The Bridges We Cross THE POWER OF PEOPLE

Senior Taylor Domson ’23 feels that the people at Collegiate have helped her become fulfilled as both a student and as a person.

Taylor Domson ’23 believes growth is borne out of relationships. A connection — whether that’s between a teacher, coach, parent, alumni or peer — serves as an energizing jolt, a super-charged bridge between people. A mind creating a relationship with another, the magic of understanding someone: that’s what discovery is all about. “When you start interacting with someone at Collegiate, that connection you feel with them really encourages you,” Taylor says. “Everyone else kind of feeds into the academic energy and the motivation.”

Taylor came to Collegiate her Freshman year, in 2019, and joined the volleyball team before the beginning of the school year. It’s a daunting act, joining a new school, but her trepidation was soothed instantly because of the people she connected with. A new student, she felt an immediate rapport with her teammates and made friends easily. “I just felt totally embraced by the community when I first came in for the volleyball season,” she explains. “You’re getting to know all your teammates, and I just felt so loved and so accepted as who I was. I remember just becoming really, really excited for both volleyball and the school year.”

A memory stands out to her during that first day of classes Freshman year. It’s a moment that embodies the friendly character of Collegiate, a warm disposition the people — both on campus and beyond — maintain that makes everyone feel seen, understood and valued. “I walked into history class and realized: Oh my gosh, I don’t know anyone in here!” Taylor recalls. “And I sit down, all nervous, and then I remember Carrington Miller ’23 coming over and sitting next to me. We talked on and off throughout the whole class. We were laughing, enjoying ourselves. And something just clicked so naturally: I had this feeling that I was cared about, that I was supported.”

Those person-to-person connections happen daily for

EVERYONE ELSE KIND OF FEEDS INTO THE ACADEMIC ENERGY AND THE MOTIVATION.”

her now. Whenever she’s having a difficult day, she’ll duck into Director of Student Life Beth Kondorossy’s office for a quick chat. Invariably, she’ll leave Kondorossy’s office with a smile, feeling a little bit lighter, a little more energized. “When I think about what makes my experience at Collegiate so great, I think about people like Coach Kondo,” she says. “If you’re stressed out with work, or if you’ve just had a bad morning, she’s always there. I can go into her office, maybe have some candy, talk to her for five minutes and suddenly I’m in a better mood.”

A mood is a contagious emotional state, and there’s a certain affable spirit that floats about the School. “I could say this about so many teachers — really about anybody at Collegiate — which is that the people here help you feel fulfilled as a student and as a person,” she says. “You can see the reverberations of that energy everywhere: you’re interacting with teachers, you’re interacting with students, and then a teacher-student relationship develops. That type of learning environment really gets me excited, because it’s a lot easier to learn when you feel like you’re sharing that experience with students and teachers.”

When Taylor was working with her peers to put together the ninth annual TEDxYouth@ RVA event, which is an innovative program that serves as a hub of ideas for the Richmond community, she felt that strong person-to-person connection in full.

She was working with a number of her classmates to plan a public-facing show, and she felt that the relationships between her classmates, teachers and community partners were essential to putting together a great experience. The students had to find sponsorships and other support from local business owners, they pitched local media reporters for more event coverage, collaborated with peers to select speakers, managed marketing and coached speakers.

The work was collaborative, engaging; it showed Taylor the impact relationships can have, and that people, working together, can create something truly spectacular. “Working on TEDx, I learned how my actions and my connections with people can affect not only me but everyone around me,” she says. “Everyone was collaborating and learning and growing together. It was a really wonderful experience, because it showed me that all of these relationships can have a greater meaning. Working together with people you care about can really make a difference.”