T H E
M A G A Z I N E
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S T E P H E N’ S
E P I S C O P A L
S C H O O L
Winter 2017
Meet the New Head of School
SNAPSHOT St. Stephen’s MS and US choirs performed during the installation ceremony
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St. Stephen’s Episcopal School
CONTENTS
2 Head Lines 3 Meet the New Head of School 4 HOS Installation Ceremony
P H OTOS COVER: Christopher L. Gunnin RIGHT (top to bottom): Special guest Installation speaker Arnold Holtberg with Chris Gunnin; Science teacher Kindy Verderber helps sixth grader Tamia Jackson dismantle a device during a Maker Studio unit; Reunion attendees, Liz Fleming Powell ’91, Ted Patrick ’91, Patricia Henna Rowe ’89 and Mark Rowe ’88
head of school
What Makes a Teacher Great?
6 Profiles in Teaching Excellence 12 Maker Studio Offerings 13 Our Living Laboratories 14 A Holistic Approach to Giving 15 An Emerging Language Scholar
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Christopher L. Gunnin
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editor Anne Marie Becka
class notes editor Nolu McIlraith ’12
design Ellen Buckmaster, Bucko Design
Spartan Life
16 Senior Academic Achievements 17 Royal Thai Scholars 18 Spartan Boys’ Volleyball 19 Modern Day Treasure Hunting 20 Building Strong Parent-School Relationships
21 Annual Fund Events
contributors Christine Aubrey Lou Porter Bailey ’71 Cynthia Bartek Hayden Blood Sherry Buchanan Chris Caselli ’82 Mason Cox Robyn Gill Nolu McIlraith ’12 Michael Oberle Jennifer Cook Purcell ’89 Sarah Todd Johnny Wilson
Alumni News
22 Reunion 2016 25 Class Notes 35 Planned Giving
Spartan magazine is published twice a year for constituents of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School. Copyright © 2017 St. Stephen’s Episcopal School
subscription information and address changes Joanna Sarrett, jsarrett@sstx.org or 512.327.1213 x158
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H E AD LIN ES
Winter 2017
A blend OF EXCELLENCE When I began my tenure as head of school on July 1, I embarked on what I have called my “Listening Tour” so that I could best understand the history, culture, values and traditions of this extraordinary school community. While there is certainly work to do and decisions to make immediately, my commitment to framing my first year here in this way has served as a daily reminder to me that one of the most important steps in leading St. Stephen’s is to make sure that I am intentional in studying and learning the school’s unique character and soul. The last few months have been invigorating for me both personally and professionally, and much of that is a result of the rich discoveries I have made about this remarkable institution. St. Stephen’s greatest strengths are our students and faculty. Each day our students strive for and achieve great things, and the framework that lies at the foundation of our students’ experience is that St. Stephen’s couples very high expectations of students with an exceedingly high level of support from gifted, caring and tireless adults who invite students on a daily basis to become the best versions of themselves. This blending of high expectations and high support is at the heart of the St. Stephen’s developmental model. At its core, the St. Stephen’s experience is also rooted in our Episcopal identity. Our daily Chapel services, required theology classes, commitment to service learning and foundational belief that every human being is a beloved child of God all help create a community that is clearly grounded in the Christian tradition, as Bishop John Hines, our founder, envisioned. Yet that firm commitment to our Episcopal identity is blended with a deep commitment to inclusivity. On a daily basis, our community goes beyond tolerance to joyfully celebrate and warmly welcome students and adults of all faiths, races and nationalities. Again, this artful blending of a deep commitment to our Episcopal identity with a richly diverse community is part of what distinguishes St. Stephen’s. Another blend of excellence that I have observed is our fierce celebration of individuals, combined with the strong bonds of a close-knit community. On the one hand, ours is a school for those who thrive in a community of individuals rather than a community of conformity. Students are not pressured to grow into narrowly defined stereotypes. Nonetheless, there is still a palpable sense that we are all a part of something greater than ourselves at St. Stephen’s, and members of this community enjoy a deep pride in belonging to this community. Students are called to develop themselves personally—as scholars, athletes, artists and leaders—but the invitation is then to use their God-given talents in service to others. Finally, ours is a community that is proud of its history, its heritage and its traditions. But that pride is blended with an excitement for where we are headed. While there is much to take pride in, no one here is satisfied that our work is done. In the business of inspiring and nurturing students, we are constantly thinking of the future and how Spartans can make it better. That pride in where we come from and who we have been, coupled with vigorous enthusiasm for what we have yet to become, feels unique to St. Stephen’s. As you read this issue of Spartan magazine, I trust that you will come to understand why I feel so honored to have joined this community, why I am proud of what we do every day on The Hill, and why I am excited for St. Stephen’s future. — christopher l. gunnin, head of school
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I N COMMU N IT Y
Spartan Magazine
meet THE NEW
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Christopher L. Gunnin, St. Stephen’s 12th head of school, joined the St. Stephen’s community in July 2016. An alumnus of St. Mark’s School
of Texas in Dallas and Trinity University in San Antonio, Gunnin served as a faculty member and administrator in two Southwest Preparatory Conference schools for 20 years before moving to St. Stephen’s. His extensive experience working in independent schools under the guidance of three strong heads, coupled with his commitment to providing students with the skills and resources needed to make them successful, will help him successfully transition St. Stephen’s into the next phase of its institutional development. For the 2016–17 school year, Gunnin has embarked on what he calls his “listening tour.” During this time Gunnin will meet with students, faculty, parents and alumni to gain a more holistic understanding of what it means to be part of the St. Stephen’s community. Additionally, he will observe life on campus— from academics, athletics and the arts, to the diverse boarding community and more—in order to understand how our school’s mission, vision and values remain a vital part of life on The Hill today.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Ellie, Cooper, Chris, Addison and Nancy Gunnin
observe now is that we have a leadership team, faculty and board of trustees that are committed to achieving new levels of excellence for our school community. There is an excitement and eagerness to shape the next phase of this school’s history.
Engagement with Alumni
Why He Was Drawn to St. Stephen’s
I was drawn to St. Stephen’s by the founding mission and vision for the school. The educational philosophy and call to serve others, which are such a large part of St. Stephen’s mission, really resonate with me. I also was drawn to the strong Episcopal identity and outstanding residential and international programs. Finally, I was drawn to the school because it values academics so highly but also sees the value in developmental experiences in athletics and the arts.
For many alumni, St. Stephen’s will always feel like home. One of my goals for the school is that we connect Spartans with the world and the world with St. Stephen’s. I think there are opportunities within our programming to ensure that the developmental experiences students have here are relevant in the 21st century. The best way to do that, in my mind, is to bring experts in various fields of study back to campus and let them talk about their life’s work and share their expertise with students. That’s an incredible complement to the daily work that teachers do. When guest experts are alumni, it’s that much more powerful for our students because they see people who do meaningful and important work in the world, and they know that these people came from the same place as our students. These kinds of opportunities give alumni a meaningful way to stay connected to the school, as well as an opportunity for our students to think boldly about who they might become.
Early Impressions of St. Stephen’s
His Vision for the School
Right now the school is enjoying the benefits of 66 years of strong leadership, as well as a caring and committed faculty and staff. We are distinguished by our founding vision, which was so forwardthinking but which remains so meaningful and relevant; our world, more than ever, needs St. Stephen’s. The parent support is extraordinary. The dedication and commitment of the faculty and staff is inspiring. The strength of relationships that are forged on The Hill is rare, and the intellectual discourse is rich and lively. St. Stephen’s is in a great position of strength, but the founding vision reminds us to never be satisfied with “good enough.” Part of what I
My vision for St. Stephen’s is to remain true to our founding values, strong history and powerful traditions. I want to lead the school toward an even more complete fulfillment of the school’s mission. That’s why this listening tour is so important; before I start imagining ways the school can grow, I need to understand what it means to remain true to our school’s founding values. I want to help the school prepare students for their futures and not our pasts, as well as to prepare them to be great global citizens of the world. — nolu mcilraith ’12, alumni relations and giving coordinator
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I N CO MMU N IT Y
Winter 2017
CHRISTOPHER L. GUNNIN
INSTALLED AS
12th Head of School On the morning of Oct. 7, 2016, the St. Stephen’s community gathered to celebrate the installation of Christopher L. Gunnin as the 12th head of school. The program was led by the Rt. Rev. Dena A. Harrison, Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Following a rousing performance by the school’s Thunder Drumline and an opening hymn and prayer, members of St. Stephen’s board of trustees, search and transition committees stood before the Bishop with the new head of school. “Chris, you are entrusted with the oversight of nurturing the spiritual, intellectual, social, physical and artistic development of the students of St. Stephen’s,” the Bishop said. “Working in partnership with the staff, faculty and trustees, will you strive to foster the love of learning, intellectual curiosity, spiritual foundation and moral character each student will need to achieve his or her fullest potential as a student, a citizen and a child of God?” “I will, with God’s help,” Gunnin responded, as attendees stood, pledging their support to Gunnin, who was then commissioned by the Bishop as the new head of St. Stephen’s. A highlight of the installation program was an address by Arnold E. Holtberg, headmaster emeritus of St. Mark’s School in Dallas. “As you know, Chris is a distinguished graduate of St. Mark's, where he went on to serve as teacher, coach … and head of the upper school,” Holtberg noted. “He was one of my key advisers, someone whose judgment was unwavering and who was willing and able to do the hard, right thing in every circumstance. His sensitivity to the needs of students and adults alike helped make our school a place of high expectations, compassion and nurturance.
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“My most fervent hope for St. Stephen’s, as you move forward from the accomplishments of the previous head and commence the Chris Gunnin era with hope, determination and confidence, is that all of you thrive and that Chris Gunnin succeeds beyond all success, as I know he will.” Following performances by St. Stephen’s orchestra and choirs, the installation program closed with a blessing from the Bishop and a recitation of the school prayer, which already has become a favorite of the new head of school. An accomplished school administrator with 20 years of experience working in Southwest Preparatory Conference schools, Gunnin served for the past seven years as head of the upper school at Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth. He joined the St. Stephen’s community in July 2016. Gunnin holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education from Trinity University in San Antonio. “I knew I would fall in love with St. Stephen’s, but I never imagined that I would feel so warmly embraced by the community,” Gunnin remarked after the ceremony. “I could not feel more proud or more aware of the responsibility with which I have been entrusted.”
Spartan Magazine
Quick Facts About Chris Gunnin
Three
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SPC schools where he has worked as a teacher and/or administrator, including St. Stephen’s
Number of bow ties he currently owns
1989 Year he helped lead both the St. Mark’s track and cross country teams to SPC championships
1990
1995 2009
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When Gunnin graduated from St. Mark’s School of Dallas
Year he married his wife, Nancy. They have three children: Ellie (13), Cooper (10) and Addison (5) When he was appointed head of Upper School at Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth Number of years he worked at St. Mark’s School of Texas
Five PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Bishop Dena A. Harrison presided over the installation ceremony. (left to right) Bishop Harrison, Trustee Jolynn Free and Lay Chaplain Jim Crosby ’70; Octavia Sadler with MS students during the ceremony; St. Stephen’s new Head of School Chris Gunnin with his three children and wife, Nancy; St. Stephen’s orchestra performed at the ceremony
Years Gunnin coached varsity cross country and track at St. Mark’s
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T E ACH IN G EXCELLEN C E
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Winter 2017
Spartan Magazine
WHAT MAKES A TEACHER great? Each of us has a story in common. Regardless of whether we grew up in a big city or small town, whether our studies came easily to us or were a struggle, whether we were born ready to take on the world or felt overwhelmed by the possibilities before us, each one of us had a teacher, a coach or a mentor in our young life that helped shape and define who we are today.
It is a nearly universal
human experience — a deep, meaningful connection to an educator who opened our eyes to new possibilities, who encouraged us to see beyond the ordinary, who guided us down an unmapped path to new discoveries, who saw us for who we really are and helped us achieve more than we thought possible. The details may be different, but our shared story is the same: an exceptional teacher made a real and lasting difference in our life.
St. Stephen’s classrooms, athletic fields and arts studios are bursting with wonderful
teachers. But what makes a teacher truly great? We interviewed outstanding teachers in our community in search of common traits and discovered that great educators understand that the real power of their own voice is the strength it gives to others.
refused to let me hide; they motivated me until I was left with no choice but to believe in myself. When I think about what I want to do with my life, I can picture these teachers, point to them, and say, “I want to do that.”
ANDY ACEVES
FIVE YEARS TEACHING EXPERIENCE
At St. Stephen’s I’m given the freedom to teach texts that I love in ways that challenge and energize me. I get to share my passion for literature by teaching books that continue to inspire me after countless readings—books that I know will draw my students out of their comfort zones and into difficult, meaningful conversations.
I was lost for much of my youth, uncertain in my beliefs and unsure of my ambitions, but I had great mentors who encouraged me, challenged me, kicked me in the rear (metaphorically, of course) whenever I needed it most. This is especially true of my development as a writer and student of literature. English classes were always my favorite, but I was convinced that I had nothing valuable to say about the books I read. The best teachers I had
The Internet has fundamentally changed the way young people think. Our students are exposed to hundreds of messages every minute. The answer to virtually any question they can think of is just a click away. But in English class, they are asked to develop abstract ideas; to express themselves in original, carefully crafted writing; to live and grow with a book over the course of several weeks with no specific purpose aside from the simple act of
US English Instructor, Assistant Boys’ Varsity Soccer Coach JOINED ST. STEPHEN’S IN 2015,
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discovery. They are forced to ask the types of questions that do not always have answers, which I think is a necessary stage in a student’s personal and intellectual development. Much has been said about the ever-changing nature of education in this digital age. Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe that having thoughtful conversations about stories written hundreds of years ago is essential to our humanity. In fact, I often wonder if it might be what we need most these days. I aim to achieve four goals with my students every day: make them laugh, change their minds about something, learn something new about a classmate, and believe they have valuable ideas to share. Coaching soccer also has been incredibly rewarding, and it has made me a much better teacher in the classroom. I have loved the game for as long as I can remember; I played in college and still play in a men’s league. In many ways, sharing my love of soccer comes much more naturally to me than sharing my love of literature. More importantly, getting to know our students outside of the classroom, in an environment where they are more comfortable and confident has helped me build some really meaningful relationships. I hope my students leave my class—and our school—with a sense of ownership for what they have learned and experienced here. We are all outrageously, unspeakably privileged to be able to come to this gorgeous campus every day and surround ourselves with so much talent, intelligence and curiosity. Most people in this world do not get that. In fact, most people do not get anything even remotely close to that. As is the case with all forms of privilege, it is our duty to make the most of the opportunities we are given and to use what we learn selflessly and responsibly for good.
was convinced that I had nothing valuable to say about the books I read. The best teachers I had refused to let me hide; they motivated me until I was left with no choice but to believe in myself. When I think about what I want to do with my
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English classes were always my favorite, but I
life, I can picture these teachers, point to them, and say, ‘I want to do that.’
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ANDY ACEVES
MELISSA LIVSEY US Chemistry Instructor, Former Track Coach (15 years) and House Leader (20 years) JOINED ST. STEPHEN’S IN 1995, 30 YEARS TEACHING EXPERIENCE
As a sophomore in college at the University of Maine, I got a summer job as a camp counselor in upstate New York. I loved working with kids and went back to my college advisor and told him I wanted to be a teacher. My first job was as a science teacher in an elementary school. After three years there, I started to tutor high school students in science and math while running a dorm and coaching at a boarding school in Massachusetts. I still work at the camp every summer as a camp director; I love to mentor counselors and observe them teaching. I have been teaching for more than 30 years, but I do not ever want to start thinking I have mastered teaching. It should be a constant learning process. I enjoy learning about different learning styles and new teaching techniques. I also like the science department at St. Stephen’s. We share a similar philosophy about teaching and getting students excited to learn. I appreciate it when students ask questions, offer ideas and try to solve problems. I like the energy that goes along with all of that. I enjoy watching their problem-solving process. It allows me to see what they understand and what we need to work on. I love seeing that moment when “the light goes on” and they are as excited as I am about the material. I also love when a student asks a question that stumps all of us or brings the conversation to another level. I appreciate the relationships I have with students at St. Stephen’s. My students thank me for class every day. When I tell other teacher friends this, they are stunned. For the most part, our students enjoy conversing with adults. I have had great conversations with students while working on a lab, during a conference, driving them to the mall, coaching them in the triple jump or sitting with them at a lunch table. I hope that St. Stephen’s helps our students find their passion. If they love to learn and are willing to learn every day, they will be fine. They do not need to become chemists…. They just need to be confident when faced with a problem they have not seen before and willing to fail before finding success.
Spartan Magazine
teaching. It should be a constant learning process. I enjoy learning about different learning styles
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I have been teaching for more than 30 years, but I do not ever want to start thinking I have mastered and new teaching techniques. I also like the science department at St. Stephen’s. We share a similar philosophy about teaching and getting students excited to learn.
MELISSA LIVSEY
JIN CHUNG
VIRGINIA TALLEY ’97, Ph.D.
MS Anthropology Instructor, Residential Faculty in Wycliff House, MS Boys’ Basketball Coach, 8th Grade Residential Life Coordinator, Faculty Sponsor Elevate: International Development Club
US Spanish Instructor, Assistant Varsity Tennis Coach, Faculty Sponsor Gender and Sexuality Alliance JOINED ST. STEPHEN’S IN 2012, 15 YEARS TEACHING EXPERIENCE
JOINED ST. STEPHEN’S IN 2012, 14 YEARS TEACHING EXPERIENCE
During my college years, I realized what I valued most in life were opportunities to engage with people and help them achieve goals or solve problems. After I earned my law degree at UT, I began to redirect my career based on what professions might give me the best opportunity to encourage, train or advocate for others. Before coming to St. Stephen’s, my prior jobs gave me the opportunity to work in-depth with college students all over the United States and the world. I met many remarkable young leaders. Although they differed in backgrounds, personalities and talents, there were some consistent traits they had in common. They had a fierce desire to question and listen. They were humble about their accomplishments because they understood the role others had in supporting them. They saw the power and joy that comes from connecting with others different from them. I hope my classroom and this campus promotes these values in all our students. I have found that there are endless opportunities here to get to know people in meaningful ways. Teaching is most enjoyable to me when the students and I collaborate, listen and learn from each other — when there is a strong sense of mutual respect and trust. Each class offers something new. Although my students are in 8th grade, I try to view them as partners who are striving for the same goals. Students are naturally curious. They like challenges and to problem solve. My job is to present issues, questions and perspectives that tap into these instincts.
My first Spanish professor at Sewanee inspired me to become a teacher. I was so amazed by his passion and enthusiasm for Spanish language, literature and culture, and knew that I wanted to have that kind of impact on students someday. I loved my experience as a student at St. Stephen’s and always thought it would be a dream come true to teach here. I was elated when I had the opportunity to join the faculty. I have met so many students and colleagues with unique perspectives, largely due to our diverse community. I feel like I learn something new every single day, which keeps my job interesting and challenging. The opportunity to continue learning is a great part of my job. I enjoy teaching a range of levels and subject areas, from introductory Spanish, to upper-level classes in grammar, conversation and literature. Teaching Spanish 1 in a fully immersive environment can be just as challenging and enjoyable as teaching an extremely difficult novel. For me, the best classroom experience is when students begin to think for themselves, rather than simply regurgitating the material. When students start making those deeper connections, it is a great confidence booster for them and a joy for me. Some of my favorite memories have been those moments when students catch my jokes in Spanish — or even make their own jokes in Spanish. A great experience for students is learning how to read complicated novels, poetry and short stories in Spanish. When I tell my Spanish
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5 students that we will be reading a novel that I read during my doctoral program, they can hardly believe it and are terrified. Little by little, they realize that not only can they understand the novel, but they can also have very high-level conversations about the deeper themes. That gives students a great sense of accomplishment. I love it when my students bring up ideas that I have never thought of, particularly when I am teaching a novel, poem or story that I have read many times. Ultimately, I hope that my students learn the value of speaking up for their ideas and beliefs, even when they are uncertain of whether or not it is the “correct” answer. I want them to create their own paths and be brave during their journey of learning. I also hope that St. Stephen’s students learn to fight for equality and justice.
CYNTHIA "KINDY" VERDERBER MS Science Instructor, Sponsor MS Student Government and Invention Convention JOINED ST. STEPHEN’S IN 2010 35 YEARS TEACHING EXPERIENCE
I was 12 years old when I realized I could teach: I taught my younger brother, resistant to adult instruction, how to read. After that, I wanted to teach. Making a difference in my brother’s life awakened a passion I still feel a half century later. I adore Middle School students; they are moody, yet malleable, even as their skill sets develop and their awareness of the world around them unfolds. I must confess a bias, one I interpret as a higher calling—the task of awakening scientific imagination in young women so they will consider careers in science. This is best accomplished while they are young and impressionable. I am dedicated to doing this, both by precept and by example. I joined St. Stephen’s in 2010 after teaching at an all-girls prep school for 23 years in New Orleans. My return to teaching in a coed science program has been both challenging and inspiring. I am charged with helping students of both genders find their “voice” within their individual understandings of scientific phenomena.
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The importance of science is self-evident. While the body of scientific knowledge grows at exponential rates in today’s world, basic scientific methodology is fixed and unchanging; it is the gateway to an understanding of the forces—technological, medical, psychological, environmental, geographical and agricultural, just to name a few—that will impact our students all their lives. Moreover, scientific methodology—learning to think objectively like a scientist—can be applied to solving many of life’s problems outside the realm of scientific inquiry. Although we need poets and artists to heighten our awareness of the world around us, we need scientists in order to understand the world around us. The path of scientific understanding is not an easy one. Some pain is inevitably produced by the frustrating process inherent in reaching sound scientific conclusions. With this in mind, I see my teaching task, broadly stated, as encouraging my students to rise to the learning challenges of the modern realms of science. I try to create opportunities for students to write critically in science. The first laboratory activity of the school year, the alien creature lab, provides such an opportunity. Our sixth grade students often arrive at St. Stephen’s from 20 or more diverse educational programs. As a result, many students have had little or no formal science instruction while others have enjoyed rich and varied science curricula. It is through this initial laboratory activity that the “ground is leveled.” The students and I write and edit a document together, working through each step of the scientific method. They then produce drafts of the lab using a Google document template, and I suggest edits online. Using Google Classroom in this way has been transformational. This year marked the third annual Invention Convention for sixth-grade students. This science event is designed to encourage students to apply basic science skills in a creative and productive manner. Students are directed to use problem-solving and creativethinking skills to invent a solution to a specific scientific problem. This project fosters the development of important research and communication skills, and it gives students an opportunity to work independently as they invent a new product or process. I am grateful to St. Stephen’s for giving me the opportunity to continue to practice my passion. What I am most proud of since my arrival is the development of an enlightening interdisciplinary unit using the novel “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” by William Kamkwamba. During this unit, students explore the socioeconomic and political ramifications presented in the novel within their Global Connections classes while they are building electric circuits and creating a rotor out of found materials in their
Spartan Magazine
science classes. The novel provides the ideal springboard that allows the students to explore the design process. Through this interdisciplinary unit, students develop a deeper understanding of the concepts presented within the novel — and a deeper understanding and love for science.
The kids definitely respect me. They listen to what I have to say and don’t talk back. If I correct their behavior, they answer “yes, ma’am.” I give important advice to the kids: I tell the girls if their skirts are too short or tell students if their behavior is ugly. I try to teach them to respect themselves so that others will respect them too. I tell them that you have got to give respect to others to get it. That’s part of my job, too—not just the teachers’.
CYNTHIA ROLAND Member of the Dining Hall Staff JOINED ST. STEPHEN’S IN 1992 13 YEARS TEACHING EXPERIENCE
GREG MORGAN I always wanted to be a teacher. I earned my day-care certificate and worked for 13 years as a day-care provider before coming to St. Stephen’s. I was one of the strictest teachers, so they started giving me the older kids that were more difficult. My boss knew I could make them mind. My mother started working in the dining hall in 1974. Her boss knew me from the time I was 13. In 1992 she called and offered me a job. By then I was working at a mental health facility for violent and troubled youth; I was ready for a change. I like kids, just love being around them. Most of the students at the school look at me like a second mother. They know I am here for them if they need anything, need to talk. That’s so important—to listen to kids. That’s what it is all about. I always ask them their names and learn a little about them so when I see them every day I can greet them and say “good morning.” I want them to feel like they have a place here, like there are people here who care about them. I talk with them about eating good food and not drinking too much caffeine. If I see kids without any vegetables on their plates, I’ll steer them to the salad bar and ask them to try just a little. I know if they just try a few bites of vegetables or salad, they will like it and say it was good.
JOINED ST. STEPHEN’S IN 2006, 10 YEARS TEACHING EXPERIENCE
I came to St. Stephen’s campus, walked around for about five minutes said, “Yup, this is the place.” I love that we are one community and that you can be involved in everything and anything here. Initially, I thought that because I was loaded with passion, a good public speaker and had a sense of humor that students’ automatic response was going to be like that of the students in “Dead Poets Society.” However, reality is not like that, and I have learned that those special moments still come. The best part of my day is when I look at my students’ faces and see enlightenment or a sense of accomplishment. For me, a good day in the classroom is one where students are engaged, laugh and have fun, and are enlightened. For me, it is important to have fun in class. The evolution of the student at St. Stephen’s is inspiring. That’s why I’m here. I want my students to know that anything is possible if you have the drive, the passion and a desire to succeed.
Ultimately, I hope that my students learn the value of speaking up for their ideas and beliefs, even when they are uncertain of whether or not it is the “correct” answer. I want them to create their own paths and be brave during their journey of learning. I also hope that St. Stephen’s students learn to fight for equality and justice. VIRGINIA TALLEY
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MS Athletics Coordinator, US Health Instructor
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MAKER PROJECTS:
Work and Play at St. Stephen’s
WORK AND PLAY AT ST. STEPHEN’S
The year 2016 marked a major milestone at St. Stephen's, as a formal, yearlong "Maker Studio" class was offered for the first time.
ATTACK OF THE
bristle bots!
The year 2016 marked a major milestone at St. Stephen’s, as a formal, yearlong “Maker Studio” class was offered for the first time. The class is taught in units by a team of five teachers from the math and science departments, as well as the library. In true maker style, this class boasts an interesting array of topics that offer students opportunities for hands-on learning. Class units include Renewable and Recyclable Resources, taught by Christy Fennewald; Engineering: Vibration Driven Robots with Kurt Oehler; 3D Design and Printing with Danielle Horton; Interacting with Computers, taught by Dan Laws; and Digital Storytelling, led by Cynthia Bartek. One St. Stephen's Maker Studio unit convened in early winter and set the tone for future classes—the instructor dropped a Hexbug on a lab table and let it run loose. The Hexbug, a small batterypowered robotic device capable of erratic motion, scurried around in a disconcertingly insect-like manner. Students were given the challenge to design and create a Hexbug of their own out of a toothbrush bristle head and other components. In subsequent classes, students experimented with the bristle bots and competed for best performing bristle bugs! Measurements of success included straightest line performance, best climbing performance, and evidence of best stability, among others. Students have been documenting their approaches to development and snapping the heads off of at least a few toothbrushes in the process! St. Stephen’s has fully embraced the Maker Movement, which encourages inquiry, creation and experimentation, and invites students to immerse themselves in creative processes that can be low- or high-tech. Student “makers” are invited to use technology, resources and materials at school to build and invent. Things can get messy, but the learning is real and engaging for students of all ages—we are all learners!
PHOTOS Students study the Hexbug
and then make their own robotic creations; Instructor Kurt Oehler introduces a Hexbug to the class
MAKER fashion and style night In November our EdTech department hosted a Spartan maker fashion event for St. Stephen’s families. Activities included sewing to create circuits, which yielded some light-up bracelets and small cloth toys; repurposing computer parts to create jewelry and art; personalizing footwear with paints and other craft items; and recycling books to make purses and trinket boxes. Faculty members facilitated the evening’s activities, which were set up at a variety of work stations in the library. The “sewing and circuits” station was most popular; visitors tried their hands at sewing with conductive thread in order to create circuits that would light small LED bulbs. Blended activities such as these teach basic technology skills in a truly fun way. Middle School students also enjoyed destroying and prying apart broken iPads and touch-screen devices to see what was inside. We are gratified to see how maker activities such as these are a natural fit for curious learners of all kinds. St. Stephen’s hosts maker events on an ongoing basis. Be on the lookout for up-coming events! — cynthia bartek, head librarian
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Spartan Magazine
OUR LIVING LABORATORIES St. Stephen’s science department has offered study trips to West Texas for more than a decade. Led by science instructors Johnny Wilson and Dean Mohlman, the West Texas Program is extremely popular with students interested in fields of study involving nature and the outdoors. In a typical academic year, approximately 80 students and several faculty members participate in the program; boarding students make up about one-third of participants. Expeditions cover a variety of activities, including dinosaur fossil excavation, feral hog population control, trail building, thinning work to restore a riparian oak habitat, fire ecology and fire-line construction, camera trapping techniques, geology, astronomy and mountain lion ecology research. For many students, an expedition trip to West Texas is the capstone of their scientific studies at St. Stephen’s. Last year two expeditions were to the Davis Mountain Nature Preserve, where we continued our work with the Texas Nature Conservancy. Students in both groups worked on a hiking trail that involved technical rock stair construction. The groups also hiked to the peak of Mount Livermore and the Wolf Den archeological rock shelter, where Livermore Indians lived about 11,000 years ago. In late April, the group was able to go snake hunting at night and collected several specimens for the UT Natural History herpetology collection. Another group of students traveled to Terlingua last January to work on a dinosaur excavation site. Members of the expedition enjoyed two days of searching for fossils in the 75-million-yearold Aguja formation. Digging for fossils and camping out near Terlingua under the dark West Texas sky continues to be an unforgettable experience for most students. And just when we think the well of fossils might be running dry, we have some great finds— last year three senior girls found a large tibia bone from an adult Hadrosaur.
Students also traveled to the Dolan Falls Preserve of the Texas Nature Conservancy. This property is located south of Sonora on the Devil’s River and is an excellent example of a riparian habitat. Students worked on clearing brush as a fire line around the cabins on the property. As usual, a day was spent birding, snorkeling and seining in the river to identify various fish species, as well as the numerous invasive species. Dolan Falls Preserve is always a great setting for discussing geohydrology and water conservation issues. The property caretaker talked to the group about the springs and the regional pumping issues, and several students tried fly fishing for the first time. Students also explored nature closer to home, expanding our monitoring of wildlife on campus through the use of trail cameras. We are attempting to determine the resident population of coyotes in the area and have discovered that we have at least one resident bobcat. Students have been surprised by how active these animals are, even in the daytime. This work has led to the school now asking everyone using the school’s walking trails to keep dogs on leashes to minimize the chances of coyote-human interactions. New this year has been a small mammal project, both on campus and in the Davis Mountains. Students are learning how to trap various small mammals, such as field mice, shrews and voles, as well as how to identify them. St. Stephen’s West Texas Program has been funded by the G.R. White Trust since the mid-1990s. Bart Wulff ’64 serves on the Trust board and has been instrumental in securing funding for this important program, enabling all interested students to participate in the program regardless of their financial situation. — johnny wilson, biology instructor
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A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO
GIVING
“We are committed to St. Stephen’s and to its values,” said Martin Taylor who, along with wife Michelle, appreciates the school’s inclusive, multicultural campus. “We spend a good amount of time teaching our children the importance of socioeconomic and social diversity in a school. We want them to be around kids of all walks of life so they learn about life in the real world. “It takes significant diligence to build a school environment and boarding program with students representing diverse cultural backgrounds,” he added. “We want students to be exposed to that on a daily basis and learn how to navigate through it. We also want our own kids to recognize that they are in a special place.” The Taylors knew little about St. Stephen’s when they moved to Austin, but were quickly introduced to the school by work colleagues. They were attracted to St. Stephen’s because of its long history of educating students of all backgrounds and cultures and of promoting social justice. They discovered that St. Stephen’s was the first coeducational Episcopal school in the United States and the first integrated boarding school in the South. “We liked that St. Stephen’s was at the forefront of educating girls side-by-side with boys, has a strong history of integration, and has been diligent in building a diverse campus environment and boarding program,” Martin said. They enrolled their three children, Zoe and Zach (Class of 2019) and Ella (Class of 2022), in 2015. Since joining the school community, the Taylors have been exemplary endowment donors who take a holistic approach to giving. Last year the family made a $1.3 million gift to the school that supports the Emerging Scholars Program, which aids first-generation college-bound students by removing the financial barriers to success, as well as the Annual Fund and Parents’ Association. They also established two significant named endowments that support scholar-athletes and enhance needbased aid and diversity at the school: the Taylor Family Financial Aid Endowment and the Taylor Family Diversity Endowment. The Taylors hope their gift to St. Stephen’s will motivate others to support the school. “We believe it is important to nourish your
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(left to right) Martin, Michelle, Ella, Zach and Zoe Taylor
environment so that it continues to thrive,” Martin explained. “We all need to do our part to keep the engine running. One way we do that is by helping to expose students to things they might not otherwise have access to. “I fell into my career by accident,” explained Martin, operating principal of Vista Equity Partners, an investment firm with more than $28 billion in cumulative capital commitments. Prior to joining Vista, he worked for 13 years at Microsoft Corp. “I was never exposed to careers in finance or technology as a kid — that’s why programs like Emerging Scholars are so important. You just cannot take a student and drop them into a different school environment and expect them to do well. You need to close the achievement gap by providing the additional resources needed to help them succeed.” The Taylors believe that good education can be transformational. “We’ve seen that firsthand — in other kids, as well as our own,” explained Michelle Taylor, founder and chief executive officer of The Zella Company, an Austin-based agency providing end-to-end event production, design, high-end furnishings and décor rentals. “St. Stephen’s is helping our children gain their independence. They are really coming into their own, exploring who they are as individuals.” For the Taylors philanthropy is a family activity; the couple frequently involves their children in decisions about giving. “How we give is extremely important to us,” Martin said. “Our ability to focus on giving keeps us grounded. It encourages us to find a way to do better and give opportunities to others.” “Philanthropy is an important outlet for making our world a better place,” Michelle concluded. “That’s an important lesson for us all.”
Spartan Magazine
recalled how Huth once questioned if she knew how to use a comma…. She did not. “Dr. Huth tutored me for many hours to help me gain the writing skills that I should have mastered earlier in my education,” she explained. The hard work paid off by the end of her senior year, when Huth presented her with a special Author Project prize during graduation. “Dr. Huth gave me the confidence I needed in my own overall academic competence. My success at St. Stephen’s was due to the fact that she challenged me. She didn’t push me hard enough where I would break; she pushed me just hard enough to ensure I would flourish.”
AN EMERGING LANGUAGE
SCHOLAR “Education is very important to me. Because I
went from getting a very bad education to a very good education, I know personally the difference education can make,” said Alesia Lujan-Hernandez ’12. Last fall she received a scholarship from the Chinese government that will enable her to earn a master’s degree in China studies at Jiang University. According to LujanHernandez, her love of education and languages was fostered during her time at St. Stephen’s. Lujan-Hernandez’s academic career was altered drastically in middle school when she joined Breakthrough, a nonprofit organization that supports first-generation college-bound students. After participating in the program throughout middle school, she joined St. Stephen’s as one of the first generation of Emerging Scholars, a scholarship program used to finance Breakthrough students’ education at the school. As a ninth grade boarder, she excelled as both a leader and an academic. She also embraced her passion for engaging in cultural exchanges by becoming involved in the Chinese language department and serving as a proctor her senior year. She credits Jenny Huth, Ph.D., English department chair, with helping her develop the skills needed to succeed at St. Stephen’s. “I had Dr. Huth for English my freshman and senior years; she strengthened my skills as a writer,” said Lujan-Hernandez, who
Lujan-Hernandez is also thankful for the encouragement she received from Hai Zheng Olefsky, a Chinese language instructor who helped her apply for a study abroad program in China during her sophomore year. “Working with different people, adapting to new environments quickly, and adjusting my communication style according to my work with others were important skills that I picked up at St. Stephen’s,” she said. Following her time abroad, Lujan-Hernandez enrolled in an independent study course to further her Chinese language development. In 2011 she won first place in the Greater Houston Area Chinese Speech Competition. At Haverford College, she tested out of the school’s Chinese language program, so she enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania to take business courses in Chinese. She also studied Arabic and Indonesian. In 2016, she earned a degree in political science with a concentration in peace, justice and human rights, and a minor in Chinese. Following college, Lujan-Hernandez began the governmentsponsored master’s program at Jiang University in China, where she currently is pursuing a degree in China studies with a concentration in urban development and management. She plans to write her thesis on the Hukou System, a residency card program that regulates Chinese citizens’ migration within the state. “I hope my research will influence the political arena in China, as well as help to eradicate the stigmas or assumptions often ascribed to the Chinese culture,” explained Lujan-Hernandez, who wants to pursue a career in public policy following her master’s program. “I want to incorporate cultural exchange into all aspects of daily life.” Her advice to current Spartans? “I would like to challenge St. Stephen’s students to engage with people outside of their community on an equal level,” she said. “Students must become aware of their privilege and work to actively engage in and promote cultural exchange.” — nolu mcilraith ’12, alumni relations and giving coordinator
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SPARTAN LIFE
Winter 2017
SPARTAN Life Seniors Recognized for Outstanding Academic Achievements Last fall, 24 members of St. Stephen’s Class of 2017 were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. for their strong performance on the Preliminary SAT. Among them, six seniors were named National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 18 were honored as Commended students. The school’s National Merit Scholar Semifinalists were Mahria Baker, Clara Lack, Alex Oberle, Ben Schneider, Lisa Schulmeyer and Delia Stephens. These talented seniors have an opportunity to compete for National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $33 million. Commended students included Andrew Abikhaled, Ansley Arnow, Jake Baumli, Abby Breckwoldt, Jackson Castro, Nihar Gagneja, Anna Hartzell, Kisara Moore, Sarika Mullapudi, Conor Murdoch, Ethan Nguyen, Sam Oberle, Abigail Sage, Matt Schneider, Elliott Trahan, Taylor Walters, Madison Wiedeman and Matthew Zachary. These students placed among the top 5 percent of the more than 1.5 million students who took the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. In addition, five seniors were named National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) award honorees. Each year NHRP recognizes 5,000 of the highest-scoring Hispanic/Latino students nationwide from among more than 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT. This year’s winners were Natalie Huang, Nikki McAllister, Miguel Otero, Sarah Rogge and Taylor Walters. “The St. Stephen’s community is extremely proud of our senior National Merit and Hispanic program award honorees, who help model academic excellence on our campus for everyone,” said Head of School Christopher L. Gunnin. “Equally important, these well-rounded scholars are also great artists and musicians, athletes and teammates, student government leaders, mentors and friends. Like so many St. Stephen’s students, they embody our school mission to develop students who live intelligently, creatively and humanely as contributing members of society.”
PHOTOS TOP (left to right): Nikki McAllister, Taylor Watkins, Miguel Otero, Natalie Huang and Sarah Rogge; MIDDLE (left to right): Delia Stephens, Clara Lack, Alex Oberle, Mahria Baker, Lisa Schulmeyer and Ben Schneider; BOTTOM (left to right): front row: Andrew Abikhaled, Conor Murdoch, Taylor Walters, Jackson Castro, Jake Baumli, Elliott Trahan and Nihar Gagneja; back row: Sam Oberle, Sarika Mullapudi, Anna Hartzell, Ansley Arnow, Abby Breckwoldt, Madison Wiedeman, Abigail Sage, Matthew Zachary and Kisara Moore; not pictured: Ethan Nguyen and Matt Schneider
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EVENTS CLUBS CULTURE CELEBRATIONS AWARDS TALENT SPORTS HOLIDAYS ACHIEVEMENTS SUCCESS
Spartan Magazine
PHOTO (left to right) Thai Scholars Nice Sermsripong and Korn Cherdchoo
St. Stephen’s welcomes two Thai Scholars every year. They come to the school in August, after having spent several months at a special summer program designed to help them transition to a new culture and educational system. “At Brewster Academy, they taught us about American culture and how to participate in class,” explained Sermsripong, who is from Chiang Mai, the largest city in Northern Thailand. Cherdchoo is from Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. While attending St. Stephen’s, they will primarily study American history and literature and take upper-level math and science courses.
Royal Thai Scholars “I have found that most people are the same, no matter where you go,” said Korn-Aticha Cherdchoo. He and Jittiwat Sermsripong, known as Nice, are Royal Thai Scholars. Both graduated from high school last year in Thailand but joined St. Stephen’s senior class for a fifth year of studies. They are using their time at the school to improve their English writing and speaking skills and to apply to American colleges and universities. Both Cherdchoo and Sermsripong plan to attend colleges and graduate schools in the United States before returning to Thailand to work. “St. Stephen's has hosted Royal Thai Scholars since 2000,” said Mason Cox, a member of the International Program staff who works closely with the scholars. “Thai Scholars have brought great cultural richness and warmth to our school community.” According to International Program director Sarah Todd, the Royal Thai Scholars Program dates back more than 100 years. The national scholarship program was created by King Rama V of Thailand in 1897 to help their top students gain the advanced skills and knowledge needed for the development of his nation. The initiative has helped modernize Thailand, which retained its independence from European nations during the imperial domination of the 19th and 20th centuries. Thai Scholars are awarded entrance into the program based on the scores they receive on highly competitive national exams, as well as personal interviews. “Thai Scholars are exceptional young men and women — the best and the brightest of Thailand,” Todd said. Once selected, they travel thousands of miles away from their homes, families and friends to study in American boarding schools, universities and graduate programs for years. In exchange, they will provide the Thai government with two years of professional work for every year of supported education.
“American students have much more freedom of expression in classes,” explained Cherdchoo. Sermsripong concurred. “I am able to participate a lot more in class here,” he said. “In Thailand, our teachers presented lectures; we did not have group discussions. I also had to learn to manage my time better. When I first came to St. Stephen’s, it felt like a lot of work.” Although their coursework and language studies leave little room for extracurricular activities, Sermsripong has run cross country and played water polo. He is interested in photography, but was unable to work a class into his schedule. Fortunately, photography instructor Chris Caselli ’82 has been able to meet with him after school to further develop Sermsripong’s skills. Cherdchoo’s favorite class is history. “My language skills are a bit of an obstacle in getting though all the readings, but I am slowly improving,” he said. “It takes me much longer to read the homework assignments and to study. I also get extra help from Dr. [Kimberly] Alidio in teacher conferences.” In his free time, he plays intramural badminton. Although both students have many more years of study ahead of them, they look forward to returning home and beginning their careers. Cherdchoo plans to study nuclear engineering and work in the Office of Atoms for Peace, the main authority for nuclear research in Thailand. Sermsripong has applied to the U.S. Air Force Academy and plans to return to Thailand to work in aeronautical engineering. No doubt, these two scholars will uphold the proud tradition of scholarship started so many years ago by King Rama V.
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Winter 2017
PHOTO (front row, left to right) Coach Brian Poppinga, Jesus Perez, Wyatt Gill and Griffin Foster; (back row, left to right) Jonathan Wilkey, Franklin Lassandro, Ben Ellison, James Green, Isaac Berken, Joseph Horton and Pierce Affleck
St. Stephen’s Introduces Boys’ Volleyball In the fall of 2016, St. Stephen’s became the only high school in Austin to offer boys’ volleyball and the ninth school in the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) to offer the sport. The Spartan team is coached by Brian Poppinga, a former All-American D1 volleyball player out of the University of Hawaii who played professionally in Europe after college. Poppinga has coached boys’ and girls’ club volleyball since 1993. The idea first took hold on campus last year, when the school hosted the fall SPC championships, which included boys’ volleyball. After watching the games, a number of St. Stephen’s student-athletes got excited about the sport. Not long afterward they approached Poppinga about starting a boys’ team on campus. “It was a student-driven effort,” Poppinga explained. “They started a petition and really pushed the athletic director to start a program.” While the push to start the program was impressive, the initial turnout of players was worrisome. “We had three boys show up for the first week of practice,” Poppinga said. “However, the following week we had 28 kids walk into the gym wanting to participate. Each one brings a unique skill set to the court, but what impresses me most is their positive attitude and willingness to learn the game.” To help the boys’ varsity team—comprised of three sophomores, three juniors and six seniors—hone their volleyball skills, they have been practicing alongside the girls’ more experienced varsity team. “The boys are still learning the game,” explained Karrie Poppinga, head coach of the girls’ team. “The girls are more technical players; they are good role
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models for proper technique. The guys’ competitiveness is infectious; they have helped give the girls more grit and vigor. They are turning them into little lionesses.” Boys’ volleyball is an up-and-coming sport in Texas, which has been slow to adopt the game, but it is beginning to catch up with other parts of the country. “Boys’ volleyball is an international sport; since St. Stephen’s is an international boarding/day school, it really is a great fit for us,” Brian Poppinga noted. “Boys’ volleyball provides another opportunity for kids of all nationalities and abilities to practice and compete. The sport provides excellent opportunities for students to enhance their physical and mental capabilities, release stress, work together and build community. “Our team has lots of spirit and school pride,” he said, noting that the addition of boys’ volleyball has increased interest in the sport campuswide. “We now have twice the number of volleyball players on campus than we did six or eight years ago—five MS teams, three US girls’ teams and two US boys’ teams. “I believe adding boys’ volleyball has been a good move for the school because it opens the door and provides the opportunity for another style of athlete, which is what St. Stephen’s is all about,” Poppinga concluded.
Spartan Magazine
Modern Day Treasure Hunting St. Stephen’s has an active group of modern day treasure hunters, known as geocachers. Geocaching involves searching for hidden objects using global positioning system (GPS) coordinates that are posted on the Internet by other geocachers. Led by US math instructor Michael Oberle, St. Stephen’s geocachers explore the natural surroundings while searching for hidden caches. According to Oberle, there are more than 3,000 geocache locations in and around Austin and more than 2.8 million caches around the world. We asked Oberle to explain this phenomenon for the uninitiated. When did geocaching begin at St. Stephen’s? I believe it was Adam Long ‘09 who introduced students to geocaching when he was a member of the Devil's Canyon Wilderness Program (DCWP). He would take DCWP members on geocaching trips around town, both finding and hiding geocaches. He still has nine active geocaches hidden in the Austin area, and I have adopted the geocache that is closest to campus that was hidden by DCWP member Nicole Ezell ’12. What types of “treasures” can be found by geocachers? The only item that is required to be in a geocache is a log book, so people can sign in to show they have found it. If you are out hiking and happen to spot a container hidden under some branches or rocks, look for the log book to see if you found a cache! You can also find logs on the geocaching. com website. It is always helpful to log a “Did Not Find” on the website if you could not locate the cache so that the owner knows it may be missing. Some geocaches do contain “swag” or little knickknacks that people can pick up from the cache. However, if you take something from the cache, you should leave something behind of equal or greater value for the next geocacher. While there may not be any hidden treasures, per se, people around the world have found some interesting items, including books, jewelry and animal skulls.
What is it about geocaching that is so appealing? Geocaching is a wonderful experience for the body, mind and spirit. People enjoy the physical aspects needed to find a geocache, such as hiking or climbing trees. The intellectual challenge is also appealing, as you are trying to solve a hidden picture puzzle in the real world. Being out in nature and paying close attention to the world around us can restore the spirit and provide a welcome break from academic studies. What skills does this help develop in students? Geocaching encourages students to get out and explore nature, and it helps them develop an appreciation for the natural world. Geocaches can be hidden very well, so students are required to consider where a geocache might be hidden and use their observational skills to find a cleverly camouflaged cache. There are also numerous physical and planning challenges to tackle when geocaching. What other types of geocache-like activities are available? There are many similar activities that encourage people to get outdoors and search for objects using their smartphones, either by scanning QR codes (Munzee) or locating virtual objects (Pokemon Go). In geocaching itself, there are a growing number of geotours available where people hide caches in particular locations to highlight spots of cultural or geological interest. There are also geocaches that require solving puzzles, and some geocachers use coding and electronics on their cache containers to make it a puzzle to access the log book once you find the container. Some groups even plan social events where geocachers get together to share stories and plan outings. My most memorable geocaching trips have been with groups that have formed to take on a particular geocaching challenge.
PHOTOS LEFT: Michael Oberle, Coco Chu, Sam Oberle, Ella Benjamin and Andrew Yow; RIGHT: Coco Chu and Joshua Morgan
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SPARTAN LIFE
Winter 2017
P H OTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Two of the Spring Swing co-chairs, Elizabeth Bray and Debbie Arnow; Holiday Book Fair chair Stacy Mendelson with Erin Geisler; Bill McMillin, Khanh Nguyen and Ravi Jhaveri
Building Relationships St. Stephen’s Parents’ Association (PA) is dedicated to supporting the school’s mission, which includes a “continuing commitment to a diverse, inclusive community.” In support of that mission, all current parents are automatically PA members. We strive to create an environment in which every parent feels included and connected. The PA is committed to fostering this sense of community by building relationships—with each other and with the school. Throughout the year, the PA hosts a number of activities aimed at building relationships among parents. Monthly PA meetings bring together parents from different grades to discuss a wide variety of subjects, such as diversity, student use of illegal substances and college admissions. These meetings are topically important and helpful to all of us. However, I find the most value in the synergy created by parents coming together to share ideas, brainstorm solutions, and learn from and support each other. It is in these small but important moments that connections are sparked. The PA also arranges many casual social events. Our Class Representatives organize get-togethers, such as breakfasts, “Dutch-treat” luncheons,
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and evening socials where moms and dads gather and become better acquainted with parents of their child’s classmates. Recently, the PA held its annual Fall Social for all adults in the St. Stephen’s community. Trustees, faculty, staff and parents gathered in one of our many beautiful outdoor campus spaces to enjoy each other’s company. The PA also sponsors the popular Friday morning Coffee Under the Trees (CUTT) where parents—and sometimes faculty and staff—casually drop in for a quick cup of coffee and to chat. CUTT is always a fun experience and is a unique opportunity for parents to build relationships with other St. Stephen’s families whose children may not be in the same grade. Our goal is that parents leave these events feeling connected to a welcoming and cohesive community, and we believe they do! The PA also believes that building strong relationships through parentschool collaboration enriches the experiences of the entire community. PA volunteers actively participate in the life of the school by supporting a wide variety of activities. Our annual Holiday Book Fair raises funds for Becker Library and is a unique chance for parents, teachers and students to connect with each other over books. Spring Swing, the PA’s annual fundraiser, brings together more than 500 members of our community for an evening of dining, music and fun to celebrate St. Stephen’s and to support the school’s financial aid program and operating budget. The PA also works closely with the Athletics and Fine Arts departments through our Boosters and PAtrons to provide parents with ways to support the school’s student-athletes and artists. I hope Spartan parents have found an avenue for PA involvement that connects them in a meaningful way to other parents and the school. Let’s get to know one another as we work together to continue building an amazing and dynamic school community. — robyn gill, pa president, 2016–17
Spartan Magazine
Thanking You! The generosity of the St. Stephen's community is reflected every day in the commitment to excellence and the investment of time and talent of our trustees, parents, alumni, alumni parents, grandparents and friends. Our annual Leadership Party is one way the school is able to recognize and thank our Leadership Circle donors, Legacy Council members and Annual Fund volunteers. Guests were honored at this year’s event, hosted by Judy and Michael Matula, on Nov. 30, 2016. It is a privilege to thank you for the countless ways each of you support our school and help to make our community strong. — sherry buchanan, director of the annual fund
Volunteers Kick Off Annual Fund Enthusiastic parent volunteers kicked off this year's Annual Fund campaign in late September with a breakfast event and phone-a-thon program. Under the outstanding leadership of parent chairs Jennifer and Mark Mouritsen, more than 80 volunteers have dedicated their time and worked together this fall to help ensure the success of the Annual Fund campaign. The Annual Fund is the cornerstone of fundraising at St. Stephen’s because it helps close the gap between tuition costs and the actual expense of educating students. Participation in the Annual Fund is the most important way Spartan families, faculty and staff, alumni, and friends of the school can demonstrate support for and belief in the value of a St. Stephen’s education. Every gift really does make a difference in the life of our school and helps sustain the high quality of St. Stephen’s programs year after year. No gift is too small. Full community participation is most important to our collective success. If you have not yet given to the 2016–17 Annual Fund campaign, please make a gift today. Your tax-deductible donation will be gratefully received and wisely used. Thank you!
P H OTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Margaret Hight and Paul Thompson with Greg and Martha Clay; David Wieland, Gary Gill, Paul Rogge, Eric Goldreyer and Mark Rowe ‘88
P H OTO S TOP: Kathy Keig, Cheryl Parra, Laura Wieland; BOTTOM (Left to right) Lisa Ge and Lulu Archer; Sherry Buchanan, director of the Annual Fund, with Parent Chair Jennifer Mouritsen sstx.org
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ALUMNI N EWS
Winter 2017
R O F E M O H E M O C S N SPARTA Come home… What does “home” mean to you? For Spartans it can mean many different things: a visit with a cherished classmate, a meaningful conversation with an influential teacher, a hike to the gulch, a peaceful moment in Chapel or a few moments spent watching the sun set over the Brewster Memorial. For these and many other reasons, hundreds of Spartans came home to The Hill for Reunion 2016 in October. This year marked the first time we combined Homecoming and Reunion with the intention of giving students and alumni an opportunity to enjoy both the Spartan Block Party and the Homecoming festivities together. An alumni tailgate party, held in the Spartan Fitness and Wellness Center, offered graduates a chance to view the new facility and reminisce about their time on campus together. Head of School Chris Gunnin and his wife, Nancy, hosted the Pioneer Spartan Dinner at their home in the oak grove on campus. The setting was ideal for this gathering of alumni who graduated between 1951 and 1965. It was a wonderful opportunity for early Spartans to interact with the new head and his spouse in a private setting. 22
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Saturday morning offered wonderful weather — perfect for a hike. Charlton Perry, head of the Devil’s Canyon Wilderness Program, led 20 Spartans and friends on a trip down to the Gulch. Later in the afternoon, alumni visited over barbeque while the sun slowly set over the Texas Hill Country. Liz Powell ’91 delighted in meeting Nolu McIlraith '12, St. Stephen’s new alumni relations and giving coordinator. Powell remembered returning to The Hill shortly after graduating from college. “I missed The Hill and I wanted to give something back to the place that gave me so much,” she said. Student Government leaders stopped by the barbeque to entertain future Spartans and lead them on a campus-wide scavenger hunt, designed by Cecelia Stewart, Middle School administrative assistant. Lou Mabley ’86 was thrilled to see Alan Fenton, longtime English teacher and golf coach, in attendance alongside many other current and former faculty members.
The Sunday morning Reunion activities were truly moving. Members of the Class of 1966 came together for two memorial dedication ceremonies honoring Marilyn Millspaugh West ’66 and Gen. Charles “Hondo” Campbell ’66. The Rev. Kathryn McMillan Young ’66 spoke movingly of her 55-year friendship with West. We learned of her
Spartan Magazine
PH OTO S LEFT PAGE: Joseph Nayigiziki ’08, Rae Toussaint ’08, Chris Breckwoldt ’86 and Wande Olabisi ’06; RIGHT PAGE TOP TO BOTTOM: Members of the Class of 2006; Nithya Mani ’06 and Selina Strasburger ’06; Tina Mabley Carson ’88 and Lou Mabley ’86
6 1 0 2 N O I N U E R deep love for the campus and disdain for room inspection, but more importantly of her love for life. A bench was dedicated in her honor. During the program, Ann Gately ’66 recognized all members of the Class of 1966 who had passed away and shared moving memories of her friendship with Gen. Campbell, for whom a tree was dedicated. Gately concluded her remarks saying, “I could clearly see it was the high value Charlie put on family, faith and community that led him to become a four-star general. These characteristics were evident in him at a young age at St. Stephen's as well. Honestly, back then, we all considered each other to be family of sorts.”
The dedication program was followed by a special 50th Reunion Chapel. During the service the Rev. Todd FitzGerald encouraged students to ask questions of the alumni. Individual graduates spoke to small groups of students about their time at St. Stephen's and how it prepared them for life. Following the service, alumni made their way to a champagne brunch in the Helm Fine Arts Center lobby. Laughter rose to the rafters as alumni recalled stories from their time on campus.
Mark your calendars now for next year’s Reunion, September 15-17, 2017. We hope to see you there! —hayden blood, director of major gifts and special events
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P H OTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Members of the Class of 1966 gathered by the Gen. Charles “Hondo” Campbell ’66 Memorial Tree; Karen Fife Payne ’59 and Lucy Page Allen ’60; Stephen Moss, Allie Cordell ’06 and Don Wreden ’71 in Scanlan Gallery; Alexia Sidney ’66, Robert Sumners ’66, Patricia Means King ’66 and Marvin King; Sarah Driskill ’86, Suzanne Cantarino Pfeiffer ’84, Emily Hummel ’86, Jennifer Means Floyd ’86 and Leigh McCary ’86 24
St. Stephen’s Episcopal School
Spartan Magazine
Class Notes
Multi-generational Spartan families gathered in front of the Chapel (left to right): Miles Ray ’20, Ellen Osborne Ray ’86, James Ray ’20, Natalie Ray ’16, Duncan Osborne ’62, Betty Osborne ’62, Kim Ballard Ray ’88, Louis Henna ’64, Stirling Burnett ’16, Mark Rowe ’88, Patti Donaldson Ballard ’61, Elizabeth Henna ’87, Elizabeth Rowe ’19, Matthew Rowe ’23, Rosanne Harrison Pollard ’64, Hunter Kirkland Jr. ’16, Patricia Henna Rowe ’89, Andrew Rowe ’16, Hunter Kirkland ’88 and Kelly Kirkland ‘89
1951
1955
1958
WILL BREWSTER
C H A R L E N E M O O R E M A RT I N
J. P. B RYA N
brewsterwilliam34@gmail.com
cma92837@aol.com
BryanJ@teai.com OR andrea@thebryanmuseum.com
1952
1956
1959
FRED HELDENFELS
E L L E N M C C O R Q U O DA L E M A RT I N
TOM ROMBERG
fheldenfels@gmail.com
ellen@mccorquodale.net
tromberg@me.com
1953
1957
1960
E D NA N O E L H E L D E N F E L S
RUTH WILSON WIT TEN
PAT FAT T E R B L A C K
fheldenfels@gmail.com
Ruthwitten@aol.com
ggpat77@gmail.com
Ruth Witten wrote, “I am a delegate to our Diocesan Convention this month where we will elect a new Bishop. It has been an exciting time for us. All those hours in Chapel and in Jack McCormick’s church history and ethics classes are coming to fruition.”
John Looney reported that he is still working full time at Duke. His signature block includes professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, child and adolescent psychiatry, addiction psychiatry and forensic
1954 MIKE HINES
mjhines1@cox.net
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1961 S T E V E J O L LY
stevejolly@mindspring.com
1962 DAV I D S A N D E R S
rdavidsanders@msn.com
1963 J U L I A C AU T H O R N
julia@texancapital.com
1964 We are in need a Class Representative. If interested, please contact Nolu McIlraith at nmcilraith@sstx.org.
1965 DIANNE DUNCAN TUCKER
ddtuck@aol.com
Ellen Jockusch ’70 and her fiancé, Jim Garrison
1966 HELEN THOMPSON
psychiatry. “We do travel a good bit more, not just to medical meetings. We visit our second home in Franklin, Tenn., and our farm in Crossville, Tenn. The farm is quite pretty: cumberlandmountainlodge.com. Our sons practice medicine at Vanderbilt and the University of Georgia.” Cookie Mauritz Streng wrote that she is “enjoying old age, traveling and living in our smallish motor home. We spent the summer in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. It's a wondrous area. We always head out and return by way of the Twin Cities, where our grandson and his parents live. It is a perfect stopping place in the spring and fall. Hope all is well with everyone.” Nancy “Hoppy” Hopwood reported that she traveled to Iran on a photography trip in March 2016. The experience was amazing, especially the warm welcome they received. They went on to travel to India in late October. Emily Crawford Bailey missed Reunion 2016 because she was cruising from NYC to Montreal, Canada, in the search of beautiful fall foliage. She has decided to retire from full-time employment in 2017 and try part-time work in the same job. She loves the job and people, but she doesn’t think she can continue to do 40 hours a week and do more of the things she enjoys like spending time with her grandchildren and traveling more. “This last year has been a bad year health wise; that is probably driving this change. The years are becoming more and more precious to me as time passes”
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Pat Fatter Black reported that she “enjoyed returning to New Orleans, her birth place, for a family wedding in May. Nancy Lynch, Jim’s sister had a family reunion in June. Ginny Keehn Lynch Leber ’60 was there from Kelseyville, a tiny town in Northern California, with her daughters, Beverly and Margy. Ray Lynch ’61 and his wife, Kathleen, and Jim and Mary Ann were also there. In addition to gardening, Ginny loves to quilt, so after a trip to St. Stephen’s to view the changes on campus in the last 55 years, they went to a local quilt shop and sampled their wares.” Pat still sings with the Berkshire Choral International, especially in July to escape the Texas weather. This year she again got to spend time with Leighton Johnson Donnell ’57 in the green hills of Massachusetts. They performed Dvorak's Requiem. In October, Pat drove to Lockhart to the home of Rebecca Marshall Hawener '61 to attend The Evening with the Authors benefiting the Clark Library. She said there were too many good books to pass up. Dallas Baxter wrote that she has been elected to the Commission on Ministry in the Diocese of the Rio Grande and has been working for the re-election of Pete Gallego to the congressional seat of U.S. House District 23. “Many of us are working to reduce the impact of the Big Bend's first gas pipeline running through the state’s most pristine and archeologically important wilderness. Thanks, St. Stephen’s, for teaching me that these things matter!”
Helent17@aol.com
Helen Miller still maintains a web page for the class at www.postoakfarm.com/SSSLink.htm. Helen Thompson wrote, “Your class rep’s new book, Marfa Modern: Artistic Interiors of the West Texas High Desert is now out and book signings are in progress.” Helen appeared at the Texas Book Festival in November 2016 and will be at the San Antonio Book Festival in April. She also reported, “The Class of ’66 celebrated its 50th reunion enthusiastically with a party on the patio at Dirty Martin’s, now managed by Kathy Young’s son Daniel, who has been charged with bringing this local landmark back to the luster of its glory days. On Saturday, Pat King and husband Marvin hiked the Gulch and were in fine enough form to meet the rest of the class that night with Pat Jackson ’67 and Fred Seaman for dinner. The big discovery that night was that Fred has become quite a skilled portraitist, as was evident by his many stunning paintings on display. On Sunday, we dedicated a tree to the memory of Gen. Charles Campbell and a bench to Marilyn Millspaugh West. Members from both Charlie’s and Marilyn’s families attended the service, which was followed by a memorial service in the Chapel and a brunch with St. Stephen’s new head of school, Chris Gunnin.”
1967 R A N D Y PA RT E N
jrparten@parten.com
1968 ROB HENDERSON
rehenderson@nvcc.edu
1969 JOSH HARRISON
JHarrisonLaw@aol.com
1970 ELLEN JOCKUSCH
ejockusch@gmail.com
Ellen Jockusch wrote, “Thanks to Kathryn Miller Anderson ’71, class representative extraordinaire, for including our class in the 45th reunion activities of the Class of 1971. Claire McKay ’71 and Hank Ewert hosted a party at their house on the Friday evening of Reunion weekend. Jennifer and Fred Myers ’71 hosted an equally wonderful party in their home on the following night.”
Spartan Magazine
Jockush also reported, “I have been remiss in not sharing the news that a little over a year ago Hank was hired for the newly created position of director of admission for the Central Texas Regional Office of Austin College. Hank and Claire still live in Austin, but in this (relatively) new position he spends several days a week on the road, traveling to Sherman and representing Austin College at recruitment events in Central Texas and other places. As most of you know, for more than 20 years Hank served as director of college counseling for St. Stephen’s. What you might not know is that through his work and accomplishments at SSES and, subsequently, his 10 years working a consultant in the field of college placement, Hank acquired a national reputation in the field of college admissions, recruitment and placement. Austin College is lucky to have him in a leadership position in admissions and recruitment.” Jockush said she “visited with Lucy Weeks last year when she was in town, visiting her fabulous daughter, Eliza, who works for the Austin-based Refugee
Services of Texas. Eliza graduated from Kenyon College in 2012 and moved to Austin as a member of AmeriCorps. Lucy lives in Tucson, Ariz., where she has had a great career in the public schools as a speech pathologist.” Jockush also reported, “My own happy news is that I recently became engaged to Jim Garrison, who is retired from the faculty of the UT department of English. I’ve known and admired Jim since the early 1980s, when he taught freshman world literature in the Plan II Honors Program, where I was employed at the time. Jim and I will be married on January 7th in the chapel of Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. My friend, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, dean and president of the seminary, will officiate. “Finally, I’m hoping that one of you — my 1970 classmates — will consider taking over for me as class representative. I have been our rep for more years than I can remember. Frankly, I think our class and St. Stephen’s would benefit from having
(back row:) Chris Butler ’71, Katherine Brogan Enyart ’73, Fred Myers ’71; (front row:) Margot Clarke ’72, Kathryn Miller Anderson ’71, Gwin Steph ’71
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1972 MARGOT CLARKE
margotclarke@austin.rr.com L I Z F O S T E R LU C Z Y C K I
lfoster9026@gmail.com
1973 DOUG ANDERSON
thoroughly rousing speech. Our daughter still lives in Austin, being entrepreneurial. She creates purses and embroiders on them, as well as clothing. Our son is a percussionist, teaches percussion, is about to perform in Brazil again, and is about to move to Norway to be with his girlfriend and get a master's degree in Jazz percussion. My husband, Larry, still teaches at the University of Florida in ethnomusicology. I loved seeing everyone at last year’s 40th reunion!”
dlalaw@hotmail.com
1974 ANN RHODES MCMEANS
armcmeans@gmail.com
Michael Mehaffy’74 at the Habitat III Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development someone with new ideas and energy in this role. So please let me or Nolu McIlraith, alumni relations and giving coordinator, know if you are interested in taking the baton as class rep. Nolu’s email address is nmcilraith@sstx.org; mine is ejockusch@gmail.com.”
1971 K AT H RY N M I L L E R A N D E R S O N
zjmiller1513@gmail.com
Lou Porter Bailey wrote that last summer she and Scott Bailey ’70 moved to the Allandale area of Austin. They hope to see their Austin friends more often, and they already have an easier commute. Jim Dart reported, “Husband David and I continue to groove on life back in New Orleans, almost three years after leaving NYC. We came to the Reunion in October.” Mark Clark said that he was planning on attending the fall fling at Fred’s house in Hunt, Texas, “but my wife got a gallstone, so we went to the emergency room at 2 a.m. on a Sunday. It seems she also had pancreatitis, so over the next three weeks she was in three emergency rooms in three different hospitals in two cities. What a thrill. She is OK now, thank the Lord. On the good side, Hope Lochridge came to town on business, and my wife and I took her to lunch and had a wonderful time. It was nice to see Hope. My Parkinson’s has continued to be very slow in its progress, which I am attributing in part to the skill of my doctor and the experimental surgery that I had five years ago. Finally, I was interviewed by Neurology Today. It is available online. Just google ‘Neurology Today.’”
Michael Mehaffy wrote, “I am a delegate at Habitat III, the UN's Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development. It's sobering in some ways; the world is urbanizing rapidly, which brings a number of good things (e.g., reduction of poverty, improvement of health, opportunities for women, etc.) but also some alarming challenges. On the plus side, there are a lot of very bright, creative people here, many of them part of a new generation, and that's inspiring. The conference will produce an "outcome document" called the New Urban Agenda. I have been consulting on its contents with many others for a number of years now. On the personal front, I just became a grandfather for the fifth time earlier this year! That certainly makes me feel the urgency of these issues more keenly than ever.” Will Goetzmann wrote that he continues “to teach at Yale School of Management and write about finance and society. My book ‘Money Changes Everything, How Finance Made Civilization Possible’ came out in May — 25 years in the works.”
1976 We are in need of a Class Representative. If interested, please contact Nolu McIlraith at nmcilraith@sstx.org. Facebook page: St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Class of 1976.
1977 R O B E RT E T T I N G E R
robert@ettlaw.com
1978 MARK TUCKER
mrtucker@mindspring.com
1979 C A R R O L L L I V E LY R E E S E R
carroll@reeser.net
1980 MILES WRIGHT
miles@xanofi.com
Carter Hobbs is still the IT director for the County Line restaurants. He and wife Janet wife have two adorable grandsons named Carter and Felix.
1975 M A RY B R A N D T
mary.l.brandt@gmail.com S Y LV I A M C I N T Y R E - C R O O K
sycrook1@cox.net
Sylvia McIntyre-Crook said that “life after the kids fly the coop is different but as full. I am thoroughly enjoying pursuing my painting career. I won an award at last year’s Gainesville Downtown Arts Festival. I was privileged to visit with Cecile Richards, who was our keynote speaker at a Democratic fundraiser gala that I work on annually. Richards gives a Grandsons of Carter Hobbs’74, Carter and Felix
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Spartan Magazine
1989 L AU R A S C A N L A N C H O
lcho@vervelabs.com
Laura Cho wrote that she is still “enjoying being a Spartan parent (year five!), with both Callie ’19 and Eliza ’23 now at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School. A number of our classmates and those from nearby classes can be seen around campus as parents these days as well, which is great fun. Eliza is in 6th grade with the kids of Karen Fricke Nalle ’88 and Brian Nalle ’88, Patricia Henna Rowe and Mark Rowe ’88, Shannon Ratliff ’86 and Lou Mabley ’86.” Cynthia Ersek Gualy said, “Life is beautiful and God is good. I am applying to medical school and my youngest children are applying to college. I volunteer at two different charity clinics and my husband, John Gualy, is head of Volunteer Houston, among other things. We are blessed beyond my wildest dreams and loving this time in our lives when we can give back.”
1981
1982
CHARLOTTE STUCKEY BRIGHAM
W E N D Y W H I T E NAU G H T O N
charlotteesbrigham@yahoo.com
wendy.naughton@gmail.com
E R I C A P E T E R S S TA F F O R D
Erica.Stafford@bvcpa.com
Erica Stafford reported, “The Class of 1981 had a great reunion this year! After a delicious barbeque on The Hill, the Class of 1981 convened to Charlotte (Stuckey) Brigham’s beautiful home near campus. John Gaston, John Bernard, Martha Louise Armstrong, Philp Doig, Mike Liebgold, Mary Lynn Pratt, Catlin (Robson) Hooker, Todd Johnson, Mark Lively (and his lovely daughter, Melissa), Holly (Goff) Marcks, Steve Quander and Erica (Peters) Stafford updated each other on our lives. John Bernard is back in Texas after years of living in Venezuela, South Africa, and other parts of the world. Holly Goff is enjoying travelling with her husband — still newlyweds after two years! Mark Lively is back to being a Texan after living for 25 years in the Southeast. Charlotte (Stuckey) Brigham has started her own residential real estate business, Brigham Real Estate, in Austin. We also discussed stunt driving in the hills of Austin, navigating the steam baths of Budapest, bar-hopping with the Cure … too much to mention here. We tried to track down Brady Coleman, Jerry Ball, Mike Rytting and others via Facebook with mixed and odd results. Thank you to Chris Caselli ‘82 for joining us and for taking photos. It was also great seeing Charlotte (Gardiner) Keutel ’82 on campus — just off a 28-hour journey from Germany. We are sorry everyone could not make it!”
Molly Sentell Haile said, “Andy and I live in North Carolina, where Benjamin (16), Claire (13), Jeffrey (10), and our three dogs bring us a lot of happiness and tumblefur. In September I went back to school for an M.F.A. in creative writing, and now I teach creative writing at Salem College in Winston-Salem, N.C., and at
1983 LAURA MEARS MIRECKI
llynnmir@aol.com
1984 S U Z A N N E C A N TA R I N O P F E I F F E R
SuzannePfeiffer@austin.rr.com
1985 L I B B I E WA L K E R A N S E L L
libbieansell@gmail.com
1986 CHRIS BRECKWOLDT
cbreckwoldt@sstx.org
1987 C AT H E R I N E H O E Y R A N DA L L
randallwe@aol.com
1988 MARK ROWE
ALUMNI EVENTS Spring 2017 Sometimes life's twists and turns make it difficult to return to campus, so we are coming to you! Please join us—and your classmates—at one of our regional events this spring. We would love to see you!
CALENDAR
A men's alumni basketball game was held on Dec. 15, 2016, in Clayton Gym. The game was organized by Coach La-Mont King.
SAN ANTONIO March 2 DALLAS/FORT WORTH March 24 HOUSTON April 7 AUSTIN April 30 AUSTIN May 25 For more information, please visit our website at www.sstx.org/alumnievents or contact Nolu Mcilraith ’12, alumni relations and giving coordinator, at nmcilraith@sstx.org.
markrowe@henna.com
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Gordon Stott, Jake Atlas and Bill Stratton are working together in Los Angeles as business partners at Connect:Homes. They build small, modern, prefabricated houses. Those on Facebook may have seen some photos of their amazing work.
1993 DAV I S B A L D W I N
rdbaldwin@mac.com
The Class of 1996’s 20-year reunion. We had a fantastic time and missed all those who were unable to be there.
Virginie Pointeau wrote, “I live in Santa Fe, N.M., where I work for the Quivira Coalition, a nonprofit organization that fosters ecological, economic and social health on western working lands. As the director for Quivira's New Agrarian Program, I partner with ranchers and farmers on regenerative agricultural enterprises throughout the West to offer 8 to 12 month-long, hands-on, immersive apprenticeship opportunities for beginning agrarians committed to a life at the intersection of conservation and agriculture.”
1994 an arts and wellness center for people with cancer. Andy is a professor at Elon Law School. Love and good wishes to my fellow Spartans!” Chris Andrews stated that on “March 10, 2016, my daughters Belle (6) and Abby (2) were diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic disease called Niemann-Pick Type C-1 Disease (NPC1). There are only 500 children have NPC1 in the world and only 100 diagnosed cases in the United States. The average lifespan of children who go untreated is between 12 and 20 years of age. Most children with NPC1 will die in their mid-teens. This disease has been described as childhood Alzheimer’s. NPC1 is a genetic disease where harmful amounts of cholesterol accumulate in cells membranes throughout the body, affecting the brain, spleen and liver, among many other things. This accumulation of cholesterol impairs normal brain function and results in neurological degeneration. If left untreated, children could suffer from seizures, dementia, ataxia and cataplexy. Eventually, sufferers of NPC end up in wheelchairs, unable to speak, and unable to recognize their loved ones. There is no cure for NPC1. In May, the girls began treatment with an experimental drug called VTS-270. The drug is administered via lumbar puncture every two weeks. We have been travelling every two weeks to Rush Hospital to receive treatment. The medical costs, coupled with the cost of travel and the amount of work that we have to miss have taken an exorbitant financial toll on our family. We are working hard to have the clinical trial moved to Dell Children’s in Austin. We have established a GoFundMe account to help fund our struggle, https://www.gofundme.com/savingbelle
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In addition, my wife and I are in the process of starting a foundation called The Fire Fly Fund. We hope to launch the foundation in late Feb. 2017. Funds raised via Fire Fly will be used to support research and potential future treatments for NPC1. My wife and I humbly ask all of our friends, and friends of friends for help. We need any kind of support you can offer. Spiritually, emotionally, financially, etc. We will not be able to do this alone, and we are desperate to help save our daughters from this dreadful and hideous disease.”
1990
C AT H E R I N E C O O K W E I S S
cmcook76@aol.com
1995 RHEA BENBOW THOMAS
rheabt@gmail.com BETH COCKERHAM MACK
semack77@gmail.com SETH ALLEY
sethalley@msn.com A N N S T R AU S E R PA L M E R
annstrauser@hotmail.com
JOSEPH FRISZ
H AW K I N S L I
friszman@yahoo.com
hli3@yahoo.com
1991 LIZ FLEMING POWELL
lz.powell@gmail.com
1992 MONIKA POWE NELSON
giantmonsterprincess@gmail.com
Monika Nelson wrote, “I am busy with three kids and my writing, but I am also enjoying my weekly conversational French class. I traveled to Paris in August for the first time in over 20 years, and I felt really good about my ability to speak French again after all of this time. I hope Madame Young knows that all of her efforts with me were not completely wasted.”
Jen Camble reported that she is “approaching five years as a policy coordinator with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Stimulating new assignments in the last year include wind power and compensatory mitigation banks. My son and I visited Austin in October 2016 and enjoyed catching up with Emily Jemison Francis and Sara Peppard Carter.” Rhea Benbow Thomas reported that she lives in McKinney, Texas, and has two sons, a 14-year-old named Remy and a 19-year-old named Donny. She works as an editor at Splash Media Group in Addison.
1996 SHANNON POWERS FLAHIVE
spowers1@austin.rr.com
Spartan Magazine
A Spartan Comes Home: Nolu McIlraith ’12 After graduating from St. Stephen’s in 2012, Nolu McIlraith went on to earn her undergraduate degree in international studies from Rhodes College in Memphis. In August 2016, she returned to The Hill as the school’s new alumni relations and giving coordinator. Here’s a look at what motivated McIlraith to return to St. Stephen’s. What drew you to St. Stephen’s? I felt like I belonged at St. Stephen’s from the first moment I stepped on campus. As an alumna and now an employee, I was drawn to St. Stephen’s because of the community. I wanted to be surrounded by a group of intellectuals who go above and beyond to not only better themselves but the world around them as
1997 CAMERON BEESLEY
leardsfool@gmail.com
Ben Hoke reported that he and his wife, Katherine, moved to Salt Lake City in July. Ben is director of advancement at The Waterford School, and Katherine teaches third grade at Waterford. They love living in the mountains and are excited about the upcoming ski season. As part of getting to know the area, Ben and Katherine spent a lot of time hiking and mountain biking around the Wasatch Front. “Please drop us a note if you make it out to Utah and enjoy ‘Life Elevated.’”
well. Additionally, St. Stephen’s is a family. People are invested in their colleagues’ lives, work to support them, and promote their individual successes. It is a privilege to work in the Advancement Office; I am surrounded by an accomplished group of women who promote my intellectual and professional development while simultaneously allowing me to navigate my position with a degree of autonomy and to approach my role with fresh eyes. How have you engaged with alumni in the past? Most of the experience I have engaging with alumni was in college. Primarily, it was reuniting with individuals who participated in the same organizations and clubs that I had. I invited alumni to attend a capella concerts, connected with alumni while completing various forms of community service in Memphis, and reunited with alumni during Homecoming. This year, in my role as alumni relations and giving coordinator, I already have organized a successful alumni cocktail hour in New York City. I also have begun to meet with alumni of all ages to get to know
1998 JA R E D H O C K E M A
jhockema@mac.com
1999
them personally, as well as to hear about their individual St. Stephen’s experiences. I look forward to engaging in more activities of this nature in the future. How do you think a strong alumni culture helps the school? I have witnessed firsthand the power that a strong alumni culture can have. From gifts, to connections, to dedicating time and other resources to a school community, alumni have the potential to change the
BECKY HOLLIS DIFFEN
climate in which students, faculty and staff operate. Additionally, alumni are a huge motivating factor
Becky@beckyanddaniel.com
as to why faculty and staff are committed to their work. Faculty and staff continue to serve their school
Join the Class of ’99 Facebook group.
communities year after year because they know that they are making a difference in their students’
Terra and John Tucker welcomed baby girl Tyla Ann Tucker in October. Megan Tokaz Chrisman wrote, “Chris, Parker and I moved to Denver this past spring for our jobs. We are absolutely loving being in Colorado. We welcomed our baby girl, Hallie, on September 26th, and everyone is doing well!” Eric Camp and wife Karla welcomed their second child (and second boy) Cameron Michael Camp into the world on August 30th. The Camps are still living and working in Nairobi, Kenya, and Eric reported that he enjoyed watching Jeremy Nail play his new album, Fort Worth, during a recent trip back to the United States.
lives; they are shaping future generations, inspiring students to follow their passions, and encouraging students to make a difference. What is your vision for St. Stephen’s? My vision for the school is one that is rooted in prosperity. Throughout the next couple of years, I hope to achieve multiple things: revamp and strengthen the Alumni Association, implement a student alumni association, create an alumni speaker series, and help facilitate networking opportunities within the Spartan community. I want alumni to view St. Stephen’s as a valuable asset to themselves and their communities. I want The Hill to continue to be an important pillar in every Spartan’s intellectual, spiritual and emotional development.
—Jennifer Cook Purcell ’89, Alumni Association President
Becky and Daniel Diffen enjoyed a three-week trip to England, Iceland, Norway and Denmark last summer,
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LEFT TO RIGHT: Trustee Evan Smith, Executive Chair of the board of trustees Ellen Osborne Ray '96 and Head of School Chris Gunnin
Town Hall Meeting with Chris Gunnin On Sept. 8, 2016, St. Stephen’s Parents’ Association held a Spartan Town Hall Meeting with new Head of School Chris Gunnin and Trustee Evan Smith, CEO and co-founder of The Texas Tribune. If you were not able to make it to this exciting event, fear not! You can watch a brief highlights video on St. Stephen’s YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/ststephensaustin. While there, be sure to check out the highlights video of the Head of School Installation Ceremony, which was held on Oct. 7, 2016.
which included meeting up with Melissa (Stratton) Potapova ’00 in London and ending up on the same flight as Keya Jayaram Dannenbaum (now living in London) on the way home. Becky recently joined McGuireWoods in Austin, where she continues to work on renewable energy projects. She enjoyed guest teaching a class on renewable energy at St. Stephen’s this fall.
2000 TRACEY HERMAN SHABABO
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St. Stephen’s Episcopal School
WYNN MYERS
wynnmyers@gmail.com
traceyshababo@gmail.com.
2001 JULIET FRERKING
frerking@gmail.com
Ross “Sparky” Kyger wrote, “I'm still a natural gas trader in Houston for Sequent Energy Management. We are now part of the Southern Company umbrella when they bought our parent, AGL Resources, which is now Southern Company Gas. I got remarried on Jan. 23, 2016, to Alexandra Rae Kyger, Ali for short. We are expecting our first child, a girl, in late March.”
2003
2002 KEAN TONETTI
stonetti@gmail.com
Peter Hart, Aaron Papermaster, Nicholas Malaya and Matt McCaroll each welcomed a new baby to their families. Sam McCommon is now living in Vietnam and was married in June. He had a bar in Saigon and just moved to Da Nang, Vietnam, to be by the beach. He is teaching at an international school and opened a restaurant in Da Nang.
Spartan Magazine
2004
2009
BRIAN KAUFMAN
J. J. B O T H A
brian.r.kaufman@gmail.com
johannbbotha@gmail.com C H A N TA L S T R A S B U R G E R
2005 R A C H E L K AT Z
rpk228@gmail.com
2006 SELINA STRASBERGER
selina.strasburger@gmail.com S A R A H C R O M W E L L S H E P PA R D
sarahhcromwell@gmail.com
Emily Ellis currently has one more year left at the University of Chicago Booth Business School.
2007 ANNE BUCKTHAL
anne.buckthal@gmail.com COLE ARLEDGE
cole.arledge@gmail.com
2008 AMANDA KUSHNER
amandakkushner@gmail.com
chantal.strasburger@gmail.com
Paulina Reyes “graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Carnegie Mellon in 2014 then spent a year with the Fulbright in Mexico City.” She is now living and working in Detroit as a design fellow with the University of Michigan. As a part of the fellowship, she teaches an architecture prep course and pursues her own research related to low-income housing and sustainability in Mexico City. She misses the Texas heat and Austin BBQ, but otherwise loves living up North. Adam Schlegel wrote that he relocated from NYC back to Texas (“sadly, not Austin”). He is still at Morgan Stanley; however, he is based out of the Houston office for energy investment banking. More importantly, he is extremely excited to be returning to the home of TexMex, good BBQ and Shiner. “Any SSES alumni in Houston should feel free to reach out!” Reed Coke reported that “he is back in Austin doing artificial intelligence consulting.” Mark Dougherty is still living in Chicago. “Now in the clinical part of medical school, trying to decide what kind of doctor I will be one day. Expecting to graduate and officially become an M.D. in May 2018.” Audrey Blood wrote that she is currently living in Providence, R.I., with her kitten, Adeline, and pursuing her M.F.A. in printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design. “I am having so much fun!”
Join the Facebook group “St. Stephen's Class of 2008” Rocky Pan started a new job in San Francisco. Raiza Aguilar recently started a new job as an athletic trainer at Concordia University in Austin, Texas. Clare Dickie reported that she is living in Austin and pursuing my M.S. in family and child studies with a focus on child life at Texas State University. Alyssa (Posey) McDermott wrote that she is working in Richardson, Texas, for a nonprofit serving digital marketing agency. She lives with her husband, Sean, and her son, Liam, in McKinney, Texas. Thea Jackson reported that she is currently working in New Braunfels, Texas, as a consultant at M&S Engineering LLC. She is studying under several professional engineers and preparing for her PE license. She loves the Hill Country and is happy to be closer to family and friends. Kelley Abell wrote that she is touring with a production of Moby Dick, which played at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in November and December and at South Coast Rep in Costa Mesa in January and February.
Grace Sarosdy reported that she is currently an assistant account executive at Serino/Coyne, an advertising agency in Manhattan that specializes in Broadway shows. She works closely with clients such as Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Disney and Manhattan Theatre Club, to name a few. Grace lives in Brooklyn with her two cats, Daisy and Diana. Erika Dahl-Stamnes lives in south Austin and works for NATiVE, a green construction and solar company. She has been with them for over a year and a half. In August 2015 and 2016, she embarked on a shark-tagging research trip in Turks and Caicos Islands through the School for Field Studies. She has five pets: a rabbit, two hamsters and two gerbil brothers. Rachel Reznick reported that she is living in Los Angeles and working for Akiva Goldsman's production company, where she recently was promoted to creative executive. She is excited for several of their projects to be released in 2017, including Warner Brothers' "King Arthur: Legend
CAMPUS EVENTS Spring 2017 FEBRUARY 25 Spring Swing Gala MARCH 6-17 Spring Break
CALENDAR
Sam Sargent reported that he works at Capital Metro in Austin as community and government relations coordinator. He was recently appointed to the City of Austin’s Airport Advisory Commission and continues to live happily in Austin with his wife, Orsi.
MARCH 4, APRIL 22, MAY 6, JUNE 17 School Nights at the Observatory MARCH 31 Grandparents Day APRIL 14–17 Easter Holiday MAY 7 Towner Piano Recital MAY 19 Baccalaureate MAY 20 Upper School Graduation MAY 26 MS Closing Ceremony For more detailed information about upcoming events, visit the school website.
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disease control in May 2015, and now I'm in nursing school to obtain a B.S.N. in December 2017 from UTMB in Galveston.”
2012 HELEN ELIZABETH OLD
helenelizabeth1@me.com CAROLINE PRINGLE
carolinepringle93@gmail.com JA K E P O L I T T E
to be in New York City for the summer. “I’d love to meet up with SSES alumni if they are in either of those cities!” Alyssa Epstein is studying abroad at Oxford University as a member of Exeter College. Fun Fact: J.R.R. Tolkien is an Exeter College alumnus. “It’s super cool living and studying in a place that looks like, and inspired, Hogwarts. The clubs here are super interesting too. I am a member of everything from a wine-tasting club to a billiards club to even an (extremely amateur) football team.” That means soccer, for all you Americans!
jake.politte@rocketmail.com Y O S UA H U R O D O
yosua.adiyasa@hotmail.com
Samantha Schmidt ’14 in Jordan of the Sword," Sony's "The Dark Tower," and season two of WGN's critically acclaimed series, "Underground.” Nicole Martin is working toward her Ph.D. in educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, studying how to support effective teaching in science classrooms. She is also a leader of a free fitness group called November Project that continues to expand to cities across the world. While she loves her life in Madison, she always looks forward to coming home to Austin. J.J. Botha is living in Brooklyn and working at a startup corporate bond exchange in NYC called Electronifie. Chantal Strasburger wrote that she recently celebrated her one-year anniversary of helping launch Sweet, a brand on Snapchat Discover, where she writes about upand-coming musicians, exciting new designers, and the most interesting places in the world. She's still living her best life in Brooklyn and hopes to survive another brutal New York winter.
2010 C A R L O T TA G A R Z A
Joann Chen stated, “On November 27th, I joined the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa, as a public health educator! I'll be there for about two years. I will keep in touch via blogging, Facebook, email, etc. I hope everyone's doing well.” Ashley Godevais wrote, “I am moving to Dallas in the spring to do finance for Frito-Lay.” Jack Albright reported that he “recently began my Ph.D. at the University of Illinois and left to go on a five-week research expedition to study underwater volcanoes off the coast of Mexico in October.” Mariam Elnozahy said that she moved abroad and is now working at a contemporary art gallery in Cairo, Egypt. Nolu McIlraith wrote, “I am settling back into life in Austin! I have really loved reconnecting with some of my classmates, as well as life back on The Hill. I also enjoyed meeting many alumni at Reunion this year. As for my personal life, I traveled to Memphis to visit my alma mater, Rhodes College, in October. It was wonderful to reconnect with friends there as well as my Chi Omega sisters. I now look forward to a trip to Dublin, Ireland, in May!”
carlotta.garza@gmail.com O M A R YA G H I
omaryaghi2@gmail.com RYA N N Y O U N G
rhy9@cornell.edu
2013 carter@rice.edu L I S A N O R D H AU S E R
2011 llredman@gmail.com G R AY T W O M B LY
Twombly.Gray@gmail.com H E N RY S I K E S
WHSikes1@gmail.com A L I A YA H G I
2014 JA C K LY N H O RT O N
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Jessica Johnston, a junior at Rice University in Houston, is majoring in sports management with a minor in business. This past year, she interned with the marketing department of the NCAA, taking pictures and creating posts for the Final Four Social Media Hub. She is also a key member of Rice’s women’s soccer team. They won the Conference USA tournament during her freshman year, and she now shares the field with former Spartan Erin Mikeska ’16. They started this year’s conference tournament the first week of November. Wish them luck! Kaela Lemond spent a month abroad through one of UT’s Maymester programs, Making of the Modern Papacy in Rome, this past summer. Despite not knowing a word of Italian or anything about traditional Catholicism before this course, she says experiencing Rome’s culture taught her more than she had initially hoped for. “What we could learn from the Europeans is that taking vacations too seriously might not be a bad thing.” Richie Munroe is the public relations and marketing chair of the Caribbean Student Association at the University of Tampa, promoting cultural and social events for Caribbean students in the Tampa Bay area. He is also one of UT’s delegates at the Florida Caribbean Student Association and is working with both groups to aid people affected by Hurricane Matthew.
jaclynlhorton@gmail.com N AT H A N G O L D B E R G
nathangoldberg@college.harvard.edu
Campbell Chupik is a third-year student studying economics at UVA, and she loves being involved in psychology and behavioral economics research. She will be studying Rachel Ugola reported, “I graduated from UTSA with (left to right:) Olivia Andrade, Grace Angelillo and Lucy Damweber abroad in Prague for the spring semester and is hoping a B.S. in community health with a concentration in alia.yaghi1@gmail.com
Nathan Goldberg spent his summer “working as a data analyst for Orlando City of Major League Soccer (think Moneyball, but with former Soccer Academy director Bobby Murphy instead of Brad Pitt).” Back at school, he is enjoying getting some playing time — even if only a tiny bit — for the Harvard varsity soccer team, which had its best start to a season in almost a decade.
JA M E S C A RT E R
lisa.nordhauser@gmail.com
L I N D S AY R E D M A N
Louis Lafair is also studying abroad at Oxford, albeit at Brasenose College, so the 2014 Spartans are doubly represented at the oldest university (for Muggles, at least) in the Anglophone world.
Samantha Schmidt is studying abroad in Amman, Jordan, this fall in order to improve her Arabic and, most importantly, pick up a Petra magnet for Mr. Goodman to add to his ever-growing collection of cheesy art history souvenirs! This is what she had to say about her experience so far: “It’s definitely been a semester of firsts — first time visiting a wonder of the world (Petra), first time
Spartan Magazine
walking over royalty (when the king’s brother visited my downstairs neighbors), first time slaughtering a goat, and first time clambering through a 1,000-year-old secret passageway out of a castle and through a mountain. There has been a lot of adjustment, too, so it has been nice to be able to call my sister Lucy Schmidt ’19, who is spending her sophomore year at St. Margaret’s in Japan, and swap culture-shock stories with her. Overall, though, I’m having a wonderful time, and I am loving the Jordanian hospitality. It’s truly an amazing country filled with incredible people!” Ellie Thompson is another Spartan who is abroad! A junior studying French and economics at UT, Ellie is spending the entire school year at the Université Jean Moulin in Lyon to really nail down her fluency in French. Although she described her classes, conducted in French, as “challenging,” she also said that her progress so far has been very rewarding and that she already has learned and experienced so much.
2015 JIM OLD
jamesold1@mac.com
Ian Devlyn wrote, “I'm studying petroleum geology at CU–Boulder. I was elected vice president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. I do a lot of work for them and coordinate speakers from different oil and gas companies around the country. I also worked at an oil and gas internship called Royalty Clearinghouse last summer doing decline curve analysis on producing oil fields in the Permian Basin and in the Eagleford Shale. I'm studying Geology because of that internship.” Zibby Smith wrote, “I am president of the sociology and pre-law club on campus! I am also in Delta Gamma sorority!” Pablo Trevena recently placed third at Jumping International CSI 5* Dinard, a prestigious horse jumping show in France. Will Dooley reported that he is working with Hamilton's Volunteer Fire Department to become a firefighter. “Hamilton is Colgate University’s town.”
2016 NICK GOLDREYER
nick.goldreyer@gmail.com
Kathryn Miller Anderson '71 (seated on floor, far right) with the Class of 1971
Why St. Stephen’s Is in My Will This past October the Class of 1971 celebrated our 45th reunion. It was wonderful to see so many classmates at our parties. Class Representative Kathryn Miller Anderson did a great job organizing the event. Our party hosts, Claire McKay and Fred Myers, provided great venues for reconnecting and talking about old times. Reunion activities on campus were fun, too. On the Monday morning after Reunion weekend, everyone in the Class of ’71 received an email from Kathryn Miller Anderson, saying how much she enjoyed Reunion, reminding us of our class Facebook page, and inviting our out-of-towners to come back to Austin whenever they can. She ended the email with the following paragraph, which made quite an impression on me:
“One other thought: St. Stephen’s gave us a wonderful setting for cultivating our incredible friendships. After every Reunion, I feel so emotional about how lucky we are to have gone to school there. One way I feel that I can give back is to leave St. Stephen’s in my will. It is not necessary to leave a specific amount. If you want, you can signify a percent that you would like to go to our sweet school. That made it easier for me to do, and maybe it would make it easier for you.” As planned giving director, I know that there are many excellent reasons to include St. Stephen’s in our estate plans. But Anderson’s message was straight from the heart and meant so much to me. It is a big part of the reason that long ago I also put St. Stephen’s in my will. I want St. Stephen’s to exist as an excellent and independent school for decades to come; a strong endowment will help provide the security we need for this to happen. That’s why I’ve specified that my estate gift should go to the school’s endowment. Please consider including St. Stephen's in your estate plans as well. Thank you!
—Lou Porter Bailey ’71, director of planned giving
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Fairey grew up in Austin, having moved there before her first birthday. She attended Polly Sisto's Nursery School, then Dill, Casis, and O'Henry schools. She graduated as valedictorian from St. Stephen's Episcopal School. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College, M.B.A. from Stanford Business School, and M.Div. from Columbia's Union Seminary. She married Marc Lewis after her graduation from Wellesley. They attended Stanford together, then lived in Austin, where their daughters were born. They later moved to Los Angeles, and then to Darien, Conn. A memorial service was held on Nov. 12, 2016, at her church in Darien.
IN MEMORIAM The Rev. Paul Coleman Cochran ’59 Born in Michigan on Dec. 14, 1941, to Maurice William Cochran and Ellanna Born Cochran, raised in Rockport, Texas, and a resident of New York City for most of his adult life, the Rev. Paul Coleman Cochran died in Lexington, Ky., on 14 Oct. 14, 2016, at the age of 74. Cochran received his undergraduate degree at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md. Upon graduation, he entered the Peace Corps, spending two years teaching English in Turkey. Building on his undergraduate studies of the classics and his desire to enter the priesthood, Cochran was eager to see Greece and study New Testament Greek in Athens. There he found employment teaching English at the Hellenic American Union, where he met his wife, fellow instructor, Dr. Effie Papatzikou Cochran. Paul studied at The General Theological Seminary in New York City and was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 21, 1970, following the birth of his daughter, Anastasia Ellanna Cochran. They returned to the Diocese of West Texas for his first position as a parish priest at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in San Antonio. Following the birth of his second daughter, Elizabeth (Betina) Karmela Cochran, they returned to Manhattan once again for Cochran to begin his doctoral studies at General Seminary. Paul was survived by his daughters, Anastasia Swope and Betina Cochran; his sons-in-law, George Swope and Argyris Leontopoulos; and his grandchildren, Mariah Leontopoulou-Cochran, Ellanna Swope, and Ari Leontopoulos-Cochran. Kim Elizabeth Fairey ’76 Kim Fairey was born March 27, 1958, in Pittsburgh, Pa., and died on Nov. 8, 2016, in Norwalk, Conn., after a twoyear battle with pancreatic cancer, fought with hope and amazing courage, sadness and joy, and ineffable grace.
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Kim was a gifted pianist who, at age 10, performed Haydn's D-major Concerto No. 11 with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. She was an "avocational pianist" throughout her life. She was a member of the Junior Leagues of Austin and Stamford-Norwalk and a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Darien. Fairey’s business career included real estate and banking in both New York City and Austin. For the last 10 years, until three weeks before her death, Kim worked with Horizons National, a nonprofit organization with more than 50 affiliate programs across the country that, with stunning success, address "summer slide" among underprivileged children. Fairey was survived by her parents, Tom and Judy Fairey of Austin; her children, Jennie Lewis (Boston) and Sarah Lewis (Norwalk); her sister, Kristen Fairey (Brooklyn); her nephews and niece, Eric (Palo Alto, Calif.), Christopher (Singapore), and Heather Mayer (London); her partner, David Boyd; and her ex-husband, Marc Lewis. Fairey's family has asked that gifts in her memory go to St. Stephen's Episcopal School. Adrienne Joan McCaleb Hunt ’53 Adrienne Joan McCaleb Hunt, of Wilmington, Del., and Seabrook Island, S.C., was born on May 16, 1935, and passed away on Dec. 28, 2015, at her beloved winter home on Seabrook Island, after a joyous extended Christmas celebration with her husband, children and grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and siblings and was survived by her husband, Jack Hunt, and children Robert (and Joyce) Walker, Susan Hays, Dirk Walker and Will (and Laura) Walker, and her 10 grandchildren. Hunt was born and raised in Texas and studied for her teaching degree at the University of Texas at Austin, finishing at the University of Houston, and starting her teaching career while raising her four children in Clear Lake City. She remained a perpetual student, taking classes throughout her working career. She married Jack Hunt in 1977 and moved to Wilmington, Del., where she taught school for many more years, but remained always an “expatriate Texan.” A remembrance gathering was held for Hunt on Jan. 9, 2016, at her Seabrook Island home.
Alumni News Submissions Alumni are contacted by their class rep several times a year for news and information. For assistance connecting with your class rep or submitting news, please contact Nolu McIlraith, alumni relations and giving coordinator, at 512.327.1213 x178 or nmcilraith@sstx. org. To find your rep online, please visit the Alumni page at www.sstx.org/alumni. If you do not use email and would like to get in touch with your rep, please call Nolu McIlraith for the rep's mailing address and phone number. We welcome high resolution photographs with your Class Notes news summary. When you send a high resolution photo, please always identify everyone in the photo, make sure we can see all faces clearly, and make sure to send a JPG format in the largest size possible (at least 900 pixels; 3" wide at 300 dpi). Printed submissions may be mailed to: Spartan magazine St. Stephen’s Episcopal School 6500 St. Stephen’s Drive Austin, TX 78746 Spartan magazine editors reserve the right to edit or omit any information submitted. St. Stephen’s maintains an online alumni directory. If you need your login information—username and password — just go to www.sstx.org/alumnidirectory and click on New User Registration under the login button. Please login to confirm that we have your most recent information and to let us know your preferences. The directory will display your name, class year, city, state and email. You may choose to make any or all of your information private.
Join Your Classmates Online Like us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/StStephensAlumni Join our St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Alumni Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/ groups/8735891587/ Chat with us on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ststephenschool Connect with us on LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com – St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Alumni Check out our YouTube Channel at: www.youtube.com/user/ststephensaustin
Have you received any emails from the alumni office recently? If not, we may not have a current email address for you. Please send your current email address to nmcilraith@sstx.org so you won’t miss invitations to fun events and news about your classmates. Thanks!
E VE RY GIF T CO U N T S THANK YOU. An amazing number of parents and grandparents, faculty and staff, alumni, trustees, and friends have generously contributed to the 2016–17 Annual Fund campaign. We are tremendously appreciative of your continuing support of St. Stephen’s and its wonderful students, who are transformed by the school in countless ways that will last a lifetime. If you have not yet donated to this year’s campaign, there is still time! Please consider making your tax-deductible Annual Fund gift today! Pledges are always welcome and payable by May 1, 2017.
www.sstx.org/givenow sstx.org
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NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID AUSTIN, TEXAS PERMIT NO. 2556
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 jsarrett@sstx.org. Thank you!
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ALUMNI REUNION 2017 SEPTEMBER 15-17
reunite. reconnect. rekindle.
ST. STEPHEN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL REUNITE. RECONNECT. REKINDLE.
REUNION & HOMECOMING
2017
SEPTEMBER 15-17