‘Once a Mayfielder, always a Mayfielder’: how alums helped reopen our campus N
o one on the Mayfield administrative team can remember how, or exactly when, the decision was made to invite alums back to assist in the reopening of campus for hybrid learning. But once the idea was proposed, the decision was unanimous. As teachers and students moved back to campus, there would be more technology needs to be met in the classroom for those still learning or teaching from home. For health and safety reasons, it would be necessary to supervise all the students during their free periods in ways never required before. As Head of School Kate Morin explains, “We needed more eyes and more boots on the ground.” So why not recruit local Mayfield alums for these paid positions? Many recent college grads or college students had returned to their childhood homes around Pasadena during COVID-19. It was a group of people who were already invested in the school, a kind of readymade brain trust. “Our alums are so impressive, we just thought that was the natural place to start,” explained Toi Webster Treister ’82, Assistant Head of School for Academics, who helped devise and execute the alum plan. A natural place, indeed, but this was not a tactic other schools were utilizing for their reopening models. It was an initiative unique to Mayfield. And “impressive” was an understatement, considering the talents and abilities that came forth. To name a few, there was Sara Lydon ’19, a student at Dartmouth in biomedical engineering. There was Anna Arboles ’13, a professional musician and tour manager, who graduated from the USC music program. Emily Monroe ’14 graduated from Santa Clara University with a major in business management, and is now
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Leah Carter ’08 worked in the Mayfield Health Office before starting her residency in family medicine.
in her final year at USC Gould School of Law. Jocelyn Gaona ’15 graduated from the University of Notre Dame, majoring in neuroscience and behavior, minoring in Latino studies, and is heading to Michigan State University College of Human Medicine to pursue her medical degree this fall. Julia Morreale ’15 studied psychology at Drew University and aims to apply to grad schools to pursue genetic counseling. Leah Carter ’08 graduated with a B.S. in biophysics, the first woman of color to do so in the history of USC, then went on to Trinity School of Medicine, and finished her medical degree a few months ago. Without a doubt, this was a deeply overqualified group to execute duties that Sara described as “making sure that students are keeping their masks on, remaining socially distanced, and wiping down their spaces after each class.” These tasks weren’t identical for each alum—they adapted to the school’s changing needs. And although all of the alums were accomplished, they weren’t all so early in their careers. Sr. Sheila McNiff ’56, SHCJ was called to religious life while she was still a Mayfield student, eventually becoming a sister of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus. She is not just an alum, or a Sister of the Holy Child Jesus, but she’s also a Mayfield trustee. She’s been a principal
at schools as local as Mayfield Junior School and as distant as St. Anne’s in Otukpo, Nigeria. She is an experienced educator, therapist, counselor and chaplain. But such is Sr. Sheila’s dedication to Mayfield and her “roll up your sleeves” attitude that she sat on the North Lawn almost every weekday morning, overseeing students finishing their homework assignments in the morning mist, six feet apart. (Read more about Sr. Sheila on page 12.) Most of the positions filled by the alums weren’t exactly glamorous, yet they shared an overall sense of enthusiasm in their desire to help out. Julia describes the moment the invitation from Mayfield “popped up” in her email box: “I was like, perfect, awesome—I can’t sign up fast enough!” And Leah echoes the sentiment, saying, “I jumped at the opportunity to just get to be back on campus in any capacity.” There was a communal understanding that there was work to be done, and no job was too small. Mrs. Treister praises the way the alums have played a pivotal role in this unprecedented time, saying they were “critical in their flexibility to just pivot on a moment’s notice.” Like many alums, Jocelyn remained in Pasadena while widespread COVID-19 restricted her movements. And although she will now be heading to Michigan
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