StC Magazine
The Magazine of St. Christopher’s
Stewarding StC’s Chapel Tradition Page 10 WINTER 2021
Annual Report Page 38
The Magazine of St. Christopher’s
STC Magazine Staff HEADMASTER
Mason Lecky DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Sharon Dion EDITOR Kathleen Thomas VISUAL CONTENT EDITORS Cappy Gilchrist and George Knowles SPECIAL FEATURES EDITOR Gene Bruner ‘78 ALUMNI NEWS EDITOR Jennifer Scallon PHOTOGRAPHERS Jay Paul and Jesse Peters GRAPHIC DESIGN Merry Alderman Design CONTRIBUTORS Cabell Doyle ‘99; Kim Hudson, director of The Center for the Study of Boys; Carey Pohanka, Upper School academic instructional technologist; Josh Thomas, Upper School history teacher; Davis Wrinkle ‘81, director of alumni affairs and annual giving; Karen Wormald, Kew Publications
St. Christopher’s School 711 St. Christopher’s Road Richmond, VA 23226 P. (804) 282-3185 F. (804) 285-3914 www.stchristophers.com
On the cover: Missionary Society Head Kent Goode ‘22 holds a historical photo of chapel. Its exterior remains remarkably unchanged. Thanks to all the parents, students, alumni and friends who provided content and pictures for this publication. Please send your news and photographs to scallonj@stcva.org for use in an upcoming issue.
IN THIS ISSUE
DEPARTMENTS MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER CHAPEL TALKS
FEATURES 2
ST. CHRISTOPHER’S CHAPEL
5
Stewarding St. Christopher’s Chapel Tradition
10
Josh Thomas, Upper School history teacher
LOWER SCHOOL HEAD FACULTY VOICE
6
Carey Pohanka, Upper School academic instructional technologist
Getting to know Todd Stansbery
ANNUAL REPORT 2020-2021
ALUMNI VOICE
8
Cabell Doyle ’99
AROUND CAMPUS
18
HOMECOMING / REUNION
26
FACULTY / STAFF NEWS
34
16
38
MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER
BLESSEDLY NORMAL HALLMARKS OF THE STC EXPERIENCE RETURN IN 2021 We opened the 2021-2022 school year, the second school opening during the COVID pandemic, with great success. Unlike last school year, when we clung to wisps of normalcy amidst a fog of abnormality, with the exception of indoor masking and distancing, this school year has felt blessedly normal. Moreover, our boys, particularly the Class of 2022, are greeting each day with enthusiasm, energy, and appreciation for the many aspects of school life that we all most likely took for granted before the pandemic. Our campus has been enlivened by the sights and sounds of boys delighted to be together — learning, laughing, competing, and performing. While COVID continues to play a factor in campus operations, we have safely reinstituted many hallmarks of the St. Christopher’s experience. We offered thanks for the start of the school year, distanced but together, on the Terraces for our all-School chapel, with senior boys once again escorting their kindergarten buddies to the service. Parents are filling the hallways and grounds, experiencing cherished campus traditions, such as portrait painting, reading in classrooms, and cheering in the spectator stands. Unlike this time one year ago, athletics, the arts, and community service are taking place in ways that are largely unimpeded. Likewise, we are pressing forward with the exciting goals and initiatives outlined in our strategic plan, Momentum 2025, with four strategic priorities: Improving the Student Experience, Empowering Our People, Strengthening Our Community, and Stewarding Our Resources. One example of visible progress toward those goals is the expansion of our BUILD (Boys Using Innovation to Learn and Design) program. Momentum 2025 charges us to “increase the impact” of this JK-12 program that focuses on hands-on design, engineering, iteration, and collaboration skills. I am happy to share that we have made a notable commitment in this area by
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creating a new, dedicated space in the Luck Leadership Center, one that is wholly devoted to BUILD instruction. The new lab boasts nearly 1,000 square feet of open and boy-friendly space designed for students to design, tinker, experiment, 3-D print, cook, and more! I am also delighted to share news of the creation and growth of the Chamberlayne Achievement Program (CAP). Consistent with the goals of Momentum 2025, CAP enables us to support and retain students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented at St. Christopher’s. CAP has been assisting Upper School boys for several years, and 2021 marks its expansion into the Middle School. We are now serving nearly 30 CAP students in both the Middle and Upper Schools, providing mentoring and transition support at St. Christopher’s, ensuring that every student can thrive in our community. Outside the school day, we are undoubtedly making up for lost time, as we welcomed back two years of alumni classes from twice-postponed reunions for an epic Homecoming and Reunion weekend full of activities. The weekend kicked off with an exuberant celebration of the long-awaited debut of the Arts Center, with an Alumni & Friends Concert featuring Grammy Award-winning alumnus Mason Bates ‘95. Finally, I would like to offer my gratitude to the Classes of 2020 and 2021, who chose to make their senior gift to restore our beloved Memorial Chapel. Over the summer, the floor and pews were refinished, and an upgraded AV system was installed to better support speakers and presentations. Read more in the pages of this magazine for a reflection on the history of this sacred space that holds a place in every graduate’s heart. I look forward to seeing you back on campus this school year! Yours,
Mason Lecky, headmaster
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CHAPEL TALK
The Coast Guard sent out a call for all available boats willing to help to converge on New York Harbor. Almost 500,000 people were rescued in nine hours because thousands of ordinary folks chose love.
Photo Credit: U.S. Coast Guard
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The Boatlift of 9/11 Responding with Love in the Face of Chaos and Terror Chapel Talk delivered by Upper School History Teacher Josh Thomas Sept. 10, 2021 As we approach the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11, it’s clear that the date marks one of the most tragic and seminal moments in modern American history and our collective memory. For those who lived through it, the events of the day are seared into our minds in a way that very few historical events or experiences ever manage to do. Ask someone old enough to remember the events of that day, and you’ll likely receive a more detailed account of what they did, where they were, whom they spoke to, and what they were feeling than they can provide for almost any other day of their lives. In part, this is because it was a day of such intense emotions, unbelievable images and fear of the unknowns that surrounded the attacks. The images of planes crashing into buildings, the collapse of those buildings on television for all to see, and a city engulfed in dust, debris and smoke were and remain incredibly powerful. It would be easy for us to allow these images and the emotions they invoke — fear, sorrow and anger — to overwhelm us and dominate our memory of that day. While those images and those emotions are and should make up some part of how we remember the day, I prefer to associate 9/11 with the heroic responses by people from all walks of life. If part of the story is the terror and tragedy that came with these despicable acts, then it must also be part of the story that we remember those who selflessly gave of themselves, at some considerable risk and loss, to help those in need and in danger. If the attacks were driven by hate, then the antidote was never going to be more hate, because as Martin Luther King Jr. noted, “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” The first responders who rushed into burning buildings in New York and Northern Virginia, the firemen who climbed the stairs of the World Trade Center with nearly 100 pounds of equipment strapped to their backs, the police officers who put themselves in harm’s way to help others safely evacuate, are whom I choose to remember and honor. The selfless acts of ordinary people like Welles Crowther, an equities trader who went floor to floor rescuing strangers trapped
in the South Tower, and Rick Rescorla, who helped evacuate 2,700 people to safety, both gave their lives so that others might live. These folks, and many, many others acted out of love, love for their neighbor, love for something greater than themselves, and their refusal to let fear or hatred define them means we now have a choice in how we remember that day. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Twin Towers, as panic set in on the island of Manhattan, with trains canceled and bridges closed, one of the most amazing and largely unknown acts of courage and love took place. With hundreds of thousands of people trapped, unsure if the attacks of the day were over, and a dense and impenetrable cloud of dust and smoke covering lower Manhattan, the Coast Guard sent out a call for all available boats willing to help to converge on New York Harbor. Almost 500,000 people were rescued in nine hours because thousands of ordinary folks chose love. In the face of chaos and fear, created by an attack born of hate, they chose love. They chose to risk everything and headed into the darkness and the unknown. They brought with them the light of hope and love. While we know today that no other planes or attacks were coming, the people who participated in the maritime evacuation of lower Manhattan had no way of knowing that. They selflessly gave of themselves, and while we might think of it as the hard right … it wasn’t a hard decision at all. Many of those who participated in the Boatlift of 9/11 consider it to be one of the greatest things they have ever done. So today and tomorrow, and in the years to come, as you commemorate 9/11 in whatever manner you choose, I hope that you will mourn and honor those we lost, while remembering that in the face of fear, anger and hatred, ordinary people across our country did the extraordinary, guided by their love and commitment to their neighbors and fellow Americans.
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FACULTY VOICE
True Innovation Requires Failure BUILD Lab Reopens, Encourages Student Struggle By Carey Pohanka, Upper School academic instructional technologist
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This summer I took a class to learn slip casting. It’s a technique in ceramics that involves designing a model out of any hard material, making a cast and pouring slip (liquid clay) into it. In almost all my interviews with boys about what they wanted to do in the new BUILD Lab, they mentioned ceramics. I figured slip casting would be a great way to take designing a 3D printed model a step further with the creation of a ceramic piece. I already knew how to do the 3D printing part. How difficult could it be to incorporate ceramics? Well, it was more difficult than I anticipated. Imagine me, who last took a pottery class in eighth grade, learning with a class of professional artists, including highly decorated ceramicists. Nonetheless, I was extremely proud of my first project. It looked like something you might find coming out of a Lower School art class, but I learned the basics and was excited to push forward. For the second project, our teachers encouraged us to step it up to design a mold that required two or three parts. Two weeks of focused work sadly ended with me taking a hammer to the project. The molds wouldn’t work, and I had to completely start over. I have always prided myself on modeling what failing should look like to my students, but I was not expecting to have such an epic example to share when we returned to campus this fall. Beginning this year, with the addition of our state-of-the-art BUILD Lab in the Luck Leadership Center, we’ve added a class for ninth graders. Boys will learn 3D printing, laser cutting, electronics, virtual reality, coding and more. While learning how to design using all these fancy tools is the focus of the class, my true objective is to cultivate an innovation mindset. Innovation is a buzzword thrown around these days, and when I hear it I think, “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.” We tend to equate new with innovative, but that isn’t necessarily true innovation. True innovation requires something that makes all of us uncomfortable — failure. In class, I set the expectation that we all must fail in this class to be successful. When I voice that intention, you can imagine the looks I get. I doubt it’s on the syllabus for any other class. Failure makes us so uncomfortable because we think of it as an outcome. We think of a big red “F” on a test, a loss on the playing field or missed lines in a play. In this class, failure is never an outcome, it’s a process. What does failure look like in our class? The boys need to make choices that force them to learn new things and not just rely on what they already know how to do.
They must also welcome struggle. For so many, struggle is equated with a lack of intelligence. In this class, it’s a key step to learning. Students also need to take risks willingly by trying something that they know might not work. They must capitalize on their mistakes to “fail forward” and use them to find a new path. As a part of every project they do, the boys will reflect on their failures and how they overcame them during the process. As their teacher, my job is to support them through these steps so they can learn and grow. I must create a culture in our class of celebrating their failures. I must give them opportunities to try something that may not work.
BUILD (Boys Using Innovation to Learn and Design) began in 2014 under the tutelage of Carey Pohanka and Multimedia and Technology Specialist J.D. Jump. Pohanka, who joined StC in 2011, received her undergraduate degree from the University of Mary Washington and her Master of Education in curriculum and instruction, teaching, learning and facilitating educational change with technology.
I remember my ceramics teacher saying, “I’m not sure that will work, but I think you should try it.” Clearly, it did not. But taking that hammer to my molds, I learned a key step of the slip casting process and, ultimately, I figured out a better way to do what I was trying to accomplish. WINTER 2021 | 7
ALUMNI VOICE
Alumni Perspective: Operation Allied Refugee A First-Person Account of the U.S. Citizen and Ally Rescue Mission in Afghanistan By Cabell Doyle ’99
There was no hesitation to join Operation Allied Refugee when I turned on the news and saw the startling images of C-17s being overrun and bodies falling from the sky at Hamid Karzai International Airport. I’ve been a C-17 Air Force pilot for 16 years in the Reserves and National Guard. I gained my aviation experience in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and, while some might find this odd, Afghanistan was always a place I felt very safe after landing. There are other places in the world where it’s not uncommon to have armed groups approach our planes, but not where we have the military presence we did in Kabul, so it was clear that our U.S. citizens and allies in Afghanistan were in trouble. August 16, I was packing for a typical trip for my full-time job at American Airlines and said goodbye to my wife Frances as she left for work. I called my squadron at 9 a.m. to see if help was needed, and by noon we had formed a crew. My two-day airline trip to Miami had now changed to a 30-day military mission to Afghanistan. The next morning, our crew sat through extensive tactics and intel briefings while monitoring live drone feeds of the Kabul airport. We would enter one of three support stages: moving needed supplies from the United States to Germany; flying refugees from Qatar to places farther west; or flying missions into Kabul. The logistics of how we got to participate is an easy story to tell; the rest is far more difficult. “This is the saddest scene you will ever witness.” That was my first text home after flying 400 refugees to Germany. It’s impossible to describe the situation, except to say that it was a humanitarian disaster. Our crew had no support for passengers — no food, medical support, diapers or formula, limited water and only one lavatory. It was often close to 120 degrees. Babies
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were born on C-17s; people died on C-17s. With no supplies, we flew refugees over six hours to Germany and sat with them another 12 hours as the country decided how to deal with the sudden influx. And to make matters much worse, while we waited on the ground, no refugees were allowed off the plane. The smell was overwhelming. But if you saw the fear in the refugees’ eyes, it was impossible not to have compassion. They had risked their lives just to make it to the airport. Their journey often began with a text message to meet on the roof of a hotel where a Chinook scooped them up, or they braved dangerous crowds surrounding the gates to reach the airport. Either way, they hadn’t eaten or slept for days, and they had no idea where they were going. As passengers passed out from malnutrition and exhaustion while waiting, we did what we could to keep them alive, but emergency support was inconsistent. Whenever possible, we found the closest convenience store and bought as much food as possible to at least feed the children. After our first group of refugees finally deplaned in Germany, we departed back to Al Udeid AFB in Qatar to configure the plane for a trip into Kabul. By the time the cargo was delivered and the plane fueled, we were 22 hours into our 24-hour duty. Knowing this wasn’t legal and we could turn down the trip, we decided to press on. If we didn’t, 450 refugees wouldn’t get out.
Hayden Doyle ’27 and Cabell Doyle ’99 in an American Airlines plane cockpit in Philadelphia. Cabell Doyle ‘99, fourth from left, and his crew in Afghanistan after a 48-hour work period
Under the veil of darkness, we entered Afghan airspace. Using night vision goggles, we witnessed the mass exodus of vehicles driving south, trying to flee their country. Then we descended though the mountains and into the bowl where Kabul sits. Electricity to the runway lighting had been cut, so combat controllers laid glow sticks along the runway to mark our landing zone. Trash covered the airport from when it was overrun. Outside the gates, a near constant display of tracer fire reminded us that security was tenuous.
I also need to mention the support I received from home. My father-in-law died Aug. 20 after a battle with cancer. Upon getting this news, I packed to return home, but Frances told me to stay. She and her father were proud of the reason I went to Afghanistan, and she wanted me to finish the mission. My wife was amazingly strong and supported me despite her great loss. Additionally, my son Hayden ’27 was a great inspiration and support. He has a kind and compassionate soul and understands that self-sacrifice is necessary at times for others to prosper.
This scene played out day after day until our last mission into Kabul Aug. 29. After each flight, we were mentally and emotionally drained, but the focus always came back to why we were there. We had volunteered to rescue refugees from the Taliban, so each time we put on our hats of service and compassion and went to work. The flying was the most difficult I’d ever done in my career, yet it was all possible because we picked each other up when needed.
In closing, I believe in the goodness of humanity. We are lost in the noise of political discourse, but it’s upon each of you to rise above that. As students, realize that leadership doesn’t require you to have a letter jacket or be the student council president. In all walks of life, situations will arise in which there is significance to your contribution. If you see the opportunity and have the skills and means, volunteer. We went to Afghanistan because we were compelled by the desire to help others and, because of that, we rescued over 2,100 grateful refugees.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t the only St Christopher’s graduate from the Class of 1999 working on the evacuation. Tripp Copeland, working with the U.S. State Department, kept me updated on the security situation in Kabul as it evolved. Tripp has been working on negotiations with the Taliban for several years, so we were able to compare notes of what he was being told versus what I was witnessing.
Cabell Doyle ’99, a graduate of Furman University, is an American Airlines captain who has served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve for 16 years. He also runs a FedEx business, Saints Express (named by his son Hayden ’27), in Richmond.
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THE ST. CHRISTOPHER’S CHAPEL
ST. CHRISTOP “A Place in the Geography of These Men’s Hearts” By Kathleen Thomas
Photos: 1. The chapel steeple was installed shortly after the consecration in 1965. 2. The Rev. Whitney Edwards speaks in chapel. 3. Glee Club Director Greg Vick leads a group of students and alumni at Homecoming / Reunion weekend 2015.
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For more than 56 years, the cream-colored clapboard building has been used as a chapel, physically nestled in the center of campus, emotionally nestled in the hearts of boys who matriculate through. Upper School Chaplain Whitney Edwards describes it as “a place in the geography of these men’s hearts,” like their mother’s or grandmother’s home. “It’s a touchstone, and when they come back, it’s a part of where they return,” she said. When they take their places in the pews, she notices
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HER’S CHAPEL how they assume relaxed postures, reminiscent of boys and teenagers, different from the ones they carried in.
lunch room with picnic tables, where smells of sweat and rotting food surely intermingled often, if not daily.
And just as people are transformed and sometimes resurrected, so too are buildings, and none on campus more than the chapel constructed in 1917 as a gym. It was primarily used as a basketball court where spectators sat within inches of the sidelines and crammed in balconies just above the nets. The building also hosted drills for boys in uniform as a world war blazed across the Atlantic. Later the space segued into a rec room for boarders with ping pong and pool tables, a weight room and
When former French and Drama Teacher Joe Knox joined St. Christopher’s in 1958, he remembers the “decrepit, unsightly, dusty, drafty” space being used as a changing room for Bulldog Football. “There was a kind of pit down over there somewhere — I have wiped it from my mind — but it was very, very crowded, and that was where I was supposed to help keep order while about 100 boys got in and out of their uniforms,” he said in a January 1995 chapel talk. “I don’t remember anybody using any showers.”
After 48 years, StC’s fourth headmaster, Warren Elmer, oversaw the building’s metamorphosis into a chapel. In his talk, Knox detailed how an indoor wire fence was razed; floors were sanded and varnished; the heater repaired; new lights, a bell and belfry installed; and a brass lectern and pulpit retrieved from storage in the Episcopal Diocese headquarters on West Franklin Street. The building was painted and plywood wainscoting added, along with indoor stairs for balconies. A curtain used behind the speaker’s platform in Scott Gym for the School’s 50th anniversary was repurposed to hide the boiler. Simple wooden pews, notoriously uncomfortable to keep worshippers from dozing, were salvaged. Mr. Elmer is credited with constructing a cross to hang over the altar, which eventually had to be replaced due to warping from intense temperature changes due to uneven heating and cooling. The altar was donated and refinished by former Athletic Director Richard Kemper. When Edwards first visited the chapel, she was struck by the simplicity and intentionality of the interior, with each piece a gift from St. Christopher’s extended family. “We love beautiful things, but we don’t love fussy, fragile things in the sense that we have to be careful around them,” she said. ”You can’t break those pews. The boys can roll in there and be who they are in their fullest sense.” She’s particularly fond of the building’s wide windows that draw one’s eye skyward.
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The chapel opened with a service of consecration for All Saints’ Day 1965. Bishop Gibson, along with former headmasters Robert Bugg and John
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THE ST. CHRISTOPHER’S CHAPEL
Page Williams, and the dean of the Church Schools in the Diocese of Virginia, attended. Later, flags were hung from rafters, representing the School’s heritage. Today they represent languages taught, along with countries currently or recently represented by student exchanges. At some point, the chaplain and students painted shields representing the 12 apostles, simple boy artwork that adorns walls upstairs and down. In recent decades, the chapel has been home to grades nine through 12. Each grade level is assigned specific pews, and moving from one section to the next is a quiet rite of passage for those who matriculate through. The Middle School started using the space for services in 2019 before the pandemic shuttered campus, and last year COVID-19 mandates required separate, smaller gatherings in bigger spaces.
Nikkos Kovanes ‘22 makes an announcement during chapel.
Former Chaplain Melissa Hollerith broadened the chapel’s scope during her 20-year tenure with community events — faculty vs. student trivia competitions,
Former Upper School French and Drama Teacher Joe Knox compared the chapel building’s ups and downs to those we all feel in our lives, calling it the most important building on campus in a 1995 chapel talk. “This is the building that depends the most on what you and the surrounding natural beauty give to it. It’s here that we celebrate our victories together, and where we mourn the deaths of our fellow Saints. It’s here that we partake together of the Lord’s Supper. It’s here that we get ourselves revved up for each new day. It’s the only place on campus where we all sing together, pray together, and get that strong sense that we’re all in this together — that we are a community that cares about each other, that cares about our fellow man. What we do in this building helps to make all the other buildings serve their highest purposes.” From his book, “Brush your teeth and say your prayers,” which chronicles chapel talks he delivered during his tenure at St. Christopher’s
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birthday celebrations, Student Council Christmases, poetry recitations, academic and athletic recognitions. She remembers a doughnut-eating contest when overly enthusiastic fans spilled out of pews to cheer on classmates, leaning into the communion railing, splintering it in two. Because the railing was rarely used, administrators decided it didn’t need to be replaced. “Chapel was a natural space where we played and where we prayed,” Hollerith said. “This is where we sang, this is where we cried, where all the intimate moments happened. It was just ours. We cheered our recent victories and lauded our national merit finalists. It is where anything of import in our community was shared.” She said for those who didn’t attend, they missed something that couldn’t be recreated, bonding moments “where you can feel the glue that holds the community together.” The Rev. Edwards noted that one can feel a mood move through the room in an organic and powerful way, growing “in respect as the speakers offer themselves to the crowd,
Chapel was Upper School Head Tony Szymendera’s first experience at St. Christopher’s as a prospective teacher.
“Without anyone having to explain it, I had the opportunity to see and feel what was important to the community in 20 minutes or so. Everyone was there. What was valued was self-evident. The warmth, the brotherhood, the humor, the relationships, the very personality of the institution came through in the building, the people, and the minimal time sitting there. It set the tone and expectations for the day. I’ve loved every minute in that space since, and strive as one of the caretakers of that time and space to have others make that connection to our community every time they are there.”
and the boys share the experience as one.” Missionary Society President Kent Goode ’22 remembers reading the Passion during a Good Friday service as a freshman. “I remember feeling the sense of the room and how everyone was so dialed in and understood what this time meant. It was a cool feeling being up there.” It’s a place where memories take root — the Class of 1996 packing your parachute chapel talk, a 1991 mock homecoming court with Upper School Head Tony Szymendera and History Teacher John Burke donning dresses, wigs and makeup, Jack Bolling’s crowning for his 75th birthday, former Math Teacher Richard Towell’s reading of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and a senior class prank that transformed the building into a discotheque, complete with smoke machines and a mirrored ball hanging from the ceiling. And yet, even with that prank, respect for the space was observed. The boys used painter’s tape with their decorations so as not to damage the painted wood.
Students get fired up during a Halloween costume contest from days gone by.
Hollerith, now assistant priest at Christ
Writer-In-Residence Ron Smith arrived at StC in the 1970s, and describes himself as an atheist, resolved that if his new employer made him pray, he would resign.
“I had my prejudices. I assumed that chapel would be dogmatic and narrow. Within two months, chapel ritual and assembly were my favorite things each day, times for communion with my fellow searchers (after knowledge and after what can only be called spiritual experience), a time to dissolve my voice in the community voice by singing out, a time to utter and ponder sacred language. When, a few years later, a Jewish friend at the school said to me, ‘I love chapel,’ I cheered quietly inside. ... I find chapel a place where we can be uncertain together, human together.”
Upper School Assistant Dean of Faculty Andy Smith talked about the significance of the daily gathering in a 2019 weekend chapel talk and why he adopted the habit of arriving five minutes early. “There’s a calmness, and there’s a serenity here with the pews and the flags and the floor and the balconies and everything else that’s a part of this location, and it’s a really important way for me to begin my day. Then that bell rings, and the boys enter, we find ourselves five days a week throughout the entire school year in our daily gathering. For me it has become something resembling a family meal, that time your family has to get together to share whatever kind of food or bread it might be. It’s not so much about the meal itself. It’s about the connection. It’s the fact that we’re here yet again.”
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THE ST. CHRISTOPHER’S CHAPEL
Refinished benches and floor in 2021 uplift the chapel space.
Church, Georgetown, misses the intimacy. “At St. Christopher’s, I could see all their faces. It’s sacred ground with the faculty encircling the boys, as if they’re saying, ‘We will surround you. It might be a good day, it might be a bad day, but either way, we’re here to walk with you and support you.’” People of all faiths and no faith are welcomed to take part in simple services that include a hymn, lesson, prayer and message. Jack Farhi ’07 remembers getting his rabbi to speak at chapel and how it was the people there who made the experience so memorable. He remains grateful to the Rev. Hollerith, who reached out and supported him when his family was going through a tough stretch. Hollerith said that chapel, similar to parenting, creates a portfolio that people will lean back into
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later in life: “That’s chapel at its best, that you knew God’s love in that room.” Time and time again, alumni return to campus and reference chapel as the experience they miss most. “There is something truly magical about getting to start your day as a community there,” said Stephen Davenport ’08. “In my life, anything close to that has never been replicated.” Now working as StC’s leadership giving officer, he still cherishes time there, noting that the public speaking skill set is cultivated and nurtured at StC, largely through chapel, and also where singing loudly is expected. All buildings require maintenance and improvement, and fundraising for the graduating Classes of 2020 and 2021 targeted the chapel, bringing in $300,000, half going to renovations and half to create an endowment to support the
“This is our place where we need to take our time and reflect on what we have here. We gather together, pray together, share a laugh together and listen to each other.” — Kent Goode ’22 Missionary Society President
building’s ongoing and future needs. At the front entrances, bricks were redone and engraved to honor those alumni who funded the recent renovations. Last summer, the scuffed-up hardwoods and cracked pews were refinished to a soft and buttery sheen. To accommodate growing Upper School enrollments, the speaking platform was reduced in width to make room for four pews that seat an additional 24 boys. The red carpet covering the platform was replaced with wood. A new audiovisual system, the most expensive improvement, allows for state-of-the-art streaming and recording. Holders installed under benches will soon house copies of the Book of Common Prayer. “The idea is to preserve and enhance the space so that it’s fully functional for our boys today and for alumni,” said Director of Development Jane Garnet Brown. “Our No. 1 concern is wanting to make sure that the chapel tradition continues, that this space is well stewarded so that generations to come have that experience.”
Boys singing in chapel is a long-cherished tradition.
Future projects may include turning the storage area into a bathroom and buying the proper Episcopal furnishings for funerals, weddings and baptisms to expand the building’s use for alumni, faculty and staff. Meanwhile, Edwards said she cannot think of another place on campus where the boys take such ownership. “They’re invested in it in a way most religious communities only dream of,” she said. “It’s their chapel. It has held so much respect from these kids and their predecessors for so many generations that it’s palpable. It’s too simple of a space for anyone to mistake the building for the faith they hold in it. It’s like a reflection of their own desire to be good and to have integrity and be who they say they are.” Seniors and freshman return to Memorial Chapel in 2021 wearing masks and socially distanced.
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AROUND CAMPUS
Hands-On Administrator Assumes Lower School Leadership By Kathleen Thomas Todd Stansbery calls boys at home to wish them a happy birthday and follows up with cards. He usually sits with students during lunch to talk and get to know them. This selfdescribed “hands-on guy” seeks for students to know and trust him and have confidence that he cares. Now in his 32nd year teaching in independent schools, the former head of Tuxedo Park School in New York is grateful for new challenges in working with all boys. The energetic, enthusiastic educator is working through the transition from associate head to head when Assistant Head of School Sarah Mansfield, who filled in last year during a nationwide search, hands over the reins later this year. As a former science teacher, Stansbery seeks to enhance sciences so that students develop a love for nature. He would like to coordinate with other divisions for greater student engagement. His office shelves include a collection of bones found hiking, including the lower jaw of a sea turtle and a black bear skull he cut with his pocket knife from the furry corpse still intact in a frigid stream. He cites some career highlights as outside adventures with students, such as hikes on the Appalachian Trail, Chincoteague Island and Calvert Cliffs in the Northern Neck, where Africa and North America once connected. He’s even chaperoned trips to Disney World where students explored lessons in science, such as the physics of roller coasters. 16 | StC Magazine
Stansbery notes his fondness for books, which dominate his office bookshelves, ranging from teaching philosophies to sociology and history, such as “Collapse.” “Books are important to me,” he said. “They bring relevance, why things are important in the world.” He’s enjoying making connections here, sometimes unexpected, such as learning that one of his former students is now an StC parent. With two grown children of his own, Stansbery enjoys living in the Museum District, biking and trying out new restaurants with his wife Nancy. As he reaches out to boys, Stansbery seeks to demonstrate consistency with the faculty, wanting to be thoughtful with all reactions and to “lead with a kind heart.” Being a strict disciplinarian is not his mantra. “Boys give me respect because they know me, and I know what their interests and emotional needs are,” he said. “I’m finding out how to harness the energy of the boys, but celebrate the energy of the boys.”
Education College of Wooster, B.A. in sociology and geology; Johns Hopkins University, M.S. in environmental science and policy Experience Head of Tuxedo Park School, Tuxedo Park, New York; head of The Swain School, Allentown, Pennsylvania; founding head of Lower School, St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, Florida; science teacher and associate head of Lower School, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School, Alexandria, Virginia
On why he left a job as head of Tuxedo Park School “I wanted to connect more with kids. It’s my expectation, not a hope, to know and love every boy.” On teaching “It’s always important to connect things. Relevance is the most important aspect of a good teacher’s delivery.” On his approach “I’ve always wanted parents to know I’m in partnership with them. I can certainly tell them what I see at school, and they can tell us what they see at home so we can work together to help boys grow into healthy-minded people.”
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ON CAMPUS | FALL 2021 6
1. Saints from all divisions, faculty and staff met on the Terraces for the All-School Opening Service in early September. Seniors walked kindergarten boys across St. Christopher’s Road to attend. 2. Alex Lim ‘22 was named as a National Merit Semifinalist, a group that represents less than 1 percent of high school seniors across the country. 3. Middle School students signed the Honor Pledge, which holds students to the highest standards of academic integrity. 4. Welcome Justus Waller, our exchange student from Lübeck, Germany, who is living with Nate Glerum ‘22 and his family. He’s passionate about basketball and SpaceX, the trailblazing aerospace company. 5. Middle School returned to Saturdays of Service at the SpeakUp 5K with the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation. Throughout the year, St. Christopher’s and St. Catherine’s middle schools collaborate on local service projects. 6. StC’s Board of Governors join the Upper School leadership chapel service. Juniors and seniors, gathered in Ryan Recital Hall, were recognized for their contributions to academic, athletic, artistic and spiritual life on campus. 7. Parents joined kindergarten boys to make life-sized self-portraits.
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8. Freshmen meet regularly with their senior peer advisors to discuss Upper School life. These weekly meetings build connections and help ninth graders ease the transition to Upper School. 9. Upper School boys showcased their interests and skills at a club fair inside the Field House in September.
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StC LEGACIES
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These new student legacies joined this fall: Top Row: Charles Antrim ’34, son of Mason Antrim ’01 and grandson of John Mason Antrim ’69; Wyndham Antrim ’35, son of Hugh Antrim ’02 and grandson of Hugh Antrim ’67; Jac Clary ’27, son of Jim Clary ’98 and grandson of Bev Clary ’66; Evan Clary ’30, son of Jim Clary ’98 and grandson of Bev Clary ’66. Second Row:Thomas Dickinson ’29, grandson of Jim Hovis ’67; Charlie Figg ’29, grandson of Coleman Figg ’53 *; Hank Harris ’35, son of Clay Harris ’02; William Hartt ’35, grandson of Bruce Gottwald ’76 *. Third Row: Will Heiberger ’34, son of Sam Heiberger ’00; Burwell Horne ’35, grandson of Meade Horne ’71; Harrison Kelly ’34, son of Scott Kelly ’03; Byrd Kemp ’34, son of Charles Kempe ’01. Fourth Row: Grant Macdonald ’35, son of Hunter Macdonald ’05 and grandson of Scott Macdonald ’72; Henry Mattox ’33, son of Matt Mattox ’98; Frank Mattox ’34, son of Matt Mattox ’98; Armie Rawles ’35, grandson of Jamie Rawles ’69. Bottom Row: Trey Robertson ’34, son of Ryan Robertson ’04; Eli Tatum ’27, grandson of Scott Miller ’67; Gray Valentine ’35, son of Charles Valentine ’93 and grandson of Charlie Valentine ‘47 *; Coleman Wall ’34, grandson of Whit Wall ’69.
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* Deceased
Welcome New Members Board of Governors and Alumni Board
George Dunston ‘87
Dave Mitchell
Tripp Taliaferro ‘97
John Burke ‘70
Board of Governors
Board of Governors
Board of Governors
Alumni Board
George Dunston ’87 is chief privacy officer and associate general counsel at Barnes & Noble Inc. He graduated from Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a board member of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s New York chapter and has been an active StC alumni volunteer, including his role as co-leader of the alumni group of New York.
Dave Mitchell is president of David R. McGeorge Car Co. Inc. The Virginia Tech graduate belongs to the Council of CEOs and is a board member of Virginia for Veterans. He has been an active School volunteer as a parent with three Saints alumni children: Hayden ’17, Bronwyn ’19 (St. Catherine’s) and Carlyn ’21 (St. Catherine’s).
Tripp Taliaferro ’97 is president and chief investment officer of Tower 3 Investments LLC. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate is an Essex County Conservation Alliance Board member and youth football, basketball and baseball coach. He has been an active alumni and parent volunteer. His three children are Saints: Madeline ’27 (St. Catherine’s), Woods ’30 and Ware ’32.
John Burke ’70 runs J.K. Burke Law Firm in Richmond and has served as a longtime Class Agent and volunteer and is on the committee for his 50th class reunion. The University of Virginia and University of Virginia School of Law graduate is father to three Saints: Jack ’97, Smith ‘04 and Ruthie ’00 (St. Catherine’s) and grandparent to Hays Ould ’34.
Rand DuPriest ‘88
Toks Ladejobi ‘93
Connell Mullins ‘93
Riel Smith-Harrison ‘04
Alumni Board
Alumni Board
Alumni Board
Alumni Board
Rand DuPriest ’88, an account executive in the Freight Brokerage Division of XPO Logistics in Richmond,is a longtime class agent and board member of TAD’s KIDS Foundation (created in honor of his brother Tad ’91). This Hampden-Sydney College graduate is the father of Sydney ’18 (St. Catherine’s).
Toks Ladejobi ’93, a principal at Blackstar Stability in Washington, D.C., graduated from Morehouse College and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He joins as a member of the alumni group of Washington, D.C.
Connell Mullins ’93, a litigator with Spotts Fain PC, graduated from the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond School of Law. A longtime class agent, he is the father of three Saints: Walker ‘24, Hank ’26 and Patrick ’26.
Riel Smith-Harrison ’04, a urologist with Virginia Commonwealth University, graduated from Washington and Lee University and the University of Virginia Medical School, where he also completed his fellowship with a research interest in oncofertility. WINTER 2021 | 21
AROUND CAMPUS
Y T E I C O S S E N I P L L TA
Upper School English Teacher Key Randolph ‘84, who is going on 34 years at StC, finds his name on the plaque.
In 2020, St. Christopher’s established the Tall Pines Society to honor faculty and staff employed by the School for 25 years or more. A reception was held Oct. 5 in the Historic Corridor to honor the inaugural group.
Former Middle School Administrative Assistant Janie Kingsley with former Middle School History Teacher Cliff Dickinson and Middle School Science Teacher Keena Fitch
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Former Upper School History Teacher Lee Camp
SAINTS RESEARCH FELLOWS Inaugural Cohort Off and Running By Kim Hudson, director of The Center for the Study of Boys In March 2021, we launched a new professional growth program, Saints Research Fellows. With a goal of growing a culture of teachers as researchers who are experts in the ways boys learn best, the program will promote best practices, curate resources, encourage scholarly discussions with educators around the world, and conduct and share research. The inaugural cohort includes Third Grade Teacher Cynthia Brown, Middle School Science Teacher Kyle Burnett, Extended Day and Upper School Spanish Teacher Gracie Cuevas, First Grade Teacher Paula Marks, Upper School English Teacher Emily Nason, Middle School Resource Teacher Claudia Segneri and Second Grade Teacher Hayden Vick. The team is led by Lower School Research Coordinator Laura Sabo and Middle School Research Coordinator Derek Porter, with support from Director Kim Hudson. Last summer, Saints Research Fellows participated in a two-day training workshop focused on research methods. Each month, they will review research on boys and share their findings through scholarly discussions. “I’m excited to dig into the research to understand the why. I’m also excited by the opportunity to learn more about current research related to boys and to share that information in a way that strengthens our delivery of instruction and the boys’ understanding.” — Cynthia Brown, third grade teacher
“I’m excited to put our research into practice immediately with my own students and to model the importance of lifelong learning for my boys.”
“Sometimes I do something in the classroom, and it works, and my boys love it, but I have no idea why it was successful. I’m so excited to understand why my boys connect with a lesson. I’m excited to have research data to help encourage me to try new creative pedagogical techniques. And I’m thrilled to share these findings with my colleagues!” — Emily Nason, Upper School English teacher
— Hayden Vick, second grade teacher
VISION To be a global thought leader in best practices for educating boys, serving as a resource for educators and parents seeking expertise in raising boys
MISSION Reflecting St. Christopher’s commitment to being a global leader in educating boys, The Center for the Study of Boys is dedicated to promoting best practices in engaging and teaching boys through research, professional development and programming.
CORE VALUES • We respect, understand and value the complexity and uniqueness of boys. • We provide opportunities for educators, parents and the boys themselves to understand and reflect on their own journeys to manhood and to learn from the journeys of others. • We seek to understand the experiences of boys first and foremost through the boys’ voices, and we honor the boys’ contributions to the work of the center. • We value partnerships with educators from around the world, knowing through this work we will address issues facing boys.
Saints Research Fellows gather for a two-day training workshop on research methods.
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CLASS OF 2020 REUNITED
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The Class of 2020 gathered in June, a year after their graduation where they received their diplomas individually, to celebrate as one in Upper School chapel. Joe Brennan ’20 said it was great to have everyone in the same room together in a space they loved. “It’s that sense of community you get every morning there, something you never understand until you leave,” he said. “It really is a special place, and just being there surrounded by those guys I grew up with gave a sense of closure to the year that just felt like it was missing something.” Speakers included Class Valedictorian Garnett Nelson, Salutatorian Joe Parker and Missionary Head Jude Reiferson.
“We all are a year out of high school, and the most advice I can give you is probably inapplicable to whatever challenges you will face, but I will reemphasize the lessons that you taught me in my 13 years at St. Christopher’s: Associate with other people seeking greatness and don’t wait to create the change you want to see in the culture around you. Know that if you are struggling to find other communities like this one, there are about 80 people in this room who will always have your back and show up wherever you need them. In order to keep our name as the greatest senior class of all time, we need to keep the same commitment to each other and St. Christopher’s in the future, regardless of where we end up. We are all very well-practiced with virtual communication, so distance is no longer an excuse. Our senior year was cut down to about six months, but the quality of that time mattered much more than the quantity. I wouldn’t trade my senior year to be a part of any other class, and I am forever grateful to you all.” — Garnett Nelson ’20, valedictorian
“We are the class of Red Man, the class of creating clubs, the class of breaking athletic records and packing events. Our legacy endures beyond the days we spent on these grounds, and I am proud to be up here remembering it, even if it’s a little late. After all, over the past year and a half, we’ve had quite a bit thrown at us. In the face of a global pandemic, our transition to college, an election year, and so much more, it’s hard to keep space in your head for high school accomplishments. I hope, however, that today serves as a reminder to remember, share and celebrate those moments, even if they seem distant.” — Joe Parker ’20, salutatorian
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HOMECOMING | OCTOBER 15–16 2021
HOMECOMING & REUNION WEEKEND OCTOBER 15 -16, 2021 The beautiful fall weekend kicked off with a 50th reunion breakfast followed by morning tours of the new Arts Center, where an alumni art show was on display. That evening alumni, their former teachers and coaches, as well as 20 reunion classes came back to celebrate at the Red & Gray Reunion Soirée on campus in the Historic Corridor. Saturday highlights included the annual Alumni Fun Run combined with a new bike ride, an alumni chapel featuring former Middle School History Teacher Cliff Dickinson, a campus tour with Headmaster Mason Lecky and cookout, followed by a football game against Woodberry Forest School that the Saints won 47-14.
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Reunion
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REUNION CHAPEL TALK Former Middle School History Teacher Cliff Dickinson said that in composing his Saturday morning chapel talk, he relived his last 27 years when he formed strong and meaningful relationships. Looking out at his audience, he said, “I can remember where you sat in class, and I probably can remember a story about you.” He talked about his teaching philosophies and his focus on the fundamentals. Dickinson said that he tried to teach skills no one taught him, including how to be a better listener, how to take accurate, thorough notes, how to read with purpose, the importance of reading sources that conflict with your personal views to cultivate an open mind, and developing a broad vocabulary. He is well remembered for teaching boys to communicate their thoughts in a clear, logical, efficient manner in a five-paragraph essay. His lessons tended to focus on three times of history — “what happened, what we were told happened and what we were told to believe happened.” Dickinson believes boys worked so diligently in his class because he valued the potential of each individual. He views his teaching as the greatest and most fulfilling career he could have pursued, ending his talk with a thank you to attendees for what they shared with him. WINTER 2021 | 29
Reunion
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ARTS CENTER OPENING
Alumni & Friends Opening Concert CELEBRATING the StC Arts Center
Grammy-winning Mason Bates ’95 composed “Rags and Hymns of River City,” for the Atlantic Chamber Ensemble, who performed the four movements. Bates provided live electronic sounds.
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Tenor Will Ferguson ’95, a worldrenowned opera singer, sang selections that ranged from Schubert art songs to a Broadway number from Bernstein’s “West Side Story.”
Adrian Duke ’87 showcased his New Orleans-themed piano and vocal stylings on “Early in the Morning” and “Ophelia” alongside his band.
Upper School Teacher and Jazz Band Director John Winn was a lead organizer for the event and served as master of ceremonies. Ira White ’11 choreographed and danced the exuberant “Itching To Groove” to Isaac Hayes’ song, “Run Fay Run.”
The Oct. 14 opening concert in the StC Arts Center’s Louis F. Ryan Recital Hall featured a stellar roster of alumni artists, graduates of the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s. When tickets went quickly, the School set up an overflow area on the Terraces where families, alumni, neighbors, faculty and staff relaxed on picnic blankets and fold-up chairs while watching performances on a big screen.
Buck Dietz ’82, a touring musical theater performer, sang several songs from Broadway shows, woven together to describe his time as a boy growing up at StC.
Randy Johnston ’75’s trio performed his own jazz-tinged composition, “One for Detroit,” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “Rich Man’s Spiritual.”
Dean King ’81’s reading of his moving personal short story, “The Prayer Bells of Heaven,” about Doc Watson’s influence on his life and family was followed by Wells Hanley ’93’s interpretation of that story with his song, “On the Searching For You,” featuring Will Perkinson ’93 on guitar. Hanley also composed and performed a song honoring the three StC teachers who had the greatest impact on him, former Glee Club Director Hope Armstrong Erb, former Middle School Head Andy Smith and Writer-In-Residence Ron Smith.
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Faculty News Third Grade Teacher Cynthia Brown serves on the Advisory Board for Higher Achievement in Richmond, which supports students in systemically underresourced communities.
Lower School Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Academic Support Services Lisa Snider had two pottery pieces exhibited this summer at Art Works Gallery.
Lower School Spanish Teacher Isabel Ramirez Shealy served a second year as facilitator in the Latinx Affinity group for the National Association of Independent Schools’ People of Color Conference. NAIS held biweekly meetings throughout the fall to train facilitators for the online event, Reckoning With Impacts, Rolling With Just Intent, which took place earlier this winter. Shealy said the work would impact future efforts to acknowledge responsibility and take action to redress wrongs.
Middle School Instructional Technologist Brian Zollinhofer and English Teacher Liz Boykin attended the Stanley H. King Conference in Colorado, Making Relationships That Help Students Grow. On the side, Zollinhofer is working with his brother to create an app that helps the user decide whether watching a recorded sporting event is worth one’s time, based on algorithms.
The following short stories by Middle School English Teacher Alex Knight were published: “Bus Ride” in the September Dead Mule Literary Journal and “Shed” in the October Eunoia Literary Review. He also had two paintings accepted in juried gallery shows at Crossroads Art Center and Artworks, both in Richmond.
The Center for the Study of Boys Director Kim Hudson is a facilitator for the International Boys’ Schools Coalition course, Boys and Belonging: Creating Inclusive and Affirming Schools for Boys. Participants include educators from boys’ schools around the world. College counselors Jim Jump and Ginny Turner attended the Potomac & Chesapeake Association for College
Admission Counseling’s Summer Institute in July. Jump also served as a guest faculty member for the MAZE program sponsored by Washington and Lee University in August and was quoted in articles in Inside Higher Ed and Knowable Magazine, the latter of which also appeared on the Smithsonian Magazine website. Middle School History Teacher Jon Piper directed “Nevermore! Edgar Allan Poe, The Final Mystery,” an October co-production of Atlee High School and the Chamberlayne Actors Theatre. Upper School Jazz Band Director John Winn performed on stage and arranged music for Virginia Repertory Theatre’s recent production of “Ella and Her Fella, Frank” at the November Theatre downtown. He also played and had some of his original music performed at Loon Lake Live!, a music festival in the Adirondacks. Winn also participated in Violins of Hope, a collection of concerts using instruments that belonged to Jews before and after World War II. In October, he also took part in a chamber ensemble that performed three of his arrangements of George Gershwin songs at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. The Richmond Times-Dispatch ran an article Sept. 10 on Varsity Soccer Coach Jay Wood, focusing on his 400th win at the end of the 2020 season. In August, Writer-in-Residence Ron Smith’s fifth volume of poems, “That Beauty in the Trees,” was accepted for publication by Louisiana State University Press.
“Lincoln, surfside” by Alex Knight
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“Swimmer #2” by Alex Knight
All StC faculty in the English and history departments participated in the annual Curriculum Institute in June when they took a deep dive into their curricula, examined their courses through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion, and developed a plan for further growth and development.
NEW SAINTS Stryker Graves was born May 6 to Lower School Counselor Catherine Graves and her husband Adam, joining 6-year-old sister Greenlee. Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Hamill Jones and his wife Susanna welcomed their third daughter, Helen Brailsford Jones, June 13. James Phillip “Jack” Moore was born July 24 to Fifth Grade Teacher Quentin Moore and his wife Bryn. StC Upper School Counselor Sazshy Kane-West and her husband Jonah welcomed Sarah Valentine “Sally” Kane-West June 22. Quentin Moore and his wife Bryn with their newborn son Jack and dog
Sazshy Kane-West with her daughter Sally
NEW CHAIRHOLDERS Three new chairs were awarded last year to the following faculty:
Upper School History Teacher Billy Abbott holds the Rives S. Hardy Chair of Distinguished Teaching, established by the members of the Class of 1965 in celebration of their 50th reunion. The class made this gift in honor of the beloved former teacher, coach, administrator, advisor and mentor who believed in the importance of meaningful relationships between students and teachers, set high standards, and developed lifelong bonds.
Upper School Academic Instructional Technologist Carey Pohanka was awarded the Robert Haskins Jr. ‘35 Mastership of Technology established by the alumnus, scholar, engineer and inventor to inspire creativity and innovation in incorporating technology throughout the curriculum.
Middle School Science Teacher Mary Anderson was named the Hugh Powell Kelly Chair of Science Technology, established in memory of the scientist and communications engineer by his widow Ethel Kelly. A pioneer in the field of communications, Kelly was an integral member of the 1962 Telstar team.
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New Faculty & Staff Stephanie Barnes teaches ninth grade grammar, composition and literature and joins after eight years at her alma mater, James River High School. Barnes earned her B.A. in English and secondary education from the College of William & Mary, and her M.Ed. in educational psychology from the University of Virginia.
Elie Caples is a junior kindergarten co-teacher in Extended Day. A Virginia Tech graduate with a B.S. in human development, she’s working on her Master of Teaching degree at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Kerry Court is the new director of the arts. She served as assistant director of choral music for St. Albans and National Cathedral Schools in D.C., and as St. Catherine’s Middle and Upper School musical and choral director and co-chair of the music department. Court earned her B.A. from Bucknell University and a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music.
Robert Cook joins the StC security team. This James Madison University graduate served in the U.S. Army during the first Gulf War. After the service, he worked for ExxonMobil as an operations manager until joining the FBI as a special agent, retiring in January 2020.
Drake Dragone ’15 works with first grade in Extended Day. He has worked for St. Christopher’s Summer Programs since 2014 and helped coordinate the Afternoon Adventures program last summer. He earned a B.A. from the University of Mary Washington and is a recording engineer, composer and member of two Richmond-area bands.
Planned Giving and Leadership Giving Officer Valerie Hedley is an attorney who devoted her practice to trust and estate planning and administration. She is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond.
Kaitlyn Gentry works with different age groups in Extended Day and is currently pursuing a degree in elementary education at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Middle School History Teacher Rob Horne previously worked in Northern Virginia at Flint Hill School and Middleburg Academy. This University of Richmond alumnus was an archaeologist before he became a teacher.
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Upper School Math Teacher David Geary formerly worked at J.R. Tucker High School in Henrico County. The Benedictine College Prep valedictorian graduated from Virginia Military Institute, where he played baseball.
Middle School Administrative Assistant Amy Loving, a Virginia Commonwealth University graduate, formerly worked as director of sales and marketing for The John Marshall Ballrooms.
Tommy Owen is head varsity wrestling coach and health teacher and also helps with Middle School athletics. He earned his B.A. from Boise State University and his M.A. from Grand Canyon University. Recently, Owen has been a history and special education teacher at Southampton Middle School in Courtland, Virginia.
Jake Simard is a first grade co-teacher and teaches theater fine arts for third, fourth and fifth grades. He has a B.F.A from Pace University. He served as theater director for Windham High School in New Hampshire, and worked as a teaching associate for Triple Threat Theatre Camp. He is currently working on a master’s in education.
Extended Day Kindergarten Co-Teacher Justin Sikes also teaches English to students in China through the English First platform. A graduate of Old Dominion University, he is pursuing his M.A. in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) through Southeast Missouri State University.
Head of Lower School Todd Stansbery. See his biographical information on page 16.
Middle School Chaplain Michael Sweeney is a Haverford College graduate who served St. David’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., while attending Virginia Theological Seminary. Before that, he was director of family and youth ministry at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond and taught at Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts.
Upper School Chemistry Teacher Brandon Stevens worked as a chemical engineer with Honeywell and Eastman Chemical Co. He received his B.A. from Alabama University and his M.A. from the University of Tennessee, both in chemical engineering. He also teaches part-time at the University of Tennessee.
Ginny Turner is working parttime in the college counseling office. The St. Catherine’s and College of William & Mary graduate majored in English and played field hockey. She coached for 14 years at Davidson College, where she was twice named Coach of the Year.
Chinese teacher Maggie Varland is a graduate of Collegiate School. She has a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from Hult International Business School in Shanghai. For the past decade, she worked in the business sector, taught social studies and served as a college counselor for four schools in China.
Middle School Librarian Cara Williams has a B.S. from the University of Southern Indiana and an M.A. from the University of Kentucky. Williams previously worked at the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, where she focused on middle grade initiatives.
Extended Day Junior Kindergarten Co-Teacher Peggy Younts has a B.A. from Simmons College and an M.A. from the University of Virginia. She started her career in the historic preservation field, and has served as a volunteer for Boy Scouts of America. Most recently, she worked for Roslyn Retreat Center.
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Development and Communications Staff MANAGER OF DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS Blair Belote
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Jane Garnet Brown
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE AND UPPER SCHOOL CHAPLAIN Laura Brown
SPECIAL FEATURES EDITOR Gene Bruner ‘78
LEADERSHIP GIVING OFFICER Stephen Davenport ‘08
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Sharon Dion
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CAMPAIGNS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS Katherine Flohr
DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Cappy Gilchrist
ARCHIVES PROJECT MANAGER Tressa Hamby
DIRECTOR OF PLANNED GIVING Valerie Hedley
DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER George Knowles
DIRECTOR OF STEWARDSHIP AND PLANNED GIVING MANAGER Penny Lowrey
MANAGER OF SPECIAL EVENTS Cricket O’Connor
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AFFAIRS AND ANNUAL GIVING Jennifer Scallon
COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT Kathleen Thomas
DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AFFAIRS AND ANNUAL GIVING Davis Wrinkle ‘81 The Annual Report includes all donations received by St. Christopher’s School between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. Every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy in this publication. Please contact the Development Office at (804) 282-3185 or alumni@stcva.org for any corrections.
St. Christopher’s School welcomes qualified students to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies and athletic and other School-administered programs. The Magazine of St. Christopher’s
Member of VAIS, NAIS, NAES and IBSC
