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KNOX MAGAZINE Spring 2014
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There is nothing like seeing a child smile again—or perhaps for the first time,” says Dr. Alison SnyderWarwick, whose surgical skills help children who have facial paralysis, cleft palate, and other conditions. “Facial expression is essential to communication and to selfDIRECTOR, FACIAL NERVE INSTITUTE perception. AT ST. LOUIS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL Helping Biology Major people regain confidence is priceless,” says Alison, director of the Facial Nerve Institute at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, also in St. Louis. Most of Alison’s medical practice involves pediatric plastic surgery, and she performs some general reconstructive surgery in adults. Her scientific research complements her clinical interests. “I am enamored by the intricacy and fine details of the surgeries,” says Alison, a biology major at Knox who earned College Honors for researching olestra, a fat substitute. “I also am inspired by the patients, especially the children, who I work with—so many of them handle adversity and obstacles with grace and a refreshingly optimistic attitude.” She has worked with the nonprofit group Operation Smile to help children in India, and she is secretary of the Sir Charles Bell Society, an international organization that aims to improve care for people with facial nerve problems. At Knox, she says, she benefited from the tight-knit community of students, faculty, and staff. “Everyone is so generous with their talents and their abilities, and it is such a friendly community.” Knox also provided an “unparalleled” education, she says. “A lot of my medical school classmates had gone to Ivy League schools and larger universities, and I didn’t feel like I was the underdog, in any sense. That was a good feeling.”
ALISON SNYDERWARWICK
PETER BAILLEY ’74
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KATIE HOLZRUSSELL
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cholarship, Teamwork, Respect, Intelligence, Virtue, Effort. Or STRIVE. These are the values that Katie Holz-Russell upholds every day through her work as the chief curriculum officer at STRIVE Preparatory Charter Schools in Denver, Colorado. Katie oversees curriculum development and implementation for a network CHIEF CURRICULUM OFFICER, STRIVE PREPARATORY of eight public CHARTER SCHOOLS charter schools, English Literature Major and her primary role is to help guide young people to educational success in high school and beyond. “My work is appealing because I know that every day I am working hard to help students in Denver go to college,” says Katie, who majored in English literature at Knox. “Many of our students will be the first members of their family to attend and graduate from college.” Katie decided to pursue opportunities in educational leadership after teaching for five years—two in the Mississippi Delta through Teach for America and three at a public charter school in Denver. She then became education director of Breakthrough Kent Denver, a nonprofit educational program, and taught at Kent Denver School. “Working at Breakthrough was the first time I had the experience of hiring and coaching a staff of teachers,” Katie says. In 2008, she joined STRIVE Prep (then called West Denver Prep) and served for three years as principal of one of its campuses. In fall 2012, she assumed her current role for the network of eight schools. Katie credits her undergraduate education with preparing her well for her career. “Knox taught me to read the world both critically and with tolerance,” she says. “It set a high bar for me academically, and, because of that, I am able to help set a high bar for the students who attend STRIVE Prep. At Knox I learned to work hard, and I learned that working hard can be fun in the right community.”