Spartan Magazine, Winter/Spring 2024

Winter/Spring 2024

Honoring Outstanding Alumni and Student Achievement from The Hill to the World

SNAPSHOT Athena Toba-Keith ’29, Allie Nelson ’29 and Caden Chen ’29 walk across campus on a sunny afternoon holding their musical instruments

CONTENTS

3 Ambassadors to the World

8 Adapting to the Current Moment to Preserve What is Real

14 The Heartbeat of The Hill

18 In Community

22 SSTX Life

28 Alumni News

head of school

Christopher L. Gunnin

chief marketing and communications officer

Catenya McHenry

managing editor

Erin Rydquist

alumni news editor

Michelle Geo Olmstead

senior graphic designer

Joanna King

contributors

Vicki Woodruff, Alberta Phillips, Catenya McHenry, Erin Rydquist, Michelle Geo Olmstead, David Allen ’19

photographer

Chris Caselli ’82

Spartan Magazine is published twice a year for constituents of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

Copyright © 2024 St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

subscription information and address changes

Sharon Sparlin, ssparlin@sstx.org or 512.327.1213 x158

PHOTOS

COVER: Isaac McAllen ’24 walks near Temple Upper School building on the way to class

Top to Bottom: Seema Pandya ’94 stands with her art installation; Upper School students play Spikeball on the Hill; Students enjoy a school pep rally

By the time you are reading this edition, it is close to springtime in the Texas Hill Country and the paths along The Hill will soon be surrounded by wildflowers. Each year, the delight of their beauty is a treat. As an English teacher, and especially at St. Stephen’s where we are so deeply tied to the land, I often see nature as a metaphor for our shared work and life together. At the heart of our mission is the desire to create an environment where seeds are planted, nurtured and can grow — seeds of inquiry, self-discovery, empathy and more.

The Greeks had a word for unlocked potential and intended purpose — telos. Within each wildflower seed is the telos of a riotous blanket of color; within each of us is the telos of a life well-lived. At St. Stephen’s, we believe in the telos of every student. We see our sacred work as creating programs, experiences and a culture where students feel equipped to explore and discover their potential and purpose.

Whether in the classroom, in an art studio, on the playing fields or around the dining table, students are invited to investigate what interests them as they begin what we hope is a lifelong journey of asking questions about what they value and believe. Our students grapple with complex texts, build relationships with classmates from all corners of the globe and are asked to take in vast amounts of information and then analyze, synthesize what they are reading, hearing and discussing across all sorts of disciplines. This is hard work, and if you will allow me to continue the metaphor, readying the “ground” of that sort of learning environment takes all of us — parents, alumni, faculty, staff, grandparents and friends.

In two years, we will celebrate our 75th anniversary. I’m excited to think of how we will celebrate and honor the ways our community has always come together to prepare our students for the world. A main component of the 75th anniversary will be embarking on the largest comprehensive campaign the school has ever undertaken. As we continue in the advanced gifts phase of this ambitious campaign, I’m energized by our initial success and grateful for the support of the early investors. We look forward to conversations about supporting our top priorities with the many parents, alumni and friends that will be needed to make the campaign successful. Gifts from donors will allow us to extend and strengthen all we do — including fostering an environment that unlocks potential.

From the daily achievements of our students, supported by innovation of our faculty to the many ways alumni give back to strengthening the experience for current and future students, our community believes in and invests in one another. Among the great joys of working at a school is the inherent optimism and promise of young people: they are our future innovators, problem solvers and leaders. Thank you for your belief in our students and their potential for extraordinary achievements.

All my best,

Chris Gunnin Head of School

PHOTO

RIGHT: Jaden Alvarez ’23 rings the bell on the last day of classes

Ambassadors to the World

SENIORS RINGING THE BELL ON THEIR LAST DAY OF CLASS has been a St. Stephen’s tradition for generations; it signals the transition from student to alum. Our 8,000 alumni are a very important group of ambassadors. Their time on campus, no matter the length, is not only memorable but also foundational as the skills and knowledge they gained while students will guide their paths and journeys. Many students leave St. Stephen’s as better people and better professionals who are prepared to enter their next chapter both academically and socially. These stories of alumni achievement demonstrate St. Stephen’s commitment to inspire all learners for lives of meaning and impact from The Hill to the world.

Leadership on the Shores

COMMANDER WILSON NICHOLS ’16

WILSON NICHOLS ’16 IS THE

COMMANDING OFFICER of United States Coast Guard Cutter Dolphin, which homeports in Mobile, Alabama. Overseeing a crew of 10 enlisted people, Nichols is responsible for implementing maritime rules aimed at protecting sea turtles and sea birds, and overseeing search and rescue missions of people lost or adrift at sea.

“Any mariner out there can pick up the radio and call the Coast Guard and say, ‘Hey, I’m in danger and I need your help,’” he says. That happened recently when Nichols’ crew rescued two men adrift on a life raft that they used to stay afloat for 30 hours after their boat sank.

The 2016 St. Stephen’s graduate credits his alma mater for providing the building blocks for a life of public service, especially the school’s purpose-driven instruction, competitive sports program, and engagement with students from other countries.

“I’m not sure how much people know about St. Stephen’s,” Nichols says, adding, “They should know that the school is centered on service: service to the community and service to something greater than yourself. It’s a place that is really important to me and has had a huge impact on me.”

That impact and focus on service began when he was a boy growing up on the St. Stephen’s campus. His parents, Kim Garey, head of Upper School and Clay Nichols, leadership giving officer, work for the school and still live on campus. As a student, Nichols loved the natural beauty of the nearly 400 acres nestled in the heart of Austin that he describes as “a kid’s paradise” with its soccer fields, gyms and outdoor adventures. Nichols recently returned to campus with his new wife Kirsten Carson, also in the Coast Guard,

for a more formal wedding ceremony in the campus Chapel in the presence of family and friends after they eloped during the pandemic.

Nichols concedes he was not the best student academically or behavior-wise and wishes he had taken his early high school years “more seriously.” Nonetheless, he credits St. Stephen’s with helping him transition to being a better, more conscientious student focused on a career in public service as he matriculated through the Coast Guard Academy.

“Really learning how to buckle down and do something challenging is absolutely a lifetime skill,” says Nichols, 25. “In the Coast Guard, we have about 40,000 active duty members, so your reputation and your community are incredibly important.”

Aside from the academic rigor and focus on public service, Nichols cites the school’s soccer academy as another component that helped him choose the Coast Guard as a career. St. Stephen’s Soccer Academy trains students to play soccer at the collegiate level and was the right fit for Nichols, who wanted to continue playing soccer at a NCAA Division III school. He went on to play on the Coast Guard Academy’s soccer team until bad knees ended his participation.

Nichols says it is no secret St. Stephen’s can be academically challenging, especially for students who play sports, but he learned how to contextualize those challenges. “You go into the dorms and talk to kids from China, Korea and other places, who are thousands of miles away from their families and living on their own at age 15. That kind of makes you take a step back and say, ‘There are other people whose challenges are greater than mine.’ That broadens your aperture and helps you step into other people’s shoes.”

Nichols offers this advice to students: “If you go to St. Stephen’s and your only interaction is to show up in the morning, go to class, then leave at the end of the day, I think you are missing out on what makes the school a really special place — being part of a community.”

The Risk Worth Taking

SEEMA PANDYA ’94

TAKING RISKS AND FOLLOWING

HER PASSIONS led Seema Pandya ’94 to a successful and satisfying career that merges three impressive professions: green design building consultant, college educator and award-winning artist.

“I kind of have a three-fold career right now,” says Pandya, “And then there’s a fourth job, which is being a mom.”

Caring for her three-year-old daughter is a balancing act made possible by “flexible working hours” mostly from home and help from her musician husband.

As a green design building consultant, Pandya coordinates building projects that pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards primarily in New York, but also in other countries. Her consulting job includes working as a lead reviewer with the U.S. Green Building Council. In addition, Pandya teaches undergraduate and graduate classes at the New York School of Interior Design. More recently, Pandya has embraced a third passion and career as an artist, creating everything from sculptures to digital art.

Certainly, the academic rigor at St. Stephen’s helped prepare Pandya for her career, she says, but she cites the natural beauty and unspoiled environment of the St. Stephen’s campus for deepening her appreciation for nature and sustainable building.

Pandya recalls being a St. Stephen’s boarding student and exploring campus with friends. “There are these rolling hills… and we would go on hikes to an area called ‘the Gulch’, which is right along the edge of the school. There’s a ravine with a little creek that runs through, so you were in nature.”

She adds: “You would be sitting in the back of a building and overlooking just this amazing, beautiful, natural scene.

So, I feel it was [St. Stephen’s] learning environment surrounded by nature,” Pandya says that left a lasting impression which helped shape her career.

Pandya transferred to St. Stephen’s from Berkner High School in Richardson, Texas in her junior year. At the same time, her parents moved to Saudi Arabia, where her father, a petroleum engineer, took a job with Aramco, a petroleum and natural gas company.

The journey from St. Stephen’s to her current career took several twists and turns. After graduating from St. Stephen’s, Pandya attended The University of Texas at Austin for a few years, then left school to “go on a selfawareness journey.” During that time, Pandya operated an artists’ collective in Denver. Following that, she returned to college, completing a bachelor’s degree in interior and sustainability design from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver.

Pandya, a first-generation South Asian Indian, acknowledges that some of her decisions were risky, given family pressures to follow a more conventional career path. But, she says, those experiences were key to landing her in a place today in which she is successfully balancing a three-fold career. Pandya continues to take risks as an artist endeavoring to create artwork that highlights her heritage, such as her tabla sculptures made with reused South Asian drumheads.

Recently, Pandya won acclaim for her “Seed of Potential” artwork displayed in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. In January, she displayed her art in a solo exhibition in Mumbai.

The Brooklyn-based artist, educator and consultant says she will continue taking risks to pursue her passion — marrying art and architecture — and will not go back to a nine-to-five job that for some years provided a steady paycheck.

“It was a big risk but allowed me to explore and pursue other things,” she says.

Education is the Gateway to Success

YUNE TRAN ’97

“EDUCATION WAS THE DOOR

OUT OF POVERTY,” says Yune Tran ’97 as she recalls the stance her parents believed and instilled in their children. Tran is now dean of the School of Education and Social Work at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, which was ranked No. 1 in the 2024 edition of “Best Colleges Regional Universities North.”

Tran’s journey to tenured professorship and to becoming a dean in higher education was not an easy one. Her parents, who spoke no English, escaped Vietnam on a fishing boat following the fall of Saigon and emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1970s when Tran was barely oneyear-old. The family moved to Michigan and eventually settled in Houston, Texas where, along with her eight siblings, Tran spent her childhood before coming to St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

Family hardships and watching her parents work tirelessly are poignant experiences that helped shape Tran into the person and professional she is today, but her upbringing is just one of the

many building blocks to her success. Tran says her parents wanted each of their children to understand that education was the gateway to a better life, and her older siblings served as her first academic role models. Her eldest sister Alexis Mai Tran ’87, her older brother Tuan Tran ’90 and her younger brother Louis Tran ’99 each attended St. Stephen’s as boarding students. Her younger brother, Louis, later returned to Houston and graduated from Sharpstown High School.

“My eldest sister paved the way for the rest of the family,” says Tran.

After graduating from St. Stephen’s, Tran’s sister Alexis earned an engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and later an MBA from the University of California, Irvine. Her brother, Tuan, earned a finance degree from Drexel University and earned his MBA from the University of California, Irvine. Her younger brother, Louis, earned a computer science with cybersecurity specialization degree from Lone Star College and is now a cybersecurity specialist in Houston.

In 1994, Tran received a scholarship to attend St. Stephen’s as a boarding student from 10th through 12th grade. While she knew St. Stephen’s was going to provide a good education, Tran was concerned about feeling marginalized. At that time, she remembers, there were not many students of color on campus, but she adds “I rarely felt othered” by faculty or students.

Tran wanted the same academic experience that her siblings had had and knew that St. Stephen’s was the right place for her, too.

“I think what St. Stephen’s did for me was help provide a strong academic foundation,” Tran says. “The kinds of experiences that I had both curricular and co-curricular, being able to participate in a wide variety of offerings, really equipped

me with not just the knowledge and content, but helped me become more well-rounded, intellectual and wellinformed at that stage of life. I was able to get a head start in college. I am also grateful for people like Jan Hines, Ph.D. in the English department who helped me learn how to write.”

Tran says St. Stephen’s also served as a bridge to a richer spiritual life as the regular chapel services were consistent with her practices as a Catholic. “Beyond the academic preparation, I liked the spiritual formation. Having to think about reflection and being grateful and gracious and those kinds of chapel lectures — and having the time to decompress — really molded me and helped me become a better person.”

Following graduation from St. Stephen’s, Tran was accepted to The University of Texas at Austin and pursued a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Sciences. While at UT, Tran juggled her studies, worked full-time, and raised her youngest brother who lived with her and attended Austin High School. Tran drew on her resources, including the deeply ingrained work ethic handed down from her parents and the academic readiness from St. Stephen’s.

After graduating from UT, Tran taught in public school in California. She later moved back to the Austin area, working full time in K-12 education and raising a family. She continued her studies and earned a master’s in educational leadership from Texas State University and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from The University of Texas at Austin. These teaching experiences led her to higher education, where she believed she could make a greater impact.

The journey to her present deanship took her first to George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, and then to Montclair State University in New Jersey, where she served as associate dean of academic affairs. With an eye to the future and continued achievement, Tran says, she is not done.

“I don’t think this is my last stop,” Tran says. “It’s just my next stop.”

From The Hill to Hollywood

GLEN REYNOLDS ’85

GLEN REYNOLDS ’85 HAS TAKEN

HIS TALENTS from The Hill to the big screen where moviegoers have enjoyed 20 films he has either produced, executive produced or co-produced. In addition to being an established, independent film producer, Reynolds is also a successful businessman. He is chief executive officer at Los Angeles-based Circus Roads Films, which has sold more than 500 indie films, including the 2021 Adrian Brody film “Clean” and an early film by director and screenwriter Shaka King, who directed the 2021 film “Judas and the Black Messiah.”

These accomplishments are the harvest of a post-high school education that took him from The University of Texas at Austin and the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City to New York University and law school at The University of Texas at Austin. Reynolds says the seeds for his career were planted and nourished at St. Stephen’s by dedicated teachers who recognized his potential.

“St. Stephen’s sent me off into the world of arts — and in significant ways,” Reynolds recounts. “I was mostly a jock until the beginning of my 11th-grade year.”

His trajectory changed course when drama teacher Amber Walker approached Reynolds on the football field and encouraged him to try out for a school play. He did and was cast as Paul in “You Can’t Take it With You.” The following year as a senior he played Tevya in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Reynolds also credits English teachers, especially Jan Hines, Ph.D. and Hank Ewert ’70, with significantly influencing his time at St. Stephen’s. Reynolds says they both were outstanding English teachers. Dr. Hines imparted a love for reading good books, he says, while Mr. Ewert, who also taught a film analysis class, spurred his interest in films.

Reynolds fondly remembers Ewert’s bad movie nights, where he and other students would watch “really horrible films.”

“It’s kind of funny because now I have to watch a lot of independent films that just aren’t very good in order to find the really good ones. When I see a real stinker, I think of Hank,” he laughs.

Those experiences at St. Stephen’s not only sparked his love for the arts, but also gave him the confidence to try new things, to not be afraid of change or doing new things in general.

He did just that. After graduating from St. Stephen’s — he boarded his last two years — Reynolds attended UT Austin as a drama major, but left after two years to enroll in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of The Theatre, a conservatory for actors, graduating in 1989. While there, Reynolds realized he did not want to be an actor because he “didn’t want to be a waiter.”

Against that backdrop, Reynolds enrolled at NYU, finishing the undergraduate degree he started at UT Austin. In 1992, he earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from NYU. Following a move back to Austin, Reynolds enrolled in the UT School of Law, earning a Doctor of Jurisprudence. Again, Reynolds remained professionally unfulfilled, discovering he “didn’t want to be a lawyer.”

Sometimes realizing what you don’t want to do is just as important as discovering what you do in fact want to do with your life. Reynolds eventually found his calling in the film industry and moved to Los Angeles. After working for a number of companies, Reynolds founded his own business, Circus Road Films, in 2006. His company handles production, distribution, screenplay development, advocacy and business affairs for

independent films.

Reynolds notes St. Stephen’s is partially responsible for teaching him how to apply his varied skills and abilities to every part of his career and business. He uses his legal training for negotiating contracts, his creative brain for producing indie films and developing scripts, and his literary and grammar skills for evaluating films. “All that to say, I’ve gotten where I’ve gotten by not being afraid to try new things and follow my passions.”

Reynolds has passed the St. Stephen’s baton to his daughter Zoe, an 11thgrade boarding student. Reynolds says the school’s culture and high academic standards have endured.

“I feel like [St. Stephen’s] can take all different kinds of kids, all personalities, and really help them fulfill who they’re going to be,” Reynolds says. “That was my experience, and there seems to be this great continuity.”

ADAPTING TO THE CURRENT MOMENT TO PRESERVE WHAT IS REAL

Deciding Generative A.I.’s Place in the Classroom: Educators at St. Stephen’s Experience Excitement and Trepidation

BY CATENYA MCHENRY

Advanced technologies are persistently transforming society. When the light bulb was invented, the quality and nature of the human experience changed as the definition and limitations of days and nights changed. When railroads and air travel were introduced, they each expanded access around and across the planet. And, the use of the Internet profoundly changed human access to information around the world.

TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

CONTINUED IN MORE ROBUST

WAYS with the introduction of smartphones, smart homes and smart cars, powered by artificial intelligence (A.I.). Although the existence of A.I. is not new, A.I. chatbots like ChatGPT and other similar tools are, and, as with most new technologies, humans are left to figure out how to incorporate them into their everyday lives (and that includes the classroom).

“We’re definitely at a paradigm shift in what we call traditional education,” says Nicole Wortham, Ph.D., curriculum and innovation integration specialist.

Educators across the globe and at St. Stephen’s are asking themselves crucial questions about A.I.: How and when should students use it? Will it help improve efficiencies in learning? And most immediately, how do we prevent students from undermining the learning process by using it to cheat or plagiarize?

“I think people can’t teach the way they used to teach in a lot of situations,” says Dan Laws, director of technology. “ChatGPT gave people and students a new way to cheat and take shortcuts.”

When ChatGPT became more widely available, it created both excitement and alarm at St. Stephen’s.

“There was a lot of concern from teachers,” says history instructor Ali McLafferty, Ph.D. “But this has been historically true with new technology. I think we are right to be concerned, but I am actually just as intrigued. I think we will find a way to adapt and make it work for us.”

Instructors are “adapting to the current moment” says McLafferty, and redefining how to continue teaching students to think critically and write persuasively, but also incorporate A.I. and teach students how to use it responsibly and ethically.

“Here at St. Stephen’s, we definitely want to preserve the importance in what we believe is the most sacred part of education, which is teaching the kids to think critically and develop their own authentic worldviews,” says English instructor Andy Aceves.

2023 was a year of sharp change for many St. Stephen’s instructors — change in how they think about education, their own subject area and how they teach in light of A.I.

Some teachers spent their summer attending and hosting A.I. conferences and workshops, coordinating with other educators, redesigning their pedagogy and rewriting their class content and assignments. These efforts were trying to account for and manage A.I.’s disruption, knowing students were likely already a few steps ahead.

Department chairs and administrators collaborated to update St. Stephen’s A.I. and academic integrity language in the Student Handbook to establish new guidelines and rules for acceptible use.

“In order for our students to engage with technology responsibly, our teachers and school leaders need to have ongoing conversations about the importance of honesty, integrity and authenticity, and we need to discuss the purposes of each assignment or project so that students understand the expectations regarding how they complete projects rather than just what they are being asked to create,” said Chris Gunnin, head of school.

St. Stephen’s teachers are now finding different ways to use A.I. Currently, the Middle School teachers do not incorporate A.I. in learning activities beyond acceptable use. From Upper School English to history and machine learning, A.I.’s use and implementation vary across classes and divisions.

A.I. IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

English teachers at St. Stephen’s have always been committed to making sure their students become good writers, but collectively, they share a new concern about the ways A.I. could replace a student’s originality and independent thinking.

“We’re working with young people who are in a formative developmental stage where they need to learn how to think,” says English instructor Aaron Snyder. “So we don’t want them to cut corners.”

During the summer of 2023, English Department Chair Colleen Hynes, Ph.D. and Snyder proactively organized and co-hosted the St. Stephen’s inaugural A.I. & Humanities Conference on campus. The pair collaborated with humanities and history instructors from other Texas independent schools and professors in

“I think people can’t teach the way they used to teach in a lot of situations.”

– Dan Laws Director of Technology

higher education to discuss how advanced technology would impact the classroom. The group traded ideas on how to rethink instruction while continuing to teach students important writing skills and a love of literature.

“There was no book or best practices for what to do about this,” said Snyder. “We figured that humanities teachers are, at the same moment, trying to invent the wheel independently of each other. And sharing whatever kind of bread crumbs we have with others could probably help everybody come to something a little more solid.”

That intel carried over into the Upper School English department where leaders are now incorporating generative A.I. into various assignments, giving students a chance to experiment with its capabilities and limits. At the same time, instructors have challenged themselves to continue delivering assignments that encourage students to think and write in new ways, “from design-thinking projects to multimedia Google Earth tours to playlists to creating graphic novels and Minecraft worlds.”

Andy Aceves, who teaches 9th, 10th and 12th-grade English, is among the English teachers who use A.I. sparingly. He and other teachers use a lockdown browser called DigiExam which the English department recently adopted. The browser was researched and introduced to the school by English instructor Cordelia Ross, Ph.D. Aceves uses the browser during in-class writing sessions to make sure students are not perusing other resources but are using their own brains to think critically and produce original work. Although using the browser is a big adjustment for teachers and students, Aceves says it’s an accountability check for honesty.

“I think it helps teachers feel a peace of mind in knowing the work that we’re looking at is authentic,” says Aceves. “I’d much rather read a student’s very best flawed paper than a perfect document that was crafted in part or largely by a secondary resource. I’m always looking for progress, not perfection.”

“I’m really proud of the way that the English department has not just embraced technology like the lockdown browser, but also the way that we’ve been really creative in how we’re asking students to think

critically and write authentically beyond the long-form essay, which is still a part of our curriculum,” says Hynes. “I think that showcases how much we care about education, our teaching and our students in adapting to the current moment.”

A.I. IN THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT

That same care and passion is evident in the History department where teachers also have been discussing and exploring ways to engage with A.I. professional tools.

“What I have found is that A.I. is just like any other tool, and that it can be phenomenally useful for you, if you learn how to make it work for you,” says McLafferty.

In the fall 2023 semester, McLafferty began using a tool called ClassGenius pioneered by St. Stephen’s parent, engineer and tech entrepreneur Katelijn Vleugels P ’26. The technology helps McLafferty generate quizzes, saving a ton of time.

“What it allows you to do is utilize your own content, and then have it provide you with different multiple choice questions or what’s called open content questions,” says McLafferty. “It takes a very long time for teachers to create assessments, because it’s very difficult for us to be subjective, in terms of knowing whether or not it’ll be too hard or too easy.”

The technology is designed to not only help teachers be more productive, but also help them reclaim some of their time for more one-on-one sessions with students. Quizzes with 15-20 questions once took McLafferty about an hour to create, but now, using the generative A.I., the same task takes approximately 15 minutes.

McLafferty says she is transparent and honest with her 11th-grade students when she has tapped into A.I. for assistance with their quizzes, explaining that the tool is also helpful with boosting creativity.

“When I have exhausted my own 11thgrade quiz bank ideas, and I’m sitting there spinning my wheels trying to create more questions, it can help me out,” says McLafferty. “All I have to do is upload my lesson plan or a class text and it generates 15 questions. I can then review them, make sure they align with the content, and edit them appropriately.”

ClassGenius’ creator says the technology is constantly being updated to accommodate new information, and is working the way it was intended — to assist teachers in the classroom and save them time. Vleugels also hopes the technology will improve teacher retention.

“We are fortunate to be in a private school setting and there is a lot of support, but if you look outside of the walls here, it’s devastating sometimes,” says Vleugels. “This made me pause and think about what I could do to help. I believe that generative A.I. can really help with productivity.”

A.I. IN MACHINE LEARNING

After spending their summer months attending workshops, logging into webinars, reading books on the subject and remodeling and rewriting their assignments and curriculum, Director of Technology Dan Laws and Nicole Wortham, Ph.D., curriculum and innovation integration specialist, have fully embraced generative A.I. in their coding and machine learning and artificial intelligence classes — and why not, it is in the name. So far, they are seeing significant benefits for students.

“Having the A.I. assistant allows students to not have to wade through the muddy waters of searching for solid code,” says Wortham. “The addition of A.I. made it more efficient to code at a higher level and get to the heart of the problem quicker.”

At St. Stephen’s, advancing and achieving are the ultimate goals, and while advanced technology and generative A.I. have forced a challenging new learning curve for both students and teachers, the foundation and intention of the school remains the same.

“Our mission is to prepare students to be lifelong learners and leaders in the future, and I have no doubt that the generative A.I. tools will be a part of the lives our students will lead in the future,” says Gunnin. “Inviting students to appropriately and powerfully use A.I. tools is an exciting and worthy exercise if we are to help them become ethical, effective and skillful leaders in the future.”

“Originality,” created by Jerry Zhang ’24 is a mixed media piece painted with mostly oil. Zhang added broken motherboard parts and a broken CD to the center of the piece. The center focal point is a human arm wrestling a machine. Zhang wanted to express his own interpretation about using A.I. to create art, and the clash of originality vs. unoriginality. “A.I. and A.I. generated images shouldn’t be ignored,” says Zhang. “I feel like it’s a very important change that’s happening right now.”

Scan to watch an interview with Zhang

The Annual Fund Supports Every Aspect of a St. Stephen’s Educational Experience

“I have grown immensely since my freshman year here at St. Stephen’s — from improving in academics and athletics to improving as a student, friend, mentor, role model, brother and son.”

– ROSEMBERG GONZALEZ ’25

PHILANTHROPY AT

ST. STEPHEN’S plays a big part in the vitality of our Spartan Community. A gift to the Annual Fund is the first and most important gift we ask of every trustee, parent, alumni, grandparent, faculty, staff member and friend. Gifts to the Annual Fund provide unrestricted support that bolsters the school’s annual operating budget. In 2023-24, the Annual Fund makes up 4.4% of St. Stephen’s budget, directly supporting every aspect of the school, from student programming to faculty and staff salary lines. A strong Annual Fund helps St. Stephen’s provide an exceptional experience for each student like the Gonzalez brothers, Rosemberg ’25 and his younger brother Lex ’27. They are proud Spartans from Austin, Texas. Both are boarding students and play on the Boys Varsity Volleyball team. Their time on campus has not only been beneficial but they both say their experience at St. Stephen’s has improved them as people.

“I have grown a lot as a Spartan, from being shy to being more sociable with other students in other grades with teachers. I think this place is preparing me for great things — academically and athletically. I still have three years of school ahead of me, and I hope I use that to my advantage in the future,” says Lex.

In addition to playing volleyball, both brothers are in Espacios Compartidos,

the Latinx affinity club. Rosemberg also plays baseball and has taken advantage of more leadership opportunities serving as Dorm Council Vice-President, on the Chapel Leadership Team, in Key Society and Multi-Club, a safe space for anyone at St. Stephen’s who identifies as multiracial or biracial to feel empowered. Members of the club share meaningful stories, create dialogues between different backgrounds, and have fun.

“This place is preparing me for my future by giving me an opportunity to receive a learning experience that I wouldn’t be able to have elsewhere as a low income student on scholarship at a prestigious high school,” says Rosemberg. “It is also preparing me for the real world by placing me in a setting I am not used to and giving me the chance to meet new people with different backgrounds than mine. This school has brought many blessings to me and my family, and it is a place where I can call my home, both in the classroom and out.”

Your belief in and support of the Annual Fund provides a strong foundation for all Spartans. Thank you for investing in our students and our school. To make a gift or for more information, please contact Sherry Buchanan, Director of Annual Fund and Parent Liaison, at 512.327.1213 x 133 or sbuchanan@sstx.org.

Rosemberg ’25 (left) and Lex Gonzalez ’27 (right)

Trailblazers who

Innovate as change agents and big thinkers in our labs, on our stages and in the community

Our 2023-24 Annual Fund goal is $1.75 million. Your gift directly supports every aspect of a St. Stephen’s education. The Annual Fund is crucial for supporting the things we believe in most about our school — commitment to financial aid, distinguished and dedicated faculty, spectacular Hill Country campus, vibrant residential community and diverse student body.

Stewards who Care

for each other, our 374 acres and the world

Leaders who Guide

Please join us in giving to the 2023-24 Annual Fund. Thank you for ensuring The Hill remains a truly special place to learn and live.

www.sstx.org/givenow

THE HEARTBEAT of The Hill

St. Stephen’s Renowned Residential Life Program Champions Students and Brings Unity to the School

BY VICKI WOODRUFF

THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE REPRESENTING different races, cultures, languages, religions and more creates a more global student population at St. Stephen’s, promoting mutual learning that unifies both the boarding and day programs. Lawrence Sampleton, associate head of school for enrollment management and financial aid, who took over the Admission Office in 1994, has served St. Stephen’s for 32 years. He explains that the vibrancy of the boarding program is intentional. Three decades ago, the boarding program flagged and enrollment dropped to unsustainable levels. The school reached a turning point: discontinue boarding and become solely a day school or reinvigorate the boarding into a bold, forward-looking program.

“At that point the school could have gone one of two ways. We could have said this is difficult and we don’t want to do it anymore — or we could have done what we did and that is we are recommitting ourselves to the boarding program. We were established as a boarding school and this is the heart of our school,” says Sampleton.

The school chose reinvigoration. Today, St. Stephen’s continues the proud, challenging and mission-based commitment to boarding, a decision that bears fruit for students.

17-year-old Kamau Brame ’24 from Grand Rapids, Michigan is one student who values boarding vitality. Brame is a midfielder in the Soccer Academy who chose St. Stephen’s to play high-level soccer and to get a stellar education. His favorite part of dorm life is hanging around with his friends in and out of Towner House.

“Whenever I go home, I miss the brotherhood we have with the guys in the dorm,” he says. He adds that even ordinary tasks, like going to the grocery store, become fun when he is with boarding or day friends.

Valeria Gonzalez Reed ’26 of Mexico City entered Freeman House as a St. Stephen’s eighth grader in 2020. She was filled with excitement about her new experiences, and boarding life at St. Stephen’s was the perfect fit for her.

“I just fell in love with the school. It was always my first choice,” she explains. Now, as a 10th-grade boarding student living in Marshall House dorm, she values the sense of belonging and connection she has with classmates, both boarding and day. “I love living with my friends. It’s such a fun thing.”

Julia McElveen ’26 of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was also thrilled to get an admission acceptance. But she had some understandable jitters: Would she get lost? Make friends with people with all kinds of personalities and backgrounds? Be able to handle the elevated academics?

McElveen, now a 10th-grader living in Marshall dorm, considers St. Stephen’s to be like home. She says she has an air-tight, problem-solving plan when she encounters challenges — commiserate with her best friend Gonzalez Reed. “I’ll just go knock

“The care that the boarding students get through the individualized attention makes a difference in their experience at St. Stephen’s.”

– Lawrence Sampleton

on Valeria’s door and say, ‘How in the world do you do this homework problem?’ Or I’ll say, ‘I need to talk to you about what happened.’” Outside the dorm, McElveen loves walking on the trails and connecting with nature on campus.

Valeria, Julia and Kamau are just three of the 176 boarders enrolled during academic year 2023-24. This group represents students from 19 countries, plus seven states in the U.S. and 20 Texas cities. Their stories, struggles and successes are now part of the heritage of the boarding program at St. Stephen’s.

A Warm Texas Welcome TO A STRUCTURED PROGRAM

As surely as Texas is known for its summer heat, St. Stephen’s is known for its warm welcome to boarding students. Before classes even start, a dynamic and creative push, led by award-winning Director of Residential Life Gene Phillips (known to all as G.P.), sets in motion the introductory programs and activities to launch a successful residential experience.

The boarding program and how it

operates is well-thought-out. From the residential life director to house leaders, dorm parents and student dorm proctors, the boarding program maintains a solid structure with layers of leadership.

Carefully vetted and committed adults, the residential faculty work in teams to greet and encourage students. The dorm teams are made up of St. Stephen’s teachers, coaches, counselors and chaplains. A duty administrator (DA) guides all the dorm teams, and a dorm parent from each duty team is present in the dorms at key times. Nurses in the Health Center provide an additional layer of support and assistance.

Dorm parents live on campus and take on-duty shifts to serve as the main point of contact for students living in their dorm. They try to match employees with the grades they teach.

Each year, the house leaders select a group of responsible juniors and seniors to serve as student proctors, providing peer supervision to their dorm mates. They also mentor newer residents and help them to adjust to boarding school life. Dorm parents work closely with proctors to ensure the routine of dorm life runs smoothly.

“We do the training, but to see them in action, actually seeing the training that they’ve gone through and performing that training to a tee, and then in the end having the kids who were having the issue come up with their own arrangement and solutions, which is part of mediation, I was like ‘guys you did a fantastic job,’” says Phillips.

Careful attention is given to all boarding students, especially international students, something St. Stephen’s is known and recognized for. To serve these boarders, the International Office, led by Sarah Todd, director of the international program, hosts a four-day orientation program called Venture. With open arms, the Venture staff warmly greets jet-lagged newcomers who are far from home. Venture helps international students become acclimated to their new country and new school home before classes begin.

Early in the school year, international students meet their host families, the families of day students who informally “adopt” international students to provide personal touches: from recognizing a birthday to extending a dinner invitation. Todd observes that student connection with the host family is often “one of the most important relationships they have during their time at St. Stephen’s.”

Alix Lacelarie-Kautz, Freeman House house leader, remembers her own transition from France to South Carolina when she enrolled at Clemson University as a college student. “I came from a different country, so I get the culture part,” she comments. She quips that she is now a mom to 30 children, her two sons and the 28 international and domestic eighth and ninth-grade girls in Freeman.

Robust Support FOR BOARDERS

As orientation ends and school begins, boarders have access to robust learning and academic resources, which include their individual advisors and a team of highly trained and experienced learning specialists. Residential students also benefit from designated study halls with proctors and dorm parents nearby. An evening librarian at Becker Library assists with academic and research needs as well.

“The care that the boarding students

get through the individualized attention makes a difference in their experience at St. Stephen’s,” Sampleton explains.

The presence of boarders means that St. Stephen’s is a vibrant place far past the hours of a traditional day school, a vibrancy that enhances day student life as well.

As the saying goes at St. Stephen’s, “Everyone’s a teacher,” an ethos that guides the entire campus and especially boarding. These teachers include administrators and support staff, members of Dining Services (some of whom have worked at the school for more than 30 years) and continuing on to the security staff.

Living life with friends IN ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING CITIES

Austin, the tenth largest city in the U.S., is an action-packed and inviting place. Phillips collaborates with dorm staff to create a lively calendar of optional activities that enable students to experience the fullness of Austin on and off campus.

Clubs and activities invite young people to get outside and enjoy the magnificent campus. On the weekends, students visit local Austin shops, restaurants, coffee houses, grocery stores and more. The school’s many service learning opportunities offer chances to get immersed in the city and make individual contributions to the greater good.

The Dorm Olympics, an annual tradition, pits dorms against each other in spirited and friendly competition with silliness and just plain fun. This field-day-style competition promotes nonstop cheering and a break from the intensity of the start of school. One fan favorite program is Keep Austin Weird, also known as Austin’s unofficial motto. Hosted by dorm parents and faculty, boarding students choose to participate by visiting strange and wonderful landmarks in Austin.

Boarders also enjoy off campus dorm dinners twice a year. The big question is: dine out along Lady Bird Lake, at a Texas barbecue joint, or in a famous Austin Instagrammable eatery? Or stay in for take-out food and a pool party or

PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM:

Longtime history and social studies instructor

Kathryn Respess working with students; Upper School students play a friendly game of Spikeball on the Hill; Gemma Willy ’25 and Gabby Lassalle ’25 relax in the common space of Freeman dorm

boisterous games of dodgeball or ping-pong in the gym?

“In the last 15 years, there have been zero emails saying there’s nothing for my kid to do,” Phillips reflects.

Boarders also get together for weekly on-campus dorm dinners hosted by Dining Services with meals celebrating various countries, cultures and holidays. A playfully ghoulish Halloween dinner before trickor-treating on campus, a festive winter holiday meal, and a celebratory Chinese Lunar New Year gala all pique taste buds and create community.

Respecting the Past, CREATING AN EVOLVING & SUCCESSFUL FUTURE

Although the St. Stephen’s boarding program was established as a pillar of the school in 1950, it has seen peaks and valleys. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, the program had fewer than 100 students. School administrators began thinking about executing a successful three-step strategy to attract qualified students who normally would not look at Austin, Texas for boarding. The first step was establishing both the Soccer

and Tennis Academies to attract boarding students. Next was extending recruiting and travel to other countries.

“We determined we wanted to aggressively recruit and enroll international students,“ says Sampleton. “We had been going to Saudi Arabia to recruit prior to that, but we recommitted to expand international enrollment.”

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Sampleton had been traveling to Mexico and Kuwait. He was later joined on recruiting trips by Sarah Todd in the International Office and together, the pair expanded global travel to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand.

The final step was to promote Phillips, who was serving as a dorm parent, to Director of Residential Life with the charge of improving the student boarding experience and boarding retention.

That three-pronged approach worked. Today, the boarding program is near capacity with 176 students grades 8-12. The retention rate, once in the 70% range is up to 92% which Phillips says speaks to student engagement and satisfaction of the program.

“We really want kids who want to be here,” says Phillips. “It makes everything better — they’re happy and the adjustment and transition period is shorter. It’s a more positive experience for the dorm parents, and they want to keep coming back year after year.”

Sampleton adds that parents are pleased with their boarding children’s growing academic and emotional maturity. “They can’t say enough about the growth they see in their children, the independence, and the ability to think critically.”

School leaders also say there are intentional initiatives to promote unity between the boarding and day program — so there’s less of a divide between the day and boarding communities.

“I actually think there’s not a dividing line right now,” says Gonzalez Reed.

This unity provides connection among students, teachers and staff, all to promote healthy development of the minds and hearts of young people. Phillips asserts that the boarding program is the “heart and soul” of St. Stephen’s. Sampleton puts it this way: the Residential Life program is quite simply “the heartbeat

Gene Phillips, known as G.P., is one of the most respected Residential Life directors in the country and has served St. Stephen’s for more than 30 years. He was recently awarded The Association of Boarding Schools’ (TABS) Burch Ford Kaleidoscope Award for Excellence in Student & Residential Life. TABS called the St. Stephen’s Residential Life program “one of the most innovative boarding programs in the country” for its special focus on international boarding, counseling services, and technology, lauding Phillips for his leadership. In addition, he co-founded the Southern Residential Deans group, an active professional development program. Phillips focuses on professional development for St. Stephen’s staff members, leading trips to the annual TABS conference.

of The Hill.” In this way, the boarding program has reached another level of achievement, sending students and school representatives from The Hill to the world — and back again.

L to R: Emily Breite from TABS, Gene “G.P.” Phillips and Lawrence Sampleton outside Helm after the award presentation in September 2023

Meet the New Trustees

Kevin Brown P ’25 serves on the Finance Committee. Kevin is the executive vice-president of global operations and chief supply chain officer for Dell Technologies. Prior to joining Dell, Kevin spent 10 years in the shipbuilding industry, working on projects for the U.S. Department of Defense. Kevin serves on the Board of Directors for Kroger, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Howard University Center for Supply Chain Excellence. Kevin and his wife, Sandra, are parents to Lauren ’25.

Gwendolyn Chance serves on the Governance Committee. Gwen has extensive experience in early childhood education as an administrator, educator, and consultant. She has been involved in Head Start programs at the local, state, regional and national levels. In the mid-1980s, Gwen was the executive director at St. Phillip’s School and Community Center in Dallas under the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas.

“I am honored to serve on the Board of Trustees and to support St. Stephen’s in any way possible. The school’s leadership and faculty do an outstanding job preparing all the students for the next phase of their lives.”

“I have always had a deep love for Episcopal school education because of my work experience and the success of my daughter’s and son’s education from the Episcopal School of Dallas. Most importantly, both schools have worked to ensure a diverse environment.”

Gregory Clay P ’23 ’26 serves on the Campus Committee. Greg is the President at JMI Realty where he leads daily operations and executes the company’s overall investment strategy. Prior to joining JMI Realty, Greg worked at Homegate Hospitality, Inc. and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. He and his wife, Martha, are parents to Juliet, Meredith ’23 and Eloise ’26.

“I am thrilled to join the board as a way to give back to the school that has meant so much and helped mold my daughter Meredith. I am also excited to assist in any way possible in making the St. Stephen’s of the future an even better place for developing our children.”

Katherine Leigh P ’26 ’28 serves on the Advancement Committee and is the current president of the St. Stephen’s Parents’ Association. With more than two decades of experience as a pediatric speech-language pathologist, Katherine has worked with children in a variety of settings and presented workshops on early speech and language development, disability criteria and autism. Katherine and her husband, Van, are the proud parents of Edison ’26 and Elliott ’28.

Shannon

Powers Flahive ’96 is the president of the Spartan Alumni Association Board (SAAB). She has served on the alumni board since 2020, co-chairing Reunion Weekend (with co-chair Alice Nezzer ’87) from 2021-2023. In addition to Shannon graduating from St. Stephen’s, her brother, Pike, is also a St. Stephen’s graduate from the class of 1993. Shannon graduated from The University of Melbourne, Australia in 2001. She is a devoted mother to her two children, Lorelei and William, and a dedicated community volunteer.

“It is a privilege to serve on the board. Supporting the St. Stephen’s mission of inspiring a love of learning and service in our community and around the world is an honor.”

“St. Stephen’s is a wonderful academic institution, but it is much more than that to those that have had the good fortune to be on The Hill. It is an honor to support this special school and its teachers, staff, students, parents and alumni.”

Spark 2023 Achieving Strategic Goals

IN SEPTEMBER OF 2017,

St. Stephen’s invited its entire community to participate in an immersive strategic planning process. We fully engaged students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, the Board of Trustees, and friends of the school to create a bold and visionary plan for St. Stephen’s called Spark 2023. In November 2023, we celebrated accomplishing a multitude of the goals and initiatives in the Spark 2023 strategic plan.

St. Stephen’s identified 50 initiatives that would allow us to achieve our vision of being “a vibrant and inclusive community, inspiring all learners to live lives of meaning and impact from The Hill to the world.” To date, we have successfully completed 44 of those initiatives. From the installation of over 1,000 solar panels on buildings across campus to hiring the school’s first ever human resources director to creating the Project Innovation Realization Lab (PIRL) and more, St. Stephen’s remains steadfast to its commitment of becoming an even greater institution.

St. Stephen’s is not one to rest on its laurels and we remain focused and committed to completing the remaining six initiatives.

As we continue to strengthen the school over the next five years and beyond, we look forward to implementing our next strategic plan. We will continue developing the Bishop Hines Center for Social Justice, we will support faculty and staff excellence and we will focus on an ambitious comprehensive campaign that will support endowment growth and facility improvements. All of these strategic priorities will ultimately strengthen the student experience and allow us to more fully live into the mission of the school.

In the 2025-26 academic year, we will celebrate the school’s 75-year history, its founding trailblazers and their vision. We look forward to commemorating that moment by honoring our first 75 years and by making sure that St. Stephen’s is positioned for even greater success in the next 75 years.

This has been a transformational period in the life of St. Stephen’s. We encourage our community to take pride in the ways we have grown.

Spartan Parents Strengthen Bonds and Belonging

The St. Stephen’s Parents’ Association (PA) plays a vital role in supporting students, their families and faculty and staff. The PA promotes collaboration between families and the school to fully develop each student in mind, body and spirit. PA members are hard at work fulfilling a number of responsibilities, including raising critical funds for the $1.75 million Annual Fund, serving as grade-level class representatives, communicating with parents and hosting and volunteering at campus events. This volunteer group also supports the school by serving on the board of trustees, the booster club, the DEI committee and much more. It is never too late to get involved. If you have questions about joining the PA, please email papresident@sstx.org.

PHOTOS

1 Isaac McAllen ’24, Salvador Castañeda ’24 and Kamau Brame ’24 take a break from fall finals to pet a furry friend on The Hill

2 Subu Jayaram P ’29 chats with another Spartan parent at Coffee Under the Trees in August

3 Nancy Gunnin P ’22 ’24 ’30 volunteers handing out candy at the Seniors Sugar Stop

4 Olivia Osborne P ’26, Ellen Navarre P ’26 ’30 and Laura Burkhart P ’24 ’26 ’28 connecting at the Annual Fund Kick Off Breakfast in September

5 Arturo and Sandy Vargas P ’27, Bill and Alex Furlong P ’25 ’27, Jamal and Sudarika Mitchell P ’27, Desiree Lynch P ’27 ’29 at the Fall Fiesta

2

3

Summer camp at St. Stephen’s is fun, engaging and educational.

From sports camps to enrichment and the arts, summer Spartans enjoy interactive camps for ages 6-18 the entire month of June.

Fall Fun on Annual Retreats SSTX LIFE

PHOTOS

LEFT TO RIGHT:

New Spartans having fun at the sixth-grade retreat at Stoney Creek Ranch in New Ulm, Texas; Kennedy Lartigue ’27, Savannah Schutt ’27 and Abigail Achamyeleh ’27 at the ninth-grade retreat at Camp Olympia on Lake Livingston near Huntsville, Texas

Spartans enjoying the seventh-grade retreat in the Coastal Bend near Port Aransas, Texas. Students stayed at the Mustang Island Conference Center, an Episcopal camp and conference center.

Spartans Kick Off the School Year Saving Lives

Seniors, faculty and staff participated in the annual We Are Blood drive on the St. Stephen’s campus in August. 54

THEIR BLOOD DONATIONS SAVED UP TO

Lives

St. Stephen’s Caving Team Explores Famous Austin Cave

In September, the SSES Devil’s Canyon Caving Team captains and coach Cordelia Ross, Ph.D. rappelled into one of Austin’s most famous caves — the Goat Cave Karst Nature Preserve in south Austin. Inside, the explorers found milky white formations, cave crickets, pseudoscorpions, historical graffiti and cooler air.

22nd Annual Dorm Olympics

This traditional back-to-school event included a plunger race, the wheelbarrow relay, a sack race, a ball relay, the dizzy izzy race and the water balloon slingshot catch. The young men of Sage Dorm took first place.

Justine Jeong ’27 competing in the plunger race for Freeman dorm

Felix Eugene ’25, Vivian Chatterjee ’25, Hana Hassibi ’25, Michael Garcia ’25, Rex Gilliland ’25

Nicholas Lopez-Zermeno ’25 donating blood

Spartan Pride Shines Bright for Spirit Week and Fall Homecoming

There was something very unique and fantastic about the Spartan pride we all felt during the jam-packed week of fall Homecoming festivities. From Spirit Week dress up days, to Apollo Percussion making their debut performance at the pep rally, to the lively Spartan Block Party — everything set the stage for a clean sweep of Varsity sports victories.

Eli Goldberg ’24, Maddie Davenport ’24 and Daisy Botkin ’24 dressed as Smurfs for Spirit Week on ‘TV Show Tuesday’

Caroline Townsend ’30, Kiki Sharma ’30, Ellie Freel ’30

Spartan mascot Finn Springer ’25 getting students pumped up at the fall pep rally

Apollo Percussion played their debut performance during Homecoming festivities

Seniors passed out 850 SPARTAN NATION hats at the fall pep rally

Red Hots Cheer Squad pose at the fall pep rally

Happenings on The Hill

Nadine Benson ’28, Clementine Swicegood ’28 and Setara Manasa ’28 enjoying the Middle School Halloween party in Spartan Gym

Lainey Leslie ’24 as Wadsworth and her Upper School cast members give a stellar performance of "Clue"

Yuliana Serrano Garcia P ’25, Mia Garcia ’25 and Chris Garcia P ’25 on Upper School Parents’ Day

Clark Schutt ’29, Cora Terry ’29 and Kathy Terry P ’29 on Middle School Parents’ Day

The St. Stephen’s Madrigal Singers perform at the 2023 Festival of Lessons and Carols

Caden Chen ’29 as Captain Hook in the fall Middle School musical performance of Peter Pan, JR (Photo credit: Claudio Fox)

9 Spartans Become National Merit Semifinalists

Congratulations to Chris Jang ’24, Amanda Bell ’24, Megal Alla ’24, Lucas Elkins ’24, Jorik Dammann ’24, Avery Griffin ’24, Zach Geller ’24, Christopher Aung ’24 and Nina Kannan ’24 for being selected as semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The Upper School students have the opportunity to compete in March 2024 for more than 7,000 scholarships worth nearly $28 million.

Seven Spartans Earn All-Region Orchestra Chair

Congratulations to the seven Middle and Upper School orchestra students who earned a seat to perform in the 202324 Texas Music Educators Association All-Region Orchestra at Lake Travis High School in November.

Girls and Boys Varsity Cross Country Win SPC State Championship Titles

The Spartan Girls and Boys Varsity Cross Country teams became Southwest Preparatory Conference 3A Champions in November.

Senior Athletes Commit to Colleges on Fall Signing Day

MK Lutz ’24 committed to play field hockey at the University of California, Davis, Phoebe George ’24 committed to play soccer at Fairfield University and Kayla Patel ’24 committed to play volleyball at Rice University.

PHOTOS LEFT TO RIGHT: Violinists Caden Chen ’29, Athena Toba-Keith ’29, Charlotte Elwell ’30 and Sophia Holland ’28 who placed No. 1 in the region; Patrick Lemuel ’23 (cello), Sam Shea ’27 (violin) and Kevin Li ’25 (cello)

Inaugural Chinese Language Workshop Hosted on The Hill

In September, St. Stephen’s was honored to welcome K-12 Chinese instructors, school founders and university professors to campus for the first-ever Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS) Professional Development Workshop.

Service Awards

One of the beautiful traditions at St. Stephen’s is to honor faculty and staff members who have given decades of service to the school. During recognition ceremonies in Chapel, speakers are invited to share stories of appreciation about each of the recipients.

“Anyone who doesn’t know the dorm parent, teacher, geocacher, board gamer extraordinaire we’re about to honor is missing out.”

Rebecca Gibbs, mathematics instructor, honored Michael Oberle for his 22-years of dedication to St. Stephen’s

Two members of our Dining Hall team, Jesse Garcia & Marcelina Rodriguez, were honored in November for their 20-plus years of incredible service to St. Stephen’s.

Associate Head of School for Enrollment Management and Financial Aid Lawrence Sampleton (32 years) and Upper School Mathematics Instructor and House Leader Michael Oberle (22 years) were recognized in early December.

Alumni returned to campus to share remarks and celebrate Jim Woodruff (34 years) and Robert Whyburn (30 years)

In mid-December, the Admission team shared what they cherish about Senior Associate Director of Admission Allison Center (23 years)

SSES Head of School Chris Gunnin, CLASS Executive Board Member Lucy Lee, CLASS Board Member and SSES International Program Associate Director Hai Zheng Olefsky, SSES International Program Director Sarah Todd, CLASS VP and Board Member for Professional Development Yan Wang

St. Stephen’s Alum Creates Surprise Endowment to Honor

Past Mentors

BY CATENYA MCHENRY

Peter Rispoli ’07 has given $50,000 to establish the GROWS Endowment in honor of six faculty and staff members who made a long-lasting impact on his life.

THE GROWS ENDOWMENT is an acronym which honors Gene “G.P.” Phillips, director of residential life; former tennis coach and now men’s tennis coach at Texas Christian University David Roditi; Hai Zheng Olefsky, associate director of the International Program; Meredith and Matt Walton, former tennis coaches; and Lawrence Sampleton, associate head of school for enrollment management and financial aid. The endowment was a surprise to the honorees as they had no idea it had been established in their honor.

“The GROWS endowment was created to honor those special individuals who enriched and positively impacted my and many others’ lives while at St. Stephen’s,” says Rispoli. “While teachers, of course, play a very important role at the school, so do all other staff members from athletic coaches to administrative and support staff.”

Rispoli entered St. Stephen’s the summer of his eighth-grade year as a boarding student and a competitive tennis player from South Florida. After leaving the school at the end of his junior year, he played professional tennis and was later accepted to Northwestern University on a full athletic scholarship where he studied Mandarin and earned a degree in economics. His path later led him into the United States Marine Corps in 2011 where he spent the next four years serving as a Command and Control Officer, protecting the United States and Allied nations’ digital infrastructure in Asia.

After his military stint, Rispoli enrolled in Harvard Business School on the GI Bill. His MBA pursuits gave him the opportunity to test his business acumen and also apply the skills and knowledge he learned at St. Stephen’s. While in business

school, he launched a successful business. Rispoli is now a senior product manager for machine learning at Apple and is serving his second year as an advisory committee member on the Texas Veterans Commission.

As Rispoli reflects on his life, he says much of what he’s been able to accomplish was because of two St. Stephen’s staff members, Gene Phillips and Lawrence Sampleton. He says both men, and their ability to lead by example, have made a lasting impression.

“I am inspired by Lawrence’s ability to handle what I believe is one of the toughest jobs at St. Stephen’s, or any educational institution: balancing financial aid with enrollment management. G.P. continues to inspire me in the way he continues to play such an active role in the community,” says Rispoli. “It is a testament to their actions that, twenty years later from my attendance, they are still doing great work.”

Rispoli is proud of St. Stephen’s commitment to ensuring that current and future students continue to have the sort of remarkable educational experience that he enjoyed on The Hill. He notes that a growing endowment allows St. Stephen’s to enhance and elevate every aspect of the school, and that alumni giving is vital to the school’s ambitious fundraising goals. Rispoli hopes his initiative will inspire others to give back as well.

“I have had the pleasure of participating in some of

the best organizations in America — the United States Marine Corps, Harvard Business School and Texas Veterans Commission — and while my experiences at those institutions were more recent, I encourage alumni to recall those people and experiences that indelibly shaped them to get to that point. For me, all those incredible opportunities would not have been possible without the foundational help I received from Gene Phillips, David Roditi, Hai Zheng Olefsky, Meredith and Matt Walton and Lawrence Sampleton.”

To make a gift to an existing endowment or learn more about establishing an endowment, please contact Director of Advancement April Speck-Ewer at aspeckewer@sstx.org or 512.327.1213 x 118.

Gene “G.P.” Phillips

Lawrence Sampleton

Hai Zheng Olefsky Meredith Walton

Peter Rispoli ’07 in 2006 playing tennis as a Spartan

Dave Roditi, photo courtesy of TCU Matt Walton

Regional Events

In September, the Spartan Alumni Association hosted regional events in Washington, D.C. and New York City.

Luminarias

Spartans gathered on Saturday, December 9 to light the Chapel path for the Festival of Lessons and Carols. Over 500 luminarias were constructed and placed on The Hill in celebration of this honored Spartan tradition. The activity was hosted by the Spartan Alumni Association Board.

Tri-School Networking Event

Alumni from St. Stephen’s, St. Andrew’s and Trinity met up for the second combined networking event on Thursday, November 30.

Spartan New Year

To mark the close of the holiday season, alumni celebrated the new year with the second annual Spartan New Year Party. Hosted at Jennifer’s Inn and Gardens owned by Jennifer and Fred Myers ’71, the party was attended by over 100 alumni of all ages.

New York City Area Regional Event

PHOTOS

TOP: (left to right) Hank Ewert ’70, Drew Green ’07, Louise McNutt Brazitis ’07, Katherine Bailey Brown ’05 and Daniel Norton ’76; LEFT: John Loucks ’14, Stacey Graves and Michael Graves ’02

Washington, D.C. Area Regional Event

PHOTOS

LEFT TO RIGHT: Francie Nazro Thurman ’84, Trent Thurman and Alice Nazro Nezzer ’87; Sarah Ovies Puil ’97 and Hank Ewert ’70; Jason Haugen ’14 and Liza Ayres ’14

Japanese Exchange Program

50th Anniversary Celebration

In 1973, Yoshinori Yokoyama ’74 and Tsugunori Yasuda ’75 came to St. Stephen’s as exchange students from Momoyama High School in Osaka, Japan. The following year, Nick Palter ’76 attended Momoyama to complete the first exchange of students in St. Stephen’s new Japanese exchange program. When Momoyama’s principal, the Rev. Paul T. Fujikura, first wrote to St. Stephen’s, he humbly asked that we look after his students for a year and that he take care of ours, so that both schools’ students would “contribute not a little to the interchange of culture between your country and [mine,] and also they will be adults of international culture.”

This 2023-24 academic year marks the 50th anniversary of the Japanese exchange program, which has included Rikkyo Girls’ High School in Tokyo, Japan since 2000. Rev. Fujikura’s request has become a reality impacting half a century of Spartans, immeasurably deepening the partnership between his country and ours, and we are excited to see what the rest of the century holds. Please join us in celebrating the bold vision of the exchange program at this year’s Reunion Weekend, April 19-21, 2024. The celebration will include a Chapel service honoring the program, a reception for alumni who participated in the exchange and a panel open to the entire alumni community discussing the history, impact and future of the exchange program.

Spartan Alumni Association Board

2023-24

Shannon Powers Flahive ’96

President

Patricia Henna Rowe ’89

Past President and Emeritus Member

Jane Dryden Louis ’69

Secretary

Liza Ayres ’14 Co-Chair Reunion 2024

Amy Bieberdorf ’87

Alumni Co-Chair, Spartans Engage

Louise McNutt Brazitis ’07 Co-Chair Reunion 2024

Katherine Bailey Brown ’05

Alumni Co-Chair, Annual Fund

T.J. Brown ’99

Alumni Co-Chair, Annual Fund

Paul Byars ’07

Alumni Co-Chair, Spartans Engage

Benjamin Chan ’95

Alumni Regional Representative –Washington, D.C.

Hank Ewert ’70

Alumni Faculty Representative

Ellen Jockusch ’70

Pioneer Spartans Representative

Amanda Kushner ’08

Alumni Regional Representative - Dallas

Claire McKay ’71

Parent of Alumni Representative

Alice Nazro Nezzer ’87

Chair, Alumni Recognition

Jonathan Quander ’89

Alumni Regional Representative - Texas

Maddie Renbarger ’14

Alumni Regional Representative - New York City

Jennifer Stayton ’85 Emeritus Member

Michelle Geo Olmstead

Director of Alumni Relations

David Allen ’19

Alumni Engagement Officer

Nick Palter ’76 reception in the Osaka airport in 1974 as the first American student from St. Stephen’s to attend Momoyama High School in Osaka, Japan

Sophie Hawthorne ’22 (right) attended Rikkyo Girls’ High School in Tokyo, Japan in 2019-20

Roman Rhone ’20

Spartan Spotlight

Roman Rhone ’20 joined St. Stephen’s in 2016 as a ninth grade day student. Throughout his four years, Roman participated in various activities, including being an active member of the Black affinity group, Unapologetic, and playing football and basketball.

What is your favorite memory from your time on campus?

My favorite memories were the basketball team trips to San Diego and SPC. I was able to deepen my connection with my teammates on these trips and have made friends for a lifetime.

What is your favorite St. Stephen’s tradition?

My favorite St. Stephen’s tradition was the pep rally; I always had a good time during it, and I felt it was always fun to interact with other grades you don’t often see.

How do you define "success" for yourself?

I define success as following my passion and reaching the milestones and goals I set for myself along the way. This in addition to being able to make time for the ones that I love and care for. To me, success does not only pertain to physical things like awards, money, or status, because those things are fleeting. Success to me is being able to make a positive impact on the things that you care about.

Can you tell us about your career path and how St. Stephen’s set you up for success?

Currently, I am on track to work at Morgan Stanley as an Institutional Equities Sales and Trading Analyst. During my sophomore summer of college, I worked at JP Morgan Chase as an Investment Banking Fellow, and this past summer I worked at Morgan Stanley as an Institutional Equities Sales and Trading Summer Analyst.

St. Stephen’s really set me up for success going into finance, at University of Michigan specifically. St. Stephen’s equipped and helped me develop a few key skills that have provided me with some of my achievements within my career, including communication. I was able to develop great communication skills at St. Stephen’s, whether in our English classes led by great teachers, by being encouraged to meet with our teachers outside of class to receive help, or even at the lunch tables (where there was a no-phone policy in order to connect with students you might not know or

interact with often).

The second benefit was the college-like atmosphere that St. Stephen’s provides. At St. Stephen’s, we were given a great example of what college would be like with the challenging curriculum, the development of timemanagement skills (having off-periods and using them wisely), and the on-campus college visits. These experiences prepared me for life in college, from failures to success.

Finally, something I believe is often overlooked is the network that I was able to make by being a part of St. Stephen’s. I am grateful for all of the lessons my coaches and teachers taught me during my time there. Additionally, the friends I met there are still some of my closest friends despite us being far away from each other. Both groups continue to inspire me and play a pivotal role in my life.

What inspired you to do your work?

What inspired me to get into finance — and build the clubs I did on a national level — stems from my upbringing. As a youth, I always had a keen interest in business. At an early age, I learned about the financial challenges facing Blacks, such as bank discrimination, redlining, and the lingering impacts of slavery and Jim Crow on the financial and generational wealth of Blacks. Meanwhile, I saw individuals in my community struggling to meet their needs and losing their homes and businesses because they did not have the initial finances or knowledge to attain or maintain.

These experiences led me to my academic interest in a business career, and more specifically in finance. At University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, I noticed that some of my peers lacked the knowledge I had gained through joining various clubs that were exclusive to business students. I found that the difference in being able to achieve an opportunity in finance or not was depth of resources and knowledge, so I wanted to supplement that.

That is why I founded the University of Michigan Chapter of BlackGen Capital and was fortunate enough to serve as CEO nationally over nine chapters at the time. Those experiences reinforced my interest in finance and the necessity of access for those who are driven, talented, and interested. I am excited for my role after I graduate and can’t wait to learn as much as I possibly can while being

able to contribute in a meaningful way. I am also excited to continue the work that I have done from a community standpoint and plan to continue to make a difference however I can. What advice can you share with fellow Spartan alumni and recent graduates of St. Stephen’s?

The advice I would give to my fellow Spartan alumni and recent graduates is: (1) keep your loved ones close to you and check on them as often as possible, (2) be open and learn from life’s trials, and (3) find and follow your passion.

I still need to do a better job of No. 1, but I think it’s important to keep the ones you love as a priority in your life. Despite how hard life may get, your loved ones are there for you no matter the trial or odds against you.

This leads into No. 2. I understand that sometimes life may be stressful and filled with anxiety, especially for recent graduates and soon to be graduates (shoutout to my Class of ’20), but things work themselves out. Sometimes it’s hard for us to understand why certain things happen the way they do, but if we can accept that we can only control what we can control, I believe we will be happier and more successful. Throughout my time after St. Stephen’s, things haven’t gone perfectly, from spending my first year online due to COVID, to multiple failures academically, to deaths and break-ups. Even after all of that, I am thankful to have gone through those things because they have taught me to be the person I am today. I have been able to learn from all of the mistakes, failures, and misfortunes, and yet I am still here, growing and succeeding in many facets of my life. Those mistakes, failures, and misfortunes have allowed me to grow emotionally, socially, and professionally, and without them I would not be the person I am today.

Finally, find a passion and pursue it to the fullest. What got me through those hard times was my family and the goals I set for myself by following my passion. Ultimately, these three pieces of advice are what I aim to continue to build upon as I learn more about life in the future.

Class Notes

1957

Ruth Wilson Witten and her husband Jim are still enjoying time with friends, music at the Indiana University music school, lots of activities at their Episcopal church and traveling when they can. In November, the couple spent a few days in NYC celebrating their granddaughter’s wedding in Central Park.

1964

Louis Henna will be honored with The Founders Alumni Award for Distinguished Service. The Award celebrates an alum whose lifelong contribution to the school has been exemplary. The award will be presented during Reunion Weekend 2024, April 19-21.

1967

Last October, a group of Spartans had dinner at Santa Rita Cantina in Austin to celebrate Tito Hines’ visit to Austin. Gwin Steph ’71, Mike Childers Parten ’69, Randy Parten, Ellen Justice, Jack O’Quin, Karen O’Quin, Vicky Gasche, Tito Hines, Jamie Sterling, Daryl Haus Tanner and Phil Howard (Picture 1)

1968

Robert Henderson reports that retirement differs from what he had originally planned, but he would not miss this time with his family for anything. This past summer, his daughters, grandkids, nephews, nieces and cousins accompanied Robert and his wife, Leilani, to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania to enjoy the rides and the chocolates. If the creek does not rise in April the family will gather at the Cedar Point amusement park outside of Cleveland, and, of course, for the solar eclipse on the 8th. Robert also enjoys writing and helping civil society and community groups organize for post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine.

Linda Nowlin resides in Austin along with her two sons. Recently, her first granddaughter embarked on her college journey. Both of Linda’s sons are University of Texas alumni, one graduating with an MBA and the other with a law degree. Following a professional tenure at Accenture Consulting and Dell, Linda has transitioned into semi-retirement, lending her expertise to assist one of her sons in property management. Her passion for exploration takes her to far-flung destinations, particularly those that aren’t typical tourist spots, as evidenced by her collection of refrigerator magnets from unique places. With her growing collection, she jests about the possibility of needing a second refrigerator or reconsidering her travels.

Clarke Heidrick and John McFarland took a road trip this spring to Arkansas and East Texas. They fished in the White River and Caddo Lake, visited Lady Bird’s birthplace, stayed in Hot Springs and visited the Clinton, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush Presidential Libraries. They are planning more trips to visit presidential libraries and to see baseball games.

Nancy Pope and her husband, Mike, have been increasing their travel adventures with each passing year. This year’s itinerary included a visit to Austin in April for the 55th SSES Reunion of their class, where they reunited with John Barkley and Molly Dougherty In their usual tradition, they traveled to Michigan in May for the International Medieval Studies Conference in Kalamazoo. June found them in Kentucky, spending quality time with some of Mike’s cousins. Their most extensive trip was in July when they embarked on a nearly three-week journey across Ireland. Nancy attended a conference, while both enjoyed a road trip encompassing destinations like Limerick, Dingle Peninsula, Rock of Cashel, Kilkenny, Glendalough, Dublin, Cavan and Leitrim Railway, Galway, the Aran Islands (specifically Innishmore), and they concluded their adventure in Shannon before flying back home. Currently, Mike has one architectural client and dedicates around 10 hours a week to work, while Nancy continues her post-retirement, self-funded research career, dedicating slightly more time to her pursuits.

1

Tony Tichenor has now reached issue 63 of his COVID updates. For those not on the mailing list, these updates are accessible via his Princeton class website at: https://www.princeton72.org/posts/ tichenor. He is gradually transitioning into retirement, currently practicing 2-3 half days a week. Alongside this transition, he continues to engage in

battles with insurance companies. Tony recently merged his practice with another allergist/immunologist and, at the time of reading, hopes to have completed the sale of his office.

Molly Dougherty happily shares that she now has two wonderful great-nieces, both granddaughters of her brother Chrys Dougherty ’69. Chrys’s son, Mark Dougherty ’09, a neurosurgeon, along with his wife Danika, welcomed their daughter Lizzie on Christmas Eve last year. Additionally, Chrys’s son John Dougherty ’05, an attorney, and his wife Kirrin, recently celebrated the birth of their baby girl, Meera, just last month.

In her leisure time, Molly and her husband Kip enjoy relaxing together and indulging in reading. She actively engages in tennis matches and visits friends regularly. Molly also cherishes her weekly gatherings with Chrys whenever he’s in town. In the new year, Molly hopes to return to El Salvador—a place she hasn’t visited in several years due to COVID restrictions. Despite this, she remains deeply involved with ASAPROSAR, a non-governmental organization dedicated to providing health, education, environmental and economic development programs in El Salvador, particularly in rural health and development initiatives.

1970

Former faculty member Jim Crosby will be honored at Reunion Weekend 2024 by the Spartan Alumni Association with the Spartan Impact Award. The Award recognizes a St. Stephen’s alum whose leadership and work demonstrate a significant impact on the community. Jim will be recognized during Reunion Weekend 2024, April 19-21.

1971

Michael Emery lives in Austin and has worked for Austin PBS for over 42 years. His favorite program to work on has been Juneteenth Jamboree. To check out this program and Michael’s work, go to https://video. austinpbs.org/show/juneteenth-jamboree/.

1974

Michael Mehaffy has taken on the role of Executive Director at the International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) conference series, which was initiated in 1985. Recently, the 59th conference was successfully concluded in collaboration with the Prince’s Foundation, still under the leadership of King Charles, with whom Michael previously worked. The conference saw the participation of researchers, practitioners, mayors, nonprofit leaders and citizen activists, all dedicated to enhancing the livability and sustainability of cities and towns (details at https://www.imcl.online).

Left side of the table front to back: Gwin Steph ’71, Mike Childers ’69 Randy Parten ’67, Ellen Justice ’67 and Jack O’Quin ’67 Right side front to back: Karen O’Quin, Vicky Gasche ’67, Jamie Sterling, Tito Hines ’67, Daryl Haus Tanner ’67 and Phil Howard ’67

One of the most enjoyable aspects for Michael was working alongside his daughter, grandkids and other staff members during the conference. Following the event, they embarked on an educational vacation across the UK, France and Italy. The trip involved learning experiences such as discovering Galileo’s telescope in Venice, exploring Roman life in Pompeii, diving into the Renaissance in Rome, visiting Etruscan caves in Orvieto, delving into London urbanism and immersing themselves in European history, art, architecture, science and natural history. It was a well-deserved and enjoyable vacation for all involved.

Ann McMeans retired from Baylor College of Medicine/ Texas Children’s Hospital in May 2022 after nearly three decades as a research dietitian. She returned to work on a very part-time basis with Baylor and a pediatric GI physician in October 2022 to assist in completing a nutrition research project she had initially helped start. Working from home on her own schedule has proven to be an ideal arrangement, keeping her engaged in her work. In the summer of 2022, another grandson named Nehemiah (Neo) joined their family through the foster system when he was just two days old. Ann’s son and his family gained custody of Neo in August from the state and are in the process of finalizing his adoption. At 18 months old, Neo is a joyful presence in their lives. He has an older brother named Cassidy (now 5), who was adopted by John’s family at the age of 2. Despite living in Amarillo, which limits visits, Ann adores her role as a grandmother. In her spare time, she indulges in playing pickleball, taking yoga classes at the Y, and traveling to spend time with family friends and some of her SSES friends. Last January, she enjoyed a skiing trip in Snowmass with Bebin Cypher and plans to return there next January.

Mike Peters had an enjoyable time making an appearance on Antiques Roadshow in Santa Fe last year. He was also interviewed for a WGBH podcast associated with Roadshow, specifically for an episode focusing on his former friend Keith Haring. Currently, Mike and his wife, Suzanne, prefer traveling solely by car, prompting them to opt for shorter trips. Despite living

3 Class of 1993

in New Mexico for almost four decades, they continue to discover new activities and destinations to explore. Recently, they commemorated their 37th wedding anniversary with a trip to Trinidad, Colorado. Mike is happy to report that his rare neurological disease (CIDP) appears to remain at a standstill even four years after undergoing treatment. He expresses gratitude to SSES and his fellow students for enlightening him about the joys of learning and fellowship. Mike reports that life is fulfilling, and he remains appreciative.

1989

The Class of 1989 will celebrate its 35-year Reunion during Reunion Weekend 2024. Spartan Alumni Association Board Member and Class Representative Jonathan Quander is coordinating activities.

During Reunion Weekend, Patricia Henna Rowe will receive The Spartan Alumni Leadership Award. The award honors an alumni volunteer leader who has provided outstanding volunteer leadership in service to the school and the Spartan Alumni Association. This award will be presented during Reunion Weekend.

1993

In September, the Class of 1993 celebrated its 30-year Reunion. Coordinated by classmates Ben Hoke and Davis Baldwin, the celebration included a weekend of activities culminating with the class party on Saturday evening. As part of their Reunion planning, the dynamic duo spearheaded a fundraising initiative in support of the 2023-24 Annual Fund to mark their 30th Reunion. To date, 32 classmates have given to the fundraising effort that has raised over $70,000 for the Annual Fund.

(Picture 2)

Piper Stege Nelson was named Executive Director of I Live Here, I Give Here this Fall. The Austin-based philanthropy’s mission is to amplify giving in Central Texas by cultivating and creating deeper connections for givers and the issues they care about.

Kurt

This Fall, Math Instructor Michael Oberle hosted four alumni Kurt Oehler, Eli Meyers ’22, Ace Furman ’12 and Henry Colangelo ’18 for game night. (Picture 3)

1994

Seema Pandya is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist, accomplished sustainability consultant, and green building educator who explores the intersection between sustainability, art, culture, and the built environment to connect audiences with an experiential awareness of nature and primordial forms. She also teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in sustainability at the New York School of Interior Design. In September, Seema had a piece of her art displayed at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. To learn more about her work go to https://www.seemalisapandya.com.

1995

Steve Driver serves as the Financial Crimes Division Chief at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. His wife, Ashlie, holds positions as the Director of Music at Klein UMC and as the Executive Director of Christian Youth Theater Houston. Their daughter Maddie is pursuing a Junior BFA in Musical Theater at Rider University, while their son Travis is a first-year student focusing on Music Education at Baylor University. Their youngest daughter, Elise, is currently a sophomore in high school.

1999

Rebecca Whitehurst will marry Peter Shipman at Umlauf Sculpture Garden this spring.

Keya Jayaram Dannenbaum had a baby boy in December 2022 named Raka, her third.

Mackenzie Martin Cook and her husband Josh had a baby boy, Jack Henry, who turned one November 1.

Terra James Tucker and John Tucker welcomed baby girl Zoe Marie in July.

2

Oehler, Eli Meyers ’22, Michael Oberle, Ace Furman ’12 and Henry Colangelo ’18

Jessica Sager and her husband Jaya welcomed daughter Leela Ruth Marks on November 18.

Elizabeth Hamilton returned full-time to her life transition coaching practice in 2022. She will begin splitting time between Austin and Durango, Colorado in 2024 to expand the nature-connected branch of her practice.

Becky Hollis Diffen and Daniel Diffen are navigating the transition to St. Stephen’s parents with Darcy’s arrival in 6th grade this year. Becky says that it’s been wonderful to run into so many of their former teachers on campus. Daniel also returned to teaching after 12 years as a stay-at-home dad and is the new middle school Spanish teacher at Paragon Prep, where son Brydon is one of his students. They are starting to plan their class party for their 25th Reunion next April and they hope everyone will join in the fun.

2006

Tonisha Kearney-Ramos, Ph.D. served as a panelist for a virtual Spartans Engage session on graduate school and pre-professional programs in October. Tonisha is an

Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology in Psychiatry at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center. After graduating from St. Stephen’s in 2006, Tonisha went on to complete her bachelor’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from Tulane University, her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Neurosciences from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and her postdoctoral research fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her current research at Columbia uses a multidisciplinary approach to develop innovative treatments for individuals with substance use disorders.

2007

While still working as a full-time real estate agent, Louise McNutt Brazitis said it was an absolute joy coaching middle school field hockey. (Picture 4)

This past summer Maggie Watkins Jarmon, Louise McNutt Brazitis, Addie Edwards McBride, Liz Minch Eichholz, Kristin Moreno Lewis, Whitney Gaston Abblitt, and Maddie Ewell Loeffelholz enjoyed a fun dinner at Bill’s Oyster in Downtown Austin! (Picture 5)

Alex Mauro and husband, Ted Bevan, moved to Japan during the second half of 2023 and are stationed near Iwakuni. Both are physicians in the Navy. Alex specializes in pediatrics.

Don Cunningham Award winner Michael Incerto can’t stop dominating, now on the pickleball courts! While he was a varsity letterman in football, basketball and baseball for the Spartans, he has expanded his vast skill set to include dinks and drop shots.

Chris Sibley was back on campus in November visiting with instructor Mike Dolan’s film class. Chris is a filmmaker at Studios at Fisher and currently serves on the board of Austin Symphony Orchestra. (Picture 6)

A group of Spartans from the class of 2007 gathered in August with their little ones to cool off on Lake Austin! (Picture 7)

Louise McNutt Brazitis ’07 and the Middle School Field Hockey team

Maggie Watkins Jarmon ’07, Louise McNutt Brazitis ’07, Addie Edwards McBride ’07, Liz Minch Eichholz ’07, Kristin Moreno Lewis ’07, Whitney Gaston Abblitt ’07 and Maddie Ewell Loeffelholz ’07

Chris Sibley ’07 visits campus

Class of 2007 kiddos: daughter of Kristin Moreno Lewis ’07, son of Addie Edwards McBride ’07, daughters of Maddie Ewell Loeffelholz ’07 and Liz Minch Eichholz ’07, sons of Whitney Gaston Abblitt ’07 and daughter of Maggie Watkins Jarmon ’07

2012

Sarafina Nance, a Ph.D. candidate at U.C. Berkeley in astrophysics returned to Austin in November to discuss her latest book, “Starstruck,” in November. To learn more about Sarafina and her new book go to https:// starafina.com.

2013

James Carter, Ph.D. served as a panelist for a virtual Spartans Engage session on graduate school and preprofessional programs in October. James is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Industrial and Labor Relations School at Cornell University. After graduating from St. Stephen’s, James’ education continued with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English from Rice University, then master’s and doctoral degrees in Management from Columbia University’s Business School. His current research investigates the psychological and contextual factors that determine the success of diversity efforts.

This summer, Patrick O’Hare married Rayna Smith. In attendance were Pallavi Shamapant ’15, Sebastian Provenzano, Jeremy Hall, Mehek Gagneja, Jennifer Sturley, Chloe Zagrodzky, Max Daniler-Varghese ’10, Caitlin Watkins ’09, Drew Daniller-Varghese ’08, Nikhil Shamapant and Jake O’Hare ’10 (Picture 9)

2014

Liza Ayres, Hallie Ayres, Phoebe Ayres ’16 and Miranda Ayres ’18 had quite the adventure last Fall. The foursome attended the 14th Shanghai Biennale, “Cosmos Cinema,” for which Hallie served on the curatorial team. Following the opening, Liza and Hallie then visited several other cities where they reconnected with St. Stephen’s friends, some of whom they hadn’t seen in a decade! Liza reflects that it was amazing to see the hometowns of several of their high school peers and spend time with classmates and their parents. They also made time to see Hallie’s host family from the year she spent in Tokyo as part of the Japan Exchange Program. (Pictures 10 & 11)

This Fall, Maddie Renbarger joined the Spartan Alumni Association Board meeting as Alumni Regional Representative New York City. Maddie is a reporter with Business Insider.

2015

Colin Hancock was just nominated for his second Grammy! Colin was nominated for Best Historical Album for “The Moaninest Moan of Them All: The Jazz Saxophone of Loren McMurray 1920-1922”. Colin became interested in early jazz and recording technology while at St. Stephen’s, and Liz Moon recalls Colin being referred to as Professor Hancock as a student. He has continued this work and his studies. After graduating in 2019 from Cornell with a degree in Urban Studies, he is now a student in the Law School at U.T.

2016

Mallika Rao connected with Dineo Khabele, MD ’85 at Meharry Medical College Research Week. Dineo is the Mitchell & Elaine Yanow Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She is a recognized physician-scientist, dedicated educator, mentor and advocate for women’s health. Mallika is a second-year medical student at Meharry Medical College. For the school’s student research day, she presented an oral presentation on her work on tuberculosis. The presentation won 2nd place! (Picture 12)

Playing ultimate frisbee at Bowdoin College, Will Savage ’16 was a Donovan Award finalist his senior year. The Donovan Award honors one Women’s and one Men’s player in Division III who are selected by their peers. He was most recently honored with runner-up Coach of the Year for his first foray into coaching the sport at Williams College. His brother, John Savage ’22, plays frisbee at Middlebury College. Last May, both teams went head to head to qualify as the two teams representing the Northeast Division at Nationals. Middlebury placed 2nd and Williams placed 5th. (Pictures 13 & 14)

This September, Henry Tschurr joined the faculty at St. Stephen’s as an English Instructor. Henry earned his B.A. from the University of Texas and M.A. from the University of Virginia.

This fall Erin Hightower received her Ph.D. in geophysics from CalTech. (Picture 8)

Erin Hightower ’12

Patrick O’Hare ’13, Rayna Smith, Pallavi Shamapant ’15, Sebastian Provenzano ’13, Jeremy Hall ’13, Mehek Gagneja ’13, Jennifer Sturley ’13, Chloe Zagrodzky ’13, Max Daniler-Varghese ’10, Caitlin Watkins ’09, Drew Daniller-Varghese ’08, Nikhil Shamapant ’13 and Jake O’Hare ’10 at the O’Hare wedding

Liza Ayres ’14, Lucy Yang ’18, Hallie Ayres ’14 and Miranda Ayres ’18 in Shanghai

Mallika Rao ’16 and Dineo Khabele, MD ’85

Hallie Ayres ’14, Cosmo Wei ’14, Liza Ayres ’14 and Alice Cheng ’12 in Taipei

2017

A second-year medical student at UT, Anna Hartzell served as a panelist for a virtual Spartans Engage session on graduate school and pre-professional programs in October. Since graduating, she pursued a gap year traveling to Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia and Europe before the start of college. She graduated magna cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 2022 with a major in Anthropology on the pre-med track. She played varsity field hockey and volunteered as an EMT during her four years at Bryn Mawr. Anna is now a first-year medical student at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. At Dell, Anna is conducting research in the fields of anesthesiology and orthopedics. She loves being back in Austin and helping out with the St. Stephen’s varsity field hockey team.

2018

While in Hong Kong, Sarah Todd, director of international programs, caught up with Angela Yang and Gary Hu ’19 (Picture 15)

Miranda Ayres moved to Japan this summer to teach English at a school outside of Osaka. Miranda spent her 10th grade year at St. Margaret’s in Tokyo as part of

the Japanese Exchange Program. Previously, Miranda worked in the International Program at St. Stephen’s. She is missed on campus!

2019

Honoring his senior superlative “Most Likely to Return as Faculty,” David Allen returned to The Hill as Alumni Engagement Officer in September. In this role, David will serve as an ambassador to all alumni with a special focus on building engagement strategies for current students, young alumni and those celebrating milestone anniversary reunions. (Picture 16)

Lavanya Sankaran graduated in the spring of 2023 from U.C. Berkeley, receiving a BA in Public Health. This fall she started as a first-year medical student at California Health Sciences University. A few weeks ago she had her White Coat Ceremony where she received her first professional coat and is on her way to becoming a doctor with the Class of 2027! (Picture 17)

2020

Coby Carrozza won a gold medal in the 200m Freestyle at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile in October. He also earned a silver medal in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay.

2023

Meredith Clay and William Casas have been named the Alumni Class Representatives for the Class of 2023.

In September, students in the Upper School Machine Learning/A.I. class presented to Chris Carothers ’94, Reed Coke ’09, Will Deaderick ’14, Star Liu ’17, Matt Miller ’02, Katelijn Vleugels P ’26, Noah Zandan ’01

The alumni and current parent are all leaders in the field of technology and A.I. The class, taught by instructors Dan Laws and Nicole Wortham, Ph.D., explores data science and artificial intelligence. The group helped students reflect on the question: “How can I create a data-driven proposal to motivate my peers to take action on a critical problem in society?” through data analytics.

Will Savage ’16 coaching at Williams College

John Savage ’22 with teammates at Middlebury College David Allen ’19

Katelijn Vleugels P ’26 and Timtim Punlertrapee ’24

(L to R) Richard Zhan ’25, Matt Miller ’02, Reed Coke ’09 and Anusha Mahbub ’25

Lavanya Sankaran ’19

Angela Yang ’18, Sarah Todd and Gary Hu ’19 in Hong Kong

ON NOVEMBER 17, 2023, ST. STEPHEN’S LOST YVONNE ADAMS,

a beloved and celebrated member of our community.

Yvonne joined the St. Stephen’s community in 1993 as the girl’s basketball coach and a member of the residential administrators. Over her 31 years on campus, she served in a variety of roles, most recently leading the diversity, equity and inclusion team. As the Girl’s Basketball coach, Yvonne led her team to win the SPC Championship in 2015 and was named “Coach of the Year” by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. During her career, she coached basketball and volleyball at all levels. She was a dorm parent and a faculty sponsor of the School’s Haiti partnership, traveling on several excursions with students to visit St. Stephen’s sister school St. Etienne.

In 2010, St. Stephen’s then Head of School Bob Kirkpatrick named Yvonne as the school’s first director of diversity to begin coordinating and guiding the diversity efforts that were already underway. In 2018, she was appointed as director of equity & inclusion and appointed to serve on the school’s senior administrative team.

Yvonne was instrumental in teaching students, staff and faculty how to navigate difficult conversations about a range of topics — from bigotry and hatred, to DACA and deportation, to protecting the human rights of natural disaster victims. Ultimately, she wanted to move students beyond tolerance to true understanding so that they would become independent learners and responsible and compassionate citizens of the world. We will miss her spirit of bravery and boldness, and we will miss her beautiful and captivating presence. We will miss the incredible love she shared with all who had the privilege of knowing her.

Benjamin Douglas Agnor ’54 passed away on November 7, 2023 in Bryan, Texas. He was a proud member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Husbandry from Texas A&M University in 1958. He married his fourth grade sweetheart Margaret Ann Oliver Agnor and the couple moved a number of times for Ben’s work in the oil field and service as an Army officer. Ben worked for Elanco Products Company from 1964 until he retired in 1987 as Executive Vice President for the Agricultural Chemical Division. He and his wife moved back to Marshall, Texas, and for the next thirty years, Ben served in leadership roles in the Rotary Club, the Marshall Regional Arts Council and the Harrison County Courthouse Preservation Council. Ben will be fondly remembered for his beautiful connection with people, his storytelling and his laugh.

Leslie Grayson passed away on October 21, 2023. Leslie served as the Women’s Athletic Director and an Admission Administrator at St. Stephen’s from 1982–1984. During her time on The Hill, she met her husband, Doug Grayson ’76. Doug and Leslie were married in New Canaan, Connecticut and moved to the Philadelphia area in 1986. Doug and Leslie lived in an old farmhouse they lovingly restored themselves. Leslie returned to school at Temple University, earning a degree in Landscape Design, which blossomed over the next 30 years as an expansive design and planning career. She traveled extensively with her children, always planning the next adventure with an eye to reuniting family and friends. Leslie made the lives of those around her richer for the memories or moments that could not have been collected without her.

Ed Auler ’63 passed away on October 14, 2023. He attended St. Stephen’s as a freshman, and later graduated from McCallum High School in Austin. Ed earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, where he met the love of his life, Susan. The couple married and Ed continued his education at the UT School of Law, and then joined the firm of Kendall, Randall, Finch and Osborne. A trip to France in 1973 and a wine country tour dramatically changed their lives. Ed left his law practice and he and his wife started Fall Creek Vineyards in Driftwood, Texas. Ed served on numerous boards including Frost Bank, St. David’s Hospital Foundation and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. Ed’s passion was his family. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend.

Margaret “Maggy” Dibrell ’74 passed away on October 12, 2023. Maggy spent three years at St. Stephen’s before graduating a year early from Brownwood High School in 1973. She moved to Washington D.C. where she attended Catholic University of America and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Maggy worked as a registered nurse in the oncology ward at Fairfax Hospital in Virginia. She relocated to Austin in the early 1980s and worked at the Texas General Land Office. Maggy loved caring for plants, which led to her longest career working in the flower business. She was passionate about destigmatizing mental illnesses and spoke openly about her lifelong challenge with a bipolar condition and substance use. She was very proud to receive her eightyear sobriety chip from Alcoholics Anonymous in September of 2023. She was a devoted mother, an avid reader, a pianist, and guitarist. She loved to sing, write poetry and create collages. Maggy will be remembered as a kind and creative soul who touched many lives.

Mack Taylor ’55 passed away on August 24, 2023. Mack and his brother Martin Taylor ’55 became students at St. Stephen’s the year it opened its doors. During his time on The Hill, Mack was dedicated to his studies and served as a proctor during his senior year. After graduation, Mack earned a degree in Geology from Stanford University and worked as a geologist in Reno, Nevada.

Jess Green ’04 passed away on May 31, 2023 after a courageous battle with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. She graduated from Bennington College, and was the visionary behind The Cabbage School, a North Carolinabased institution focused on rigorous skillbuilding. Jess was a master weaver, both of fabric and connections, a dedicated farmer and shepherdess, a talented performer and artist, and an educator who celebrated the value of failure. Her revolutionary spirit and tireless efforts to understand and love herself touched the lives of those around her, making them feel deserving of love. Jess skillfully intertwined people with the world, uniting many through gatherings and shared transformative moments.

John Gasche ’71 passed away on January 25, 2023. John was a man of many talents. He ventured into entrepreneurship, making his mark as a nightclub owner. He also assisted as a sound mixer, a lighting engineer and an instructor at FlightSafety, a world-class aviation and simulation training facility. John remained active in retirement. His travels led him to Mexico, Canada, Germany, Italy and Africa. In addition to crafting model trains, John also had an affinity for music, a deep connection to animals, was a culinary expert, and loved exploring and scuba diving.

Alumni Class Representatives

Will Brewster ’51 brewsterwilliam34@gmail.com

Michael Hines ’54 poppyhines@msn.com

Colin Phipps ’55 colin@phippsfarm.com

Ruth Wilson Witten ’57 ruthwitten@aol.com

J.P. Bryan ’58 BryanJ@teai.com

Tom Romberg ’59 tromberg@me.com

Pat Fatter Black ’60 ggpat77@gmail.com

Steve Jolly ’61 stevejolly@mindspring.com

David Sanders ’62 rdavidsanders@msn.com

Julia Cauthorn ’63 julia@texancapital.com

Arthur Wright ’64 arthur.wright@tklaw.com

Dianne Duncan Tucker ’65 ddtuck@aol.com

Randy Parten ’67 jrparten@parten.com

Robert Henderson ’68 rehenderson@nvcc.edu

Josh Harrison ’69 JHarrisonLaw@aol.com

Dee Meador ’70 meadortx@yahoo.com

Kathryn Miller Anderson ’71 zjmiller1513@gmail.com

Darrell David ’72 darrell.s.david@gmail.com

Douglass Anderson ’73 dlalaw@hotmail.com

Ann Rhodes McMeans ’74 armcmeans@gmail.com

Dr. Mary L. Brandt ’75 mary.l.brandt@gmail.com

Sylvia McIntyre-Crook ’75 sycrook1@cox.net

Dan Norton ’76 daniel@danielnorton.com

Robert Ettinger ’77 robert@ettlaw.com

Mark Tucker ’78 mrtucker@mindspring.com

Carroll Lively Reeser ’79 carroll@reeser.net

Peter Larkam ’80 peter@peterlarkam.com

Erica Peters Stafford ’81 Erica.Stafford@bvcpa.com

Charlotte Stuckey Brigham ’81 charbrigham@gmail.com

Wendy White Naughton ’82 wendy.naughton@gmail.com

Laura Mears Mirecki ’83 Lauralynn787@gmail.com

Suzanne Cantarino Pfeiffer ’84 SuzannePfeiffer@austin.rr.com

Libbie Walker Ansell ’85 libbieansell@gmail.com

Chris Breckwoldt ’86 cbreckwoldt@sstx.org

Catherine Hoey Randall ’87 caterandall@sbcglobal.net

Mark Rowe ’88 markrowe@henna.com

Jonathan Quander ’89 jdquander70@gmail.com

Joe Frisz ’90 joe.frisz@enovapay.com

Liz Fleming Powell ’91 lz.powell@gmail.com

Monika Powe Nelson ’92 giantmonsterprincess@gmail.com

Davis Baldwin ’93 rdbaldwin@mac.com

Travis Greig ’94 travisgreig@gmail.com

Seth Alley ’95 sethalley@msn.com

Ben Chan ’95 eyethump@gmail.com

Hawkins Li ’95 hli3@yahoo.com

Beth Cockerham Mack ’95 semack77@gmail.com

Ann Strauser Palmer ’95 Annstrauserpalmer@gmail.com

Rhea Benbow Thomas ’95 rheabt@gmail.com

Meghan Alexander ’96 MAlexander@AlexanderAtty.com

Shannon Powers Flahive ’96 shannon6480@gmail.com

Gerry DeLeon ’96 gerryadeleon@gmail.com

Elizabeth Anne Sykes Rains ’96 earains1109@yahoo.com

Cam Beesley ’97 leardsfool@gmail.com

Becky Hollis Diffen ’99 Becky.diffen@nortonrosefulbright.com

Claire Browder ’00 clairebrowder@gmail.com

Aaron Albrecht ’00 albrecht.aaron@gmail.com

Katharine Bayer ’01 kittybayer@gmail.com

Juliet Frerking ’01 frerking@gmail.com

Kean Tonetti ’02 stonetti@gmail.com

Rachel Katz ’05 rpk228@gmail.com

Sarah Cromwell Sheppard ’06 sarahhcromwell@gmail.com

Selina Strasburger ’06 selina.strasburger@gmail.com

Cole Arledge ’07 cole.arledge@gmail.com

Louise McNutt Brazitis ’07 louisebrazitis@gmail.com

J.J. Botha ’09 johannbbotha@gmail.com

Chantal Strasburger ’09 chantal.strasburger@gmail.com

Carlotta Garza ’10 carlotta.garza@gmail.com

Omar Yaghi ’10 omaryaghi2@gmail.com

Ryann Young ’10 rhy9@cornell.edu

Lindsay Redman ’11 llredman93@gmail.com

Henry Sikes ’11 WHSikes1@gmail.com

Gray Twombly ’11 Twombly.Gray@gmail.com

Alia Yaghi ’11 alia.yaghi1@gmail.com

Yosua A. Husodo ’12 yosua.adiyasa@hotmail.com

Helen Elizabeth Old ’12 helenelizabeth1@me.com

Caroline Pringle ’12 carolinepringle93@gmail.com

Jake Politte ’12 jake.politte@rocketmail.com

James Carter ’13 jamesterelcarter@gmail.com

Annie Nordhauser ’13 lisa.nordhauser@gmail.com

Nathan Goldberg ’14 nathangoldbergc@gmail.com

Jaclyn Horton ’14 jaclynlhorton@gmail.com

Jim Old ’15 jamesold1@mac.com

Nick Goldreyer ’16 nick.goldreyer@gmail.com

Madison Wiedeman ’17 madisonw5457@gmail.com

Miranda Ayres ’18 mirandadaisy29@gmail.com

Allie Goldreyer ’18 allie.goldreyer@gmail.com

Blossom Maduafokwa ’18 bdm2140@barnard.edu

Andrew Yow ’18 david.andrew.yow@gmail.com

Wyatt Gill ’19 Wyatt.gill912@gmail.com

Tom Guan ’19 guantomy@gmail.com

Greta Katsner ’19 gretakastner@gmail.com

Chloe Lawrence ’19 chloelawrence512@gmail.com

Lucy Schmidt ’19 lucyschmidt88@gmail.com

Sophia Waugh ’20 sophiastoylewaugh@gmail.com

Lizzy Jones ’20 lizzyjonesatx@gmail.com

Lauren Gill ’21 Laurengill42@gmail.com

Betsy Goodrum ’21 betsygoodrum@gmail.com

Ellie Gunnin ’22 elliegunnin21@gmail.com

Sophie Hawthorne ’22 sophie.i.hawthorne@gmail.com

Meredith Clay ’23 meimeiclay@icloud.com

William Casas ’23 wgcasas1200@icloud.com

Class Notes Submissions

We encourage alumni to share personal updates with us for Class Notes. Spartan alumni are contacted by their Class Reps several times a year to gather news and information. For assistance contacting your Class Rep or to submit news directly by email, please contact Michelle Geo Olmstead, Director of Alumni Relations, at 512.327.1213 x178 or molmstead@sstx.org.

For help finding your Class Rep, please visit our Alumni webpage at www.sstx.org/alumni. Class notes can also be submitted online at www. sstx.org/alumni. Select the “Stay Connected” box. We welcome high-resolution photographs with your Class Notes submission. Please send a JPG format in the largest size possible (at least 900 pixels; image 3 inches wide at 300 dpi). Please include the full names and class years of everyone pictured.

Spartan Magazine editors reserve the right to edit or omit any information submitted.

Get Social!

Connect with St. Stephen’s and your classmates online

LinkedIn Group St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Alumni

Private Alumni Facebook Group

facebook.com/Groups/StStephensAlumniGroup

Follow St. Stephen’s at:

Facebook facebook.com/sstx.org

Instagram @SSTX_OnTheHill

YouTube @StStephensAustin

If you have not received emails from the Alumni Office recently, we may not have your current email address. Please send your information to molmstead@sstx.org so you do not miss invitations to events and news about your classmates!

Winter Stillness

Taking time to be still and observe the ways that nature sits in a state of restfulness is important in the busyness of life. Overwhelming data shows there are mental and physical benefits of being in nature. “Hormones released while spending time in nature helps alleviate stress and anxiety,” says Charlton Perry, director of outdoor education. As we come to the end of the issue, we take a moment to enjoy stillness, reflect on the beauty of this campus and absorb the benefits of the outdoors.

PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP : A mockingbird sitting on an Agave species; A spider spins a web in a cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia); Composite wildflowers in the Asteraceae family (in seed form); Photos by Chris Caselli ’82

FriDay SaturDay SunDay

Upper School Chapel

11:30 a.m., Chapel

Admission Events

Afternoon on The Hill

Japanese Exchange Program Reception

Celebrating 50 years of the Japanese Exchange Program

5 p.m., Becker Library

Pioneer Dinner

Dinner celebrating the classes of 1951-1974

6 p.m., Bowen Fine Arts Studio

Student Performance — Modern Voices

7 p.m., Helm Fine Arts Center

Student Art Show

Scanlan Art Gallery

Open all weekend

Class Parties

Celebrating the graduating classes ending in 4s and 9s.

Off Campus

To learn more and register, please use this QR code or visit reunionweekend2024.rsvpify.com

Hike the Gulch / Hike the Hill

8 a.m., Meet at Chapel

Spartan Alumni Association Annual Meeting

9:30 a.m., Recital Hall

Spartan Alumni Awards & Leadership Brunch

Event celebrating alumni volunteers and presentations of The Founders Award for Distinguished Leadership Award, The Spartan Alumni Leadership Award and The Spartan Impact Award

11 a.m., Bowen Fine Arts Studio

Celebration of the Arts at St. Stephen’s and Arts Awards Recognition

1:30 p.m., Recital Hall

Japanese Exchange Program Panel Discussion

2:30 p.m., Becker Library

Alumni Recess

Family-friendly activities on The Hill

1:30–5 p.m.

Parents of the Class of 2019 5-Year Reunion Reception

5 p.m., Scanlan Art Gallery

Decades Happy Hour

5 p.m., Temple Courtyard

Taste of Austin

Join the entire alumni community for local Austin food trucks, music and family-friendly activities

6 p.m., Bowen Fine Arts Studio

Spartan Send-Off

8 p.m., Bowen Fine Arts Studio

Class Parties following campus events

Alumni Chapel

10:30 a.m., Chapel

Celebrating 50 years of the Japanese Exchange Program

Following Chapel, brunch is available in the Buddy Temple ’60 Dining Hall

2024 Honorees

Louis Henna, Jr. ’64

The Founders Award for Distinguished Service

Patricia Henna Rowe ’89

The Spartan Alumni Leadership Award

Jim Crosby ’ 70

The Spartan Impact Award

6500 St. Stephen’s Drive Austin, Texas 78746

If you receive multiple copies of this publication or have updated address information to share with us, please send an email to Sharon Sparlin at ssparlin@sstx.org. Thank you!

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PARTING SHOT

Upper School students enjoying a sunny afternoon on The Hill