View From My Window

The Falconer is shared with our entire community but is aimed at alumni. As our alumni ranks grow to 5,000 in the next two years, we want to focus our attention and efforts on our youngest alums. Accordingly, one of the four Pillars in FWCD’s Strategic Plan 2030 centers on alumni. Pillar II calls for us to “Prepare Students for College and Beyond,” to continue readying graduates to enter college extremely well-prepared for the academic and social experiences they begin after leaving 4200 Country Day Lane. While FWCD continues to be that college prep place, Pillar II is committed to supporting our alumni during their undergraduate years and beyond.

To give maximum attention to this Pillar, Peggy Wakeland is joining our Advancement Office next year as Alumni Liaison to work alongside Alumni Relations Coordinator Eleanor Siff While stepping away from the Upper School, Peggy is putting all of her undiminished energy and passion for FWCD into this alumni role. In addition to setting up an “Alumni Center” on campus, Peggy and Eleanor are hitting the road to connect with Falcons in colleges and universities, near and far.

Eleanor and Peggy are allowing me to join in on some of this spring’s initial lunches with undergraduates. The three of us are showing up at regional universities and buying a meal for current FWCD alumni. From TCU to Texas A&M University (pictured above) in February to UNT and Texas Woman’s University in March, we are eager to get time with alumni and hear about your transition to college. After considering that transition, Peggy will want to brainstorm ways we might be helpful in looking ahead and learning about whatever our alums imagine doing as they graduate from college.

FWCD’s Senior Leadership Team is using the spring semester to dive deeper into all four Pillars, considering staging our goals and designing our metrics for each one. Peggy is competitive. She personally knows about half of our 4,800 alums. While she is initiating the lunch with current undergraduate series, the rest of you are not off the hook: Peggy and Eleanor WANT YOU to visit with them, with us! Our first choice will always be to get you back to campus, but we hope you find more and more ways to connect with your alma mater over the next year.

Once again, this Falcon edition of the Falconer is a truly incredible testimonial of why FWCD means so much to so many people. Coming out twice a year, the Advancement team gathers remarkable stories of our students and alumni year after year. They share accounts of impactful FWCD faculty and staff. Where does your pride come from? What makes you tell stories about your time at FWCD? When you decided to unpeel that “From Here, Anywhere” sticker to put on your car, what was most on your mind? Keep sharing your stories with us – we plan to keep telling them.

Sincerely,

Eric Lombardi Head of School