren Foxworth ‘66 2017-present: Dean Clayman

2001-2005: Tom Elieff / current head of school at Anne & Nate Levine Academy of Dallas 2005-2009: Chris Gunnin ‘90 / current head of school at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin 2009-2010: Scott Gonzalez* 2010-2015: Wortie Ferrell

2018-2019: John Ashton* 2019-2022: Colin Igoe / current Head of School at Long Trail School in Dorset, Vermont 2022-present: John Ashton* * = Interim

PREVIOUS HEADS OF LOWER SCHOOL 1994-2016: Barbara York 2016-2023: Sherri Darver 2023-present: Marion Glorioso-Kirby * = Interim

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chosen for new leadership PHOTO / ZACHARY BASHOUR

Marion Glorioso-Kirby has spent the last two decades here, serving as a drama teacher, Head of the Fine Arts Department and now will take over as Head of Lower School.

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By Ben Adams

hrough the power of a convincing mother, Marion Glorioso-Kirby went from an aspiring actress in New York to the Lower School drama teacher.

After 12 years, Glorioso-Kirby became the Middle and Upper school drama teacher. Two years later, she was promoted to Fine Arts Deparment Chair. This past year, she served as the interim Head of Lower School as the search for the right leader continued.

But as the time to make the final decision neared, one candidate stood out. After months of deliberation, the search committe realized the perfect future leader of the Lower School was already serving in the interim role: Glorioso-Kirby.

Glorioso-Kirby set herself up on the path to being a performer after graduating college, but her entire future changed with one phone call.

“I got a call from a family member who knew St. Mark’s and (former Fine Arts Department Chair) Jacque Gavin very well,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “She told me, ‘You’ve got to get to St. Mark’s, you will be wonderful in the Lower School teaching position.’ I followed the lead, mostly under the encouragement of my mother, who has always been my voice of reason.”

While Glorioso-Kirby had experience working with children, her arrival as the Lower School drama teacher wasn’t easy. In fact, it took over a year before Glorioso-Kirby knew teaching was her future.

“I’ve always loved working with children. Even when I was in middle school, I ran some summer camp programs,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “But that first year, I couldn’t exactly find my voice and how things landed with everybody in the classroom. I probably didn’t know I wanted to be a teacher until I was in my second year of teaching, to be totally honest.”

Despite early challenges, Glorioso-Kirby adored her new role which allowed her to make a true impact on the lives of Lower Schoolers.

“There was a feeling when the boys achieved something,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “There’s too many moments where some student makes you laugh or some student knocks on your door to show you something for you to ever want to leave.”

As Glorioso-Kirby transitioned from teaching

VETERAN Marion Glorioso-Kirby speaks at Lower School Chapel. Glorioso-Kirby has been part of the St. Mark’s family for two decades, teaching everyone from first graders to seniors.

younger children to teenagers, she realized that there were many similarities in the students despite the age difference.

“The complexity of character and the complexity of story is what changes, but the fundamentals of acting are the same,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “I want students, whether they’re 8 or 18, to be able to use their voice, emotions, expression and body to the best of their ability.”

When Gavin retired, Glorioso-Kirby became the Fine Arts Department Chair. Although the administrative position was new and different for her, she felt the team-building aspect was similar to being in a show.

“I really love working with people, and you need to have a yes-and attitude in the role,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “Every show is a different set of people that walk through the door, and you develop relationships with different colleagues. And that’s true in an administrative role as well. I think the hats you wear in administration has to do with care for people and the school, and for me that isn’t hard to do.”

Although there was no doubt in Glorioso-Kirby’s mind how much teachers cared for their students,

her respect for the faculty has only increased as her fourth-grade son Michael and second-grade son Chirstopher have progressed through Lower School.

“Being a parent on this campus has changed the way I’ve seen so many teachers, and I really understand in a greater way how much love and care is given to each individual boy,” Glorioso-Kirby said. “Every teacher in the Lower School is emotionally, academically, artistically and athletically invested in my kids and that has just deepened my affection for the daily work that the faculty does.”

As Glorioso-Kirby permanently steps into the Head of Lower School position, she excitedly anticipates more interactions with the boys but will miss being heavily involved in the theater, although she plans to continue theater here in some regard.

“Seeing the boys every day to start my morning standing at the door and to get a smile and a hug from 150 boys that walk through the door, it’s hard to have a bad morning.” Glorioso-Kirby said. “But I cannot imagine my life on this campus without being involved in the drama program. It is my first love, and it is my heartbeat in so many ways. I very much will still be involved in that aspect of campus life.”

Headmaster shares insight into selection process

By Grayson Redmond

After a multi-year search, the school has identified and hired new heads of both Upper and Lower School, permanent solutions to the voids which have been recently filled by Interim Head of Upper School and Associate Headmaster John Ashton and Interim Head of Lower School and Fine Arts Department Chair Marion Glorioso-Kirby.

To Headmaster David Dini, building an elite institution starts with the hiring process, as it’s these faculty and staff that will be shaping students throughout their time here.

“Hiring is, arguably, the most important thing we do because these adults are going to be the ones coaching teams, teaching classes and leading advisories,” Dini said. “The experience revolves around the people, which is why we focus so much energy on this and always think about the long term, not just about the here and now.”

With this emphasis in mind, the school began to come up with a plan in terms of the specific traits and experience they were looking for in new administrators. Due to the sacrifices Ashton and Glorioso-Kirby made in serving as the Interim Heads in addition to their normal responsibilities, the school was able to

take its time and search for the right candidate.

Throughout the process, the school worked alongside Carney Sandoe & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in faculty placement at independent schools. Given that often the best candidates are currently not seeking a job, the firm assists the school in finding and engaging additional potential applicants.

“We’ve used them for searches before, and they always help us identify and engage candidates from across the country,” Dini said. “That process started many months ago, when we developed a job description and discussed the culture of the school, what our priorities are and what our long term goals are so they can share this with the candidates.”

Given that the roles of Upper and Lower School Head carry different expectations and responsibilities, it’s only natural that the school emphasizes different traits in each process. For the Upper School position, the potential of longevity and consistency was one of the primary factors the committee emphasized.

“In the Upper School, we’ve had a revolving door of division heads,” Dini said. “It’s a highly visible role in a school, and many people that served in that role are now heads of other schools. We wanted a long runway to make sure we can think through this really care-

fully and won’t have another experience where somebody stays for two or three years and then leaves.”

Being a unique job requiring a certain skillset and level of experience, the search for a new Lower School Head was carried out among a very targeted candidate pool.

“There tends to be more geographic spread for Upper School division head roles than there is for Lower School, so we knew it would be less likely that we would have national candidates in the pool,” Dini said. “The nature of this job is somewhat different.

There are very specific kinds of challenges in those primary grades, so you need somebody that has real substantive experience in those learning styles and culture.”

Dini sees the hiring process as a great success, checking all the boxes of being deliberate, intentional and thoughtful of the school’s goals.

“We spent a lot of time engaging people around campus to gather perspectives, making sure those voices were representative of our campus,” Dini said.

“Part of our job is to anticipate as much as we can and know some decisions may not be well-received by everyone. We’re not making decisions to win a popularity contest, we’re making decisions that we believe promote the larger wellbeing of the school.”

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Life

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

Drop a gear and disappear Eighth grader Jordan Envani shares his journey to becoming a top kart driver.

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By Matthew Hofmann

ighth-grader Jordan Envani is in his own world. Silence envelops him, despite the roaring of an engine directly below him. All he can see is a sliver of daylight through the reflective blue visors across his eyes. The smell of the two-stroke engine combined with the sweat of his helmet is a smell he is now comfortable with. From an external view, he is completely relaxed.

But behind his poised facade, his mind races to calm himself down. He doesn’t want to think at all. He just wants to do, to do what he has practiced over and over again without worrying. To get into a flow state.

Interrupting his self-talk, the wave of a green flag on the side of the track catches his attention through the narrow visor gap. Then, he floors the accelerator.

A conversation with a friend unknowingly changed Envani’s future. In fourth grade, he was talking with a close friend who mentioned his interest in Formula 1. Intrigued, Envani began his own research. He quickly became a fan of the sport, but that love didn’t prompt him to jump into a kart at a young age.

Despite the common perception that excelling in karting begins with hopping in a miniature kart at age five or six, Envani began at a “later” age, beginning in 2021, the summer before his sixth-grade year. His racing all began at the indoor karting track K1 Speed, an international karting company.

That following year, Envani raced in a single Junior League event that was his true “intro to karting.” However, his passion for racing was not yet full-fledged.

It wasn’t until he was scrolling Facebook Marketplace that he found a used kart.

“I thought it looked cool so I sent it to my dad and he said yes,” Envani said.

“After it arrived, I just drove it around for fun. I didn’t really race. Then at the start of this 2023, I got everything I needed and then I started racing from there.”

Once properly equipped, Envani began learning all about setting up the karts and what types of races he would be doing. Using the six-by-four foot regulation Junior kart with a 2-stroke engine producing 22 horsepower — a number that can propel the karts to 80 miles per hour — he studied the factors for fast lap times and constantly tinkered with the kart.

Finally, on the Thursday before a race

weekend, the schedule for Envani becomes significantly more packed. After finishing a long day of school, he quickly goes home and packs up his kart in a trailer to drive to the race location and drop it off. There, team mechanics and Envani will work on the final tweaks to the kart design for the weekend.

On Friday, the crucial practice session begins, something that can determine the final result of an entire race weekend.

“The practice sets how you are going to do for the weekend,” Envani said. “Regardless of whether you’re fast or slow, just how you feel going into Friday and how high your confidence level is will really determine how you do.”

Adrenaline and nerves are not even at their highest yet. Saturday is the first race day. In the morning, with butterflies in his stomach, Envani does a quick warm-up before settling into the grid for qualifying — another one of the most crucial factors for success on race weekend. Qualifying decides the start placement for three mini-races on Saturday, all of which determine the final grid placement for the final race on Sunday.

However, despite three races remaining after qualifying is completed, the rest of the day after qualifying is surprisingly relaxing for Envani. It is not until sitting back down in the kart, lined up for one of the mini-races, that all the adrenaline comes rushing back.

“The second I start putting my gear on and sit down, there’s a minute before I start actually start driving, and it is just the most nerve-wracking,” he said.

On Sunday, after a quick warm up, the final race occurs. According to Envani, he is surprisingly calm once he arrives at the track, and any nerves, worries, or adrenaline never really kick in until right before the final.

When he begins the rolling start at the wave of the green flag, amidst the roaring of motors, Envani becomes silent.

Alone in his helmet, mind racing, he is hyping himself up.

“All you can think is ‘what am I going to do?’” he said. “It is really scary getting up on the grid and seeing these people with the painted helmets and painted liveries that I watch on TV. Sometimes it feels weird having to push them out of the way and get around them when it feels like they are supposedly better than you. But you have to always think you’re better. You have to tell yourself that. It’s big mental stuff.”

The mentality of a driver is one of the

biggest components of a great driver, something that Envani’s coach Arcane Motorsports Owner Trevor McAlister believes Envani has.

“There are certain people that you know have a different mentality in racing,” McAlister said. “There are not many young kids who are that gung-ho.

[Envani] was the one wanting to do it.

He works on his craft. He wants to learn how to work on his karts. He wants to know how to do everything about karting.”

This dedication and intense interest has yielded quick success for Envani.

He has developed into a very competitive racer, now karting against older and quicker competition in both regional and national races. These types of races, rather than the less competitive PHOTO / WINSTON LIN club-level races, are the races that he LOCKED IN Jordan Envani puts on his plans on doing more of this year. equipment for his first practice session At Envani’s first regional race, what he at a race on Jan. 27. considers his favorite race so far, he competed very closely with top racers until his engine clogged due to the windy and sandy conditions at the track.

Despite the less-than-desirable result, Envani’s ability to keep pace with and even overtake many is one of the most promising qualities of his skills. McAlister says that this is a tell-tale sign of Envani’s future.

Party in the U.S.A “[The other drivers] have four or five Miley Cyrus more years of experience over him and have been to many more races,” McAlister said, “so the fact that he is right there and keeps pace with them is a really big deal. [Envani] is getting closer and closer every week, and now he’s at the point Call Me Maybe where we are waiting for a breakout moCarly Rae Jepsen ment.”

This talent, should Envani continue developing and dominating his racing, could lead to close-wheel racing and then to IndyCar, Formula 4 and even 33 Max Verstappen NASCAR. Carte Blanq and And not only has his passion provided Maxx Power Envani with a potential career path in the future, but it has also taught him extremely valuable life lessons. Applicable to both racing and his life, Envani believes in a pedal-to-the-metal mindset.

“I LOVE TO SING WHEN “It’s really easy to get distracted if you I’M DRIVING AND IT’S NOT HIGH don’t feel threatened like there is someone right in front of you or someone STAKES. NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU... right behind you trying to pass you,” he JUST YELL AS LOUD said. “It’s really easy just to slow down, AS YOU WANT.” -Jordan Envani but you always have to keep pushing yourself and being as close as you can to be on the limit, even if there’s no one you can see.”

RACEDAY MIX

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COMMUNITY EFFORT Junior Daniel Deng poses outside Juniper Village, one of many assisted living centers the club visits unaround Dallas. PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

Students use their musical talents for service Junior Daniel Deng has pursued several musical ventures throughout his life, everything from simple piano lessons to performing in Chinese singing competitions. However, he’s quickly found a new passion in his club, Music for Eternity.

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By Akash Manickam

usic is often known as a universal language.

Around the world, people express their joys, sorrows, fears, regrets, hopes and other emotions through song.

For the elderly, music can mean much more than simple entertainment—it has the ability to trigger or unlock many repressed emotions.

And for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, music serves as a form of medicine, temporarily reversing the effects of memory loss and revive a connection to childhood memories.

That’s where junior Daniel Deng and his club, Music for Eternity, come in. The club’s mission is to perform music for the elderly at various assisted living facilities.

Having a lifelong passion for music, Deng became involved with the club as a freshman.

Deng joined the club while looking for musical opportunities at the school. After former club president Svanik Jaikumar ’23 graduated, Deng filled his role. Deng also coordinates students from Hockaday, ESD and other schools around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex at various events throughout the school year.

“It actually started off as piano and violin because those were Svanik’s strong suits,” Deng said. “We’ve expanded to vocal performances, guitar, violin, viola and French horn. We also have two saxophone players. I’m open to including a wide variety of instruments.”

A 12-year Marksman, Deng discovered his love for the piano during Lower School, taking lessons for a few years with a teacher in Plano. In fourth grade, he

joined choir, supplementing his vocal training with a private voice teacher. When he entered Upper School, he stopped studying piano with a teacher and began sight-reading music pieces on his own, building up his ability to quickly learn music.

“I just switched to playing whatever I wanted, and that’s how I got really good at sight-reading,” Deng said.

Even though many of the club’s members are classically trained musicians, Deng emphasizes other forms of music for club performances, even though he knows members are sometimes pushed outside their comfort zones.

“I tell everybody in the club that they shouldn’t perform only classical music or the pieces they like,” Deng said, “because the entire point of the club is to provide entertainment for seniors. So, typically, I go with a mix.

I can pretty much do any genre, which really helps because I can offer to accompany anybody in any song of their choice.”

Other members of the club share Deng’s joy when interacting with the residents at the homes where club events take place.

“Every time we finish a performance, I feel a sense of fulfillment and happiness,” junior Daniel Sun said. “I’m really happy to share my music with people in nursing homes when they don’t have many opportunities to listen to live performances. My goal in the future is to hopefully reach out to more communities.”

In a similar manner to Music for Eternity, Deng has seen the connecting power of music in his Chinese music concerts.

“There are all kinds of people there,” Deng said. “It

may just be a Chinese song competition, but it just shows how far music goes to unite everybody. I’ve seen, for example, a Black person singing at the Chinese song contest, and his Chinese was amazing. It just shows that music can help surpass all barriers, even race or language. It’s pretty awesome.”

While Music for Eternity has made significant contributions already, Deng feels that the club can still impact the community more.

“It’s like a hidden treasure for musicians,” Deng said. “It’s such a great opportunity to build your performance experience and spread joy to the community.

And there’s so much wasted talent because there are so many talented musicians out there who aren’t using it to their full potential. I would love it if more musicians would be aware of Music for Eternity so they can contribute their talents to bettering our community.

It’s such a great opportunity, and I wish more people would be aware of it.”

Deng has made many connections with the elderly over the past few years, but one specific experience stands out to him. The audience of Music for Eternity’s concerts rarely gives much feedback to performers, except for the occasional “well done!” or “good job!” One patient, however, told Deng something that he would remember for the rest of his life.

“One time, we were at a dementia care center and this nice lady came up to us and said, ‘You know what, man? You really remind me of my grandkids. They used to love playing music, and I haven’t seen them in a really long time. I just wanted to let you know that you’ve made me happy today’,” Deng said.

School community pitches in to repair landscaping destroyed in tornado

By Rohan Kakkar As people drive by the school, the neat rows of thriving trees, blooming flowers, and well-maintained green lawns are among many things that stand out in the area. Meticulously maintained and expertly handled, the landscape of the school is the culmination of many efforts, from the grounds crew keeping everything running to the gardeners who plant fresh flowers.

This landscaping is not cheap, however. After the 2019 tornado, the costs of replanting the uprooted trees lining the north side of campus were massive. Facing a challenging dilemma, Headmaster David Dini had to find funds to repair the damage.

“It was interesting, as landscaping is not covered by

insurance, and trees and landscaping can be very expensive,” Dini said. “We had a family that has a very long association with the school that came to us after the tornado, and they made several very substantial gifts to the school, specifically to help us replant all the trees and redevelop all the previous landscaping.”

After the tornado, Dini immediately set to work planning a total overhaul of the school’s landscaping.

“One of the first things we did was redevelop the perimeter, and we had to go through the city in order to push the fence a little further towards the road,” Dini said. “We planted all new trees down Orchid Lane and new trees along Preston Road.”

The new perimeter is designed with two specific

goals: tree health and longevity. The number, distance, and species of tree are carefully chosen with these goals in mind.

“If you go out and look, there are two kinds of trees out there: white oaks and red oaks,” Dini said. “That’s to prevent disease from spreading because if one tree gets a disease, it will pass it to the next. If you have different kinds of trees, they’re less inclined to pass that along.”

Other than the quality of the trees themselves, the goal of the landscaping overhaul was to return the environment of the school to its pre-tornado state. Once the trees are fully grown, the campus will be visually separated from the outside world, improving the immersion of campus life.

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R ev i ews

UPSCALE DINING

The perfect date night With Valentine's Day right around the corner, its not secret that Marksmen will be going out on date nights — in that spirit, here are three of the top choices for Upscale Dining in the area. From Princi Italia's fair pricing, to RH Rooftop's flashiness and Sevy's classiness, there is something in these three options for everyone.

By Vikram Singh

Princi Italia

RH Rooftop

Sevy’s

Centered right in the heart of Preston Royal, Princi Italia isn’t hard to miss. With its toned-down look, slightly tucked away into an area away from the rest of the shopping district, it isn’t in anyway in your face.

However, this more relaxed vibe is something that certainly gives its ambience a unique vibe. Although crowded on busy nights like Fridays and even over the weekends, its location still manages to give off a more settled feeling, one that isn’t too loud but is still lively.

As far the actual food on the menu goes, it’s self-explanatory. Italian Food.

On that note, Princi Italia is known mainly for their Pastas and Pizzas, truly making it the quintessential high-end Italian place in the area. Personally, I find this restaurant to be great due to the atmosphere as well as the fair prices.

The pricing is generally reasonable, not having many items with extravagant prices, which leads me to the next important piece: portions. At Princi Italia you are truly getting the best bang for your buck, with most pizzas and pastas coming in large portions, meaning they aren’t trying to cheat you by making you pay a huge sum of money just for a small ration that won’t even fill you up.

On another note, about the atmosphere, Princi Italia is typically home to many couples going on dates, making it the perfect place to take someone this Valentine’s Day. The service and staff are also exceptional, never causing long wait times and always apologizing at any inconvenience.

On the contrary, there are some aspects of the Princi Italia experience which I think if removed, would make for a better overall experience.

Finally, I believe the location isn’t quite romantic, with people dining in having to walk through a sea of cars just to sit and eat right next to the intersection of two large roads. With Valentine’s Day coming up, Princi Italia is certainly not a bad option, however I do think one could do better.

Located in the bustling shopping district of Knox and Henderson, RH Rooftop is truly the epitome of fine dining.

Although they carry a select menu of items to choose from, it is certainly made up with the quality and taste of the food along with the unique surroundings and ambience that come with it.

As soon as one walks into RH Rooftop, they will be greeted with what looks look like a furniture store, because it is.

As the name mentions, the restaurant is located at the top of a four-story building, where the first three are dedicated to the furniture store, which sell high quality pieces, similar to the high quality of the food.

The dark colored furniture and sleek design of the actual dining area make it not too flashy, with dim lights that illuminate but don’t over power the whole fourth floor.

There is both in and outdoor seating, with the outdoor seating giving you a fantastic look over all of the Knox and Henderson area as well as the striking skyscrapers that cut through the sky around you.

The indoor seating on the other hand, gives one a more comfortable feeling, with its dim light and dark features the inside almost feels like an upscale and luxury cabin.

As far as the menu goes, it is mainly comprised of your typical American classics such as Filet Mignon, a signature burger, and many different sea food options as well.

Personally, this is my favorite spot to go for date nights simply because of the uniqueness of the location.

The luxury furniture store of the first three floors makes the atmosphere almost feel like of an incredibly upscale hotel, a vibe that one can never go wrong with.

The only thing I feel would turn some away from RH Rooftop, is simply the pricing.

If you are looking to completely dazzle a girl and eat some of the best food of your life without worrying about price, look no further than RH Rooftop.

With its understated and easy to miss sign, Sevy’s gives off a cozy and welcoming atmosphere even from the outside. Serving typical American classics such as Ribeye and Surf and Turf, Sevy’s is a solid choice for a date night, especially for those looking for a less extravagant and flashy location, but still one where the price of the food will match the quality of the food.

Firstly, the menu at Sevy’s is truly one of their strong points, having far more options than most upscale dining options. Location-wise, Sevy’s is rather under stated, located in the back corner of Preston Center, an otherwise crowded and bustling shopping district.

Pricing-wise, Sevy’s is quite expensive, especially when it comes to their high-end steaks, however, personally, I feel that the combination of the size of the portions as well as the quality of the meat and cooking job warrant the expensive prices. Something else I think sets Sevy’s apart from other upscale dining spots is their fantastic desserts.

From their tiramisù to their crem brulee, the dessert menu not only has a wide range of variety, but also has quality all over it.

Personally, I think the strong suits of Sevy’s mainly lay in the location and cozy atmosphere one gets as soon as stepping inside, as well as the many options you must choose from when it comes to the menu, however Sevy's is not without it's shortcomings.

For example, although there are many different options to choose from on the menu, many of them are the same style of food, mainly sticking within the realm of steaks, burgers, and sandwitches, meaning if these are not your favorites, your out of luck. Another weak point of Sevy's is that the cozy feeling can sometimes backfire on them, with some nights feeling especially packed and even claustraphobic at times.

If you're looking for a more classic, and less traditional spot without an extravagant flair, but still with some quality and true upscale dining, Sevy's is the perrfect spot.

8/10

9.5/10

7.5/10

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Friday, February 2, 2024

Page 21

Staff Editorial

Student Newspaper of St. Mark’s School of Texas 10600 Preston Road Dallas, Texas 75230 214-346-8000 EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Zack Goforth Managing Editors Nolan Marcus Grayson Redmond Digital Editor Ben Adams Editorial Director Aaron Augustine Focus Editors Linyang Lee Dawson Yao Design Director Noah Cathey Photo Editor Zachary Bashour SECTION EDITORS Issues Arjun Poi Hilton Sampson Academics Oliver Peck Joseph Sun Life Matthew Hofmann Akash Manickam Sports Lawrence Gardner Neil Yepuri Assistant Digital Editor Will Clifford Head Writers Vikram Singh Eric Yi Staff Tejas Allada, Weston Chance, Joshua Goforth, Chris Guffey, Kevin Ho, Michael Jimenez, Rohan Kakkar, Ronit Kongara, William Kozoman, Winston Lin, Doan Nguyen, Christian Warner, Andrew Ye, Kayden Zhong Adviser Jenny Dial Creech Headmaster David Dini Audience The ReMarker is intended for the students, faculty, staff and alumni community of St. Mark’s School of Texas.

Press run is 4,000 copies, with more than 2,600 of those mailed out to alumni, courtesy of the school’s offices of External Affairs, Development and Alumni divisions.

Opinions and Editorials Editorials represent the views of the Editorial Board and are not necessarily those of the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff. All personal opinion columns, bylined with the writer’s name and photo, represent the views of that writer only and not necessarily those of the ReMarker, Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff.

Online www.smremarker.com Instagram @remarkernewspaper Reader Involvement The ReMarker encourages reader input through guest columns and story ideas. Contact the appropriate editor for suggestions.

Letters to the Editor Letters to the editor are welcome and encouraged.

They must be typed, signed and not exceed 300 words.

Submissions are not accepted.

Membership The ReMarker maintains membership in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, New York City, NY; National Scholastic Press Association, Minneapolis, MN; and the Interscholastic League Press Conference, Austin.

SOARING COSTS College tuition and associated fees increased 25% the last decade with schools such as Harvard reaching well over $80,000 annually.

PHOTO / CREATIVE COMMONS

School expands financial aid, breaking barriers to education As the price of higher education shoots higher and higher, the need for financial aid is growing. Fortunately, there are a few countermeasures that make aid easier to obtain.

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lose your eyes and imagine a world where college tuition is affordable for everyone — few barriers to education, little anxiety about debt and large aspirations for the future. It's a world where the only thing expanding is knowledge, not loan balances. It sounds great, right?

Now, wake up to reality.

Over the past 10 years, tuition and associated fees at public universities rose 25 percent, according to the College Board. Private schools have mostly done the same — but with higher stakes. At our nation’s premier private colleges, tuition and boarding fees can run upwards of $80,000 per year.

College is expensive; everyone knows. A decade ago, it was a huge investment for the future; today, it's like buying a house. The soaring costs of education leave a shadow over the idyllic American dream.

As these numbers continue to climb, the pursuit of higher education becomes an increasingly burdensome financial decision for students and their families.

It is with this landscape that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was revamped.

The redesign of FAFSA, a critical tool for financial aid, is timely.

This revamp is not just a cosmetic uplift but a shift towards making the aid process more intuitive and accessible.

With streamlined questions and a more direct connection with IRS data, FAFSA now stands as a beacon in contrast to soaring costs for families.

The introduction of the Student Aid Index (SAI) in place of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and the expanded Pell Grant eligi-

bility are notable strides towards inclusivity in education funding.

A Pell Grant is a federal financial aid program that provides need-based grants to eligible undergraduate students to help cover the costs of their education.

Approximately 610,000 additional low-income students are expected to benefit from Pell Grants, a move that undeniably aligns with our school's ethos of educational accessibility.

The changes in FAFSA, however, underscore a broader need – the need for robust financial aid programs. At an affluent all-boys private school, it is our responsibility to promote financial inclusivity. In this regard, the school has made incredibly commendable strides.

Our school currently offers over 100 financial aid grants for scholarship, demonstrating a dedication to supporting families across various socioeconomic backgrounds.

According to self-reported data, the average financial aid awarded is around $15,000, a significant contribution towards easing the financial burden on families. This aid is need-based, ensuring that it reaches those who most require it.

A substantial portion of the school’s endowment — more than a third — is used for financial assistance. This assistance does not just cover tuition and books, but every aspect of what it means to be a Marksmen. The school has tried, from the Pecos wilderness trip to fine arts to student travel, to ensure that all students, regardless of their financial situation, have the opportunity to fully participate in its community.

Ultimately, a commitment to financial inclusivity is a commit-

ment to excellence. By removing financial barriers to enrollment, the school opens itself to a broader range of talents and experiences and makes each student feel at home.

This effort to make education more accessible can also be seen in the relatively new approach to tuition payment. Recognizing the financial strain that a lump sum payment can place on families, the school has introduced flexible payment plans.

These plans allow for tuition to be paid in installments spread throughout the year, easing the financial burden, and making it more manageable for families. This flexibility is crucial in ensuring that financial constraints do not deter talented students from joining and thriving in our community.

In a time where the costs of education often skyrocket out of control, the school has taken laudable steps towards a more accessible future.

These efforts must continue, for they not only benefit our students but also serve as a model for other education institutions around Dallas. With current progress in mind, the school should aim to utilize its generous annual donations and endowment to further increase access to financial assistance in the future.

It is our duty as Marksmen to ensure that financial barriers do not hinder the potential of talented individuals, and by continuing these initiatives, we reaffirm our commitment to fostering an environment where all students can thrive, irrespective of background.

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COMMENTARY

Braving the dark and breaking barriers A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

CULTURE POSTERS

Chupacabras, TV and Lexus do not mix

Stereotypes: unity at an international summer camp

Zack Goforth

Ben Adams

ReMarker Editor-in-Chief

Online Editor-in-chief

The lights held back the darkness as the day neared its end. And the thoughts crowded my mind like children piling onto a Monday morning school bus.

Just the night before, I had convinced my father to let me watch The X-Files, a decision I had come to regret. The odd music and interesting dialogue took full advantage of my young, inquisitive mind.

But that was yesterday. Now, somebody would open a door, make a loud noise. And suddenly, almost to amplify my dread, my mother left the house. I was alone in the living room, a child who had learned curiosity could cause chilling complications.

Is it here, hiding behind that wall or that door or that car?

But then I saw it — there, in my driveway, was the image that made my world come crashing down: two green dots that were shaped exactly like the two green eyes of the Chupacabra. What else could it be?

Seeing these eyes was like seeing an old friend, a friend that I’d met the night before on the television and seen once more in my nightmares. This time, however, there wasn’t a glass screen between me and the cryptid, because it was somewhere in the house. Every fiber of my third-grade self was sure of it.

I had to call mom. It would be embarrassing, but as the dots grew larger and as the monster grew closer, I knew I would rather chip my pride than lose my mind.

The eyes wouldn’t stop growing in intensity, only getting larger and larger.

Soon, the window yielded a reflection that, combined with the sinking of my stomach, let me know my time had come. But without warning, the dots darted to the left, and I turned around to see my mother’s Lexus LS460 pulling into the driveway.

The headlights looked a little more green than usual.

Seventy people. 15 different nations represented. Thousands of miles traveled to a central location. And a ton of preconceived notions. Walking into a month-long international camp, this is what I was thrust into.

In the first few days of a Children’s International Summer Villages (CISV) camp, one starts to form friendships with participants from other countries, albeit hesitantly. Then comes the poster activity.

All staff, leaders, junior counselors and participants from the same country gather. Every five minutes, a poster comes to the group with a new name on top. Indonesia. Sweden. Colombia.

Now, those preconceived notions surface. Whatever comes to mind about a country – one writes down on its poster.

Finally, after a delegation has done this for every country in the camp, the group sees what the other participants wrote about its own country.

At my camp, this led to laughs for some. Italy - pizza and pasta. Sweden blonde hair and blue eyes. No doubt stereotypes, but relatively “harmless”.

For other groups, though, there were no smiles. Germany - World War II. Colombia - cartel. And the USA, the country I had grown up being taught was the greatest in the world, had the following on its poster: “Hates immigrants” “School shootings” Each country’s delegation had the opportunity to speak on how they felt about their poster, and tears flowed for many. It was clear whatever friendships were formed in the first few days would change.

From that point forward, each person made a conscious effort to see an individual’s character instead of one’s background. And by the end of the camp, my judgments about other nation’s citizens were wiped out, and I believe everyone else saw the U.S. a little differently, too.

WATCHFUL EYES Younger children may mistake the glare of car headlights for two beady eyes.

PHOTO / ZACK GOFORTH

INTERNATIONAL The South Korean delegation poses with their poster.

PHOTO / BEN ADAMS

Report Card Semester End The week after the Holiday breaks a bad case of academic whiplash.

Lunch

As Texans, it's in our blood to love Taco Tuesday, but even we need a little more variation.

Sport Attendance

Attendance for winter sports games, especially from the senior class, has been spectacular. Keep it up!

PERSONAL COLUMN

Misadventures in cooking: lessons in patience and endurance I’ve always viewed the kitchen with a sense of dread and resignation. With the onset of the pandemic during my freshmen year, my younger brother’s daycare shut down — leaving me as a makeshift guardian. While my parents worked, it was my duty to balance online classes, keep him entertained and yes, make sure he was fed. And let's be honest, a freshman in high school isn't exactly the epitome of culinary expertise.

Stepping into the kitchen for the first time, I faced a formidable challenge: satisfying the appetite of a six-year-old whose taste buds Aaron Augustine were more accustomed to chicken nuggets Editorial Director than to any form of culinary experimentation.

Fueled by optimism, Monster energy drinks and five-minute YouTube videos, I decided that stir-fry was my best hope — it’s supposed

to be simple, right? Yet, my talent for somehow burning almost anything, including water, gave even this 'simple' dish a run for its money.

Those early days, filled with smoke alarms and charred vegetables, were trying. I quickly learned that cooking was more about intuition and less about following a recipe to the letter.

My brother, bless his heart, bravely soldiered through each new culinary disaster, although he was often more than happy to share his thoughts about my 'gourmet' dishes.

Those days in the kitchen not only taught me how to cook but also taught me about putting someone else's needs before my own.

Each meal, whether charred to a crisp or surprisingly edible, was a lesson in patience and learning to adapt to difficulty – skills that go

beyond cooking. I found joy in his excitement on the rare occasion when a dish turned out right, and his encouragement made each failure a little less bitter.

The biggest takeaway? Love — for my little brother, for anything really — means doing things I’d rather not. It's in the little daily, consistent sacrifices that truly make a difference. Whether for something relatively minor like studying or picking up a new talent or for larger societal issues like conservationism, it's the little things that make a difference.

And hey, at least I can make a mean stir fry now. Through trial and error, and more burnt pans than I care to admit, I've come to appreciate the art of cooking, and even more so, the time spent with my brother in those moments.

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PHOTO / COURTESY SAM ACHO

GENERATIONS Sam Acho '07 stands with his dad, Sonny, and third grade son, Sam, after singing in chapel.

Acho returns to campus

Sam Acho '07 has been back on campus as his son Caleb Acho follows in his footsteps as a Marksmen. Acho discusses his fondness of the school, the lessons he learned and the memories he made.

By Lawrence Gardner

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ll things bright and beautiful.

The rich sound rang through the chapel as the Lower School boys sang the timeless hymn.

All creatures great and small.

Sam Acho’ 07 sat in the back, relishing in the beauty of the young voices singing the same song he had sung a decade earlier.

All things bright and beautiful.

Sonny Acho, stood beside his son Sam, proudly singing the lyrics.

The Lord God made them all.

Caleb Acho, current third grader, stood with his classmates as he sang the song for the first time.

Three generations of the Achos standing together at the same school, in the same chapel, singing the same hymn.

“It was this really amazing situation of just saying wow,” Sam said. “It’s been a decade plus, and again, I’m singing about the purple-headed mountains.

Being there, watching my son, and having my dad sitting next to me and singing was special.”

Sam came to the school in second grade. It was a decision that didn’t hold much weight at the time in his 8-yearold mind.

“I remember my dad asking if I wanted to switch schools, and I just said sure,” Sam said. “Then he told me it was an all-boys school in Dallas, and again, I just trusted my dad and said, if you want me to go, I’ll go.”

Sam didn’t simply “go.” He left his mark. He finished high school as the sixth-best football prospect in the nation for his position and still holds

the record for the 12-pound shot put.

Along with incredible athletic achievement, Sam managed to stay on the academic honor roll all four years of Upper School.

While Sam left a monumental imprint on the school, in different ways, the school did the same for him.

While at school here, Sam learned to appreciate the uniqueness of every student. He vividly remembers the spelling competitions held in Decherd in fourth and fifth grade. His friend from PE, Sai Gunturi '07, would win every time while a very competitive Sam grew frustrated.

Gunturi went on to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2003.

“No wonder he won,” Sam said. “I had a friend who was good at spelling and another at math. Some of us are good at sports, and some of us are good at (everything.) It’s important to realize we can all bring each other up.”

Lessons like this played an essential role in Sam's decision to send his own son to the school.

The decision to return required many more pieces than when Sam first chose the school in the second grade. He fully understood the school's strengths but knew there could be hurdles.

Ultimately, Sam held onto one thing to make the choice.

“It was my belief,” Sam said. “This school can be, and by the grace of God will be, the right place for my son.”

As an alum, Sam continues to impact the environment in multiple ways.

“I was able to meet my son’s senior buddy, Caleb Maddox,” Sam said. “I got a chance to give him a copy of my books. Change Starts with You, and

Let the World See You. I was able to say thanks for what he has done for my son, but also, maybe this can help him.

So it's not just this one-way street; it's a two-way street.”

And, on this two-way street, Sam has seen the school feeding life back into his own family.

“I ran into Marion Glorioso, the head of lower school,” Sam said. “My last year at the school was one of her first years.

Fast forward, and now she's helping run the Lower School where my son is a student. I also ran into Dwight Phillips, 8th grade basketball coach, and we had an hour-long conversation about life, health and my son. He told me to just let him know if my son needs anything.

He talked about his love for the school and all the boys he gets to mentor and be there for. At that moment, I was reminded that this is a true community.”

For Sam, this community has been more than just an educational environment.

“There’s a family perspective, a generation perspective, and a personal perspective,” Sam said. “It’s the Mrs. Gloriosos of the world, the Coach Phillips of the world the Caleb Maddoxes of the world that are helping me raise my child. It takes a village to raise a child; it’s not just me.”

While Sam has seen the direct influence of the school on campus, the school community has also raised its head in other unlikely places.

“I remember being in New York once, meeting with the commissioner of the NFL,” Sam said. “Walking out of the building, I ran into someone who asked me If I was Sam Acho. They usually know me from TV, so that’s imme-

THE ACHO FILE: SENIOR YEAR Basketball SPC Champion Homecoming King Two-time football captain Football team MVP School record for shotput Ranked top 150 in class Academic honor roll diately where my mind went. However, the man actually went to St. Mark’s and we ended up having a great conversation. Within this community, I get a special chance to connect with people from all over.”

As Sam continues to grow, he feels St. Mark’s has remained a strong pillar in his foundation, and prays this pillar will continue to stand firm for generations to come.

“I understand how integral of a piece St. Mark's played in my life,” Sam said.

“I've seen how far it has taken me, and I want my son and daughter to be blessed with that same opportunity.”

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A coaching connection

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON Coach Greg Guiler and Scott Guiler stand side by side as the Lions take on the Greenhill Hornets. While Greg's job is the leadership and coaching of the team, Scott also plays a crucial role in their success, as he diligently keeps each stat to highlight a need for adjustments during a game.

Many athletes have had the experience, at one time or another, of being coached by their parent. But, these coaches are continuing that profession within their families, forming a strong bond across generations.

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By Neil Yepuri and Lawrence Gardner

lot goes in to building a full basketball court in one’s backyard.

The concrete, the materials and the space used. The amount of time it takes.

But Scott Guiler didn’t care about that. He wanted his house to be the house people came to, to play and enjoy the game of basketball. He wanted his son, Greg, to be able to engage with the game they both loved.

“We had people over there all the time,” Guiler said.

“He put lights up out there, so my friends would come over at night and we'd have the lights on. He was always inviting people to be to come play.”

Scott wanted people to be able to share the game of basketball - which he did within his own family, serving as his son’s basketball coach in some capacity for over ten years.

The role of a good coach, for at least a time, is not unlike the role of a good father.

And, when mixing those two relationships, those two fountains of mentorship, a unique link is formed.

For head basketball coach Coach Greg Guiler, his father and his coach, Scott Guiler were one and the same for over half of his time in the game of basketball.

“In the earliest memories I have of playing any kind of organized basketball, he was always there on the sidelines,” Coach Guiler said.

When Coach Guiler was just 3 or 4 years old, his father built him a small 6-foot hoop for their basement in Ohio. And, ever since then, their connection through the game of basketball has only grown.

“All winter long I could go down to play one-onone, or just dribble all over the place,” Coach Guiler said. “I'd be down there shooting hoops on the basement basket.”

And, as Coach Guiler grew, so did his love for the game, which his father was more than happy to accommodate.

“By the time he was 5 or 6, I started a little trav-

el team,” Scott Guiler said. “I started recruiting kids from our school and beyond, and we got pretty serious about it. By the time he was in the fourth grade, he was playing 80 games a year. And I loved every minute of it, and we continued with that.”

This AAU-level team wasn’t Scott Guiler’s first foray into the coaching profession, however. As a senior at Ohio State University, he was a grad assistant coach at an inner-city school in downtown Columbus. His intention was to go into coaching and teaching after graduation, so this seemed like a logical step in that direction.

But, this high school squad was special. This was the 1967-69 Columbus East High School basketball team, which won back to back championships in those two seasons.

A large part of Scott Guiler’s initial interest in coaching came through his faith. The Guilers’ faith and commitment to education is a recurring theme throughout their careers; Scott Guiler’s father was an agriculture teacher at Ohio State.

“I loved working with young men, and I actually used it as a platform to share Jesus Christ with some of them,” Scott Guiler said. “(We have a) strong faith in Jesus Christ in our family, so I liked that opportunity as well.”

After his graduation, Scott Guiler was hired to be junior varsity basketball coach there, serving in that position for two years before taking up real estate and eventually starting his masonry business, which he ran for 45 years.

But, Scott Guiler couldn’t stay away from the game he loved forever. He would continue picking up coaching gigs and finding opportunities throughout and even after his masonry success.

“I was playing ball myself,” he said. “Six, seven nights a week – I was kind of almost enjoying that more than coaching when I was 21.”

So, when Coach Guiler came along, it was only natural that they bonded over that game – for more than a decade. And, when Coach Guiler was entering the 10th grade, an opportunity appeared for Scott Guiler to continue that bonding and tradition of being Coach Guiler’s coach.

“He was hired as a varsity coach at a high school near where we lived in the summer that I was going into my high school career, because he thought, ‘Hey, this would be an opportunity for me to coach my son’,” Coach Guiler said, “And I wanted that. I went and did summer league stuff with that team.”

But, as the upcoming school year and season approached, Scott Guiler made the tough decision of taking a step back. For the first time in his basketball career, Scott Guiler wouldn’t be there to coach Coach Guiler along the way.

“Midway through the summer, he just said ‘You know, I think it might be better for you to have a different voice,’” Coach Guiler said. “And so he went to the school, and they had somebody else step in as the varsity coach.”

So, Coach Guiler moved back to his local high school, down the street, where his dad had graduated from. He played basketball all four years, and helped bring a middle-of-the-road program all the way to the Ohio state championship final four - where his team ultimately fell to a young LeBron James at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School out of Akron.

“I give my dad a ton of credit, because he could have been the coach and been a little more selfish,” Coach Guiler said. “But for him to say ‘No, I think you're going to benefit more from playing from somebody else,’ was a really mature and selfless decision. It was all about me and he just loved me and felt like that was what was best in the moment.”

Coach Guiler’s connection with the game of basketball wasn’t quite finished, though. After graduating high school, he attended Cedarville University, where he was a standout point guard and still holds the record for consecutive games played at 123, a testament to his work ethic on the court.

But, when he graduated with a B.A. from Cedarville, where he was also a student minister, he turned away from basketball and into his faith. Coach Guiler’s next step in education was to attend the Dallas Theological Seminary, where he earned a degree in cross-cultural studies.

“I was thinking some sort of full time ministry – that's what brought me that to Dallas,” Coach Guiler

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spanning generations said. “I was thinking maybe I’d follow in the footsteps of some of the most famous missionaries – I thought that that was the best way to serve God.” But, it was ultimately Coach Guiler’s dad, Scott Guiler, who helped guide Coach Guiler’s current career of choice. In many ways, it was a perfect harmony between the two biggest influences – basketball and faith – in Coach Guiler’s life.

“My dad has been among those who've been so faithful to show me that getting to be around young men in formative ways with something as simple as the game of basketball is just as impactful as ministry endeavors in some sort of church setting,” Coach Guiler said.

Guiler joined the staff at St. Mark’s shortly after his time at Cedarville and took the reigns of the varsity basketball team in 2006. Since that time, he’s won the most games of any Lions varsity basketball coach and has led the program to some of its most impressive heights.

And, he’s even been able to reconnect with his father, who has helped out with teams here after retirement.

“I sold my business in 2012, and Greg said, ‘Hey dad, why don’t you come down and help me coach’,” Scott Guiler said. “So I coached the JV team there at St. Mark’s for three years and then sat on the bench for the varsity.”

And now, Scott Guiler works with the team still, keeping crucial in-game stats that keep the coach-

PHOTOS / COURTESY RYAN BREWER LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON Coach Brewer (bottom) took many lessons from his father's (top) time at Morehouse University. Now, he applies those same lessons when he coaches the Lions.

ing staff and players aware of necessary adjustments during a game.

The story of the Guiler men is one of dedication to faith and family. Their connection through the game of basketball and their commitment to guiding a new generation of young men is unwavering and unbreakable.

The elder Guiler sees his time developing, cultivating, and ultimately working alongside his son as a wholesome and fulfilling experience.

“It's been wonderful because it’s been a brotherhood, really, between us, kept us close all these years with a common interest in working together,” Scott Guiler said.

Meanwhile, his son partially credits his father’s work in leading him to a profession that he loves.

“When you see your dad loves the game of basketball, it's natural for you to want to want to follow his footsteps from a basketball standpoint,” Guiler said.

“I didn't anticipate it being my career, but I'm sure grateful it has been. I've loved every second, and I don't feel like I've worked a day in my life.”

Grady Brewer was a winner. He started his coaching career in Atlanta at Booker T. Washington High School where he helped lead them to the state championship. Following his success he became the Morehouse head basketball coach and turned them into one of the top Division II programs in the country.

During that time he led Morehouse to seven 20win seasons, seven SIAC regular season championships, an SIAC tournament championship and three NCAA tournament appearances. Sadly, Grady Brewer passed away in 2021, but his legacy lives on.

A large part of that legacy is ingrained in his son, JV basketball coach Ryan Brewer.

“I spent a lot of time in college talking to my dad during the season,” Coach Brewer said. “ I wasn’t an official coach, but I went to many games and my dad and I would talk about them.”

When Coach Brewer began to coach, Grady Brewer was a constant source of information for him to lean on.

“When we would watch games, it wasn't just to watch,” Coach Brewer said. “We were constantly analyzing them. I learned from him to pull stuff to what specific teams may do or how you can use players that you have to run a particular system, but once I got into coaching, he gave me a lot of what to do and helped me get started.”

Coach Brewer's coaching career did not begin on the big stage; in fact, it was quite the opposite. His coaching journey started at the YMCA with the fifth grade and under team. With a determined mindset, Coach Brewer took this team to the YMCA nationals, where they managed to come home with the first place trophy.

Following this success, Coach Brewer moved up the chain to the Bowl School in Jacksonville, where he became an assistant JV Basketball coach. There, he quickly proved his talents and ultimately became the head JV coach and top assistant for varsity.

Shortly after, Coach Brewer brought his experience to the school, where he has continued to coach in the same positions.

In his positions, Coach Brewer continues to implement his dad’s coaching methods to lead effective practices.

“One of my dad’s philosophies was the importance of technique and intensity,” Coach Brewer said.

“Technique for doing something. Being in the right position to set a screen or coming off of the screen correctly. That's the technique, but then also intensity. How hard are you doing something? You should practice at 110 percent because the practice should be harder than the games and practice is where you earn your minutes.”

While Coach Brewer learned and implemented many philosophies from his father, he also developed his own life lessons through personal experience.

“The biggest thing I've learned from coaching is more than just being patient,” Coach Brewer said.

“You can't win everything—some things you have to lose. Losing is where you figure out how to get better.

If you are constantly winning all the time you're not going to figure out where your weaknesses are. When those losses come, that's when you figure out where you are.”

IN-DEPTH

WHAT DID HAVING YOUR DAD AS YOUR COACH MEAN TO YOU? “Honestly, it was just a great way to connect with him, outside of the daily stuff. Every Saturday I could look forward to being able to go out there with my dad.”

Graham Smith Eighth Grader

Dad coached him from first to sixth grade in soccer

“It was a really good bonding experience for me and my father, and it was always a lot of fun.”

Beau Babilla Sophomore

Dad coached him from first to sixth grade in flag football

“It was my first introduction to basketball, which is the sport that I fell in love with.

He fostered my growth in the sport and helped me get to all the places I got to.”

Henry Estes Junior

Dad coached him from first to fifth grade in basketball

PHOTO / COURTESY HENRY ESTES FROM DAY ONE Estes and his father pose with the rest of the YMCAaffiliated Lions first grade basketball team after their perfect 8-0 season.

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN PAYING IT FORWARD Both Coach Guiler and Coach Brewer took their father's coaching experience to heart, as they now share a bench as key parts of the Lions basketball coaching staff.

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From Bachman to Boston After rowing together in high school on the Lions crew team, three alumni are in the top boat at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, looking to continue their legacy of rowing success

THE PAIN CAVE In the first, second and sixth seats, respectively, Christian Duessel ‘20, Blake Hudspeth ‘21 and Drake Elliot ‘22 race in the Head of the Charles regatta together.

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By Eric Yi and Christopher Guffey

ight spots. Three boys. One dream.

Christian Duessel ‘20, Blake Hudspeth ‘21 and Drake Elliott ‘22 took their love of rowing to the next level by getting recruited to compete for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Even though they graduated in different years, their introduction to the sport was the same. All three found themselves at Bachman Lake after an older brother who joined the crew team earlier sparked the flame of competitive rowing that burns bright in each of them.

In order to get recruited, all three rowers trained on the rowing machine for hundreds of hours. “(Rowing) takes a lot of behind the scenes work to just building up your endurance and your mental and physical toughness,” Hudspeth said.

Through rowing, they were able to develop their fitness, as well as their leadership skills. Those characteristics shown in the first three years on the St. Mark's team made them captains during their senior year.

“They all had different leadership styles, but the one thing in common was they all led with the example of hard work,” head varsity rowing coach Landell Pitts said.

Besides pushing themselves to the limit, they also all worked tirelessly to encourage those around them to improve.

“All three of them were excellent teammates,” Pitts said. “Their accomplishments were certainly impressive, and they were always there for others’ accomplishments as well. They made sure that their team and their teammates were doing the best they could to succeed.”

Hudspeth, a team captain at MIT, feels like it is his job to motivate the team when nobody else can, which

he accomplished through leading by example.

“I felt a big responsibility to make sure that when I was captain, we still kept that strength and that community and that culture older guys established,” Hudspeth said. “When you are a senior, when you are in these leadership positions, you owe it to them and you owe it to the younger guys. It’s always about passing it forward to the next generation.”

While pushing your teammates forward is a huge factor in the overall success of a team, pushing oneself is equally important.

“These guys love working out and pushing beyond their limits,” Pitts said. “Whatever boat they were in, there was an inherent drive in each of them to succeed for their team.”

In order to earn their spot in the varsity boat, all three rowers went through a long, bumpy path.

“I didn't row my freshman year because I was injured, and during my sophomore year, I was in the second boat,” Duessel said. “But I did a lot of strength training over the summer and was able to come back healthy in the fall, when I was selected for the top boat along with Blake and Drake.”

Even with their rigorous course loads at MIT, they are still able to stay on top of their work.

“I have great study habits that I only gained because of having to cram for tests every week or two at St. Mark’s,” Duessel said. “Doing that hundreds of times really ingrained the great study habits that allow me to manage it all here.”

Despite the fact that each of the three are very accomplished rowers, there are still times when the path to success can be unclear.

“There are definitely ups and downs,” Duessel said.

“Over the course of a season, you hope to have improvement, but that certainly doesn’t always happen.

You’re just looking to have a trend of improvement

PHOTO / COURTESY STACY ELLIOTT

over a long time.”

Such trends over time are caused by sheer dedication and love of the sport, so when someone puts this much heart into a sport, they will also motivate those around them.

“A rising tide lifts all boats, and they were the rising tide,” Pitts said. “They each stood out individually on the team for their performance, for their character and for their leadership.”

PHOTO / COURTESY STACY ELLIOTT HARDWARE Christian Duessel '20, Blake Hudspeth '21, and Drake Elliott '22 pose after receiving medals at the Head of the Fish regatta.

COVID-era biking: an unexpected trend, three years later

By Andrew Ye Three years ago, the pandemic forced people to learn how to live differently. As a result, some people, including many Marksmen, turned to biking.

“People in general just wanted to get out,” Cecil H. and Ida Green Master Teaching Chair in Science Mark Adame said. “I had a lot of friends who rode like crazy when COVID hit, but for me, the only thing that changed was that I stopped doing group events and racing competitions.”

Biking is a low-impact sport, decreasing the chance of injury while also increasing the enjoyment of being outside. It’s also an easy way to stay active.

“I’ve been biking all my life, and its easily improved both my physical and mental health,” Adame said. “When I’m riding, I find myself in a better mental state than when I’m not, and that goes with any exercise.”

When the pandemic hit, the demand for bikes

rose to the point where most stores ran out of inventory.

“I sold a bike to (former Director of College Counseling) Casey Gendason, since he really wanted to pick up biking during that time” Adame said. “You really couldn’t find a bike anywhere.”

Additionally, biking can be a unifying experience.

Biking activities can be shared with Strava, a fitness app for tracking physical exercise. This app helped students and faculty bikers see each other’s ride paths and achievements.

“There were a lot of people who used Strava during the pandemic,” Adame said. “I’ve used it for over 10 years now, and it’s amazing that I’m able to see updates on others with just a click.”

Despite the surge of biking popularity during lockdown, biking still remains a great way of incorporating regular exercise into one's every day life.

“Dallas is generally a very welcoming place for bikers,” Adame said. “Now that bikes are back in

stores and the temperature is nice, going for just a 10 minute ride can make a noticeable difference in one’s mental mood.”

DISTANCE This map displays the trails Adame and some students went on during the biking phase.

PHOTO / COURTESY MARK ADAME

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Wrestling for a legacy Senior Quina Perkison recaps his wrestling career highs and lows, while also sharing his goals to serve in the United States military.

PHOTOS / COURTRESY QUINA PERKISON PHOTO / WINSTON LIN GRAPPLING AND RECRUITING Senior Quina Perkison stands with Lieutenant General Steven W. Gilland while in Lousisiana to meet West Point admission officers (top left). Perkison poses with head varisity wrestling coach Reyno Arredondo after winning the 106 weight class at the Rumble of the Rock Tournement (bottom left). Perkison takes the matt as he gets ready to wrestle on senior night against Liberty Christian. The Lions won the duel 39-32, Perkison won his bout via forfeit (right).

By Nolan Marcus and Michael Jimenez

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ut. That’s how this state champion’s wrestling career started. Cut. In seventh grade, senior Quina Perkison tried out for the soccer team to no avail. With his dreams crushed, he had nowhere to go except for the mat.

At the beginning of his wrestling journey, he showed no signs of the grappler he would become.

“I truly was horrible,” Perkison said. “I think I was the fourth worst person on the team. I had no idea how to even take a shot.”

Throughout his first year, Perkison faced complete adversity. His ability to win matches or even make much progress during practices made his rookie season mentally exhausting.

But, during the summer following his first season, Perkison decided to take judo lessons to supplement his wrestling pursuits. The disciplined art was the key to unlocking his wrestling talents.

Going into his second season, with extra training under his belt, Perkison was ready to wrestle with newfound confidence, not only in his ability but also in his mentality. His record drastically improved to 13-3, and he was progressing much faster than the previous season.

Perkison even had the potential to place at the middle school state championship that year. However, he fell ill on the second day of the meet, which disqualified from progressing further.

With his eighth grade success and progression behind him, Perkison was ready to get to work for his freshman season.

However, Perkison would have to wait a little longer to begin his high school career due to COVID-19.

Perkison practiced along with five of his teammates

who went to state and nationals during the spring of his freshman year.

Perkison finished his freshman year 1-4, but that negative record would turn out to be an anomaly. In his sophomore year, he took third in the state and went to nationals, finishing the season with a 27-13 record.

Yet, his crowning accomplishment so far in his career came during his junior season. After struggling in freshman year and coming close to a championship as a sophomore, Perkison’s fiery motivation burned brighter than ever before.

“My freshman year, when I took fourth place, was hard,” Perkison said. “I didn’t like it at all. Taking third my sophomore year didn’t help either. I think those were the two hardest times in my career.”

Additionally, due to his progression within the program, Perkison went into his junior season as a first year captain along with Hayward Metcalf ‘23, Stice Neuhoff ‘23 and junior (then a sophomore) Wyatt Loehr.

Perkison started his season with an unexpected loss but then quickly got a fire that only grew bigger and hotter as he took home the state championship in TAPPS D1 and SPC wrestling.

He then went on to compete at Nationals. While he didn’t have the performance he wanted at Nationals, he believes it was a good experience for him going forward.

He ultimately finished his season 34-9, improving significantly in comparison to his last two years. But the feeling of being a champion fell short of Perkison’s expectations.

“It was kind of a let down,” Perkison said. “I was never pushed throughout the tournament, and, during my final match, I won via pin in the first period.”

After his junior season ended, Perkison had new

goals going into his final year of high-school wrestling: to repeat as state champion, wrestle better at nationals, and serve in the military.

In August 2023, Perkison joined the National Guard to help him achieve his dream of going to the US Military Academy at West Point to serve the nation like his grandfather did. In addition, two wrestlers at school have been accepted to West Point in back to back graduating classes. As part of the National Guard, Perkison drills every weekend with his peers.

Head varsity wrestling coach Reyno Arrendondo ‘87 has played a large role in the development of Perkison as a wrestler, but has also served as a mentor in Perkisons military path.

It’s been an incredible journey with Quina,” Arredondo said. “One of the things that’s been pretty neat is his stature and size. He’s in a weight class that truly helps us.”

Having attended West Point and serving in the United States Army, Arredondo is someone Perkison has had to rely on and use as a mentor throughout his journey in the military.

“It’s very fulfilling for me, because that’s what I’m here for,” Arredondo said. “That’s actually why I’m back at 10600 Preston Road: To share my life with all you marksmen. And if I can help with the military aspect, that makes it even better.”

With Perkison joining the National Guard Reserves, Arredondo hopes others will follow suit and believes that a military academy can be highly beneficial for growth and development.

“Look at Heyward Metcalf,” Arredondo said. “He’s there right now and everytime he comes back, you’re gonna see the change in his personality and the development of him as an individual, as a person and as a leader.”

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10600 Preston Road, Dallas, TX 75230

PHOTO / COURTESY DAVE CARDEN SAY CHEESE! SuperFanMen Alex Barrett, Mitchell Galardi and CJ Ness (left to right) celebrate a goal being scored from their makeshift College Gameday booth.

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Pep rally builds excitement for Fan Blizzard Before campus was taken by storm during the winter Fan Blizzard on Feb. 3, the Student Council held a pep rally in Spencer Gymnasium. The event included the a presentation from the SuperFanMen and a game of floor hockey.

Visit smremarker.com for coverage of the Fan Blizzard, including basketball’s overtime win against Greenhill.

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PHOTOS / COURTESY DAVE CARDEN SETTING THE STAGE 1 - Donning all-white and rocking new jewelry, SuperFanMan Mitchell Galardi reveals the shirt for Fan Blizzard’s ‘Ice Out’ theme. 2 - The junior class, with their team leading 1-0, waited for the buzzer to sound. 3 - In anticipation of their first ever appearance at a winter sporting event, the newly-outfitted Spurs open up the pep rally. 4 - Junior Sebastian Illum defends his team goal in the floor hockey game.