Retiring Director of College Guidance and English Department Chair Katy Rinehart (second from right) was honored at the Dinner Among Friends. Also attending (from left) were her brother Jud Ramaker, husband Timm Rinehart and mother Jean Ramaker.
Katy Rinehart • B.A., Hampshire College • M.A.L.S., Wesleyan University
English and College Guidance: The Perfect Mix for Katy Rinehart Director of College Guidance and English Department Chair Katy Rinehart retired in June after spending 16 years at the school. She arrived at MFS in 1994 after 14 years at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. While her husband Timm was beginning his new job in admissions at Temple University, Katy Rinehart was mulling her next career move when a fortuitous meeting (for her and for MFS) occurred. “I was still working as an area admissions rep for Hampshire in the fall of 1993 and made a school visit to MFS,” she said. “(Then Director of College Guidance) Mary Williams asked what I was going to do now and I jokingly responded that I would love to have her job.” Soon after her visit, Williams was appointed Upper School Director. By the next fall, Rinehart had been hired by MFS as Director of College Guidance and was also asked to teach two Upper School English courses. “The school took a huge leap of faith and (former
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Headmaster) Alan Craig must have sensed my enthusiasm for literature,” said Rinehart. “I knew college guidance and I learned everything from the high school side from the ground up. I had no assistant. I did it all.” By 2000, she was also serving as Chair of the English Department. “I was blessed with a wonderful department faculty…very intelligent, really committed people,” she said. As enrollment grew at the school, juggling both jobs became increasingly difficult. However, in 2002, Margaret Van Meter was hired as a College Guidance Counselor. “My life changed so much for the better when she came on board,” said Rinehart. “No one understands the challenges of college guidance better than Margaret…she was an invaluable partner.” When pushed, Rinehart will admit that it was in the classroom where she was happiest. “The students I’ve taught have been such great kids who love reading literature, and I’ve had some remarkable writers,” she said. “And we
had such a good time together…a day didn’t go by when one of the kids didn’t make me laugh.” “Katy has a passion for literature,” said new English Chair Debra Galler. “She is walking, breathing evidence of the relevance of studying literature: she applies Shakespeare’s language to everyday life in a way that shows her students and colleagues that what we are studying is not archaic, but vital.” Rinehart has moved to Sonoma County, CA where she is planning for many outdoor activities and challenges. An avid runner, she will participate in a series of races along the Pacific Coast. She intends to hike the Sierras with her husband and has her sights set on climbing Mount Whitney. She also has not ruled out a return to teaching once she gets settled in her new location. Katy and Timm Rinehart have two children: Kelsey, a Middlebury College graduate who lives in the San Francisco area and works in online media, and Dan, a recent Temple University graduate now living and studying in Spain.