BEATRICE SAMPONG ’81
From broadcaster to budding social entrepreneur
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o limits. A broader sense of community. The desire to contribute. Those are lessons Beatrice Sampong ’81 honed on her way from Head Start to Lakeside to Harvard and beyond, lessons she’s applied as her career has evolved and touched down in Accra, Boston, Seattle, London, Washington, D.C., and New York. Travel has always been a mainstay of Sampong’s life. The daughter of Ghanaian educators initially endured a daily threehour bus commute with multiple transfers to get to the Upper School from her West Seattle home. Sampong says she could not have bridged that significant geographic and cultural distance without considerable support. “Being raised in an African family, I've always had a sense of community,” she says. “Lakeside became an extended family. Other parents stood behind me. Librarians stood beside me. I had Craig Stewart (former director of development) as a mentor and Dan Ayrault (then headmaster) as an advisor." After Harvard, where Sampong combined her love of music with research in psychology, she worked as a sound engineer/overnight deejay, and then as a writer/producer for radio and public television. When she returned to Seattle seeking more broadcast opportunities, her Lakeside alumni “family” provided introductions that led to becoming a writer/producer in promotions at KIRO. And when Lakeside called a few years later, asking for her help with the Annual Fund, she took a development position at Lakeside in honor of Ayrault, her dear advisor, who had recently died. Thus began the transition from broadcasting to fundraising and ultimately to information-technology infrastructure and business development. Lakeside was a leader in the early ’90s national conversation about diversity and inclusion in independent schools, and Sampong recalls how she jumped in, helping to craft curriculum and inclusion strategies and co-teaching a popular course, Literature of the Outsider, for juniors and seniors. Sampong loved interacting with students, but – “no limits!” – wanted to make an impact in a broader arena. So, she returned to Boston to study systems and infrastructure, earning an MBA from Boston University. That led to several years as a systems analyst and technical trainer for federal agencies and startups around greater Washington, D.C. On the side, Sampong became intrigued by the idea that natural energies (magnetic, ionic, infrared) could heal and restore vitality, and she started a home business as a health and wellness coach with Nikken, a global direct-marketing health-products company. “The education has continued!” Sampong says, a smile deepening her dimples. A few years ago, she had a revelation: “Rather than seeking employment, I’m choosing to create opportunities for myself and others.” Her goal: To establish a business collective where young women can strengthen their self-esteem and skills through training
Maureen Erokwu, Vosmap
Beatrice Sampong '81: “Rather than seeking employment, I’m choosing to create opportunities for myself and others.”
and mentoring opportunities. That’s how Sampong wound up managing sales and personnel at Encore, the grande dame consignment boutique on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis regularly brought her gently used items. Juggling statistics and money, along with hangers, Sampong approaches the venture as an apprenticeship that will lend retail savvy to the opening of her own storefront – a space where young women can generate sales income while learning business and life skills. “I’ve become a believer in new thought,” Sampong says. “You can get what you desire when you set an intention.” ■
Shaun Griffen ’75 writes in the Personal Story feature about “phase 2,653 (approximately) of what I hope and fear is a lifelong reinvention process.” See Page 57.
—PB
Paula Bock is a Seattle writer and parent of a Lakeside Middle School student. Reach her at paulabockseattle@gmail.com. Carey Quan Gelernter is editor of Lakeside magazine: carey.gelernter@lakesideschool. org or 440-2706. Alumni reinventors
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