Faculty Retirements/Awards

FACULTY RETIREES

Cheryl Snyder // Preschool Teacher “Mrs. Snyder is an awesome teacher because she inspires me to be nice, she makes me feel special, and we loved painting and playing dress-up in her class!” // Milo Monahan ’32 Dr. Jerry Nixon // History Teacher To the man, the myth, the legend, our WCS penguin enthusiast and penguin ruler Dr. Nixon – thank you for your years of dedication to the enrichment of Wichita Collegiate. Your dry sense of humor will certainly be missed next year!” // Elizabeth

Meister ’19

Ron Darmon // AP Government & Politics, Economics & Society “He’s a man of true integrity and honor. He never gave me or any other students less than his best, and that’s why we never wanted to let him down. Even though I’m sad he’ll be leaving our little Collegiate family, it goes without saying he will leave an eternal legacy with his colleagues and his students.” // Gehad Qaki ’19 Barbara Stokley // English Teacher “It is my firm belief that, if we look hard enough, we can find beauty in every person, story, and thing in this world. I am always filled with hope when I meet an individual who shares this perspective because this world needs people who are willing to see and strive for goodness. Mrs. Stokley is one such individual.” // Rose Cunningham ’19 Doug Bradley // Grade 8 Math Teacher “Mr. Bradley inspired me to be the best that I could be. Though I am no math scholar, Mr. Bradley was able to reach and inspire me and my classmates to try harder and think past just what was on the page. He taught us that progress was more important than perfection.” // Sam Schlatter ’20 Alejandra Pizarro-Rommann // Spanish Teacher “You have brought lots of sunshine into our lives. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Wichita Collegiate Lower and Middle School!” // Jackson

Rukes ’27

Annette Shamas // College Counselor “As I reflect on my time at Collegiate, I think about everything that has made me who I am today. There have been many great experiences but there have been even greater people. Mrs. Shamas is one of those great people. Actually, she is one of those AMAZING people. Thank you for keeping us sane through senior year and thank you for making our dreams come true. NONE of us would be here without you.” // Sydney O’Donnell ’19 Gary Buettgenbach // Art Teacher “What I will miss most about Gary is his ability to inspire, cultivate, and extricate imagination and creativity from our students. Because Gary is so secure with his own creativity, he has always been somebody safe for kids to express their ideas to, to try and fail in front of, and at the same time inspiring enough for students to try and try again. You are agreeable and kind and, while much of what you help create or inspire is on display, you do more behind the scenes work than anyone else and never ask for or seem to need any recognition.” // Chris

Ashbrook, Head of Upper School

Erin DeSplinter // Lower School Science Teacher “Erin's skill as a teacher was evident in how she masterfully tiered lessons to the age and ability of each student. Her friendly, approachable demeanor was evident in how eager our students were to go to science. In addition to being a phenomenal classroom teacher, she was also an inspiring colleague, always willing to help out to ensure that Wichita Collegiate was the best it could be. ” //

Heather Eubank, Head of Lower School

Tom Davis // Headmaster “It’s easy to take the culture of our school for granted. Mr. Davis has created and inspired something special here. To keep school spirit so strong year after year is no small task, and Mr. Davis has done that with dignity and candor. Mr. Davis, you have created the place I have had the honor of calling home for the past 15 years. On behalf of all classes, past, present, and future, I’d like to thank you, Mr. Davis, for being a role model, a guardian, a leader, and a friend.” // Zach Reddy ’19 Julia Collier // Preschool Teacher “Thank you to a dear friend and wonderful teacher for her dedicated service to our school and hundreds of children over 16 years. Mrs. Collier has made our school a better place and has left an indelible impression on all our hearts.” // Becky O’Hearn,

Head of Early Childhood

Dr. Heather Eubank // Head of Lower School “If a teacher needed her, Heather was there. If a student needed her, Heather was there. If a parent needed her, Heather was there. She made each teacher feel important and valued by visiting their rooms regularly, encouraging and praising them for the work they were doing. She challenged every teacher to become better and she supported that with resources, time, and advice.”

// Tom Davis, Headmaster

Carol Pavetto // Middle School Counselor "Mrs. Pavetto is one of the wisest people I know. Whenever I went to her, I felt like she always had a solution to my problem. Almost every day, she greeted me with a smile and it always made me happy. Whenever I needed a change, I could just go into her office and eat lunch with her. This year there were some challenges I faced, and I felt like she supported me through them. I will miss her so much next year, and I don’t know what I will do without her." // Avery Eloffson '24 Leigh Godwin // Early Childhood Teacher “Leigh spent 23 of her 35 years of teaching at WCS, where she made an immeasurable impact on the hearts and minds of hundreds of little ones and their parents. Through her passionate teaching, warmth, and good humor, Mrs. Godwin has made our school a special place.” // Becky O'Hearn,

Head of Early Childhood

AWARDSYears of Service

Words cannot express enough gratitude for the following faculty and staff who have dedicated up to forty-five years of service to Wichita Collegiate School! We love you!

5YEARS

Georgia Ahern, Shanna Ahmad, Irving Aguirre, Elaine Ashbrook, Maricar Harris, Alisa Lundstedt, Beth Reeder, Vicki Salemi, Jena Simms (6 years), Cassandra Timko, Matt Webber, & Judy Zuercher (6 years) 10 YEARS John Bullinger & Victoria Ruffin

15 YEARS Cindy Johnson & Gaby White 20 YEARS Troy Black

25 YEARS Corene Ramser

30 YEARS Barbara Burcham, Mitch Fiegel, Diana Nixon, Becky O’Hearn, & Barbara Stokley

40 YEARS

Mark Hutcherson & Virginia Kehoe 45 YEARS Kathy Wagner