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October 2021

COMPASSION, KINDNESS, AND ENGAGEMENT

Inaugural Sokoloff Chair Kate Daniels St. Paul’s School has received a $2.5 million gift commitment from Kiril Sokoloff ’65 of Ketchum, Idaho, to endow the Kiril Sokoloff ’65 Chair in support of a faculty member who is an inspirational leader in the School community demonstrating compassion, kindness, and engagement. The chair was announced in the first faculty meeting of the year, and Director of Academic Support Kate Daniels named its first holder.

THE SCHOOL TODAY:

SPS by the Numbers

535

Total number of students, including 104 Third Formers, 139 Fourth Formers, 145 Fifth Formers, and 147 Sixth Formers

Percent of student body that self-identifies as diverse, including Black (10%), Asian and Pacific Islander (17%), LatinX or Hispanic (5%), and multiple heritages (13%)

Kate Daniels, director of academic support, has been named the inaugural Kiril Sokoloff ’65 Chair.

36 U.S. states represented

by the student body and countries outside the U.S. from which our students hail

1,732 Number of applications for the 2021-22 academic year

Percent increase in applications over the 2020-21 admission cycle

A global investment strategist and longtime proponent of compassion, Sokoloff cites the “extraordinary and inspirational leadership” of Rector Kathy Giles in his decision to take his advocacy of compassion to this next level. Sokoloff previously established the annual Sokoloff Prize, which funds a selected Fifth Former’s community service project.

In announcing Daniels as the first holder of the new chair, Rector Giles noted her commitment to building relationships with students that bring forth what is best in them; her work directing the Academic Support Office; her roles as head of Manville House, girls cross country coach, and adviser; and her many community engagements.

“In establishing the Sokoloff Chair, Kiril is investing … in the personal and professional ways a faculty member both acts with compassion and shows everyone what it means in the day-to-day life of the school,” Giles says. “The chair will be a living example of the power of compassion and how it can heal wounds and ease anguish. The creation of this chair is timely, given the stresses and emotional difficulties that COVID has created.”

“Students trust Kate. She works to understand, engage, and inspire them, to build those relationships that enable students to start bringing forth themselves and engaging with what we can offer,” Giles says. “Kate models compassion in her own life and her own volunteer work.”

During their three-year term, the chairholder will receive a stipend to support their interests, participate in the Sokoloff Prize selection process, and shape how compassion is nurtured at the School. “I am hopeful that this chair will be highly sought after and recognized as an important milestone in the career of SPS faculty members,” Sokoloff says.

“THE CHAIR WILL BE A LIVING EXAMPLE OF THE POWER OF COMPASSION AND HOW IT CAN HEAL WOUNDS AND EASE ANGUISH.” — RECTOR KATHY GILES

Daniels joined the SPS faculty in 2008 and oversees the Academic Support Office, which helps students reach their academic potential with guidance that complements the support they receive from their teachers and advisers. She describes herself as “incredibly humbled” to be named the first holder of the Sokoloff chair. “When I learned of its creation, my first thought was of the School Prayer, in which we are asked to be kind, unselfish, thoughtful, and helpful to others — in other words, compassionate,” she says. “How wonderful that because of Mr. Sokoloff’s generosity and commitment to compassion, there is an opportunity to celebrate as well as nurture compassion in our community. I am excited and energized by this award and am eager to share with others.” — Kate Dunlop

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Sokoloff Prize Recipient Tristan Brigham ’22 Tristan Brigham ’22 had a busy summer. He did an internship on artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, and machine learning at the Azimuth Corporation. Then there was his Applied Science & Engineering Program externship through New York University, which thrust the 18-year-old Scottsdale, Arizona, native deep into the world of cybersecurity. Finally, Brigham, a 2021 recipient of the Kiril and Kate Sokoloff Prize, used his $2,500 award to equip a class of underprivileged young teens with computers and teach them the basics of programming. “I like to be ambitious,” he says with a laugh. [The three things] didn’t really fit together but I thought, let’s try it and see what happens.” A lot did. It’s the beginning of your senior year. What are you looking forward to the most? There’s so much. After the last couple of years and what we’ve been through with COVID, I’m just looking forward to spending my last year with all my St. Paul’s friends before we go off into the world. How did your deep interest in technology come about? I’m diabetic and for the last 13 or 14 years I’ve had an insulin pump attached to me. From a young age I was like, How can I get around this? I’m 10 years old — I don’t want to think about how many carbs I’m eating and all that stuff. So I got into reading about people who were doing something called pump hacking, which involved creating their own software that could automatically increase the insulin when their blood sugar was too high and decrease it when it was low. From there I got into cyber-security hacking, coding, those kinds of things.

Cybersecurity was the focus of your NYU externship. What was at the heart of your work? A computer’s operating system is what interfaces the different parts of the computer, and in order to control everything, it employs bits of code called system calls to communicate its instructions. But there are more than 700 system calls in a typical operating system and one erroneous line can open holes for attackers to exploit. Because many of the most sophisticated attacks over the past decades have exploited issues with these system calls, the Secure Systems Laboratory (SSL) at New York University is attempting to create a software that analyzes other programs for issues before allowing their execution in the regular system environment. It’s called Lind. How will you continue that work at SPS? I’ll be verifying the efficacy of the Lind system, communicating with the SSL lab routinely to keep them updated with my progress, and modifying Lind’s code if vulnerabilities are found. I’ll also be completing an Arizona State University cybersecurity class to get a better understanding of the cybersecurity posture being followed in Lind. Read a longer version of the interview with Tristan here.

You also used your Sokoloff grant to work with teens who don’t have consistent access to computers or even the internet. What about that issue spoke to you? I attended lots of different schools when I was little and none of them were big on computers. The first time I typed an essay was the first time I had typed. I cried ‘cause I had never interacted with a computer before. So I had a little insight into how intimidating it can be to work with tech if you’re not used to it. But computers are a part of our life now. AI is to a certain extent, too. And not having some understanding of these things only exacerbates inequality. What was involved with the work you did? Through local libraries and family friends, I got the names of kids who didn’t have regular access to technology and ran an online class. I ordered a bunch of computers from Amazon and distributed them and then just walked students through the steps of basic computing to some more advanced coding concepts.

Any big takeaways on your end? I didn’t realize how much of a technology gap there is. One of my students had to walk to his aunt’s house just to get wifi. But then to watch these kids grow, from not knowing much about computers to becoming these little geniuses, was really cool. It’s striking the level of social concern that’s built into your tech interests. What accounts for that? I love political stuff, I love business stuff, and I love computer stuff. When you consider that the internet is becoming a place where we host increasingly larger parts of our lives, we must make sure that it’s a safe, equitable, and prosperous place for everyone. Cybersecurity is at the intersection of all of those things. How has your sense of living in and being part of a greater world been impacted by St. Paul’s? It’s been incredibly influential not only with what I do with computers, but also how I lead my life. Being with people from all over the world and every background possible makes you think about the world more and makes you realize what we can do when we all work together. — Ian Aldrich

DID YOU MISS . . .

The 2021-22 School year marks the 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF COEDUCATION at St. Paul’s School. In the five decades since SPS began enrolling girls, more than 3,000 alumnae have gone on to make their mark in the world. In recognition of this milestone, the School is honoring the SPS girls and women of today with a website to share their stories and a year of anniversary programming that will commence Oct. 12 with a virtual panel event hosted by Rector Kathy Giles.

In July, SPS began a comprehensive, multiphase ENGAGEMENT WITH RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), the nation’s largest anti-sexual-violence organization. The two-year engagement has begun with a comprehensive audit and assessment of the School’s sexual misconduct prevention and response programming. RAINN also will engage directly with members of the SPS community as it formally assesses the School’s culture around sexual misconduct prevention and response.

At Convocation, Sept. 2, Rector Kathy Giles shared with the SPS community the School’s REARTICULATED MISSION STATEMENT. Developed during the past year in collaboration with the SPS Board of Trustees, the refreshed mission and its guiding principles emphasize kindness, respect, and integrity as the foundation of all community interactions and the importance of educating students to build purposeful lives in service to the greater good.

St. Paul’s School (New Hampshire) St. Paul’s School Alumni

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Hear Rector Giles speak about the SPS mission and the start of the academic year.

CARRYING THE SPS COMPASS

Sofia Vivado ’11 When Sofia Vivado ’11 wanted to learn about permaculture, she was willing to go to the ends of the earth to satisfy her curiosity. Her gap-year program at a remote ranch in the Patagonia region of Argentina pushed her comfort level at times, but it also exposed her to a different way of living in community. “It was an amazing, out-of-this world experience,” she says. Vivado’s Argentinian adventure is just one example of how dedicated she is to pursuing her interests when she believes in the mission of a program or place. Another? Earlier this year, she returned to St. Paul’s as an alumni giving and relations officer in the Advancement Office. Starting with her first gift to The SPS Fund as a Sixth Former, Vivado has made a point of supporting students who came to the School after her. Now, she works with alumni in the forms of 2007 to 2020 to help them stay connected to each other and the School as well as to share her belief in the importance of supporting today’s students through annual giving. “I give back to SPS so that I can impact students,” Vivado says. “My gifts aren’t large, but they matter and make a difference in the paths students take. I know I’m making an impact I can feel proud of.” Vivado’s own path started in Texas; her family moved to her mother’s home state of New Hampshire when she was a kindergartner. Vivado first visited SPS as a middle schooler auditioning for summer ballet opportunities. Realizing she could combine great academics with intensive ballet study, she applied.

“There was a sense of camaraderie at SPS that appealed, too, and I liked the idea of living with friends,” Vivado says. Academically, she gravitated to the humanities and arts. In college, as an anthropology major and art history minor, she studied in Chile and, through internships in art galleries and museums, started laying the groundwork for her career in nonprofits and fundraising. A decade after graduating from SPS, Vivado is building on that foundation with her signature dedication and curiosity. “What most appeals to me about the School’s mission is that you can carry it with you as a compass throughout your life,” she says. “You can set the intention of continuing to build a purposeful life in service to the greater good every day. It’s been special to have my relationship with SPS expand beyond my personal experience — I enjoy hearing how experiences at the School have influenced alumni’s lives. It’s inspiring and motivating.” — Kate Dunlop

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH

The Rev. Charles Wynder, Jr. Before St. Paul’s, the Rev. Charles Wynder, Jr., dean of chapel and spiritual life, served on the Presiding Bishop’s Staff of the Episcopal Church and as Priest-in-Charge of Holy Comforter Episcopal Church St. Andrew’s Parish in Washington, D.C. A Truman Scholar and four-year member of the Army ROTC at Syracuse University, he went on to earn a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and served for six years as an attorney in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG). His decades of public and spiritual service and teaching brought him to SPS in fall 2020. He holds the Charles Dickey Faculty Chair for Religion and Ethics.

What makes you smile when you get up in the morning?

What most excites you about this school year?

My six-year-old son, Chase, and my wife, Bethany [Dickerson Wynder, SPS director of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives]. And then, the opportunity I have to engage with this place, in this role, in a way that allows me to have impact on the lives of students and fellow faculty members while being part of a community where my son can flourish and where my wife is equally valued. I am grateful for the chance to be connected here, and for Chase to be surrounded by a community of children his own age and older who help him to make meaning of his own living.

The chance to live into the School’s rearticulated mission and find ways in which the Office of the Chaplaincy, and Chapel, can advance the mission and embody the underlying values through invitation and engagement of the students and the faculty. Holding space for students, staff, and faculty to grapple with the large spiritual questions — Who am I? Why am I here? How am I called to live in relationship with others? What is the meaning of the life that I am living? — and doing that in a way in which we foster an environment of welcome and inclusion for people of all faiths, and no faith, while being grounded in our Episcopal tradition. These are the things that excite me.

St. Paul’s strives toward becoming Beloved Community — a place where the diversity of perspectives is honored, affirmed, and included. How do you hope to support that aim in your own work? Becoming Beloved Community is just that: not a building process, but a process of becoming. I hope to support the School’s work in this area by helping us grapple with issues and history, and to envision a future where we collectively ask not only the questions of who am I and why am I here, but also who is my neighbor, how am I called to love my neighbor, and how am I related to my neighbor? Becoming Beloved Community means welcoming this ongoing work in a nonabstract and embodied way. We will continue to promote understanding and healing across differences of race, class, sexual orientation, and gender expression. One of the ways I see us doing that is by providing emphasis on our interfaith work and the promotion of religious pluralism. The Chaplaincy’s move to Sheldon this fall, where we have dedicated space for the Hindu Society, the Muslim Society, and Hillel, along with space for the Meditation and Mindfulness Society, and community building, and convening, and worship, and prayer for those groups and others — that is significant for us as an Episcopal school in promoting friendship and inclusion among our students and our faculty. And then, too, continuing a focus on justice, reconciliation, and healing through Chapel talks and programs, and promoting a cathedral model of Chapel: a house of worship for all people where we embody invitation, welcome, and engagement.

Whom do you most admire?

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

My father, Charles Wynder, Sr. He served for 30 years in the Army — 16 years of active duty and 14 years of reserve duty — and retired as a colonel. He was also an educator — a teacher, a coach, and an administrator in public schools in Hampton, Virginia. He’s walked with me through my life as an example for me, a companion to me, a friend, and a coach helping me to grow into the ongoing vocation of being first a human being, and then a father, husband, priest, and now chaplain at this School. He always provides me with frameworks to make meaning of where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going.

The best piece of advice I’ve received is from my father, and it’s one that I’ve referenced in Chapel: Remember to embrace the journey of life. It reminds me of the quote that I grew up with, and that applies even now: “What you will be you are now becoming.” It’s about recognizing that you’re constantly becoming — to work and learn, to love and find joy. — Kristin Duisberg

TOGETHER AGAIN Over the waning days of August and the first few days of September, the St. Paul’s School community welcomed — and welcomed back — 535 students hailing from 36 states and 13 countries to begin the 166th academic year. Sixth Formers arrived first, on Sunday, Aug. 29; two days later, on a picture-perfect Tuesday, they welcomed 104 Third Formers — most of whom had never visited the grounds because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourth and Fifth Formers returned on Sept. 1; Convocation on Thursday, Sept. 2, marked the first time in more than a year that the entire School community was able to come together in the Chapel. Rector Kathy Giles shared her enthusiasm, gratitude, and optimism for the year ahead with students and faculty, and after, students set out for Schoolhouse and Lindsay for their first classes of the term, followed later in the day by the fall’s first sports team practices.