St. Andrew’s Magazine, Winter 2024

ST. ANDREW’S

THE

COEDUCATION ISSUE WINTER 2024 MAGAZINE

ST. ANDREW’S MAGAZINE | Winter 2024 VO L UME 46, ISSUE 1

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

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HEAD OF SCHOOL’S MESSAGE

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STORIES FROM AROUND CAMPUS

LET’S GO SAINTS 20

THEY GOT GAME Catching up with St. Andrew’s women coaches

FEATURE STORIES 28

50 YEARS OF GIRLS AT ST. ANDREW‘S Important stops along the coeducational timeline

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BECAUSE OF THEM

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NURTURING UNUSUAL WOMEN

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QUITE UNORTHODOX

We spoke to pivotal SAS figures–from five first and early girls, historical female leaders, and more–to hear the story of coeducation Twenty years post-retirement, St. Andrew‘s legend Nan Mein still has “The Gaze” A conversation with Janice Nevin ’77 P’13 and Deb Davis ’77 on doing something that was considered out of step in the 1970s: being a girl who played sports

CAN’T HELP BUT CONNECT 54

CLASS NOTES

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IN MEMORY

{Following a November chapel service celebrating Diwali and planned by the South Asian Affinity Group, campus community members followed a candle-illuminated path to the grass docks where they released paper lanterns onto the pond. In her remarks at the service, Ahilya Ellis ’26 noted that Diwali is a holiday to acknowledge “the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil.”} This publication is printed with vegetable-based soy inks on paper with 10% post-consumer waste.

Please complete the process by recycling your copy when finished.

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Letter from the Editor Dear Saint: I will be the first to admit that lessons in female empowerment in my household may be a bit overzealous at times, as evidenced by the time my then-4-year-old daughter, Zora, remarked to a kindly gentleman who held the door for us at Wawa, “Thank you, but we don’t need no man!”

This interaction came on the heels of a frank conversation post-Frozen about why it was perfectly fine for Queen Elsa to not have a male romantic figure in her life like her sister, Princess Anna, did. (It should be noted, however, that Anna’s Kristoff is beyond measure.)

Therefore it wasn’t shocking when Zora, now 7 and chock full of the kind of gumption that would make Nan Mein proud (see story on page 42), said, after I explained to her the subject matter of this magazine, “Girls weren’t allowed? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. What about Cora, Sophia, and Marie?”

To say it was daunting to wade In my daughter’s mind, there are few heights of power that could exceed that which is present in Cora Birknes ’23, Sophia Munoz ’23, into five decades of the history and Marie Dillard ’24 (see story on Marie on page 16). In a way, of women at St. Andrew’s they are her Nan Meins: bold, empowered, inclusive, unrelenting. To imagine St. Andrew’s without them, without any young woman, period, would be an understatement. was impossible for her. Like all that I do at St. Andrew’s, my work But as it turned out, Saints did presented an opportunity for us to truly talk (in second grade parlance, of course); in this case, we discussed how critical the role of girls and what Saints do—they made women is to this world, and what we can do to always make it so. space. They extended patience.

To say it was daunting to wade into five decades of the history of women at St. Andrew’s (see story on page 32) would be an They gave grace and offered understatement. But as it turned out, Saints did what Saints do—they trust. They were selfless in how made space. They extended patience. They gave grace and offered trust. they spoke about others.

They were selfless in how they spoke about others.

For this issue, I spoke with first and early girls that include Joan Woods ’76, Missy Peloso ’75, Janice Nevin ’77, and more. I spoke with Joan O’Brien, Elizabeth Roach, Bob Moss Jr., Bob Colburn. I shared the same physical space as Nan Mein and am still buzzing. Stories were told, tears were shed (some mine— so much for objective journalism), and I felt the history of St. Andrew’s come alive in these conversations with key stakeholders and witnesses to the cultural shift 50 years ago that changed St. Andrew’s forever.

Yet the very best part of all of this for me is to see the fruits today of the hard work of yesterday. Joan O’Brien said of the girls of the Class of 1978, “They left me breathless.” When I look out of my windows in the very building named for Joan and her husband, former head of school Jon O’Brien, I think that is precisely the thing I, too, feel about today’s students, a community of young people that exists as it does thanks to foundations laid decades ago.

We hope you enjoy reading. If you’d like to add your voice to the story of coeducation, I can’t wait to chat.

AK White

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ST. ANDREW’S MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE EDITOR

AK White

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Amy Kendig

COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

Chelsea Kneedler, Tara Lennon CLASS NOTES EDITOR

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Scott M. Sipprelle ’81 P’08, Chair Richard B.Vaughan ’88 P’24,Vice Chair

Chesa Profaci ’80

Monica Matouk ’84 P’18,’21,’23, Secretary

PHOTOGRAPHY

Kate Sidebottom Simpson ’96, Treasurer

Misty Dawn Photography, Erin Farrell Photography, Angie Gray Photography MAIL LETTERS TO:

St. Andrew’s Magazine, 350 Noxontown Road, Middletown, DE 19709-1605 GENERAL EMAIL:

magazine@standrews-de.org CLASS NOTES EMAIL:

classnotes@standrews-de.org St. Andrew’s Magazine is published by the Communications Office for alumni, parents, grandparents and friends of St. Andrew’s School. Printed by Pavsner Press in Baltimore, Md. Copyright 2024.

Sarah Abbott ’99 Mercedes Abramo P’18,’22 Michael Atalay ’84 P’17,’19,’23 Aaron Barnes P’21,’24 The Rt. Rev. Kevin S. Brown Bishop of Delaware

Mati Buccini P’21,’23 Kellie S. Doucette ’88 P’18,’18,’21 Porter Durham P’13,’25

Mission Statement of St. Andrew’s School In 1929, the School’s Founder, A. Felix duPont, wrote: The purpose of St. Andrew’s School is to provide secondary education of a definitely Christian character at a minimum cost consistent with modern equipment and highest standards.

We continue to cultivate in our students a deep and lasting desire for learning; a willingness to ask questions and pursue skeptical, independent inquiry; and an appreciation of the liberal arts as a source of wisdom, perspective, and hope. We encourage our students to model their own work on that of practicing scholars, artists and scientists and to develop those expressive and analytical skills necessary for meaningful lives as engaged citizens. We seek to inspire in them a commitment to justice and peace.

Our students and faculty live in a residential community founded on ethical principles and Christian beliefs. We expect our faculty and staff to make our students’ interests primary, to maintain professional roles with students and to act as role models at all times, to set and maintain healthy boundaries with students, to encourage student autonomy and independence, to act transparently with students, and to support each student’s developmental growth and social integration at the School. Our students collaborate with dynamic adults and pursue their passions in a co-curriculum that includes athletics, community service and the arts. We encourage our students to find the balance between living in and contributing to the community and developing themselves as leaders and individuals.

As an Episcopal School, St. Andrew’s is grounded in and upheld by our Episcopal identity, welcoming persons regardless of their religious background.

We are called to help students explore their spirituality and faith as we nurture their understanding and appreciation of all world religions. We urge students to be actively involved in community service with the understanding that all members of the community share responsibility for improving the world in which we live.

St. Andrew’s is committed to the sustainability and preservation of its land, water and other natural resources. We honor this commitment by what we teach and by how we live in community and harmony with the natural world.

On our campus, students, faculty, and staff from a variety of backgrounds work together to create a vibrant and diverse community. St. Andrew’s historic and exceptional financial aid program makes this possible, enabling the School to admit students regardless of their financial needs.

Charles P. Durkin ’97 John Eisenbrey, Jr. ’74 P’01,’05,’07 Ari K. Ellis ’89 P’26 Moira Forbes ’97 Grace Gahagan ’10 Anne Hance ’94 Edith “Sis” Johnson P’11 Joy McGrath ’92 Head of School

Henry McVey P’25 Paul F. Murphy P’17,’19,’22 Jennifer B. Thomas P’22 Christian Wilson ’01 TRUSTEES EMERITI

Katharine duP. Gahagan GP’10,’11, Chair Emeritus J. Kent Sweezey ’70, Chair Emeritus Sabina B. Forbes P’97,’06 GP’21 Monie T. Hardwick P’02,’04,’07 Maureen K. Harrington P’91,’93,’96,’99,’02 Timothy W. Peters ’66 P’91,’93 GP’19,’21,’24 Steven B. Pfeiffer P’95,’97,’00,’04,’09 Sally E. Pingree P’01 Caroline duP. Prickett GP’18,’20 Henry duP. Ridgely ’67 Edward M. Strong ’66 P’07,’10 Alexander D. Stuart P’09

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Homecoming 2023 marked the beginning of our 50th anniversary of coeducation celebration with “The First, The Few: Pioneers and Pathmakers” panel. The panel featured a few of the trailblazing women who attended St. Andrew’s in the first and early years of coeducation, and a reception following the panel brought together alumni, students, and faculty to relive and retell memories of St. Andrew’s across generations.

Seen here are Beppy Westcott ’78, Ellen Nelson ’78, and Gay Kenney Browne ’78.

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Travis King ’27 (center) commanded a show-stopping jazz-tango performance to Louis Armstrong’s “Kiss of Fire.”

King and fellow performers from Fall Dance electrified Engelhard Hall as the first act of the Sunday choral and dance recital during Fall Family Weekend 2023.

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Zachary Macalintal ’24 (right) shares his perspective on the panda’s life cycle and habitat and strategies to preserve and protect these iconic animals in Chinese 4. Conducted entirely in Chinese, this course strengthens students’ language skills through a lens of comparative cultural and social studies.

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Message from the Head of School

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It is because of these first women of St. Andrew’s—both brave students and intrepid faculty members—that St. Andrew’s doors are open to so many.

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n 1929, when St. Andrew’s School was founded, women in the United States had had the right to vote for just nine years. The only women on this campus were Edith Pell, the headmaster’s wife; “house mother” Kathleen Michaelis; and the school nurse, Meg Miller. When the school held dances, girls were brought on buses from all-girls’ boarding schools within driving distance.

It took quite a while for women to be welcomed as students. Forty-four years after the school’s founding, and 53 years after women’s suffrage in this country, girls arrived as St. Andrew’s students. It was 1973, and the Supreme Court had recently decided Roe v. Wade. Ms. magazine was launched—the first publication by and about women. Feminism was becoming a household word, although not always in the most glowing terms.

Just as schools and universities implemented Title IX, signed into law in 1972, guaranteeing women equality in educational access and sports, and as Billie Jean King was beating Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” in tennis (which Marcia Moore ’75 covered in The Cardinal), and as the 1973 U.S. Open gave equal prize money to women and men for the first time—the first female students arrived.

These 27 women, among 180 boys, had an immediate and profound impact. Their influence continues in the alumni body: they are doctors, authors, engineers, artists, bankers, educators, and entrepreneurs. Their leadership, at the school and in their fields, paved the way for me, my contemporaries, and all the students of St. Andrew’s today.

So many faculty legends arrived in turn, women such as Joan O’Brien, Nan Mein, DyAnn Miller, Elizabeth Roach, to name a few. I wish all of these women could be in one room with us today—I can attest that all of them together in our spaces is a powerful experience! One thing is certain: without them, St. Andrew’s would be a different place, a poorer, less joyful, less serious place.

It is because of these first women of St. Andrew’s—both brave students and intrepid faculty members—that St. Andrew’s doors are open to so many.

Because of these first women 50 years ago, our doors are flung wider open to people from a variety of faith backgrounds, people of color, those who are nonbinary or LGBTQ+, all who bring so much talent and service to our community. Women and girls have enriched and improved the experience of every Saint—every student and faculty or staff member who has ever been here.

In this issue, we celebrate these pioneers. And going forward, we also must honor them with our own persistence in the pursuit of freedom and fairness. After all, freedom, is what education is for. The term “liberal arts,” at the very root of the word “liberal,” means the education, the preparation— intellectually, morally, physically—to be free. Because with freedom comes enormous responsibility, we must practice and prepare to exercise our freedom purposefully and wisely, in ways that bring us all together to accomplish the challenges facing us as a human society.

When I look at the students of St. Andrew’s today, truly the entire school community, I am heartened to see such energy and sense of purpose. They give us all reason to be proud, just as we are so very proud of the leadership and contributions of the women who arrived 50 years ago with their bell bottoms, backpacks, and bold dreams. I hope you will enjoy learning a bit more about them in the pages of this magazine. J

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From the Mail Bag Saints on Social Lana Abraham-Murawski ’93, one of the featured alumni artists

in our arts issue, had this to say about her story!

John Rogers ’93 and wife, Jennifer, may have a Chris Reiger ’95

super fan on hand: Their son, Ty, is particularly besotted with the family’s recent art acquisition, the Great Blue Heron from Reiger’s Field Guide series. “I’ve been meaning to collect more alumni art, so that magazine was timely inspiration,” says Rogers, who also looks forward to seeing the art of Lana Abraham-Murawski ’93 in person at one of her next shows.

An Appreciation for the Arts

I was moved to tears several times while reading the most recent issue of the St. Andrew’s alumni magazine focusing on the arts. I love that “our” school (I am not an alumna, but the mom of two graduates, Grace ’12 and Faye ’21) not only has a whole weekend devoted to this most essential part of life, but a ST. AND magazine that really pays homage REW’S to the myriad ways the arts are celebrated and embodied by SAS students present and past. Two of our very close family friends had children accepted in this latest applicant pool, and I felt Arts so proud that they’d receive this magazine in their mailbox as it exemplifies the values of St. Andrew’s. Jessica Benjamin P’12,’21 • THE

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Kudos on the Magazine

I just wanted to write in to say thanks so much for the kind words in the music article, and what a great issue of the magazine! I really loved reading about other SAS artists and builders, from so many eras of the school.

Peter Salett ’87 •

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BEYOND THE LENS

STORIES FROM AROUND CAMPUS

William Lin ’24 on the passion and research that made its way to The Concord Review From the moment his parents bestowed on him a hand-me-down iPhone 4 when he was younger, capturing beauty with a camera has fascinated William Lin ’24.

But his first year at St. Andrew’s was a turning point for his hobby. He honed his photography skills and rekindled a passion for the artform as he traveled around China taking pictures of “different scenes, different people, [and] different cultures.”

Lin spent his first year at St. Andrew’s in an atypical fashion: abroad in his home city of Beijing, China, as the Covid-19 pandemic forced students to forgo a normal year of school.

A year later, he was finally on campus and in Dean of Studies Melinda Tower’s history classroom, taking “A World at War,” an Advanced Study course that explores 20th-Century wars and why they started, the way they were fought, and why they ended.

The gears started to turn for Lin. In the classroom, with conversations centered on photo censorship during World War II, he found himself at the intersection of his love of history and his passion for photography.

This brewing interest in censorship followed him to his V Form year. He was taking “Research Seminar,” an Advanced Study history course that immerses students in scholarly research and challenges them to write a thoughtful research paper. He decided to explore the topic that piqued his curiosity in “A World at War.” When Victor Cuicahua, a former St. Andrew’s faculty member and then-instructor of the seminar, read Lin’s paper, “Whitewashing the War: U.S. Censorship of Photography during World War II,” he was impressed.

Lin remembers that Cuicahua pointed out what he considered the exceptional nature of the paper, and urged Lin to submit it to The Concord Review, a highly selective quarterly academic journal, the

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only such journal that exists that offers secondary students the opportunity to submit academic history papers. Emboldened by his instructor’s feedback, he pushed “submit.” And then the waiting game began.

“I got the news during senior orientation on my watch,” Lin recalls of the beginning of this school year. “My watch is one of those where you get the text, but it doesn’t show the entire text, so I was looking at it, and it was like, ‘Dear William, I’m writing to tell you that your paper has been …’ and it just cut off there.”

The anticipation was almost unbearable for the next several hours as Lin sat through orientation, waiting to read the remainder of that email.

He exercised one of the many virtues of Saints: patience.

It paid off: his paper had been accepted for publication.

His essay was one of 11 featured in the fall issue of The Concord Review, written by student scholars around the world. It was published in early September.

In the paper, Lin argues that the U.S. government instituted a “carefully managed censorship regime” during the second World War for a two-fold purpose: to minimize racial tensions and conflict in the states by hiding racism in the military, and to conceal the degree to which racial integration was present in the military to avoid angering prejudiced Americans.

Reflecting on the thought-provoking classroom conversations that shaped his paper, Lin remembers a particular conversation with Tower regarding a Dorothea Lange photo—the unmistakable “Migrant Mother” image from the Great Depression. Lin discovered through this

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DOORDASH’S PENN DANIEL ’07 VISITS CAMPUS conversation that the photographer had taken that photo without permission, and that the woman in the image disputed the photo, as she refused to be seen as a symbol of the Depression.

Conversations like this one with Tower—as well as with Cuicahua and Dean of Students Matt Carroll, the other faculty member heading the seminar—illuminated for Lin that there are complex depths behind a simple photo: layers of interpretation, censorship, intent, and more.

Through a historical and artistic lens, Lin brought these layers into dialogue with one another in his research. Beyond what he discusses in the paper, Lin also recognizes implications of historical censorship on contemporary issues.

“I think censorship of photography is going to be a relevant topic, even though censorship is not necessarily a main thing that is happening right now because there’s so many avenues with the internet and social media [for images to spread],” Lin says. “But with generative [artificial intelligence], and generative imaging, it’s more of an issue of deep fakes and misinformation.

I’m certainly looking forward to looking deeper into this in college and finding a new direction.” • TARA LENNON

On September 15, Saints devoured the online food-delivery industry’s recipe for success, thanks to an evening of conversation with one of the brains behind DoorDash, Penn Daniel ’07.

Daniel, the company’s 40th hire, has held a number of roles that were instrumental to the company’s growth from idea to IPO. Daniel helped launch the first major markets across the U.S. and build new products, and led the company’s first delivery partnerships with autonomous vehicles and drones.

He brought a wealth of experience to DoorDash from his prior work as a producer on ESPN’s Emmy-winning debate show Pardon the Interruption.

Grayson Culliford ’24, who leads the student entrepreneurship club, orchestrated the event along with her peers after Head of School Joy McGrath ’92 connected the students with Daniel, who, while at St. Andrew’s, served as school co-president and captain of the football and lacrosse teams. Over pizza, the students engaged with Daniel on topics like what it means to fail, the art of taking risks, and how the values he learned at St. Andrew’s—like honor and grit—set him up for a productive, innovative career.

“It was fun because he did his whole presentation, but he really wanted us to ask the questions,” says Culliford. Though she enjoyed organizing the event, Culliford says the most meaningful part of the experience was networking with Daniel, who she says was extremely open and receptive, and the other students across forms. “I think building connections is the most important to me,” she says. •

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INTERIM CHAPLAIN DAVE DESALVO PLUNGES INTO SAS LIFE (AGAIN) When Dave DeSalvo P’00,’04 got a call from Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Will Robinson ’97 P’26—who was also one of his former students—he didn’t think twice about it. DeSalvo, who served as chaplain and a math teacher at St. Andrew’s from 1987 until 2018, keeps in touch with countless former Saints, and readily hops on the phone with them to discuss just about anything. Robinson, however, was on a singular mission: the school needed an interim chaplain for the 2023-2024 school year, and he knew DeSalvo was just the man for the job. It didn’t take too much convincing from Robinson and Head of School Joy McGrath ’92 for DeSalvo to come out of retirement in New Hampshire and return to St. Andrew’s for a year. “How could I say no?” asks DeSalvo. “I love the school, and I think it’s very important to [take the time to] get the kind of chaplain that can carry on the mission of the school, which is all about the students.”

DeSalvo notes some things haven’t changed about the school or about his mission as a chaplain—chiefly, the school’s commitment to students, and his desire to connect with young people. However, he says that students’ enthusiasm for getting involved, for filling their “pitcher of life” with experiences, is stronger than ever. “I’ve noticed huge buy-in from the part of the students to be leaders and to have ideas and to express those ideas publicly, and to just be good,” he says.

DeSalvo is determined to make the most of his year in Middletown and further the school’s values. “I go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning with one question: ‘Why am I here?’” says DeSalvo. “I feel like I am here to bring stability to the chapel program, and to pave the way for the next head chaplain.”

Reacquainting himself with the distinctive St. Andrean willingness to go to any length to support students was a lot like diving into a freezing cold Noxontown Pond, something DeSalvo is famous for doing years ago for the Saints Fund. “I think part of being a teacher in a boarding school like this is you gotta be a little crazy,” says DeSalvo. “[You’ve got] to do crazy stuff [if it means] helping the school programs.” Though he’s a little older now, DeSalvo says there’s no plunge he wouldn’t take for St. Andrew’s and its students. •

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TRUSTEE’S CORNER Get to know a member of our Board of Trustees You might say connections between Dr. Michael Atalay ’84 P’17,’19,’23 and St. Andrew’s run deep. His father, Dr. Bulent Atalay ’58, is an alumnus and past board member. Atalay himself represents the Class of 1984. His niece, Delilah ’16, is an alumnus. Three of Atalay’s four children—Amelia ’17, Xander ’19, and Zachary ’23—all passed through the doors of Founders.

“Clearly, for us, St. Andrew’s is a special place,” says Atalay, who joined the board in 2022. “I’ve always said that my three years at SAS were the best and most enriching of my life.” (It’s also prudent to point out Atalay’s exceptional sense of humor: “Perhaps, so as not to offend my wife, I should say “the best of my academic life,” he’s quick to add with a grin.)

Considering Atalay’s educational pedigree, the fact that SAS rises to the top is saying something. After St. Andrew’s, Atalay studied physics at Princeton, then picked up his M.D. and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering—both at Johns Hopkins—and followed up with a medical internship at Beth Israel in Boston and a radiology residency and fellowship back at Hopkins. “That’s 19 years of education and training—and literally hundreds of excellent teachers—after high school, yet my years at SAS still resonate the loudest and are the most indelibly imprinted,” he says.

Atalay says having the opportunity to now serve on the school’s board is an “honor and gift.”

“By participating in the oversight, governance, and future-crafting of the school, I can share the insights and experience that I’ve accrued from a life in academia in general, and academic medicine in particular, and give something back,” he says. His first year on the board has been an education, as he’s been exposed to the deep bench of issues that come with successfully running St. Andrew’s, from daily operations to the challenging task of planning the school’s long-term future. “It also introduced me to a terrific, talented, and brilliant group of colleagues on the board who bring a commensurate breadth and depth of wisdom,” he says. “They are inspirational.”

Speaking of inspirational, Atalay says he’s been impressed by the work of Head of School Joy McGrath ’92; her husband, Ty Jones ’92; and the school’s administrators, faculty, and staff.

“Clearly, there are many headwinds facing a school like ours, but with clever, creative, and thoughtful planning and adequate resources, Joy and her remarkable team are poised to navigate these challenges and to even elevate the school to new, loftier heights,” Atalay says.

“We are in very good hands.”•

Trustee Trivia A Quick Q&A with Dr. Michael Atalay ’84 P’17,’19,’23 I CAN’T GO A DAY WITHOUT ... listening to an audiobook, mostly nonfiction.

I’m an Audible poster child.

I CAN DO A PRETTY GOOD IMPERSONATION OF …

I do a passable Dr. Evil from Austin Powers: “The details of my life are inconsequential …”

THE MOST INTERESTING PERSON I EVER MET IS … that’s easy—my dad, SAS Class of ’58, and I suspect I’m not alone here. (To be sure though he doesn’t drink Dos Equis.)

MY MOTTO IS … (borrowing from computer science lingo) “live in perpetual beta”—always looking to improve.

MY FAVORITE WORD IS … palimpsest! Cool word, and it also plays into my motto.

IF I COULD HAVE MY OWN SAS BOARDROOM WALK-IN SONG, IT WOULD BE …

“Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen—not because of any particular message, it just happens to be my favorite song.

THE ST. ANDREW’S MEMORY I CHERISH MOST IS … rowing with SAS at Henley in ’83 and making it all the way to the finals, where we lost to Eton College. What a great run with a fabulous group of teammates.

MY FELLOW SAS TRUSTEES WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW THAT …

I met and played soccer with Pelé … in 1984 … at St. Andrew’s!

MY FAVORITE HOBBY AT SAS OR BEYOND … stargazing! Preferably with a telescope and a camera.

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Marie Dillard ’24 is on a mission to introduce communities of color to classical music

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Marie Dillard. Photo by Angie Gray

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arie Dillard ’24 gathers her friends in her dorm room to do what teenagers do: hang out and listen to music. “Just wait until this beat drops,” she tells them, head bopping. Her friends lean in, eager—Dillard is known around campus for her musicality and easy coolness, so of course the playlist will be dope. But they’re ill-prepared for what comes next: the opening strains of 19th-century composer Gustav Holst’s Opus 29 from St. Paul’s Suite (in which, to be fair, the beats do drop).

“My friends are like, ‘What is this?’” Dillard says, laughing.

“I love classical music. It’s what I want to play, the space I want to be in. I refuse to believe I’m the only Black person who feels this way.”

She’s right, of course: She is not the only Black person who loves classical music. But ever since she picked up her first instruments—the violin at age 4 before switching to the viola at 12—she’s felt singular in her interest. In many spaces— orchestras, music lessons, string instrument camps—Dillard was often the only young Black musician. “That’s a problem,” she says. And it’s one the 17-year-old hopes to help solve with her nonprofit, the Persistent Endeavors Foundation.

“I’ve found that when Black people are really good at something, it’s like, ‘Wow! You must just have this exceptional ability,’” Dillard says. “When the fact is, no, I have worked at this since I was 4. It was a persistent endeavor.”

She co-founded the nonprofit in 2022 to expose young Black and brown musicians to the world of classical music— and keep them there. It also works to create a pipeline to help shepherd geniuses-in-the-making to national organizations like the Black Violin Foundation, a nonprofit that awarded Dillard a grant to pursue private music lessons, and, most recently, to purchase a brand-new viola.

“I realize, based on the spaces I was in and the people I was surrounded by, that I found a passion, and was able to keep it,” Dillard says. “It shouldn’t come down to the spaces one is in.

Not everyone is so lucky.”

Via Persistent Endeavors, Dillard has created her own space, the Crescendo Lab, a project she piloted with five young students this past summer in her hometown of Englewood, New Jersey. The pilot, which ran for five weeks with multiple 35- to 45-minute sessions, sought to generate excitement in her young charges for classical music, support each child’s musical learning, expose the little learners to composers of color and offer Dillard as a mentor.

“There were Black composers in classical music, but Black classical music didn’t take off because of racism and segregation,” Dillard says. “No other genre of music is this closed off, and that historic lack of inclusivity has created the issue I see today: a lack of people of color, particularly Black Americans, in orchestras.”

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Dillard plans to bring Crescendo Lab to Middletown via her work with area elementary schools as a part of the St. Andrew’s mentoring program. And thanks to monies awarded at the Be All You Passion Project Festival at the University of Pennsylvania last year, she plans to fund private music lessons with St. Andrew’s Director of Instrumental Music Dr. Fred Geiersbach for a violist who might not have the means to pay.

Dillard, who played first chair viola in Delaware’s All-State Orchestra last year, cannot overstate the impact of music on her life. It started with endless Earth, Wind & Fire tracks that her mother, Robin, “broadcast to me in the womb.”

“Music is how I move through the world. It’s what I love; it’s something that impacts how I think,” she says. “It’s incredible to me that I can pick up an instrument, look at a piece of paper, then create beautiful noise. It’s like coding in your head. I could have easily been in a place where I just stopped doing this thing I loved because I didn’t have the resources and people I needed.”

“Music is how I move through the world. It’s what I love; it’s something that impacts how I think.”

That’s why extending a lifeline to the next generation of young musicians from various racial and ethnic backgrounds is so important to her.

“I feel a responsibility to contribute to the world I want to see. I want to help people, to make sure they know that they can carve places for themselves,” she says. “Incorporating history into this mentorship to let these kids know that there were people who looked like them—are people that look like them—doing the same things they are doing or hope to do is foundational.” • AK WHITE This article originally ran in the September issue of Delaware Today Magazine.

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Director of Instrumental Music Dr. Fred Geiersbach on his multi-use office: part practice room, part music library, part instrument warehouse 01 RECITAL PROGRAMS from Geiersbach’s side-hustle: performing as a guest soloist for the Orvieto Festival of Strings in Italy.

02 AFRICAN DRUMS Gifts from two Saints. The small drum is from an advisee, and the large one is from former trustee and musician Michael Whalen ’84. Geiersbach uses the larger drum in rhythm classes, but also as a side table to hold magazines, one of which is an issue of Delaware Today with his student, violist Marie Dillard ’24, featured on the cover in a photograph shot in his office. How meta.

(See previous page for more).

03 MISCELLANEOUS “CURIOS” A stuffed hawk, which is a remnant from the refurbishing of Amos Hall, and a didgeridoo, an Aboriginal wind instrument.

04 “THE FOLDER HOLDER” Dubbed by Geiersbach as “well-organized chaos,” it holds a portion of his sheet music for orchestra, private lessons, and chamber practices. When a student inevitably forgets their music book for lessons or practice, he always has it on hand.

05 ACOUSTICS “Acoustics are very neutral in my office, but in some ways that’s very helpful, because when we go into a nicer space, [the music] sounds even better,” he says.

06 DESK AND WORKING TABLES “This is a controlled disaster area,” says Geiersbach of his desk and surrounding tables, which are home to rosin for his instruments, reed-working supplies, tools for wind instrument repairs, his reed collection, and so on.

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07 SOME (OF HIS MANY) INSTRUMENTS Geiersbach plays every instrument in the orchestra, from the trumpet to the oboe. He uses a trumpet given to him by a former student. “It’s my favorite one,” he says. A fun fact about his office plants: if they’re alive, he’s been hard at work. When he’s done soaking his oboe and bassoon reeds in water post-practice, he uses that water as the sole source for his plants. “That’s one way I can tell whether I’ve been practicing the bassoon and oboe: if the plant is still alive,” says Geirsbach.

08 MUSIC DICTIONARIES Two shelves stuffed to the brim with the complete 1986 edition of The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. (He has another full set of these dictionaries at his home, which his wife gifted him to celebrate the completion of his doctorate from Columbia University.) • TALK OF THE T-DOCK / 19

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They Got Game C a t c h i n g

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A n d r e w ’ s

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Fifty years ago, when the first girls arrived on campus, they were asked to be many things—pioneers, pathmakers, changemakers. Add to the list: athletes. St. Andrew’s hired its first woman coach, Diane Stetina, in 1973. She took over as the girls athletic director to help cultivate an athletic program that would, according to the December 1973 issue of The Cardinal, “ … build up a sense of unity among the female element.”

Decades later, that “sense of unity” among our girls athletics programs is still going strong, empowered by our roster of women coaches, who helm programs like crew, boys and girls soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, cross-country, and field hockey.

On the following pages, the coaches discuss their athletic identities, the culture of sports at St. Andrew’s, and why women need women.

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Megan Altig - Boys and Girls Soccer Girls and boys soccer coach and Advancement Office staffer Megan Altig’s passion for sport was forged at the intersection of her hometown near State College, Pa., and the most famous sports bra in the world. “I was fortunate to grow up in an era where women were playing sports—particularly soccer— on a world stage,” says Altig. “I loved U.S. Women’s Soccer. I wanted to be Mia Hamm. I’ll never forget the team with Mia and Brandi Chastain, who ripped her jersey off and the whole world went nuts over her sports bra. I don’t remember women in sports being discussed like that ever before.”

Hamm played soccer at UNC; naturally, Altig wanted to do that, too. Thanks to her proximity to Penn State University, Altig attended soccer camps on the campus when she was in high school and made an impression on the coaches. She played four years of collegiate soccer there instead of UNC, on a team that was consistently nationally ranked. “I think I was really lucky to have idols like Mia Hamm,” she says. “I think of all the generations before me who didn’t have those kinds of role models. Those women empowered me, and gave me something to aspire to.”

That’s what she hopes she’s doing for her athletes. “My soccer girls, it had been years since they’ve had a female coach [at St. Andrew’s], and I think that’s really important,” says Altig, who coaches both programs alongside Dean of Students Matt Carroll. “Important for the on-the-field stuff, and also for the off-the-field stuff. You get to be a small piece of the puzzle that helps them grow a little bit. I’m fortunate to be there for that.”

One of her coaching mantras? “Control your controllables,” Altig says. “The things you have control over, do those things to the best of your abilities.”

Altig appreciates when her athletes do the work when no one’s watching. “One thing I realized early on when I was playing in college was that my coaches could make me a better soccer player, but they couldn’t make me a better athlete,” she says. “There’s no magic words or drills that give you drive and competitive edge. And I can say our kids have that. We have some kids who are very smart, and some kids who are very athletic, but all our kids have heart.”

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Anabel Barnett - Field hockey Knees bent, feet wide apart, upper body over hips.

This is the athletic stance that Spanish teaching fellow Anabel Barnett teaches the JV field hockey team. A first-year faculty member, Barnett says that while working with students on the pitch is new, the stance is familiar—it’s the one that she fine-tuned over years as a high-level equestrian.

Barnett says that her experience competing in equestrian sports has shaped her coaching philosophy.

“When you’re competing at a high level, when you place really, really high expectations on yourself, it takes a serious mental toll,” says Barnett, a six-time 4-H state champion.

That’s why Barnett and her fellow coaches aim to strike the perfect balance between encouraging the students to be all-in on the sport, but also creating a space where students can enjoy themselves.

“Our varsity team is exceptionally competitive this year,” says Barnett, who gives kudos to the all-woman field hockey coaching staff for their work and for mentoring her. “I think our JV players are really holding themselves to that standard and want to move up to that [level]. So [our job is] balancing how we can support them in that endeavor, but [make sure] they’re not getting down on themselves, and protecting their own self-worth.”

Barnett’s reflections on some of her most memorable moments of the season speak to the push and pull between intense competitiveness and pure enjoyment. She remembers the elation of the first JV game of the year, which took place only a week after the students who were not at pre-season arrived on campus.

“We had no idea how it was going to go,” says Barnett.

“They had never played a game together, they had no idea how they worked on the field, and we won. It was amazing.”

There’s also this memory: It was a rainy fall day, and the coaches decided on a full-field scrimmage in the mud.

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“They just had an absolute blast. They were slipping and sliding and cackling on the field,” says Barnett. “To me, it can turn a terrible day for me into a wonderful day, because they bring so much good energy when we give them a chance to have some fun and play the sport.”

students, [which] has been really interesting.”

Browne says this year, her team is “all about building a foundation.” However, she says starting from the ground up won’t stop the team from leaving it all on the court in the process.

“We’re here to play volleyball, and to remember the joy in it,” says Browne.

Amelia Browne - Volleyball Maybe it was the stars aligning. Or maybe it was just plain old luck. Though we don’t know exactly what led to Amelia Browne happening upon the St. Andrew’s job posting for an English teacher with a specialization in volleyball, no person could have fit that description better.

“Once I was on campus, you can feel how close relationships are, and that teachers and students really feel like they can communicate openly with one another,” says Browne.

Browne is coming off a powerhouse collegiate career.

During her four years of volleyball at Yale, the team left the Ivy League Tournament victorious and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. She’s channeling that energy to St. Andrew’s, where she’s passing on her expertise as head coach of varsity volleyball.

Raised by parents who were both college athletes, sports have defined Browne’s life since she fell in love with volleyball in third grade and landed a kid’s dream job as ball girl for Stanford’s volleyball team. “I just remember thinking it was the biggest, highest-stakes job ever,” Browne says.

She considers recently coming off her playing career to be an advantage for Saints volleyball, since she’s familiar with student athletes’ experiences on and off the court. But as a first-year coach, she is grappling with how to balance the multifaceted nature of her job and how to show up as her authentic self in all situations.

“There’s some kids that I both coach and teach, or some kids that I’m a dorm parent for and coach, or some kids that I’m a dorm parent for and teach,” says Browne. “And so there are sort of these overlaps in where you’re interacting with

Jenny Carroll - cross-country and lacrosse One year after her squad brought home a 2022 state championship for girls cross-country, head coach Jenny Carroll is still hungry. “We lost a lot of senior leadership, but I am so thrilled to watch some of our underclassmen not only find their voice, but emerge as incredible runners,” she says. “I see runners every day discovering their talent and the talent around them, and realizing, ‘This doesn’t have to be a rebuilding year.’ This is a, ‘Let’s watch who steps into those big varsity shoes and continue to show up’ year.”

Carroll can identify with the St. Andrean athlete who is discovering their place in a sport—she once walked the same path. After being a three-sport athlete in high school who won a state championship her senior year in each of the three disciplines—soccer, cross-country skiing, and lacrosse— Carroll found herself cut from the soccer team at Hamilton College in New York.

She let herself be sad for 24 hours.

Then she rebounded. “I emailed the cross-country coach and said, ‘Hi. I ran a 5k once. Here’s my time. Can I run for you?” She eventually became a top runner and played Hamilton lacrosse, captaining the 2008 team that won a national championship.

As a math teacher, III Form dean, and multi-sport athlete, she gets the balancing act her runners—and lacrosse players, as she helms that program, too—have to perfect.

“I often talk to them about sports being two hours of your day that you’re not going to get back,” Carroll says. “You’re here. Don’t just go through the motions. Commit and find joy.” She also makes sure her teams know why they’re here

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in the first place: to compete. “I want to get that grittiness out of them, that edge that comes with competing,” she says.

“That translates to the rest of life. These skills of working hard for something, having a purpose, being a team player and collaborating, and sacrificing.”

Carroll loves working with young women athletes. “I found a lot of personal fulfillment and pride in the idea that I can be a strong woman,” says Carroll. “I learned my way around the weight room and it gave me so much confidence. I make sure [my players] know the weight room doesn’t have to be a boys’ space.”

She also makes sure her athletes get comfortable with being uncomfortable. “Doing the hard work, getting sweaty, dirty and muddy: that’s what we do.”

Kate Cusick - Field hockey and GIRLS tennis As one of nine siblings, English teacher Kate Cusick often found herself and her brothers and sisters forced out of the family home. “We weren’t allowed to watch TV,” Cusick remembers, laughing. “So we had to go outside and get creative.”

With enough kids to field a team, the Cusick clan often played baseball with other neighborhood kids. The batting order came down to age, not skill; as the second-youngest, Cusick found that by the time it was her turn to step to the plate, her siblings had gotten bored and bailed.

“I can’t tell you how many times I tossed a ball to myself and hit it,” she says. “Growing up that way taught me a few things: to love team sports, to be self-sufficient, but also to appreciate having other people.”

She soon found herself on a coed soccer team, but was frustrated at her lack of minutes. “The coach always played the boys. It was just so obvious to me,” Cusick says.

“And no matter how hard I worked, I didn’t get much playing time. I realized there’s got to be a sport that was only girls, and field hockey was the sport.” Cusick put in the work and eventually became one of the top players in the nation, playing D1 hockey at Boston University and leading her team to two conference championships.

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A knee injury her junior year sidelined her, but it was then that she started to see the game differently. “I was devastated to not be able to play, but for 14 games, I stood next to my coaches and I listened,” she says. “I started to see the matrix of what was happening out there that I wasn’t aware of. I started to see how important every single player was on the field and how I was just one part of that. I also saw how kind my coaches were, and how they saw me. I would never have gotten where I did without them seeing me.”

That’s why she does her best as a coach to see her players, to recognize their value, and to enforce the idea of “one of many,” she says.

“I think there’s this cliche that girls tear each other down, and it’s simply wrong,” Cusick says. “When you see them work in harmony on the field, it’s like an orchestra out there. They’re working so hard and they’re so smart, which is another part of the St. Andrew’s athlete: They’re all very bright, but the questions they ask, and then their ability to apply it on the field, is really astonishing.”

The culture of the SAS athlete transcends the game. “Refs have come to me after games and have said, ‘Your athletes are so good—they are just good people,” Cusick says. “Refs have said, ‘Your girls are like, ‘Oh, that was my fault. It hit my foot.’

And then another player was like, ‘No, it hit my foot. It was my fault. I should have covered.’ They don’t hear that on the field from other kids.”

As lucky as Cusick feels to work with the field hockey team, she feels just as lucky to work with her crew of coaches.

“Women need women,” Cusick says. “I’m so grateful for this four-woman coaching crew.”

Erin Ferguson - Cross-country and crew Classics teacher, cross-country and crew coach Erin Ferguson never considered herself an athlete. She particularly remembers running cross-country in ninth grade. “I wasn’t super fit, and I was probably the slowest,” she says. But then she found crew.

“I remember feeling really empowered,” says Ferguson, who eventually went on to row at the University of Chicago. “That experience shifted something for me, and made me want to work really hard.” She sees that same journey reflected in some of her athletes. “I really enjoy running with the kids who don’t view themselves as athletes, or the kids at the back of the pack,

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pushing them and encouraging them because I’m like, ‘Oh, that was me,’” she says. “I love the way I get to know the kids in this way, outside of my classroom, particularly with crosscountry. You don’t have to think anymore and you get to just be out here in this beautiful place. On long runs, we have these incredible group or one-on-one conversations.”

It took crew for Ferguson to start appreciating what her body could accomplish—bearing witness to that same realization in her athletes is one of the best parts about coaching, she says.

“The ideal image shoved down everyone’s throats is a tall, thin, perfect woman. So these runners with these strong, muscular legs … I think, as teenage girls, that can make you feel out of place,” Ferguson says. “But once they see what those legs can do, it’s really powerful. This is what my body looks like versus this is what my body is capable of.”

As cross-country winds down, Ferguson looks forward to crew. Last year, the St. Andrew’s girls 3V boat made it to the semifinals at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia.

“No one expected us to do that, and this particular race was one of the most competitive,” Ferguson says. “And we had athletes in that boat who aren’t stereotypically rowers, as crew is often considered a tallperson’s sport. I had one rower on that boat who was so afraid her height would limit her, but I kept telling her to push through that state of mind.

After that race, she wrote me a beautiful note about believing in her. I feel so lucky to be a part of that.”

Maggie Harris - Field hockey Director of Academic Support and assistant field hockey coach Maggie Harris was a college swimmer at Towson University, is a certified personal trainer, and is a triathlete.

Oh, we forgot to mention that she’s also a coach at Orangetheory Fitness and a cycle instructor at The Stables

Studio in town.

Needless to say, Harris is an athlete to her core.

“It was really kind of a point of pride for me, being a scholar athlete, being able to balance athletics while also pursuing a degree,” says Harris. “That kind of mentality is something that I love about St. Andrew’s. There’s a similar desire for our students to be well-rounded and not just academically minded.”

With her extensive experience in sport and fitness, as well as the diversity of her skillset, Harris is a major asset to St. Andrew’s athletics. This year, her skills are being put to use as an assistant field hockey coach, with a particular focus on bolstering the teams’ strength and conditioning programming.

But more important than physical stamina, Harris prioritizes developing team culture and work ethic among the girls, and a mindset of “leaning in” when it comes to challenges. That’s why she constantly reminds players to vocalize their needs on and off the field and emphasizes that players should trust the process, their coaches, and their teammates.

Not all of the players on her teams are aspiring to collegiate athletics. Over the years, Harris has enjoyed working with those athletes; in fact, she says her proudest moments are working with athletes who are new to a sport because she gets to watch them bloom.

Harris takes very seriously her particular role as a female coach.

She knows that there’s a smaller presence of female coaches on campus, as well as fewer women hitting the weight room.

“It’s nice being able to be somebody that people recognize around campus as a coach, and somebody in the weight room, and somebody in the classroom,” says Harris.

Gretchen Hurtt - Field hockey Reflecting on 19 years as a faculty member at St. Andrew’s in the English department and a coach for the majority of that time, in addition to three years as a student, a sense of gratitude overcomes JV field hockey head coach Gretchen Hurtt ’90 P’22,’24.

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“As I get older and realize what a small slice of time we have as scholar athletes, I’ve realized just how precious these years are to be able to play a game on a team,” says Hurtt.

“What a gift this is.”

Hurtt, who went on to play lacrosse and field hockey at Princeton after St. Andrew’s, says that though the success of certain teams ebbs and flows, the fundamental character of Saints athletics has remained the same. The messages she received as a student in the late 1980s, competing hard yet competing with class, are still at the heart of Saints sports culture.

“I’m pleased to see how the school’s continuing to bolster its support for athletics, for coaches, and for players,” says Hurtt. “I think that we have potential heading into the years forward that we haven’t yet realized in terms of how we’re competing with the teams around us.”

Hurtt appreciates the differentiating nature of St. Andrew’s athletics.

With youth sports becoming so specialized, and other high schools cutting JV and thirds programs, leading to teams being increasingly harder for students to make, she treasures more and more the opportunities that St. Andrew’s provides to students across the spectrum of athletic abilities. She remembers a day early this season when things clicked for a player who was struggling with technical defense—she had a moment of beautiful defensive play on the pitch.

Small moments like this are the ones that stick for Hurtt.

But beyond her work with her players, some of her most rewarding moments have come from collaborating with her fellow coaches, learning from them, and embracing their love of the game.

She can’t help but also pay tribute to the Saints coaches that shaped her as an athlete: Elizabeth Roach P’04,’07,’13,’18, Mel (Brown) Bride, Eliot Jacobs P’05,’15, and Gail LeBlanc.

The athletes Hurtt has influenced and been influenced by, as well as Hurtt’s own coaching mentors, are proof of the never-ending cycle of mentorship and care characteristic to St. Andrew’s athletics.

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Elizabeth Preysner - INDOOR TRACK Though on the surface her work as associate chaplain and assistant coach of indoor track may seem completely unrelated, Elizabeth Preysner draws a link between the two.

“People say that spirituality is a practice in some ways, and so by practicing it, you live it, and it becomes a habit and those habits deepen,” Preysner says. “That’s not dissimilar to practicing for a sport. If you want to get better at kicking a soccer ball, you’re going to go out and you’re going to do that over and over. You’re going to perfect your technique and look at different ways to do it until eventually you can do it in the way that you want.”

As a coach, she emphasizes to her athletes that the practice of showing up every day, of constantly working on themselves, is more important than the result of any meet.

“Not everybody can come in first, so I really want athletes to focus for themselves on their personal improvement,” says Preysner. “And sometimes you can’t always improve.

Sometimes your times don’t drop the way that you want. But there are other ways to mark improvement, whether it’s in terms of the mindset you go into a race [with] or just running a more strategic race.”

The individual nature of indoor track is what drew Preysner to the sport. In high school, she played field hockey because she wanted a team sport. However, as she drew closer to college, she realized she enjoyed running more than anything. She decided to lean into it, and eventually earned a spot on Trinity College’s Division III cross-country and indoor and outdoor track teams.

“I’ve always been a pretty driven and focused person, but I think running competitively taught me a lot about focus and how small goals build toward a bigger one,” she says. “In any sport, you don’t just show up on the field and then suddenly you can do it.”

With indoor track, one of the less visible sports at St. Andrew’s because there is no track for home meets, Preysner hopes to be a voice for the team on campus, letting others know about the successes of the track team, and the voice cheering them on at all of their meets.

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The palpable energy Preysner says she feels arriving at the track on meet day is what makes the sport worth it. “We get there, and then you get off the bus and everyone’s kind of sleepy,” she says. “It’s early in the morning, people are eating bagels, but then you get to the track and you walk in and the energy level just rises. The feeling of getting there, seeing all your competitors … it’s just an energy rush.”

really want to go all in on whatever game they’re playing, but there’s a moment when they pull back and seem almost afraid to be vulnerable or make a mistake,” Saliba says. “I hope what I’m providing is a space for my athletes to just be them: be silly, have fun, but also, be all in on that competitiveness.”

Kyra Wilson - VOLLEYBALL and GIRLS soccer Grace Saliba - GIRLS basketball AND LACROSSE When Grace Saliba ’12 arrived at Franklin & Marshall to play lacrosse, she looked around and noticed something: “I was pretty much the only person on my team who wasn’t burnt out,” she remembers. The two-time All American who helped lead her squad to two NCAA Final Four appearances while at Franklin & Marshall attributes this to St. Andrew’s athletics.

“I really think this had to do with St. Andrew’s multisport focus,” says the assistant director of admission and Pell dorm parent. “When I played sports at St. Andrew’s, not only did it provide me a space to be my best self, to connect with different people, and to do multiple sports, it also provided me a support system and gave an opportunity for my identity as an athlete to really shine. Sports was never a source of stress; it was a release.”

She fondly remembers her own coaches—particularly Jenny Carroll (then Jenny McGowan), who coached her when she played Saints lacrosse—and what they did for her as a student. “My coaches really impacted me,” Saliba says. “They were such a source of light for me, and true mentors. I had a lot of trust in them, and felt comfortable going to them with things that had nothing to do with sports. I really want to give that back.”

Now she’s doing just that as the head coach of JV girls basketball. Something she’s noticed, Saliba says, is what feels to her like extra pressure on teenage girls to always be perfect so as not to “embarrass” themselves.

“I even notice this when the kids are all on the Front Lawn playing, it’s almost like there are times when the girls seem to

Just a few years ago, Kyra Wilson was learning a sport from scratch. Not long after arriving at Wellesley College, she took a risk and signed up for club rugby after swimming and playing soccer. On the soccer pitch, she considered herself “aggressive,” which could be why she fit right in with rugby and ascended the ranks, ultimately becoming captain.

“With rugby, it was the first time I had been in a sport where every body type was essential,” says Wilson, who had felt prior that being short was a disadvantage. “It felt like the first time where you weren’t good in spite of your physical body, but instead that was a tool that you could use for the good of the team.”

Wilson is bringing this mindset into her coaching philosophy as head coach of thirds volleyball and girls JV soccer. “Our best asset is our diversity in our body, in our ability, in our skillset,” says Wilson.

A history teacher at heart, Wilson is also digging into research to develop her coaching.

“I very much consider [coaching thirds volleyball] as another class,” Wilson says. “I was doing a lot of research after classes and before practices trying to make sure I knew what I was doing and serving the students as best as I could.”

She remembers the impact of having teachers who are also coaches on her own education. Interacting with students in varying settings “builds trust,” according to Wilson, and allows her to strengthen relationships with her students and athletes.

“Sports have always been an important part of how I’ve grown and matured and found leadership and become my best self,” says Wilson. “I want to be able to help other people in that journey.” J

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50 Years of Girls at St. Andrew’s A TIMELINE

1966

David L. Grant ’69 becomes the first Black student to attend St. Andrew’s, with two other Black students—Dayton L. Allen ’69 and Cyrus Willard Hughes ’69—attending the following year.

With integration underway, the school’s board begins talking more concretely about coeducation.

1956

At the request of the Right Reverend J. Brooke Mosley, who served as the bishop of the Diocese of Delaware from 1953-1968, then-Headmaster Walden Pell executed a study on the possibilities of coeducation. Prior to this request, Pell brought up the idea of coeducation, but the student body did not react favorably: an issue of The Informer, the school’s “underground” publication, called the measure “highly unpopular” and opposed by the “whole student body.”

1970

The Coeducation Committee disseminates a questionnaire to faculty, which found that the majority of faculty preferred St. Andrew’s to stay an all-boys boarding school.

Bob Moss is appointed the second headmaster of St. Andrew’s, identifying integration and coeducation as his two priorities.

1958

Moss puts into motion the Co-existence Committee, which begins to study approaches to coeducation. Members of this committee visited coeducational schools and explored different avenues of coeducation—a separate girls boarding school, admitting girls to St. Andrew’s as day students, a separate girls day school, etc. Eventually, the name of this committee was changed to the Coeducation Committee, which met with student leadership and gathered opinions from parents. While many students felt that St. Andrew’s shouldn’t be all boys, with a Cardinal editorial titled, “St. Andrew’s is not suited to all boys,” many parents disagreed with their students.

1969

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COMPILED BY TARA LENNON

1971

Moss submits a request to the Board of Trustees to do a study on the feasibility of coeducation. The study led to even more options in terms of coeducation.

One finding presented was an exchange between St. Andrew’s juniors and a class of junior girls from another school. This same year, there also was a group of exchange students, four of which were girls, from the College of Aurora in Canada, which gave the school a “taste” of what coeducation might be like.

Additionally, Nan Mein arrived as the first woman faculty member; Debbie Muhlenberg followed one year later.

Though there were still a few faculty holdouts, Moss got the green light from faculty and trustees to begin planning to admit girls the following year, with a long-term goal still to create a separate boarding school. Moss creates the Girls Planning Committee to execute on the preparation. In October, Moss called all the students to the auditorium to announce that they would be admitting girls the following school year. A moment of shocked silence followed, but then the student body broke into applause.

1973-74

The first group of girls arrived, a group that included the first Black female student, Diane Carter ’75. The girls received applause as they walked in as a group to their first breakfast. The group started at 27, but fell to 26 after one student left soon after the start of the school year.

The Cardinal read,“GIRLS AT LAST.” This issue was the last mention in print of the potential future of a separate girls-only boarding school, as from then on, the focus became integrating the girls into St. Andrew’s life.

Moss prepared a report for the trustees titled “The Impact of Girls on St. Andrew’s,” and he found that there was a surge in the arts and an increase in discussion in biology, French, and history classrooms.

1975

1972

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1977

After Moss’s 1976 departure, Jonathan O’Brien becomes headmaster and establishes a Student Life Committee and several faculty advisory positions specifically focused on working with girls. Joan O’Brien joins admissions.

1983

O’Brien begins to hire more women in faculty and administrative positions.

Elizabeth Roach arrives.

Mary O’Shaughnessy ’82 becomes the first female senior prefect.

1982

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1987

Governing athletic structure places equal emphasis on girls and boys sports, with Gail LeBlanc and Bob Colburn named co-athletic heads.

Students begin to elect one girl and one boy as co-presidents, retiring the previous system of “Head Boy.”

1986

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Important stops along the coeducational timeline

2022

2005

Dallett Hemphill ’75 speaks on coeducation at an Alumni Chapel Service. “But, in hindsight, I now see that one can learn a lot about a place from how it goes about such change,” she said. “In fact, I think that schools are a lot like people. They constantly undergo change, but have a fundamental character at the core.”

Janice Nevin ’77, CEO of ChristianaCare in Newark and part of the first group of girls to attend St. Andrew’s, speaks at commencement. “I was part of the first group of girls to attend St. Andrew’s,” she said. “There were just 26 of us.

I have often joked that this prepared me for the rest of my career. Though a lot of progress has been made, women leaders in healthcare remain few and far between. But as I reflect on the past 45 years … I have come to realize my understanding of leadership, and in particular the importance of values, people and culture, comes from St. Andrew’s.”

Joy McGrath ’92 becomes the first female head of school.

2021

St. Andrew’s celebrates 50 years of coeducation.

2023

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ELEANOR SEYFFERT SUE MOON ’76 TAMI MAULL ’77 ST. ANDREW’S 1973 GIRLS FIELD HOCKEY TEAM DIANE CARTER ’75 NAN MEIN

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BECAUSE

THEM OF

We spoke to pivotal SAS figures—from five first and early girls, to historical female leaders, and more to hear the story of coeducation.

BY AK WHITE

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B

and for this once all-boys boarding school nestled close to amber cornfields and marked for over four decades by the sounds of young men at work and play, an earthshaking cultural shift was afoot.

“Quite frankly,” Moss says with a laugh that borders on school-boy y the time Sue Moon giddiness, “the girls changed everything ’76 reached her VI as we knew it.”

Form year, she had attained the rank of “corridor supervisor,” a role akin to EARLY DAYS AND EARLY today’s residential leaders. As such, Moon STRUGGLES had to “throw the switch” so to speak, to Of the five first and early girls we spoke cut power each night to her dorm via the to, each had a vastly different memory circuit box with a special key that made of her first few days on campus.

Valerie Klinger ’76 most remembers an unmistakable clicking noise. “Then each morning, you turned the electricity the faces. As she unpacked the family car on move-in day, she noticed a boy’s back on,” Moon remembers.

The idea of a young woman at that face smooshed up against the glass of time being a steady hand that wielded nearly every dorm window, watching.

Missy Peloso ’75 recalls feeling power to bathe campus in dark and light makes for an interesting parallel to unwelcome, particularly, she says, by the dawn of coeducation, which began the Class of 1974, the last all-male class.

Moon remembers the juxtaposition at St. Andrew’s 50 years ago in the fall of the hushed beauty of campus and of 1973 (see timeline on page 28).

As one finds in times of radical the raw rush of terror rising within her change, there were notes of darkness to at the idea of being left 600 miles away the story of coeducation, as evidenced from home. by the testimony of the earliest cohorts of female students to enroll, known amongst themselves and the alumni body as “first girls” (those girls who arrived in the fall of 1973) and “early girls” (any female student in any form/class who enrolled before the first girls graduated in 1975). But overwhelmingly more so, there was an undeniable light that the first 27 girls brought to the school.

“These young women changed the tenor of every room,” recalls Bob Moss Jr., the first girls’ dorm parent, coach of girls crew, and the son of former Head of School Bob Moss Sr., who was a pivotal figure in making coeducation a reality. “They were determined with a capital ‘D’—academically, athletically, everything. You could not stop these women.”

Although it took some turning, the key had clicked, the switch was thrown,

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Joan Woods ’76 found herself, for once, at home academically.

Tami Maull ’77 was excited about the opportunity, but anxious about leaving the safety of her family unit for the unknown. Yet the group had one thing largely in common: the idea of ushering in a new era wasn’t paramount.

“The idea of being in this first wave of girls was entirely secondary to me,” Woods says. “I was so much more impressed with the caliber of the school.

I don’t think I thought once about being a ‘pioneer.’ I thought about learning.”

“For me,” Klinger says, “it was as easy as, ‘Okay. We’re here.’ I never felt like I was special, or I was this great adventurer. The expectations put on us were the same as the boys. We had to do the same work, play sports, and fall right into the goings-on of campus.”

“I honestly didn’t think about my role in it at the time,” Peloso adds. “It has occurred to me, much later, that I was incredibly naive about what it meant to be first in a coeducational class.”

That naivete, Peloso muses, was present on the part of St. Andrew’s as

MISSY DUGGINS PELOSO ’75 AND JOAN DICKERSON WOODS ’76

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well. Of course, she concedes, how well could an institution have prepared for such a precedent-setting cultural shift?

“I believe fully the school tried to prepare for us, but we faced a mountain of struggles,” she says. “The class ahead of [me] was particularly resentful.

We had a young dorm parent living on dorm because, hey, she’s a young unmarried woman on campus, so of course she’s appropriate for this, but she was woefully unprepared to essentially offer surrogate parenting.”

She says she feels the school was underprepared to offer emotional support. “Keep in mind, this was the ’70s, so it’s not like anybody was providing great emotional support for anybody, period,” she says. “But for a bunch of teenage girls living away from home for the first time, in a high-stress and high-pressure situation, coupled with obvious resentment from some of our male classmates and a handful of faculty—it felt insurmountable at times.

The school was unprepared to support psychological stress.”

Maull and Woods, along with Diane Carter ’75, were among the first Black female students to attend St. Andrew’s, and often felt the weight of navigating St. Andrew’s from the perspective of two marginalized spaces.

“There were some challenging moments with a roommate who had never lived with a Black person,” Maull says. “And there was, of course, teenage curiosity about racial differences. I had

“These young women changed the tenor of every room. They were determined with a capital ‘D’—academically, athletically, everything. You could not stop these women. ... quite frankly, the girls changed everything as we knew it.”

Bob Moss Jr.

some uncomfortable conversations in the dorm.” Maull says those conversations were necessary, and she didn’t shy away from them; rather she leaned in.

A MAN’S WORLD While the girls navigated their new space with the kind of pressure Peloso says was “unavoidable … it’s like if we made one false move, we’d ruin it for all the women who might come next,” they also had to manage relationships with a campus population that was predominately male: peers, faculty, and leadership.

Some of the girls found relationships with the boys easy. “I found it much easier to form friendships with them than the girls,” says Woods. “I didn’t get the feeling that the guys felt like we were an intrusion, or at least my class of guys did not. I felt like they welcomed us.”

Maull agrees. “I think St. Andrew’s made it seem like we’re going to have to cross these barriers and they weren’t going to want us there, but the boys wanted us there,” she says.

“They hung out with us. We hung out with them. They had girls cheering for them. They cheered for our sports. We taught each other things.”

Moon says there were too many other things to think about than her male counterparts. “That first year I was pretty quiet. I wasn’t out there just raising my hand because it was such a different environment, and I needed to understand how it worked,” she says.

“We were just trying to get through the day. There was so much focus on survival that I wasn’t even cognizant of whether or not the boys approved. I honestly didn’t care.”

Joe Hickman ’74 P’00,’02,’05,’07 vividly remembers the day he found out the girls were coming. “We were very excited,” he says. “Things could get mundane, and the most interesting moments were always when girls were bussed in from other schools for sporting events and dances. Girls being here with us every day … that felt like earth-shattering stuff.”

As a member of the last all-male class, Hickman admits there was some bitterness, too. “I’ll be very honest—I felt like my little boys club had been interrupted because before the girls arrived, we could do whatever we wanted,” he says. “I was very proud to be the last male class, and probably there were some chauvinists among us.”

Of course, these are teenagers we’re talking about. “A lot of our initial interest started with the fact that these were attractive members of the opposite sex,” Hickman says. “But then it turned into, ‘Wow, these are a bunch of very smart and talented women.’”

Years later, it’d be his own daughters, Anna Shiroma ’02 and Rachel Hickman ’07, who were the smart and talented women. It’s a moment of reflection that quiets Hickman.

“When I think about my daughters, I think about a regret I have,” he says.

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“We were just trying to get through the day. There was so much focus on survival that I wasn’t even cognizant of whether or not the boys approved.

I honestly didn’t care.”

Sue Moon ’76

“We senior boys did a panty raid, and hung the girls’ clothes for all to see.

From the outside, the girls laughed it off. But looking back, as a father, I’d have been up at that school asking, ‘Just what the hell is going on here?’

They should not have been shamed like that.”

Unlike Hickman, Ashton Richards ’78 never knew a St. Andrew’s without women. “I was very interested because it had made the decision to go coed,” he says. “Others above me who were there when it was single-sex, I’m sure they did a fair share of grumbling. I doubt women were welcomed with open arms.”

Richards learned two truths about the girls very quickly: “One, many of them were smarter than me, and two, they were getting the grades I wished I had because they were applying themselves,” he says. “Were there classes where a male faculty member might not have acknowledged a girl’s raised hand as readily as a boy’s? Sure. But when the girls spoke, I listened.”

Richards returned to SAS in 1983 and taught in the history department until 1992, along the way, he also became a transformative coach of girls crew. His view of his female classmates in the ’70s is commensurate to how he viewed the next wave of women as a faculty member.

“The trends I saw in St. Andrew’s women were that they were super smart, essential to classroom dynamic, and had interesting questions and insights,”

36 / FEATURE

Richards says. “The ’80s, under [Head of School] Jon O’Brien, really marked a significant shift in terms of intellectual firepower, and you saw it in these young women.”

You also saw in these young women a real gumption; when things felt murky, they questioned it. Klinger recalls, for example, the dress code for girls was not as explicit as it was for boys. Although the girls who were here the first year cannot agree on a ringleader (rumors suggest the fiery Louise Dewar ’75), they do agree that they staged a coup.

“You had no idea if you’d be in violation one day over the next,” Moon

remembers. Exasperated, the girls raided the boys’ wardrobes (with permission) for blazers and ties and showed up at breakfast so outfitted, elbows out.

But confusion over what they could wear to class paled in comparison to processing the way a few faculty members treated them in those classes.

“You knew pretty quickly those who were not in favor of coeducation,” Moon says.

“There was one faculty member in particular who, quite frankly, was horrible,” Peloso says. “He picked on us in this really misogynistic way.

He flat out said, ‘Women can’t do math.’ I think the story that sums up my relationship in this case is that at commencement, they offer [the Founder’s Medal] for the highest academic average. This particular faculty member was part of the committee that hand-picked the prize for who they were convinced would be a male.

Well, it was me. And when I received it, all I could think was, ‘Don’t keep telling us the boys are smarter than we are.’”

MYRA LYLES ’77 AND LOUISA HEMPHILL ZENDT ’78 P’03,05,09

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DEBBIE JONES OHLMACHES ’77 AND TAMI MAULL ’77

Moon had her own trouble with a faculty member, but she likes to think they came to an understanding. “I was the only girl in this geometry class and I really sucked at geometry,” she says.

“This particular faculty member was very abrasive. But I remember one time, he purposefully sought me out after chapel to tell me, I think in halfshock, that I had gotten a 100 on a quiz. I thought, ‘Are things changing?’”

Although there were some in the community opposed to their presence, far more in the majority were the faculty and staff that went out of their way to not only make them feel welcome, but to intentionally carve out space for them.

Colburn remembers, laughing. “Then the first letter I get in London reads, ‘Coeducation is approved and will begin as soon as you get back.’”Colburn, who lived on campus with wife, Dottie Colburn, says it felt “frantic” planning for the girls. “The big thing was, ‘What are the expectations? Are they going to have to wait on tables? Are they going

to have to do this, that, and the other, like the boys? The general feeling was, ‘Yes. They must do everything the boys do.’”

Academically, Colburn says, “There’s no question the level of my classes increased. The guys were reluctant to stand up and say something in class because they didn’t want to show off or be labeled a goodie-goodie,” he says.

“But for the girls, there was no holding back. They had something to say, boy, they were going to say it. In a couple of cases, the guys would start interrupting and were a pain in the butt—I think that’s called ‘mansplaining’ today—so I had to straighten them out. I made it clear from day one that this was how it was going to be: if you had something to say, you have that chance without interference from others.”

Moss Jr.—or “B Moss,” as the women interviewed often affectionately called him—agreed. “It was immediately apparent when I started teaching girls that suddenly, to the chagrin of some of the boys, they were being outshined,” he says. “The French classroom became

FINDING ADVOCATES Bob Colburn P’80,’82,’87, who began at St. Andrew’s as a member of the science faculty in 1960 and retired from teaching in 2005 (but continued to coach baseball until 2020), began a one-year sabbatical in London in 1972. Prior, Colburn was heavily involved in coed conversations—he was a champion of the idea. “Before I left, Bob [Moss] said to me, ‘Don’t worry, Bob, coeducation has been put on hold—you won’t miss anything,” BOB AND DOTTIE COLBURN

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NAN AND SIMON MEIN

more humanized. The girls brought verbal abilities that were a little bit above the boys, but they also brought a fresh set of things to talk about. I remember, when I was on dorm, gathering them up to tell them what a whizbang job all 26 of them had done academically that first year.”

For Woods, it was Moss Jr. and Colburn who were among the earliest faculty members to make her feel seen.

As a rower, Moss was Woods’ coach, and she remembers having to share her seat with another girl who was injured. “I didn’t think that was fair, as she couldn’t consistently row, and I said something,” she says.

“Almost immediately, my voice was heard and changes were made. I’ve never forgotten that.”

As for Colburn, Woods struggled in his chemistry class. One day, after being exceedingly frustrated, she said, “Mr. Colburn, I don’t know what it is that I don’t understand, but I know that there’s something I’m not understanding.”

“Of course, the class bursts into laughter, but that didn’t faze Mr. Colburn,” Woods says. “He stood there for a moment, silenced the class, and let me speak. He leaned in and truly listened and recognized, ‘This student is trying to tell me something, and this is an important moment.’ That 38 / FEATURE

response was truly powerful. Mr. Colburn wanted me not just to learn, but to excel, and ultimately, he wanted me to know that I mattered.”

“I am forever grateful for the Colburns and van Buchems [Latin teacher Evert and art teacher Marijke],” says Maull, who often babysat both couples’ children. “I think it was less about them needing a sitter and more that they saw I needed time away from the dorm and a sense of family. They also allowed me to talk about and share my real feelings, at all times.”

Maull also found support in a network of staff, particularly in Sam Simmons, one of the earliest Black employees at St. Andrew’s, who worked in various roles from 1960 before retiring as chief of housekeeping in 1998. “I still want to cry when I think about Sam, who would often tell me how proud he was of me, of my academic and sports successes,” Maull says. “During stressful times he would say, ‘Tami, it’s going to be okay. You can do this.’”

She also fondly remembers Justine and Becky, from laundry and housekeeping. “They were there whenever I needed them. They took me to church, and I even went to Middletown High School’s prom with Becky’s brother.” Maull laughs at how

much of a “challenge” that was for the SAS community, and how unprepared she says the school was to deal with their first prom request from a female student.

But for these women, and scores who came after, there is no name that holds more weight than that of the incomparable Nan Mein (see story on page 42), who, with husband Simon Mein, arrived at St. Andrew’s in 1971. Simon Mein held many roles, like chair of the religious studies department and chaplain, and is noted for his transformative work in the chapel and in the dorms. Nan Mein was among the first women faculty members, and was also a critical lifeline.

“Nan is just an amazing woman,” Klinger says. “We looked up to Nan. She was always kind, empathetic, supportive. Nan never wasted a moment letting us know there’s nothing—and I mean nothing—that girls could not do.”

When Maull was left reeling after she found a note in her dorm common room soon after arriving at St. Andrew’s that contained a racial slur, she sought solace in Mein. “With her chin pushed down in her chest and her face in a scowl, Mrs. Mein let out her infamous, ‘Harrumph. Utter Nonsense!’” After, Maull says, the two baked cookies and talked. “It wasn’t counseling but it was comforting,” she says.

“For Nan, there was zero difference between the boys and the girls,” Moon

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says. “In her class, and in her world, we were truly equal.”

“I’ll put it this simply and definitively,” says Peloso. “But for Nan Mein, I’m not sure many of us would have survived.”

A GROWING COMMUNITY OF WOMEN As the early years of coeducation marched on, there were still those spaces where the girls had no voice.

“How could our girls feel like they had someone for them if there was no girl on the disciplinary committee, or in leadership positions? Them just being here wasn’t enough,” says Colburn, who is credited for his progressive work toward parity. “The other thing was, as girls’ athletics started gearing up, that their programs should be equally important. They should have good fields, good equipment, good coaching.

But I think the biggest concern was there weren’t many women teachers.”

In 1973, there were women in the arts, like Eleanor W. Seyffert; women in athletics, like Diane Stetina; and women in academic classrooms, like Mein and Deborah J. Mulenberg. For years, their numbers would grow slightly; under the headship of Jon O’Brien P’84 GP’15,’17,’19,’22, which began in 1977, hiring more women became a focal point.

O’Brien, who died in 2018, was head of school until 1997; his wife,

Joan O’Brien P’84 GP’15,’17,’19,’22, was the first wife of a head of school to work full-time for St. Andrew’s. She worked in admissions for two decades.

“I could not be a head of school’s wife who made tea,” O’Brien says, laughing. “This is embarrassing, but I don’t even think at the time I knew how to make tea. I refused to come to St. Andrew’s if I couldn’t continue the admissions work I had been doing at our previous school.”

When she arrived, O’Brien says two things knocked her out. “Nan Mein, and the girls in the Class of 1978, just left me breathless,” she says. “Nan was the queen of the girls, there was no doubt about it. They all loved her. She had a good sense of humor, she had high expectations, and she orchestrated how the girls should be treated. And the 1978 seniors: they were challenging, they were smart, they were fabulous. I wish I could get my arms around them all right now.”

O’Brien was a “pig in mud” interviewing students. “It only made sense that they should have a woman in admissions,” says O’Brien. “The girls were gritty always, but I started to see in those early years a change in the girls that I think was marked by where they were coming from. Most of the girls at first were from the Mid-Atlantic, but then we started having girls from further north, from the South. It changed things.”

Under her husband’s headship, O’Brien says more women were hired, and not just for faculty positions, but in staff and administrative positions as well. He also worked to re-align student leadership. A time-honored O’Brien tradition for the couple was to take a walk at 4 p.m., typically a time where they’d catch up, and when O’Brien would share his vision and goals.

“He’d bounce ideas off of me, and I remember the day he said, ‘We have to have co-presidents. Everything ought to be equal.’ And I said, ‘Well, aren’t you a brave one,’” she remembers. “Jon really had such a vision, and such a fondness, for those girls. He’d be so very pleased at the school of today, which feels truly coeducational—musically, artistically, academically, and athletically.”

For every cup of tea Joan O’Brien didn’t know how to make, Elizabeth Roach P’04,’07,’13,’18, who arrived two years after the O’Briens, politely declined to make. Tad Roach P’04,’07,’13,’18— who took over as head of school upon Jon O’Brien’s 1997 retirement—is the husband of Elizabeth Roach. Tad Roach began his tenure at St. Andrew’s in 1979 in the classroom as an English faculty member—just like his wife did.

In 2021, Tad Roach retired as head of school, and the couple left Middletown, leaving behind a 42-year legacy.

“I was an anomaly, I suppose, because I was a faculty spouse, and

“He’d bounce ideas off of me, and I remember the day he said, ‘We have to have co-presidents. Everything ought to be equal.’ And I said, ‘Well, aren’t you a brave one.’”

Joan O’Brien on husband and former Head of School Jon O’Brien

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being a faculty spouse at that time came with a host of traditions, like organizing birthday dinners, serving tea and coffee, ensuring the Chapel flowers were arranged, that kind of thing,” says Elizabeth Roach. “But I was also faculty. So by that token, Tad, too, was a faculty spouse. So I made him do a birthday dinner to further the point that the culture really needed to shift.”

In time it did, Roach notes. “Even though Jon O’Brien was doing a fantastic job of hiring more women, there were still vestiges of the all-male school,” says Roach. “I think a large part of that centrality had to do with the fact that the boys lived, and continue to live, in Founders. They’re the architectural center of the school.”

Throughout her early years, Roach watched as that centrality was chipped away; not in one specific moment, but in a gathering of small acts. “It was a true evolution,” she says, “spurred by the sheer strength of the girls’ determination and the St. Andrew’s they wanted to see.”

The St. Andrew’s she wanted to see was one in which women were not only present in academic spaces, but discussed there, too. “There were very few women authors being taught,” Roach says. “Tad, [former faculty member] Will Speers and I, in those early years, brought those voices into the conversation, and as other great

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Without the first women to attend this school, I never would have attended this school, and I certainly would not be head of school. Thanks to those women, the first alumnus to be the head of this school is actually, as fate would have it, an alumna.”

Head of School Joy McGrath ’92

teachers joined the department, the curriculum continued to evolve. That was really important.”

During her four-decade tenure, Roach saw scores of women come through the doors of Founders; she says she often not only thinks of them, but considers how proud she is to have borne witness to these “extraordinary women.”

“Because of their strength as leaders, scholars, athletes, and artists, girls transformed St. Andrew’s into a school where all students worked together to build a community of mutual respect, collaboration, and partnership,” she says. “As faculty members, we tried to model that same culture of support and leadership. It was a wonderful thing to participate in and witness the flourishing of a truly coeducational school over the four decades of my work at St. Andrew’s.”

In 2021, a new chapter of women at St. Andrew’s began with the appointment of the fifth head of school, Joy McGrath ’92. “Without the first women to attend this school, I never would have attended this school, and I certainly would not be head of school,” McGrath says. “Thanks to those women, the first alumnus to be the head of this school is actually, as fate would have it, an alumna.”

While her headship as the first woman is an important footnote to school history, McGrath points further back, to 1999, which began the eight years that made up her previous stint at

St. Andrew’s, ultimately as the director of advancement, a dorm parent, and an English teacher, among other roles.

She reflects on the mentorship of Tad Roach, and the leadership opportunities he offered her as well as many other women in the school community.

“I think the real barrier I broke as a woman at St. Andrew’s was not becoming the first female head of school, but rather being the first female dorm parent in Founders Hall,” McGrath says. “When I moved onto Schmolze in the fall of 2001, Tad’s decision to place me there was not without controversy.

But he really believed it was necessary in the education of our students and particularly in the raising of boys at St. Andrew’s. It put more emphasis than we had previously on the ‘co’ in coeducation to have me in that formerly strictly male space.”

McGrath also credits her former advisor, Nan Mein. “I feel an enormous debt of gratitude to the first women at the school, and the bridge between them and me was my advisor, Nan Mein,” she says. “She raised a lot of us going back even to the days before women arrived, and Nan believed we could do great things. Her belief in St. Andrew’s girls has changed the school, and it is no exaggeration to say it has changed the world.”

LOOKING FORWARD So what’s it like, five decades later, for those first and early girls to consider the

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history they made? What’s the lasting impact on them?

“When I think about it now, it feels like a big deal,” Moon says. “We broke barriers. I didn’t understand it at the time, and in retrospect, that might have been a good thing. But what strong females we were! I’m heartened by what I see at the school now—it feels like true equality has been reached. And to think we helped set the stage.”

For Peloso, it’s bittersweet. “I think I lost some self-confidence while I was ‘in it’ because I didn’t come here assuming that I was going to be unwelcome, or that it was going to be misogynistic, or that being a feminist was going to be a bad label, and how could you willingly enter a predominantly male space and not consider yourself a feminist?” she says. “And then those things happen, and it makes you question yourself and your values a little bit. However, as the years have gone on, I feel the benefits of the mental toughness that experience gave me. I don’t roll easily. As an engineer, I live in a male-dominated world, and I can navigate it.”

“I remember thinking about all of this at previous milestones, like the 10th and 20th anniversary, and it didn’t feel that critical,” Woods says. “But I was on campus recently, and I was so struck by the cultural diversity I saw among the women and the young men.

It truly made me speechless, and it made me marvel at the idea that I had a role in helping to produce the St. Andrew’s of today.”

Maull is quiet for a moment as she considers the heft of it all. She talks about how the community of boys and growing number of girls soon comfortably shared classroom spaces, athletic spaces, the Front Lawn, and cared for each other when needed.

She remembers cutting the boys hair on the steps outside of the Dining Hall and riding bikes together into town. As easily as she talks about

the good, she’s able to digest the “ugly” of being the one of the first women—and one of the first women of color—to attend and matriculate.

“St. Andrew’s helped me grow and develop from a diverse set of experiences that I would draw on later in life,” she says. “The relationships that I built at St. Andrew’s will remain with me. There were first girls, there was a Head Boy and a Head Girl, and now there is an alumna serving as head of school.

St. Andrew’s is a colorful and inviting place for young people to learn and grow. Not only are they doing it better, they’re doing it right.” J

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Nurturing Unusual Women Twenty years post-retirement, St. Andrew’s legend Nan Mein still has “The Gaze”

BY AK WHITE

42 EDITOR’S NOTE This article was written before the death of Nan Mein on Friday, December 22, 2023.

T

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here are so few certainties in life, but we’d like to add another: If you were a student or faculty member at St. Andrew’s between 1971 and 2003, you have a Nan Mein story.

Director of Admission and Financial Aid Matt Wolinski ’00 recalled in a 2014 Chapel talk the privilege he felt having a Saturday morning history class in the home of Mein, one of the first women faculty members on campus, and husband Simon Mein, former chaplain, faculty member, and Residential Life leader.

Wolinski said, years later, he could still smell the tea and hear the joyful banter of the Meins’ home. “The history of modern Europe is still mostly there, but in my personal memory, there is only the warmth of the tea and the driving, confident tone of Nan’s voice.” And of course, he noted, there is “The Gaze.”

“Mrs. Mein had an effective way to deal with disciplinary infractions,” Wolinski said. “Her eyes narrowed, her lips drew taut, her head would cock slightly to one side, and she would just sort of stare at you.

She held your eyes in silence until involuntarily and inexorably, you would correct the behavior and apologize. I received it only once, thankfully, but I am compelled to note that it was for whispering during chapel.”

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“Her eyes narrowed, her lips drew taut, her head would cock slightly to one side, and she would just sort of stare at you.”

“The Gaze,” he noted, was not cold or authoritarian.

Instead, he remembered, it managed to convey stern reproval and loving equanimity at the same time.

“The obvious subtext was, ‘Young man, I have faced down entrenched obstacles and dangers far more imposing than you. I’m trying to help you be a better person, so knock it off,’” he said. “There was something else to it, though.

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Something otherworldly, something fantastical. It was as if she cast a spell over you. You lost control of your body momentarily, and you emerged from this paralysis with a better understanding of right and wrong. My memory assigns her this mythical power.”

Like any journalist worth her salt, I had to investigate this mythical power for myself. But prior to visiting Mein this fall at her residence in Odessa with Director of Alumni Engagement Chesa Profaci ’80, I did my Mein homework, so as not to unwittingly draw The Gaze upon our very first encounter.

Before stepping foot on campus in 1971, Mein was already a woman ahead of her time. Much to her father’s chagrin, Mein eschewed the life of a homemaker, which was the life he wanted a then-17-year-old Mein to pursue in 1953.

In Mein’s own words, from a 2012 Chapel talk she delivered after her 2003 retirement from St. Andrew’s, “[My father] had decided that I should be a home economist. I could teach sewing and cooking. He had lined up a job for me, with Kraft Foods, in their test kitchens,” she recalled. “How many different ways can you cook with Velveeta? I had my doubts about this, but who argues with a superintendent of schools when he happens to be your father? And then my father died suddenly. Now my father’s wish became law. I enrolled at the University of Illinois, majoring in home economics.”

Except it didn’t take. Instead, she graduated with a degree in history, and then went on to graduate school at Cornell University in the pursuit of becoming a university professor, not exactly a vocation women were flocking to in the ’60s.

“But then I discovered that the academic world was not falling all over itself to hire me,” Mein said. She eventually secured a job teaching at Drake University in Iowa. However, fate would open another door.

“I went on a retreat for Episcopalian students and faculty of Drake University,” Mein said. “I knew that the retreat leader was a member of an Episcopal community that had a mission in Liberia. I asked the leader if the school in Africa needed teachers. ‘Well, yes,’ he said. ‘But don’t write me, I’ll write you.’ OK, I thought. So much for that. Then a few months later I received a phone call:

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‘Hello, is that Nancy? Do you still want to go to Africa?’

‘You’re kidding!’ I said.

‘I’m not making jokes,’ he said. ‘Do you want to go to Africa or not?’

‘Yes!’ ‘Fine,’ he said briskly. ‘When can you leave?’”

As soon as she graded her students’ exams, Mein left for Liberia. Mein recalled her mother cried for a week: “Nan will disappear in the jungle and we’ll never see her again.”

Not this Nan. She lived in Liberia for two years, teaching at a school where there were few books and no library. There was no access to clean, hot water, so she carried it across her back in buckets from a stream and boiled it. Electricity was scarce; students did their homework by fuzzy light in three-hour stretches in the evening with the aid of a diesel-powered generator; teachers had oil lamps. She grew proficient at jumping great heights onto whichever sturdy thing was closest, thanks to the village pythons, mambas, and boa constrictors.

Wheat does not grow in a jungle, so Mein improvised: she had local farmers help her build beehive ovens out of mud bricks; she used dregs of palm wine to acquire yeast, and after much trial and error, the village had yeast bread. She learned how the villagers used ants as sutures: the insects were put onto open wounds, and as soon as they bit, a nurse would nip off the head at the neck, preserving the bite and thus creating a stitch.

(Former faculty member Hilary Mead P’24,’26 recently told me, as I noted I was writing about Mein, that due to the shared initial of their last name, their biographies were next to each other in school publications. “Let’s just say, no comparison,” Mead said, laughing. “Her bio said she used to drive a tractor in Liberia. Mine was like, ‘She reads books.’”)

Other adventures post-Africa included hitchhiking through Scandinavia, changing avocations six times before the age of 30, and eventually, feeling spiritually called, joining the Order of St. Helena, at which point she became a nun. Her religious life sent her to England, where she, a nun, met Simon, a monk, and both gave up their vows to marry. A few months after they married, the duo arrived at St. Andrew’s.

Two years later, in 1973, the first St. Andrew’s faculty child with two faculty parents born on campus, Andrew, arrived (a maternity policy would take a few years yet).

The couple ushered in a new era of St. Andrew’s in many ways. Both were heavily involved with planning for the onset of coeducation, each was instrumental in early relationships with the young women, and both, coeducation notwithstanding, are credited with transforming aspects of SAS life. They also challenged gender norms of the time, with Simon often doing the tea and the baking.

“My memory assigns her this mythical power.”

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Upon first meeting Mein in her home this September, I have this initial thought: “Yes, I do believe this is a woman who would calmly knit her way through an encounter with a boa constrictor in the jungle and describe it later at a cocktail party as ‘delightful.’”

She welcomes Profaci and me into her home, where she is surrounded by things she loves: books, photos, and Legos.

Mein chaired the history department, developed new classes to add to the curriculum, started the first history club on campus, and, much to the dismay of some of her male colleagues, calmly knitted through faculty meetings.

(Louisa Zendt ’78 P’05,’09 has a favorite story about this, which she told this fall at “The First, The Few: Pioneers and Pathmakers,” a coeducation panel event. “I once found a note crumpled on the floor, so naturally I read it,” she said. “It read, ‘To think, to be the most respected faculty member on campus and knitting through meetings.’ I often entertained myself by wondering was it a note between male faculty members about Nan, or was it a note from a male faculty member given to Nan?”) For his part, Simon Mein is charged with revamping the chapel program and religious studies curriculum. He arrived in 1971 to serve as chaplain for one year and ended up staying for 21. He taught religious studies and chaired the department, was the sometimes play director, and taught woodworking in the basement of Amos Hall, with his wife doing the work beside him. He retired from St. Andrew’s in 1992, but for years was a guest star in the history and religion corridor of Founders (as well as in Dead Poets Society). He died in 2012. The couple also had a son, Andrew Mein ’90, who died in a tragic bicycling accident in 1998. The Mein legend lives on, figuratively and literally: in 2008, M Dorm became Mein Dorm and houses V and VI Form girls; the second floor is known as “Nan” and the first as “Simon.”

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I was the first academic woman hired, and so I had to put on a good front with all those men because there was a lot of prejudice against women.

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At almost 90 years old, Mein still recalls what it was like to be among the first women faculty members on campus.

“From the very beginning, the male students were like, ‘How can we get her? How can we run around her?’” Mein says, laughing. “But I will admit they were good boys. They were ordinary boys, who at times did not know how blessed they were with a highly privileged education. Everything was done for them, unobtrusively, in the cornfields of Delaware, but by and large, they were very good boys.”

As for her male colleagues, Mein shrugs. “You couldn’t regard yourself as special,” she says. “You just were there doing your job. I was the first academic woman hired, and so I had to put on a good front with all those men because there was a lot of prejudice against women. But in my mind, and in my manner, I proceeded as though the world was my oyster.”

It didn’t take long before Mein began adding classes at the VI Form level. “I found the curriculum to be rigid, old-fashioned, boys prep-school stuff,” she says. “St. Andrew’s was a good place to work in that regard because I could do what I liked, teach the kind of courses I liked, without any of the junk from administrators or state standards.”

In those times she smelled the stench of gender discrimination, she rose above. “I just didn’t take it,” she says. “It was often difficult to be the only woman at the school, but you just did it. It helped that my husband was very supportive. Oh, what fun we had! Us marrying came to the great surprise of everyone we knew, and then we ran away to America to start an entirely different life. I taught my classes, we raised our child, and we carried on together.”

Profaci notes Mein was the first working mother at St. Andrew’s, and remembers her time as a student, when the couple’s son, Andrew, would accompany his father on dorm inspections. “This room doesn’t pass,” she remembers Andrew saying.

Profaci also retells a story recently shared with her by Peter Geier ’74, a member of St. Andrew’s last all-male class. “I mentioned to him that I had just seen Nan, and he said, ‘Oh, what a legend.’ He remembered you used to hold class in your living room, and one evening, when Andrew was a baby, you said, ‘Alright, boys, I think it’s time you found out what these are really used for’ and proceeded to breastfeed Andrew.”

At the anecdote, Mein laughs. “I bet I did do that.”

Prior to the girls arriving at St. Andrew’s in 1973, both Meins were asked to be involved with the girls planning committee, an act that Profaci considers, given the nature of the couple, to have been a very intentional request.

“I wasn’t exactly a ‘dorm mother’ to the girls when they came, but I was an example of a working, teaching, educated woman,” Mein says. “It was a massive responsibility because you had this precious commodity—these young, teenage girls—away from home and largely surrounded by boys.

We stuck together. I tried to foster a sense of home, of we women, we girls, being a family unto ourselves. You had to parent teenagers before you even had a teenager.”

Mein recalls that on the path to coeducation, there was “new stuff” everyday. “Playing it by ear every step of the way is not to make too light a thing of it, but that’s very much what we did,” she says. “There were endless new problems.

I remained vigilant in ensuring these women were not once seen as sex objects. I thought it was very important from the beginning that these girls were treated as persons and not idols, that St. Andrew’s was a place where a girl could have the freedom to become a woman.”

Upon hearing the testimony of multiple first and early girls that speaks to what Mein’s presence did for them (as reported in the story “Because of Them” in this issue), Mein responds, “That’s lovely, but I was simply doing for them what someone ought to have.”

“I had an independent life before I came to St. Andrew’s. It was an unusual life. I think that mattered in my relationships with the girls,” she says. “I was always impressed with the professionalism of these women, women who were taken as full scholars in their own right. Women who developed their own ethos, and found a real sense of who they were.

What I am most proud of, however, is the record of women at St. Andrew’s who turned out, one after another after another, to be unusual women.”

I cannot leave Mein’s home without seeing the “mythical power” first hand, so I ask if I can please see The Gaze. She slides her glasses down the bridge of her nose, narrows her fiery eyes, sets her lips, and I understand. Then she instructs me: “Tell all the girls not to take any shit.” J

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I

n honor of the 50th anniversary of coeducation, we shook things up a bit for this edition of “If These Walls Could Talk,” our recurring feature that pairs Saints of today with Saints of yesterday who happened to share the same dorm. For this conversation, we sat down rowers Joye Wingard ’24 and Hannah Gilheany ’24, two phenomenal athletes contribute to our Senior 8 boat, with Janice Nevin ’77 P’13 and Deb Davis ’77, two of the first women ever to sit in a St. Andrew’s shell when the rowing program began in 1973. Their shared space? The boathouse, of course.

“To be in the boathouse at that time was really empowering for me,” Davis remembers.

According to our student-interviewers, it still is.

“Crew really changed my relationship with my body in a really positive way,” Gilheany says. Wingard agrees. “The boathouse, and crew in general, is space that we feel we are really able to make ours,” she says.

The four discussed lessons learned in athletics, how the experience of being a Saints athlete continues to pay off years after leaving campus, and what sports helped do for Davis and Nevin as they made history as two of the first girls of St. Andrew’s.

A conversation with Janice Nevin ’77 P’13 and Deb Davis ’77 on doing something that was considered out of step in the 1970s: being a girl who played sports.

CONDENSED AND EDITED FOR CLARITY AND READABILITY BY AK WHITE

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JOYE: You both were there at the outset of women’s

athletics at St. Andrew’s. What was that like?

JANICE: I was someone who never thought about myself

JOYE WINGARD ’24

as an athlete. I hated PE with a passion. I think one of the wonderful things about St. Andrew’s, something that has sort of carried through the decades, is you get exposed to opportunities that are new that you would never have otherwise seized upon. For me, rowing became something that was formative. Some of what I learned in those early years as an athlete—hard work, teamwork, grit—they’ve been very important to me throughout my career. But Deb was an athlete athlete. We were all in admiration of Deb.

DEB: I had played lots of sports before St. Andrew’s, but I

HANNAH GILHEANY ’24

had not rowed. It’s interesting that we didn’t have a choice on sports at first—it was field hockey and crew—but it made sense because there were so few of us, we couldn’t have fielded multiple same-season teams. We were all together as this first group of girls playing sports, and rowing was a completely novel experience for all of us, but we were in it together and it turned out we weren’t half bad at it.

HANNAH: How did rowing help you get through your first year at St. Andrew’s?

DEB: I was more focused on athletics than anything. It

certainly provided a platform for friendship and comradery and discipline, and I think that translated into being a good student and getting through what you need to get through, as it wasn’t always easy.

JANICE: We all shared a dorm, but the boathouse—and DEB DAVIS ’77

JANICE NEVIN ’77 P’13

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the field—was another place where we came together as just girls. We built a team. It was part of what helped us in those early days come together and get to know each other. It’s interesting—I had forgotten that we were pretty good, actually! I’ve been reading some of the [coeducation anniversary] press that’s come out from St. Andrew’s recently and was reminded of just how good we were!

One other thing that was interesting about that time is that not only were the girls’ teams new, but we had coaches that were new to St. Andrew’s, too. Almost all of the faculty and coaches were male, but we had one female coach, Diane Stetina, who was new to St. Andrew’s. I don’t think I appreciated it fully until I’ve gotten older that that was

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entirely new for her, too. We were truly learning together. In fact, Ms. Stetina was my basketball coach when we began that program. The first day of practice, she had us line up and I ended up at the front of one of the lines, which was a huge mistake. She said, ‘Okay, everyone’s going to do a layup.’

And I’m like, ‘What’s a layup?’ That’s how clueless I was.

JOYE: What were your proudest accomplishments in St. Andrew’s athletics?

DEB: When we won the School Boys Regatta, which was

then considered the national championship, and we won it on Noxontown Pond in 1976.

JANICE: I still have the jacket.

DEB: We won the Stotesbury, too, which is really remarkable.

Girls crew was only a few years old, and to win Stotesbury, and the Nationals on our home course … that was incredible.

JANICE: My recollection of that national race is, and you

have to remember it was 50 years ago, but I think we were a whole length behind at the 500-meter mark, and we came from behind and won by a very slim margin. And I’ve often thought, particularly in college and medical school when things were difficult, that that victory was a great reminder of how you can overcome adversity. That race for me was one of those enduring life lessons. Something to keep in mind is this was the 1970s. Girls engaging in sports was a fairly unusual activity. I was only a year or so removed from taking home ec and baking. Now it’s a norm that young girls and young women participate in athletics and are fit. But back then, it was quite unorthodox.

HANNAH: How did the boys at St. Andrew’s respond to you winning nationals?

DEB: They were very supportive. I don’t know if you guys

still do it, but in our day, we made a big deal about the “clean sweep” after a big sporting day. If everybody won, we got out this big broom and hung it up in the Dining Hall. I remember the boys doing that for us, and it meant a lot. Everyone was really excited for us.

JOYE: Wow. That’s so cool. We should bring that back.

JANICE: That year of coeducation was also the last year

(TOP) DAVIS AND HER HUSBAND, DOUG GREEN, AND (BOTTOM) DAVIS (FAR RIGHT) AND HER MIXED QUAD, BOTH PHOTOS TAKEN AT THE 2022 WORLD ROWING MASTERS REGATTA IN FRANCE.

there was an all-male graduating class, and as proud as I think we were of being in that first group of girls, the boys

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GIRLS JUST WANNA WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS A look back through the years at titles won by Saints women athletics

CREW Stotesbury Cup Regatta, Philadelphia Senior 8 Wins 1974 1976 1984 1993 1998 2004 Junior 8 Wins 1976 2000 2001 Henley Women’s Regatta, England Junior 8 Wins 1997 CROSS-COUNTRY 2022 LACROSSE, State Championships 1998 1999 2002 2003 2004 2005 TENNIS, State Championships 1987 1988 1995 1996 2001 2002 2022 second-doubles 52

were pretty excited about being the last all-male class. Yet they really embraced having girls at the school. And when we won, the school won, and that was made clear to us by our classmates.

HANNAH: Those victories are in line with some of our goals for this year. We’re hoping to follow in your footsteps. I know you talked a little bit about adversity, but what are some other lessons you think you learned from rowing specifically?

JANICE: Rowing, for me, is the ultimate sport because

it’s very dependent on what you bring to the boat as an individual, but ultimately your success is that of being a team. And it’s exquisite the level of teamness that’s required to be successful. Whatever you do in life, it’s important to have people who bring individual strengths to the table, but fundamentally, success is all about being part of a highperforming team. Rowing is the ultimate example of what that means in athletics.

“YET THEY REALLY EMBRACED HAVING GIRLS AT THE SCHOOL. AND WHEN WE WON, THE SCHOOL WON, AND THAT WAS MADE CLEAR TO US BY OUR CLASSMATES.” DEB: I agree wholeheartedly. I’ve been rowing ever since, in college and as a masters athlete; in fact, I’m going to the Head of the Charles in a couple of weeks. The biggest thing is the commitment you make to your teammates. In my world now as a master’s rower, we don’t go out to practice every day together. We train on our own and we get together for a race, like the Head of the Charles or nationals or whatever.

We have to depend on each other that we’re individually putting the work in to make the team better, and we have to be committed to that standard or it just won’t work.

HANNAH: I think for Joye and myself, crew changed our relationships with our bodies, and we also feel inspired to have a space for being strong as a woman. Did you feel any of that?

JANICE: I was always the shortest girl. I rowed bow [the

front of the boat], and I remember I had to fight for my seat every year because I was smaller. For me, there was something

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really empowering about being small and doing the work and if I could use a shell or bring the students down. And they getting the reward. It made me feel really strong and confident. said, “Well, first you need to show us what you got.” I went DEB: I felt the same way. I’m 5'4 and Janice and I were out in the boat with them. The next thing I know, I’m part of that club and we’re going all over racing. The rowing slotted to the ends of the boat. And in the middle, that’s community is one in which you train together, you win where we put the tall girls. The boathouse in general was together, you overcome hardship together, you learn together. very empowering. So, too, was being strong and being fit, and There are very powerful life lessons in what happens on a I think that was respected and recognized. shell in a shell.

JOYE: What was it like sharing the boathouse and resources I got so much out of my St. Andrew’s athletics experience, and with the boys team? just by trying something new, this beautiful thing came into DEB: I don’t remember any issues. I’ve heard other teammates my life. I’ve watched the same thing happen to my daughter, discuss how we were always in the back of the line of folks Annie. When she was at St. Andrew’s, she called me and said, when we were doing our warmup calisthenics on the dock “I’m playing squash.” I’m like, “What? You’ve never played with Mr. Washburn, but I did not feel different at all. I felt included and very comfortable.

“THE ROWING COMMUNITY IS ONE IN WHICH YOU TRAIN TOGETHER, YOU WIN TOGETHER, get out of college and you’re no longer competing, it’s like, YOU OVERCOME HARDSHIP TOGETHER, YOU now what? Because you are always training, thinking about LEARN TOGETHER.”

JOYE: How has athletics continued to impact your lives?

DEB: I can’t imagine my life without athletics. When you

training, racing, and traveling for competitions, but then you don’t have it. And it’s this letdown, something’s missing. I didn’t squash before.” But that’s what St. Andrew’s does: offers the row or compete for a while, and then I got back into it and now opportunity to do something new, to get out of your comfort it’s just part of my daily life again. I can’t imagine anything else. zone, to build new friendships and to learn. We started that in J JANICE: I rowed lightweights in college, and after, I lived 1973, and it’s continued through the decades. J in England. The first year, I was at Durham University as a graduate student, and the woman who served as the administrative assistant for the [campus housing] where I lived was training for the Olympics. We had a conversation about rowing and she said, “Well, would you like to come to the boathouse?” So I did, and the next thing I knew, I was part of the eight that was training all the time. All of a sudden, I was going all over the UK racing. I loved it. I was the only American, and it was a wonderful way to connect with people and to be part of a community within that community. It was really impactful. Although it was very interesting: in England, the boathouse had a pub inside it, so you have a beer every time you work out.

The second year I was there, I taught at an American school outside of London, and there was a boat club in the village. I had this idea that I wanted to introduce rowing to some of the students at this American boarding school. So I went to the boat club and asked

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Can’t Help But Connect CONNECTING AT THE VI FORM ALUMNI DINNER Alumni from the Class of 1989 showed up to celebrate the Class of 2023 in May.

(front) Catherine Pomeroy ’89, James Borghardt ’89 (back) Megin Myers ’89, Allison Hamilton-Rohe ’89, (Olivia Sheppard ’23 standing in for her mom Jennifer Sheppard ’89), Susan Willock ’89, Dixon Shay ’89, and Bill Spire ’89

VI Form alumni dinner speaker Amanda Sin ’16

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WEBB REYNER SAS’s first athletic director and former science teacher Webb Reyner celebrated his 90th birthday in July. Many of his athletes, students, advisees, and colleagues wrote, called, and congratulated Webb on this milestone.

“Webb was a mentor to me and greatly increased my self-confidence, which resulted in me winning the cherished sterling silver Mamo Trophy two years in a row,” says Gordon Appell ’60. “Bull Cameron was also a great influence on my development. I still have the small award replicas which are about 12 inches high. I only regret that I didn’t get to know the rest of the faculty better as they were more distant than my impression of the faculty of today.”

Gardner Cadwalader ’66 recalls Webb’s “enthusiasm to teach us things he had just learned at various coaching clinics he attended for football and wrestling. It is not the specific ideas he passed on to us that I recall as much as Webb’s enthusiasm for learning new things every season. The lesson I learned was that our coach and teacher was always learning, always open to new methods, and always thrilled to pass them along to us. That was teaching at its best.”

As to baseball: When Ned found out that Scott had never been to a Major League Baseball game, Ned took Scott to see the Orioles play at the old Baltimore County stadium. “I do not remember who they played or what the score was, but I remember where we sat, high on the first base side, what the stadium looked like, and the fresh smell of Cracker Jacks and hot dogs,” Scott remembers. “That was a kindness that I will never forget.”

Speaking of Ned, Alan Sibert ’70 took the above photo after having lunch with Ned and his wife, Gretchen, in Maine this summer.

Ned is on the Class of 1965’s email exchange and wrote: “You all, as a class, are a credit to those who were honored to teach you. So, along with prayer for your classmates, I send you deep respect and affection.”

THE VAN BUCHEMS

Deep respect and affection also went out to and from Evert and Marijke van NED GAMMONS Buchem this summer.

For Scott Beard ’69, it’s never too late In June, Alfons Gunnemann ’73 picked to say thanks to his former teacher and the van Buchems up at their home in coach Ned Gammons. Scott recently Elkton, Md., and brought them to SAS for wrote to Ned, “Belated thanks for the Class of 1973’s 50th Reunion Dinner. lighting a passion in me that, to a great A joyful surprise for the class and a great extent, set me on the path that my life evening for all! has followed the past 54 years.” Those passions were history and baseball. After Ned’s European History class, a seed was planted in Scott that grew into the desire to get a passport and explore Europe. He also taught history at West Point. He lives in Germany today, and travels around Marijke van Buchem and Will Cantler ’73 Europe as much as possible.

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FORMER ADVISEES

(l. to r.) Billy Paul ’64, Jud Burke ’65, Andy Parrish ’66, Joy McGrath ’92, John Schoonover ’63, Ernie Cruikshank ’62, John Reeve ’66, John Evans ’66, George Shuster ’63, John Morton ’65, and Henry Ridgely ’67.

William S. Speers Associate Head of School Ana Ramírez caught up with her Post-Reunion, Marijke fell and broke advisee Nicole Lopez ’19 over spring Noel Wright ’51 reflects on a lifetime of her hip. We are happy to report that after break last year in Miami with husband SAS connections: surgery, rehab, and the care by son Victor and faculty member David Miller and “In looking back on my life, I now realize van Buchem ’89, and alums who visited their son Gabriel Miller-Ramírez ’26. how much I was influenced by my five and sent DoorDash cards, Marijke is back years at St. Andrew’s.

The school was on her feet, behind the wheel(s), and home really my home from 1946 to 1951. My with Evert in Elkton! A true testament to classmates were my brothers, and the van Buchem smile and spirit. masters were my parents. We all had the benefit of having great parents: Walden Pell, Bill Cameron, Ches Baum, Blackburn Hughes, Mr. MacInnes, Bill Amos, Coerte Voorhees, Lukey Fleming, to name just a few. The education and life experiences I received at St. Andrew’s gave me a head start on my collegiate and business competitors for the remainder of my life. I am very grateful for the privilege I had in attending the school and I think about it quite often and correspond via Former faculty member Robert Rudd’s email regularly with many of my SAS widow Lucy and daughter Janice (and classmates, and they all appear to be doing her dog Marley) stopped by campus this the same. I feel comfortable that the future of the school is in very competent hands, summer for a visit. and know that the school will continue in perpetuity providing an exceptional HEAD OF SCHOOL education for those students who are Head of School (and former coxswain) willing to work hard to expand their Joy McGrath ’92 joined the Noxontown minds and strive to receive a superior Navy for dinner during their Reunion education.” • “crew camp” last June.

Everett McNair ’73, Sam Marshall ’73 and Evert van Buchem.

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Class Notes 1940

1957

Bill Cox was on the scene during the Vail America Days 4th of July parade in Christoph Sander and his son, Sebastian, Vail, Colo. “I ran out of candy—yikes— George Brakeley’s son Bill Brakeley ’86 came to campus to see the school their but handed out a lot of donation cards to was elected to the Delaware High School Baseball Hall of Fame on June 14 at father/grandfather Heinz Sander ’40 support Vail Veterans,” he says.

Frawley Stadium in Wilmington in attended as a German exchange student recognition of his baseball career at SAS in the late 1930s. History teacher Melinda and the University of Delaware, as well Tower toured them around campus and as in the Milwaukee Brewers minor told them about the primary source league system. George was on hand at project her students do each year with the ceremony, as was SAS retired baseball help from materials in the Alumni War coach Bob Colburn, also a member Memorial Room and archives. The of the Hall of Fame. On his way back Sander family said Heinz’s Certificate of home to Vermont, George stopped for Attendance hung on the wall behind his a visit with Barbara and John Ranck. desk throughout his lifetime.

J.D. Quillin was honored this summer as a gold badge member and past president of Ocean City, Maryland’s volunteer fire company. Following a lifetime interest in fire trucks, J.D. joined the OCVFC in 1961. He was also a member of the Ocean City Rescue Squad, newly formed in 1960. The squad consisted of 15 members and one ambulance. Members were trained in advanced first-aid by local physician Dr. Frank Townsend ’34.

With his 62 years of membership, J.D. is one of the longest-tenured members of the fire company. During his 25 years of Art Wright notes that he is still getting active service, Quillin has served as fire around. He spent June on the ship Silver company chaplain, president, and as a Star, north of Manus Island, helping member of the board of directors. Quillin theoretical physicist and Frank B. Baird Jr. served as lieutenant and later captain on Professor of Science at Harvard Avi Loeb Engine #709. recover interstellar meteorite particles.

“Good team, good ship, successful project,” Wright reports.

1953

Tom Quirk had the great opportunity to see his youngest grandson play football.

He plays both offense and defense and made some great plays on both sides.

Sidney Dickson ’56 and George Mitchell ’55 reconnected in Oxford, Md., last summer.

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John Ranck and George Brakeley catching up and properly accoutered.

“I’ve taken on English as a Second Language tutoring through the Buncombe Literacy Council, stay active in my Rotary Club, and preach once a month up in Avery County an hour and a half away,” writes Tom Rightmyer. “My wife Lucy and daughter Sarah headed off this fall to see the northern lights in Iceland.”

John Cogswell is still working on his book on the history of humanity, and headed for Croatia and Macedonia in October for further studies. (He’s also still using the desk pen set he was awarded in 1956 for the J. Thompson Brown Prize at Commencement!)

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1969

Ginger, Ran, Liz Adams, and Cole Brown.

1958 The Class of 1958 is still Zooming on the 5th of most months. In October, they were counting Zoom no. 35. They’ve broadened their invitation to include 1957, 1959 and 1960 schoolmates (and Chesa Profaci ’80).

Andy Adams, Ginger Marshall, Cole Brown.

John Hammer, Chesa Profaci, Bulent Atalay, Steve Washburne, Kris Atchley, Andy Adams ’59, Tom Rightmyer ’57, Jim Thomas, Larry Harris, Pieter

Tim Iliff and wife Weegie are celebrating a milestone, one that is only possible thanks to one of St. Andrew’s “most memorable” students: Peter McGowin, who left us all too early. “Through my friendship with Peter, I met a girl from Mobile, Alabama, their hometown,” Iliff says. “That girl, Weegie, and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary this summer. Thank you Peter and St. Andrew’s!”

Grammy Award-winning singer songwriter Doug James came to campus last spring and workshopped with John Teti ’23, Eleanor Livings ’23, Sophie Mo ’24 and Richard Zhu ’26 in Engelhard Hall in the O’Brien Arts Center. Each student shared an original composition, and Doug says he was blown away by their talent and passion. In the fall, Doug released a new single, “Uncle Charlie,” an American root song/roots performance, released by Markey Blue Productions.

Voorhees ’60, Doug Pell, and Chuck Miller.

Bulent Atalay’s latest book Beyond Genius: A Journey Through the Characteristics and Legacies of Transformative Minds is an in-depth and unified exploration of genius in the arts and sciences through the life and works of five seminal intellectual and cultural figures: Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Albert Einstein.

1959 “In years past, members of the class and their spouses gathered at our house in Tappahannock, Va., usually twice a year,” writes Andy Adams. “We could hit my birthday or Cole Brown’s but not both. This year we were between the two birthdays and celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with corned beef and cabbage. We were all a bit slower and creakier than in the past. Ran Marshall won the beard contest by a mile. Ginger Marshall brought a delicious pecan rum cake, and a great time was had by all.”

Doug James ’69 workshops with SAS students.

1976 Kingsley Durant checks in with his latest album, “Convertible,” which was released this summer. This is what UK-based Jazz Journal had to say about it: “For a musician, Kingsley Durant’s career path John Schoonover, Phil Tonks, and their may be unusual. He has a PhD in math and fantastic hats met for lunch in Sarasota, spent years teaching the subject. However, Fla., this past March. he grew up in a musical family and learned piano, trumpet, French horn, and guitar from the age of 8, so it’s not so surprising that he proves a sophisticated and talented guitarist. He got his musical break when one of his compositions appeared in a promotional video for St. Andrew’s School, which eventually led to the creation and release of his 2003 debut album, “Away From The Water.” Read the rest of the review at jazzjournal.co.uk, and check out Kingsley’s music at kingsleydurant.com.

Ginger and Ran Marshall.

1963

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(l. to r.) Judi Spann, Terry Hemphill, Adam Waldron, Ted Lake, and Rob Colburn.

Beppy Westcott, Ellen Nelson, Cathy Shields, and Louisa Zendt.

Richard Cookerly, Tom Schreppler, Bob Dunn ’74, Molly Higgins ’93 and honorary SAS alum Tim Rhynalds competed in the Head of the Christina Regatta. Richard reports, “It was a Chuck Walton and Bill Wolle had a great lovely fall day and we had a good row. idea: get the crew together in Baltimore What a thrill it is each time we get to race for an Orioles Game. “Heck, we all like under our high school colors.” baseball and we all enjoy each other’s company,” Bill notes. “So the invitations When Letitia Hickman Green ’80 and went out. Five of us met at the Crafty her husband Mark P’10,’11 had to pull Crab in downtown Baltimore, but we in to Beaufort, S.C., to duck out of gale never made it into the game as the beer force winds on their Great Loop sailing and conversations were flowing! Since trip last May, they had dinner with many of us are now in the Baltimore/ Alison Amos Muller and her husband Washington Metro Area, we plan to Tom Muller. regularly meet.” (And maybe, eventually, actually see that baseball game!)

Class of 1980 Zoom session.

1977

(l. to r.) Pete Jacoby, Chuck Walton, Steve Salter, Bill Wolle, George Tankard, and Steve Brownlee.

1978

Mark Green, Alison Amos Muller, Tom Muller, Letitia Hickman Green.

1981 Classmates came together to celebrate the wedding of Hattie Waldron, daughter of Adam ’80 and Meg, and sister to Margot ’10.

Lizze Clarke ’81, Hattie Waldron Monks, Adam Waldron ’80 and Meg Waldron ’81, John Cullen ’81, Margot Waldron ’10, Bret Peters ’81, Susan Szechenyi ’81, and Dare Wenzler ’81.

Bryant Davies met up for lunch with Skip Middleton ’83 while in Asheville, N.C., this summer. Besides St. Andrew’s, they have Dan Nolte writes, “Pam and I have Sassafras River roots in common. been staying busy with our respective jobs. Our daughters are doing well.

Our oldest is working in Richmond and our youngest is a sophomore at York College in Pennsylvania.”

1980

Cathy Shields was on hand at this year’s homecoming for the kickoff of the school’s 50 years of coeducation celebrations.

“Amazing to reconnect with wonderful high school classmates after 45 years,” she says. “It was 24 hours of reminiscing, smiling, hugging, and a few happy tears shed as well. We were fortunate to have each Classmates came together last fall for other during our high school years and Martha Valciukas’s memorial service in so fun to share what we have all been Philadelphia. doing since.”

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Judi Spann, Ted Lake, Kate Ausbrook, Zaida Romano, Tracy Johnk, Dan Nolte, John Lilley, Rob Colburn, Chesa Profaci.

Skip Middleton ’83 and Bryant Davies ’81 with friend Denise.

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1982

in Wilmington, Del. “I realized I learned more Delaware history—which is Jeff Lilley writes, “My Grandfather, rich and fascinating—in three days in Ukraine and ME—that’s the title of my 50s than I did in four years in my my latest nonfiction collection. It’s ten teens as a student at SAS,” Ian says. vignettes—or chapterettes, I like to say— about my grandfather Waller Booth, who referred to himself as a ‘little Kentucky Steve Gratwick and Paul Keeley ’85. country boy.’ Col. Booth published a memoir in 1972 about carrying out a secret Concert-goers Kibbey Crumbley, Karen mission behind German lines in 1944. That Pupke, and Jill Caron then and now. Jill, memoir contains the largely untold story Karen and Kibbey last fall at the Billy of Ukrainian soldiers who revolted against Joel/Stevie Nicks event in Baltimore. their German officers and joined French resistance and an American OSS team under Col. Booth’s command to liberate French villages. The story resonates today as Ukrainians fight for their freedom . . . again.”

1984 Michael Whalen’s album “Walk in Beauty, Like the Night” was No.1 on the August and September album charts from One World Music Radio.

Valerie Stevens and Lela Demby had a Girls Weekend and pre-40th Reunion Toast in Washington, D.C., last summer.

1986 Jim Thomas and his wife Jeanie met up with Dietrich von Stechow ’85 and his wife, Stefanie—parents of Pauline ’19— in September 2023 for some hiking in the Scottish Highlands. “We had a grand time,” Jim says. “It was great to catch up, as it was the first time we’d seen each other since before Covid.”

Jim Thomas, Jeanie Thomas and Stefanie von Stechow P’19, and Dietrich von Stechnow ’85 P’19 on the Isle of Skye.

Greg Doyle met up with Greg King ’89 and Lindsay Brown at the Head of the Charles this fall and caught up. Doyle’s notes from the Charles: “Next year will mark my 20th year with Croker Oars.

Greg King works with WinTech and King Racing Shells, and Lindsay Brown, of course, is still sharing his lifelong love of rowing and history at The Dublin School.”

1987 Steve Gratwick went to see Paul Keeley ’85 perform with the LA Gay Men’s Chorus at Disney Hall. “We were both members of the Concert Choir at St. Andrew’s,” Gratwick says. “It was an amazing and inspiring event, as the chorus sang classics from 100 years of Disney movies, and celebrated Pride. We met up Ian Montgomery ran into Henry Ridgely after the concert in front of Disney Hall.” ’67 at the Colonial Wars General Assembly

1985

Greg Doyle, Greg King ’89 and former faculty member and boys crew coach Lindsay Brown at the Head of the Charles this fall.

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1988 Art Butcher and his daughter Kate ’21 made time last summer for a father-daughter hike along a portion of the Appalachian Trail, staying overnight in Appalachian Mountain Club huts along the way. “It was the perfect way to escape the hustle of everyday life, recharge our batteries, and enjoy some real quality time together,” notes Art. “While we were out on the trail, it struck me that the pursuit of any meaningful goal, whether in your career or personal life, is a lot like hiking.

Much of your time is spent head-down and focused on putting one foot in front of the other to avoid getting tripped up by the rocks and roots. But it’s just as important to look up every now and then, take in the view, and celebrate how far you’ve come. I hope you’ve taken some time this summer to recharge and to reflect on your journey as well.”

Andrew Hill, Tom Pinckney, and Greg King.

Howard Moorin and Amy Wilson.

Louise Howlett, Lindsay Brown, and Allison Hamilton-Rohe.

Patrick Montgomery and Mark Padden.

Zibby Pyle and Peter Hoopes.

Becky Watters and Amy Wilson.

1989 “The Class of ’89 has been busy connecting wherever we can this past year,” writes Allison Hamilton-Rohe. “From hikes in northern California to rows on Noxontown Pond and hugs many places in between, we’re keeping old friendships and creating new ones. Plus, I ran into former faculty Ms. Howlett and Mr. Brown on a random trail in Vermont. Small world!”

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Victor van Buchem, Susan Willock, Grace An, and Trevor Middleton.

Toby Whitmoyer and Emilie Sinkler.

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James Lai and Trevor Middleton met up Alumni schoolmates stuck their oars in at last year’s NYC Toast. James recently the water to form a new alumni crew that moved to New York as the associate competed at the Diamond States Masters director of clinical services, division of Regatta in June! geriatrics and palliative care at NYU Langone Health.

Trevor also met up with Corinna Calhoun, who completed her MS in Organization Development from Pepperdine University. Corinna started this journey two years ago when she realized that she had to fulfill her mission “to help people feel better and do better at work by going deep into both self-work (in the boat) James Borghardt, Allison HamiltonRohe, Jennifer Mullins ’88, Tomas Puky, Jim Bruin, and the science of OD.” Corinna has Bill Spire, Taylor Cameron ’90, Kathy Buntingalways been a passionate organizational Howarth ’88, and Liz Wood ’93. development leader, but needed the intensity of the program and the academic scaffolding to make a deeper impact.

Congratulations, Corinna!

Tim Gibb sends news that he and Mike Fallaw have reunited on snow again after a few Covid interruptions. “We finally made it to Whistler and spent a couple tourist days a Seattle,” he says. “Mike’s still in Montana and I’m still in Colorado.

students from all over the world at the Georgetown campus.

Taylor Cameron was on campus to talk with the Class of 2023 about financial literacy and money management last spring before they head off to college.

Christina Cain caught a Maggie Rogers ’12 concert in Zurich this summer. “It was all the more special to share it with Brandon Mathews ’88, and to be able to represent and send St. Andrew’s love out from the audience!”

1990

Brandon Mathews ’88 and Christina Cain.

1992 St. Andreans gathered for Jarrett Sell’s wedding to Dr. Elizabeth Lowe in June.

Carey McDaniel received the Excellence in Teaching Award at Delaware Technical Community College. She teaches ESL to

(l. to r.) Ty Jones ’92, Chris Gaither ’92, Bevin (Sell) Dolan ’95, Christos Adamopoulos ’92, and Jarrett Sell ’92.

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1993 Liz Wood is excited to share that she has been promoted to Director of Marketing and Communications for Delaware County Community College. “It’s a tremendous time for us,” Wood says. “Our new president started this summer, the recent groundbreaking on construction of our 80,000-square foot campus in Drexel Hill is well underway, and our students continue to defy expectations every day.”

Ken Ditzel shares that he is starting a new position as managing director at Berkeley Research Group.

1995 “Edward Jones (right) and I went for a hike while he was visiting Los Angeles,” writes Erin Tarasi. “We had a wonderful time catching up!”

Tammy Small is the new assistant director of enrollment at Brooklyn Friends School in New York.

1994 “Jen Cheek Wade (right) and I made time to connect over brunch in Richmond After more than a decade working when I was in town for a wedding,” on environmental issues at the Justice reports Ginna Purrington. “Looking Department, Joshua Wilson has joined forward to next year’s 30th reunion!”

POET as senior regulatory counsel. He looks forward to working with a dynamic legal team and on behalf of a company that has been leading the way in our country’s renewable energy transition for decades.“Advocating for biofuel and sustainable agriculture brings me back to my roots in rural Delaware, where my family has held and preserved farmland across five generations,” Joshua says.

Tom Stephens, Simon Saddleton, and Julian Saddleton.

Moira Forbes was honored to be one of the 2023 Matrix Award Honorees.

The Matrix awards are presented by New York Women in Communications, an Andrew Mahlstedt has joined United Simon Saddleton sends celebratory news: organization with a mission to empower World College-USA as associate head “My son, Julian, was bar mitzvah’d women in the communications field of school. “I love New Mexico, and the in April and my SAS classmate and at every career stage to reach their full school is an extraordinary place,” Andrew roommate Tom Stephens and his wife potential and navigate the ever-changing says. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity Courtney came to celebrate with us.” landscape of communications. to help it continue to grow. And my son, Aiden, is excited to be living in a castle!”

1997

Joe Frazier and Matt Cranmer met up at Giants Stadium in New Jersey for a Metallica concert.

1998 The Saddleton kids: Julian, Aiden and Eva.

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“Last Maundy Thursday, Brad Hirsh and Leslie Hirsh Archer ’00 got to spend a few days on the Outer Banks relaxing;

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and I even persuaded them to try hang gliding,” Luke Baer shares. “My brother Alex ’00 and I enjoyed a really lovely evening swapping stories and ‘keeping it real’ about our SAS experiences. I’m so grateful for the chance to talk about all of that with them.”

2004

Penn Daniel was at St. Andrew’s this fall to meet with the Entrepreneurship Clare Nowakowski is now a public Club about his experience at DoorDash affairs officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves (see page 13). supporting our nation’s 6th fleet–U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa. She was commissioned on September 2 and was given the Oath by her husband, retired Navy Captain J. David Britt. In Clare’s civilian life, she works as a government consultant for the Veterans Affairs Office of Information and Technology.

2010

Amanda Purcell has started a new position as associate director for climate Caitlin Forsthoefel is the new director crossroads at the National Academy of of philanthropy operations at Miami Country Day School. “I couldn’t be happier Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Luke Baer, Leslie Hirsch Archer ’00, Bradley Hirsch, to begin this next chapter with such a and Alex Baer ’00. welcoming and values-driven community,” Caitlin says.

After eight years at Palantir Technologies, Sierra Dennis is happy to announce that Annie Taylor Douthit shares this photo from Gautam Punukollu has started a new she’s joined Hammel, Green and Abrahamson dinner on Fishers Island, N.Y., with Dave position on the data science team at (HGA) as a senior sustainability specialist.

Patterson, Daphne (Patterson) Herlihy Sequoia Capital.

“I look forward to contributing to HGA’s ’04, and Charlotte Taylor ’02. sustainability leadership and holistic design Kathryn Steele Glazier was promoted approaches,” she notes. to director of brand experience product marketing at Delta Air Lines.

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2001 Christian Wilson was on campus early last fall and met with the SAS Medical Society.

2002 Kara Zarchin has joined Cummings and Lockwood as a litigation associate. Her practice primarily focuses on commercial and appellate litigation.

This has been an eventful year for Tolly Taylor. In February, he and his wife Bethany welcomed their son, TJ, and in April, Tolly joined the WBAL-TV I team as an investigative reporter in Baltimore, Md. This fall, Tolly interviewed Pete Buttigieg, who he covered as mayor, presidential candidate, and now as U.S.Transportation Secretary. “He’s always been an engaging and thoughtful interview,” Tolly says.

“We discussed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dollars going to projects across Maryland—including what they can provide, and their limitations.”

2013

Bre Pierce was honored to be a part of the esteemed working group that made #TheBombFashionShow with Fashion Bomb Daily a success during New York Fashion Week. “We had such a strong team of women come together to celebrate creativity, unity, and execute a massive production led by visionary Claire Sulmers,” Bre says. “New York Fashion Week owes me nothing, but I owe God everything.”

2003 Tyler Grove has joined the international trade practice at Akin Gump in Washington, D.C.

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2019 Will Cammerzell, Hannah Murphy, and Cole Ferguson celebrate at their Tulane University graduation.

Saints traveled from Noxontown Pond across the big pond for the 2023 Royal Henley Regatta to watch SAS alumni in college compete.

Bre Pierce ’13

2015 Liam Batson started a new position at Delta Air Lines as a dispatcher.

2016

2021 Young alumni gathered at Vanderbilt University in Nashville this fall.

Amanda Sin announced that she has joined Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald, LLP as a first-year associate. She is also delighted to share that her work, written as part of her GW Law Government Procurement Law Program coursework, was published in the Public Contract Law Journal, Vol. 52 No. 4. A digital copy is available via the American Bar Association Public Contract Law Section’s website at americanbar.org.

2018

(l. to r.) Jim and Kiran Chapman P’21,’23, Carol Jean and Bulent Atalay ’58 P’84 GP ’16,’17,’19,’23, Gardner Cadwalader ’66 P’00,’03, Monica Matouk ’84 P’18,’21,’23, Amrit Chapman ’21, John Austin ’83 P’18,’21,’23, Katy Cadwalader P’00,’03, Theodora Simons ’17, Lindsay Brown P’11,’14, Margaret Cece ’17, Xander Atalay ’19, Elizabeth Atalay P’17,’19,’23, Elaina Aikens (Kneeling in front) Michael Atalay ’84 P’17,’19,’23 and Alan Aikens ’84.

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

(l. to r., front row) Marvi Ali, Griffin Pitt, Georgia Davis ’23, Miles Abney ’20, Parker Friedli ’22. They are joined by, left to right, Chief Advancement Officer Ann Wardwell, Director of College Counseling Jason Honsel P’24, and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Will Robinson ’97 P’26

Nam Nguyen got to feature a photo of his choice in Times Square as part of his company ODDITY’s IPO. “I chose a photo of my half sisters in Vietnam to introduce two future world leaders to the public,” Nam says. ODDITY is a consumer- The Saints squad leveled up at Davidson tech company that uses AI and Machine College in North Carolina with a strong Learning models in interesting ways showing from the Class of 2023. to fuel its beauty and wellness brands.

2023

We hope you’ll share any news from the small to the large— including news of your recent alumni meetups (including virtual gatherings!); job changes and professional achievements; recent travel; weddings and new additions to your family; acts of service, and anything else you want to let us know!

HOW TO SUBMIT NOTES ONLINE

www.standrews-de.org/connect EMAIL

classnotes@standrews-de.org MAIL

(back row) Jayson Rivera, Nate Reed ’22, Zach Shepphard ’21, Alec Finch ’22, and Mike Liu ’22. (front row) Izzy Paris, Georgia Fairbanks, Ellison Baker, Marie Ueda ’21, and Jared Horgan ’22.

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Class Notes c/o Magazine Editor St. Andrew’s School 350 Noxontown Road Middletown, DE 19709

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Saints Babies 1 Tilden (Davis) Arnold ’10 and her husband Alex welcomed Rowen Grace Arnold in July.

2 Grace Reynolds ’08 and Garrett Schmidt and big sister Nora Ingram Schmidt, born on May 28, 2021, welcomed Walter James Schmidt, born on July 15, 2023. 3 Lizzie (Bowers) and Taylor Brown ’08 finally met Jack Boden “Bodie” Brown on July 10, 2023. He was born 8 lbs., 10 oz. “We could not be more in love with him,” the couple reports. 4 & 5 Kathryn Steele Glazier ’05 and her husband Chris welcomed Henry William Glazier on August 2, 2023. 6 Sutton Brown ’07 and Faisal Al Qasimi welcomed their first child, Samira “Mira” Al Qasimi, into the world this past April. “Mira is a happy, healthy, smiley baby who can’t wait to meet her SAS family at an upcoming reunion,” Sutton says. 7 “Langston Bemus Patrick joined the Patrick family on June 19, 2023,” says KP Patrick ’07. “We are feeling full of love and pride for Langston and Zora.” 8 Mary Jo (Toothman) Endahl ’08 and husband Jordan welcomed Peter, born on July 18, 2023. “He’s keeping us on our toes,” Mary Jo says. “But overall, he is a happy little guy!” 9 Susannah (Donoho) Voigt ’13 and her husband George welcomed Lydia Hayes Voigt on February 23, 2023.

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Saints Get Married

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1 Noelle Frieson ’95 married David Friedman on June 24, 2023 in a laid-back ceremony and pool party reception at their home in Franklin Lakes, N.J. 2 Noelle Frieson Friedman ’95 with classmates Liz (Dwyer) van Sickle, Erin (Burnam) Fredericks, and Shelley (Haley) Huntington.

Liz and Shelley’s daughters Lucy and Virginia walked down the asile with Noelle’s son Brendan and stepson Harry.

3 Ruby Cramer ’08 and Simon Vance were married at the Brooklyn Grange in Brooklyn, N.Y., on August 26, 2023. 4 Saints in attendance at Ruby’s wedding were Katie Cornish ’08 (left) and Nina Punukollu ’08. 5 Andy Grabis ’13 and Joanie (Oates) Grabis ’13 tied the knot with a host of Saints in attendance! (l. to r.) Ben Egan ’13, James Rajasingh ’13, Will Cammerzell ’19, Leighton Durham ’13, Carter Speers ’13, Annie Pohl ’13, groom Andy Grabis ’13, former faculty member Christina Kennedy, bride Joanie Grabis ’13, Helen Cammerzell ’13, Liz Grabis ’15, Paul Egan ’13, Haley Wilbanks ’13, Emily Troisi ’13, Alexandra Porrazzo ’13, Eliza Wainwright ’15 and Ben Wainwright ’10. 6 Andy Grabis ’13 and Joanie Oates ’13 were married on June 17, 2023 at Cunningham Farms in New Gloucester, Maine with some familiar SAS faces. Helen Cammerzell ’13 was the officiant! (l. to r.)

Helen, Andy, and Joanie. 7 Lee Whitney ’09 and Stephanie Baker were married in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2023. (front) Stephanie and Lee (back, l. to r.) Ford Van Fossan ’09, Alex Flynn ’09, Peter Zendt ’09, Tyler Gehrs ’09, and Emerson Whitney ’12 who served as his brother’s best man.

8 Jake Myers ’12 married Rachel Smolskis in Branford, Conn., on Saturday, May 27, 2023. (front) Dave DeSalvo, Abby Tower, Wallace Duprey. (first row) Grace Saliba ’12, Mary DeSalvo, Devin Duprey ’10, Lisa Myers, Jake Myers ’12, Jaylin Duprey ’13, Melinda Tower, Stacey Duprey ’85, Julia Smith, Elizabeth Roach, Reiva Alleyne. (back row) Will Maas ’12, Kodi Shay ’00, Jon Tower, Martin Millspaugh ’12, Graham Dworkin ’12, Z Roach ’13, Tad Roach, Jordan Bonner ’15, Ike Amakiri ’12, Sam Permutt, Alec Hill ’12, Khary Dennis ’12, and Tony Alleyne ’01. 9 Z Roach ’13 and Lilly Mudge were married on July 15, 2023 on Prince Edward Island. (l. to r.) Owen, Matt and Hadley Roach ’07 Westman, Annie Roach ’18, Lilly Mudge, Z Roach ’13, Elizabeth Roach, Wolf, Matthew ’04 and Kate Borsuk Roach, Tad Roach.

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In Memory ALUMNI REMEMBRANCES 1962

JOHN ST. CLAIR CRAIGHILL Annapolis, MD 8/20/2023

“I have always said that John was a prince of a man, the epitome of what it is to be a St. Andrean.”—JOHN MORTON ’65

“John was, first of all, a special, quiet, and serious member of the 31 of us who were St. Andrew’s School Class of 1962. We endured, survived, and left our mark some 60 years ago. We are better men, and SAS is a better place as a result. Second, in our later years, John was an integral member of the ‘feared’ Class of ’62 Foursome at most of the 25 SAS Alumni Golf Tournaments. We had fun, raised money, and re-lived many great stories of our role in creating SAS’s legacy! He set goals, achieved them, had an illustrious career and raised a great family. Quite a legacy. He will be missed. God bless him and the family.”—LARRY COURT ’62 P’92,’92

1968

GEORGE BOARDMAN EAGER JR. Penang, Malaysia 8/06/2022

“George came to SAS from Williamsburg, Va., and moved to Malaysia in 2016. Although he was ‘invited not to return’ after IV Form, he was connected to our class over the years and a member of several iterations of our email group going back to 1998.”—LORY PECK ’68 “George was a unique and wonderful friend for almost 60 years. I started a list of things he and I did together, even if separated by geography, and it is a good part of my life.”—STEVE SAWYIER ’68 “I remember him as a very kind ‘old soul’ with a wicked sense of humor.”

—JAMES DAVIS ’68

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1969

CHARLES EDWARD MEALEY KOLB Alexandria, VA 7/13/2023

“I am saddened and somewhat shocked to hear of the passing of my good friend Charles Edward M. Kolb. All of us held Charlie in high esteem. This is sudden, and I am sure my sadness is not isolated or unusual among our group. My sympathy pours out to his daughter, family, loved ones, and recent and ancient friends of this remarkable man. Charlie and I, along with Peter Maxson from our class at SAS, journeyed to Princeton in the fall of 1969. Ours was the very first coeducational freshman class in Princeton’s history. Ninety-six women joined with about 950 males that year as new first-year students. Charlie and I took our meals together most of the first two years along with a group of about six other regulars at the Commons where underclassmen and women dined cafeteria style. Charlie would expound on his new thirst for knowledge of literature, history, philosophy, politics, and his absolute joy of learning more advanced French.

Sometimes our mealtime talk would drift, led by Charlie most often, to the notable ladies in our various classes. In sophomore year he would embrace economics, trade policy, and government. He was a committed Republican and enjoyed debating about issues that would challenge him later in the Reagan and Bush Sr. administrations. He eventually found himself employed as a senior advisor in the White House and at OMB [Office of Management and Budget]. I didn’t have much contact with Charlie in our last two years at Princeton, but all should know that he got his complete fill of life-long learning from the discipline given by our faculty at St. Andrew’s, like E. Louie Crew for Second Form English.”—KEN WHITE ’69

“Charlie held numerous senior executive positions in federal government, was president of the French-American Foundation, and long-time president of the Committee for Economic Development. He was also a member of the board of Open Secrets, and the United Way, where he led investigations and ethics reforms after that organization experienced a major scandal. Charlie was most notably an ethicist, and a life long francophile. Not to mention, he loved to talk about having had tea with the Queen. As a St. Andrean, he was known as a cheerful, friendly, easy-going intellectual, who possessed a quirky sense of humor. Charlie was a great friend, and, no doubt, everything that A. Felix duPont ever hoped for.

Qu’il repose en paix Paix a son ame” —DOUG JONES ’69

“Charles was always a fair and friendly classmate and will be missed for sure.”—WILLY SMITH ’69 “He was precise in his speech, played squash and wore bow ties in high school: they were the right fit.”

—PETER CALOGER ’69

“So sorry to hear about Charlie, with his bow ties, loving French classes, quiet but funny, a true gentleman, even way back when. We are all blessed to have grown up with him.”—FRED LEWIS ’69

“In an academic environment where intellect was the norm, Charlie was a standout. He had an enviable ability to focus his mind; he was a sponge for knowledge and he retained what he absorbed. In spite of this, he was never arrogant or elitist about his mental gifts. Always friendly, always humble, usually with a smile on his face is how I remember Charlie. Always organized, always conducting himself with a wonderful sense of decorum.

Charlie was a regular at our ’69 class reunions, and if he ever experienced any rough seas in his life—I’m sure he did as we all have—one would never

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know as I never heard him complain about anything. Charlie was truly a great classmate, and as with all of our dwindling numbers, he will be missed.”—FRANTZ HERR ’69 “I am so sorry to hear about Charlie, truly one of the good guys. I’ll always remember him fondly for his bow ties, his ready smile, his quiet demeanor amidst a pretty rowdy class, but most of all his deep, genuine, non-ideological and non-judgemental conservatism. He was the same Charlie when he was under secretary of education under Bush and when he was head of United Way as he was with us at St. Andrew’s.

We were all fortunate to have had him in our class and lives.”—DAVE LYON ’69 ROBERT LANIER SIDES Austin, TX 10/01/2023

“This just doesn’t seem possible. My friend Rob was always so young and healthy looking. We had some good times at SAS, especially in the Auto Club, of which he was president. I am glad I was Rob and Margaret's dinner guest in D.C. some years back.

Margaret cooked up some super filet mignon and Rob and I chatted long into the evening. As I took my leave he gave me his customary bidding of ‘healthy to a hundred.’ This is very sad news indeed.”—WILLY SMITH ’69 “I don’t have a memory of ’69’s senior year without Rob being there. He was a very defined presence, a positive personality that will always be with us.

Vaya con Dios.”—STEVE NOBLE ’69 “Rob was a really good friend at SAS and I have many fond memories listening to his encyclopedic knowledge of current music and more recently, his wry comments on the SAS ’69 thread.

I’ll miss him.”—MICHAEL BRAY ’69 “Rob Sides entered SAS in IV Form and we became fast friends. He was my roommate V Form. He would have been for VI Form too, but he became a prefect and SAS felt I was too much of a bad influence! During our V Form spring break, Peter McGowin, Rob,

and I hopped in my family’s station wagon and drove to Mobile, Ala. That was the week I met my wife, Weegie, and lost my school ring waterskiing on Dog River. Peter set us up with dates for the week, and when Weegie said she would like to join us, he asked her if she wanted to be with the guy from New York, Rob; or the guy from Maryland, me. She thought New York sounded more exciting so it took me a few more years to catch her. I also spent a week with Rob on Long Island that same summer. We saw Buddy Rich Band. Of course, music had to be involved. Many years later, Rob got my kids signed copies of a Widespread Panic album. We saw Rob a few times over the years: at his house, our house, SAS … not nearly often enough, but always enjoyable. Last time was our 50th Reunion. He was the health nut.

Bicycling, herbs, and vitamins. I loved him and am profoundly saddened by his passing.”—TIM ILIFF ’69 “Rob was a great classmate and SAS supporter. He was a regular at our ’69 reunions, often accompanied by his lovely wife Margaret. Rob’s life had its share of ups and downs, but he never seemed to let the storms inside, and always presented a pleasant disposition. Rob’s working career was in the business side of the music industry, and the upheaval from music streaming completely changed the dynamics of the industry and no doubt the level of stress in Rob’s life. Rob took a swing or two at married life before he hit a home run with Margaret. He experienced the terrible grief of losing a son to addiction. Nevertheless, he took something good from that experience during a heartfelt ’69 Reunion conversation with a classmate experiencing similar issues. Rob was a passionate spokesman for whatever he believed in. We were about as far apart on the political spectrum as you can get, but it never interfered with our friendship. A light has truly gone out for the Class of ’69.”—FRANTZ HERR

’69 P’97

Former Faculty/Staff JOSEPH S. PERROTT

Former English Teacher Mount Airy, PA 4/24/2020

“Joe was my first literature teacher at St. Andrew’s. He was the first person to encourage me as a writer and I have been a writer ever since, having published 10 books, numerous reviews, articles, illustrations, and translations.

He had great insight into texts. He cut us no slack. He also regaled us with stories of playing lacrosse at Syracuse with the great Jim Brown, who also died recently. He taught at St. Andrew’s for only a year but I remember him vividly and with gratitude.”—KEN McCULLOUGH ’61

SAM SIMMONS

Former Housekeeping Department Supervisor Dover, DE 2/22/2023

Sam started working at St. Andrew’s in February 1960 in a temporary position in the housekeeping department. Over the years, Sam worked in the gym, the mailroom, and the school store.

Thirty-eight years later, he retired as the Housekeeping Department supervisor.

He’s quoted in Time to Remember, “When I worked in the gym store, a lot of students would come down, swap stories and tell me their personal problems, everyday woes … I gave some good advice in a subtle way, not being too pushy, but just giving advice I thought they could use.

Some never forgot.”

“Sam was such a kind man!

Gave me a lot of advice, which was appreciated.”—CHUCK WALTON ’77 “Sam Simmons was quiet, dignified, approachable, and wise. As a young student, I looked up to him. Several years later, after I returned from a tour of duty in Vietnam, I visited the school and spent an hour or more talking to him. I still remember how flattered I was that he remembered me, and how meaningful that conversation CAN’T HELP BUT CONNECT / 69

SAS / ST. ANDREW’S MAGAZINE

I would occasionally stop in for a visit and he would patiently listen as I shared what I was doing and offer advice. When I attended his viewing, his strong connection to St. Andrew’s was clearly demonstrated with the photos included in the slideshow of Sam participating in events at the school. St. Andrew’s has truly lost an institution with Sam’s passing.”

—RANDY REYNOLDS ’86

was. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”—STEVE OCKENDEN ’64 “What a great guy. Always smiling and helpful. SAS was definitely a better place because Sam was there.” —PAUL EICHLER ’82

“Could always count on a smile from Sam. Good man. Good memories of him.”—BILL BRAKELEY ’86 “For a student and then as a faculty member, Sam was an institutional treasure to me. Sitting in the cage with Sam in the afternoon, as a kid or as a young coach, I could always get some piece of sage advice from him. A remarkable human being.”—ASHTON RICHARDS ’78

“He was a familiar face growing up; he started at SAS the year I was born.

And he always had a smile for us kids.

To me, everyone was just part of my home community, whether teachers and their families, maintenance, kitchen—all were part of the SAS family.”—ALISON AMOS MULLER ’78 “One of the nicest men ever. Mr. Simmons was a good dude.”—JENELL JACKSON ’98

“I have so many fond memories of Sam as both a student and a coworker.

I met Sam my III Form year when he had his office in the ‘cage’ next to the boys’ locker room. Sam was in charge of the athletic supplies and athletic laundry and his office was always open for a visit and talk. He had a quiet strength about him and certainly listened more than he talked, but when 70 / CAN'T HELP BUT CONNECT

he spoke, it was always sage advice or a positive thought and his office was a quiet sanctuary in the chaos of boarding-school life. That summer, I worked on the housekeeping crew which Sam was in charge of and I think my 15-year-old enthusiasm was a bit much for him as he seemed to have a challenge keeping me busy.

The first day, he sent me to sweep the Garth, and when I quickly did it and came back asking for more work, he shook his head and sent me to sweep the covered area outside the dining room. Forty-five minutes later, I was back asking for more and he then sent me to sweep the entire seven bay garage area between the girls’ dorm and the main building. As you can imagine, I industriously swept the entire area, but Sam had forgotten he had parked his immaculately kept car in one end of the garage to keep it out of the sun. Needless to say, all of my enthusiastic sweeping generated a ton of dust, some of which settled on Sam’s car. In true Sam fashion, when he saw it, he did not yell or scream, but simply shook his head and suggested I might be better suited working on the grounds crew cutting grass. Over the next three years, I would often visit Sam in his office and share my day and he would mostly listen and occasionally offer advice. The day I graduated, Sam was there and made a point of finding me after the service and congratulating me. After I graduated,

“Sam was a dear friend, a quiet mentor to many students of color, a skilled and accomplished colleague who could make the windowless closet off the uniform room into a welcoming office and gathering place for conversation and illumination.

His laugh was infectious, explosive, joyful.” —WILL SPEERS P’07,’09,’13 “Mr. Simmons was much loved by students, coaches, and co-workers in my day. He always had his Bible close at hand and would give me an inspirational verse before a game.

May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”

—REV. DAVID DESALVO

“What a kind, lovely man Sam was, one of those silent, gentle rays of sunshine that could cut through teenage angst with a simple smile and a friendly hello.

—CHRISTINA G. K. CAIN ’90

GLORIA JEAN WALKER Middletown, DE 4/19/2023

“Gloria was the mother of three brilliant and talented children: Melissa Walker, Larry Walker, and Michael Walker.

Wife of the passionate music director at St. Andrew’s School, Larry Walker Sr. Nurturing great grandmother. The most gracious grandmother. Gloria was a friend of many and caring of all.

My favorite person growing up. The only one I would let brush my hair.

The one I shared a love of art with. The supreme baker and holiday decorator.

The doll collector. The British royalty follower. The Food Network and The Princess Diaries watcher. The Patsy

WINTER 2024

Cline singer. Proud and honorable core of the women’s auxiliary at Elsmere Fire Company No.1. Nails always done, hair as white as snow, always wearing jewelry. Mama to the prettiest cats. Party girl. A young and beautiful 77-year-old who found herself later in life. We will always love you, remember you, and cherish you mom-mom AKA grams. Rest in peace to the glorious Gloria Jean.”—TAYLER MCGUIRE, MELISSA’S (MISSY) DAUGHTER AND GLORIA’S GRANDDAUGHTER.

“May God bless you with peace and rest Mrs. Walker. Thank you for being my SAS mom.”—PAUL EICHLER ’82 “Mine, too.”—CHESA PROFACI ’80

1953

1976

Cornwall, PA February 17, 2023

Charleston, SC March 8, 2023

DAVID PRESBY GIAMMATTEI

1954

1980

Little Compton, RI March 13, 2023

Kerrville, TX January 31, 2023

M. ALEX “TONY” PHILIPPI, JR.

ROBERT M. “BOB” NUCKOLS Lakewood Ranch, FL August 15, 2023

STEPHEN A. GARRISON P’83,’85 Olga, WA March 4, 2023

1960

THOMAS JOHN FILIPI

LEVIN M. LYNCH Seattle, WA ​January 25, 2023

JOHN H. “JACK” ROOD Tempe, AZ September 2022

1950

Philadelphia, PA August 7, 2023

1983

ROBERT DEAN OWENS, JR.

1958

Easton, MD April 29, 2023

1945

LOUISE NOMER WHITE MARTHA RICHARDS VALCIUKAS

1955

MICHAEL P. KEATING

In Memory

ALLSTON ALLISON KITCHENS

West Milford, PA February 27, 2023

Millville, NJ July 9, 2023

FORMER FACULTY

GEORGE “BUFF” BUFFINGTON WEIGAND, JR. Palmyra, NJ January 29, 2023

BATTLE MALONE HAMILTON Hockessin, DE March 24, 2023

1962

PETER BRABANT MILLICHAP Atlanta, GA June 21, 2023

1969

TIMOTHY S. MARGULIES Philadelphia, PA March 18, 2023

1973

LOFTON HOLDWORTH “JIM” ALLEY Tampa, FL August 26, 2023

MAURICE “MAURY” KEMP JR. Bozeman, MT February 8, 2023

1951

RICHARD DICKINSON JEWETT CONSTABLE Madison, CT February 13, 2022

1952

C. HENRY ROTH II Houston, TX April 25, 2021

In Memory as of October 1, 2023.

Visit standrews-de.org/inmemory to read full obituaries and leave remembrances for departed Saints.

If you would like to submit a remembrance of a deceased alumnus or former faculty member, you can do so via email to Chesa Profaci (cprofaci@standrews-de.org).

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The Last Word This year, we’ve hosted two celebrations of the 50th anniversary of coeducation, events that seek to amplify the voices of the first and early women who forever changed our school. One celebration was this year’s UNITED Conference, an event designed to honor families, students, and alumni of color. We held UNITED: “We Speak Your Names” on November 10, and invited five of the earliest women students of color to return to St. Andrew’s as panelists. Those alumnae were Joan Woods ’76, Tami Maull ’77, Treava Milton ’83, Viviana Davila ’85, and Anita Pamintuan Fusco ’86.

During UNITED, Milton gave a moving chapel talk on the importance of building human connections.

Drawing on the story of Noah and his ark, Milton implored the community draw on its “inner Noah” and never stop building. With her permission, we’ve shared a condensed version below.

M

ankind was described [in Genesis 5] as corrupt, evil, and violent, and “God’s heart was broken.”

And so God established a response. That response was a flood to destroy all living creatures of land, sea, and air, except for Noaht and his family.

Noah was given a job building a structure designed for salvation of his family and, by extension, mankind.

Noah was chosen because he lived antithetically to destructive, corrosive behavior. Whatever character traits Noah possessed, God’s plan was to preserve and multiply them. Noah answered the call because the survival of mankind was at stake. Noah’s commitment posed its own set of challenges. In an enclosed space under stressful times, Noah was tasked with housing herbivores and carnivores, wolves and lambs, clean and unclean animals. He had to shelter leaf-destroying insects in the same space with giraffes who needed leaves to survive. He had to house lions and crocodiles who wanted to feast on the elephants. He had to house squid and clownfish and zooplankton and crows, hyenas, vultures, and Tasmanian devils. Yet he accepted the responsibility to build.

UNITED is designed to deepen connections between alumni, parents of color, students, and identify mentors to learn strategies to navigate academic, professional, and personal challenges. UNITED is designed to build.

People are desperate for authentic connection— connection to themselves and to other people. Neuroscience suggests that our brain is most likely to innovate when it knows that it is safe, loved, and that it belongs. When ruptures are acknowledged, and when there are apologies, moments of injury offer the most profound opportunities for growth and deeper connection. Problems occur when injuries to connection are rarely acknowledged. The work of researcher Dr. Brené Brown reminds us to rethink the ways in which we experience and think about awkward moments and vulnerability. When we strengthen our internal locus of control, we can fortify ourselves against behavior that is designed to shame us. These are the things that we need to

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keep in mind when we think about how relationships are built, developed, and maintained.

I entered St. Andrew’s in 1979, as the only Black female student in my class. I was from the Bronx, the place that brought hip hop culture to the world, yet bore the scintillating, undignified marks of scarcity. I was from a place where weakness, vulnerability, and asking for help was a death sentence. As a result, I was the product of a fragile family system.

Fragile partially because both my parents were born and raised in the segregated South and bore the battle scars that come with survival. I was from a place where it was very uncool to be intelligent, and it was often unsafe to go outside and play.

And then I found myself in Noah’s Ark. And while I was a lamb and there were wolves, there were spaces that were deliberately and intentionally created for me. I found a lifelong friend in the ark, and we have lived, loved, laughed, grieved, and celebrated together. Twenty-four years after I graduated, I returned to SAS as a faculty member.

That career move became my opportunity to connect to my inner Noah—to build, to create rooms where students could breathe, where they could be confused or unsure or angry or vulnerable or exhausted by being a Brown kid in a beautiful yet overwhelmingly white space, or where they could be a neurodiverse kid in a space that overwhelmed their senses.

Understand that during your attempts to build yourself, your family, your career at St. Andrew’s, there will almost always be the possibility that giraffes will argue with elephants over leaves. Or the rhino will use water from the shark tank to hydrate himself, or the eagle won’t be concerned about dropping waste on the tigers. But don’t let that stop you from building.

Build with passion. Build with intentionality. Build people every opportunity that you get. Build them so they know that they belong. Every word, every glance, every moment is connected to an outcome that we cannot see. You can choose to be a willing vessel of strength for someone every single day. And when you do this, may you find grace in the sight of God, for the survival of mankind is at stake. J

Whether you are one of the nearly 400 donors who have given to the Saints Fund for 25 or more years, or one of the five alums who have given for more than 50 years, or one of the nearly 250 first-time donors to the Saints Fund last year, your gift matters!

Gifts to the Saints Fund make a significant impact on the lives of current Saints, and help us plan for the Saints of tomorrow.

We have a bold $3 million Saints Fund goal this year that is achievable only if our whole community comes together to do what Saints do: open doors, open hearts, and open minds.

Please join us by making a gift today!

VIA SMART PHONE

ONLINE www.standrews-de.org/give VIA CHECK Please mail to: Advancement Office St. Andrew’s School 350 Noxontown Road Middletown, DE 19709

Not sure if you have given this year or want to discuss making a pledge, stock gift, or other way to give? Contact Laurie Kettle-Rivera, Director of the Saints Fund, at (302) 285-4274 or lkettlerivera@standrews-de.org.

50 YEARS OF COEDUCATION AT ST. ANDREW’S

We hope you’ve enjoyed this first installment of St. Andrew’s Magazine devoted to the 50th anniversary of coeducation.

Our storytelling will continue in our next issue, and we seek your help. Do you know a Saint who was “first in her space,” either by shattering corporate ceilings, innovating in her field, rising through the ranks of a male-dominated space, smashing athletic records, or charting her own creative path? Perhaps that Saint is you! Please send your tips to magazine@standrews-de.org.

Our archival project remains open to collect all stories related to coeducation. If you’d like to share it, we’d love to hear it.

This is your story. Together, let’s make sure it gets told.

For more information on how you can join us in commemorating 50 years of coeducation, please visit:

STANDREWS-DE.ORG/COEDUCATION