alumni news
Kate Risley ’93 (front right, red jacket) with her teammates at the 1993 NEPSAC ski championships, and above, with her father and stepmother at her graduation.
A TRUE TEAMMATE Kate Risley ’93 had a gift for finding excellence in people. A new scholarship in her name passes those ideals forward. —BY KEVIN MARKEY
After 25 years, the camaraderie still leaps off the page. It’s the 1993 NEPSAC ski championship, and Williston’s varsity girls pose for a photo: Eight young athletes, smiling widely, delighted by the day, by their own prowess, and by each other’s company. The brightest smile may belong to senior co-captain Kate Risley ’93. “Katie was passionate about being part of a team,” remembers her father, John Risley. “Team sports were a gateway for her to go through and try some other things with the confidence she’d earned.” Three short years after the photo was taken,
Kate died in a boating accident. On the 20th anniversary of her untimely passing, the Risley family last fall established the Kate Risley ’93 Scholarship Fund. The permanently endowed fund will support financial aid for students who bring the same passion and committment to Williston that Kate did. “I think for Kate, the power of team was the most important aspect of playing sports,” says John, who is the founder of Risley Sports Photography. He started the business after a career in higher education, and much of his motivation came
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from a cherished shot of Kate playing lacrosse at the College of Wooster, where she was set to become captain her senior year. “I wanted to capture the determination and intensity and passion young athletes bring to the field,” he says. At Williston, Kate earned varsity letters in tennis, skiing, soccer, and lacrosse, but no field could contain her many facets. A gifted visual artist and an accomplished creative writer, she was majoring in English at Wooster and planning to become a teacher. At the time of her death, the college president called her “the quintessential student.” Williston history teacher Peter Gunn remembers Kate as “always willing to be inspired, willing to be challenged. The smile, the wrinkling of her brow as she concentrated, her sharp wit and warm heart: those all come flowing back. Kate Risley made me look forward to class every day.” One of Peter’s favorite memories involves running into Kate at a restaurant the summer before her senior year. He was with Robin Legge, who also taught at Williston.
Spotting the couple, Kate came over to say hi. Then she looked at Robin’s left hand. “Really?” she demanded, seeing no engagement ring. Then, looking at Peter: “When are you going to make the best decision of your life?” The Gunns will celebrate their 22nd wedding anniversary this June. “Kate had a gift for finding the and nuturing the excellence in people,” Peter says. “She wanted everyone to imagine and realize their best selves.” The instinct finds expression in a poem Kate dedicated to her Wooster lacrosse teammates. Extolling the virtues of teamwork, she wrote: “A catch cannot be made unless someone makes a pass. / A pass cannot be made until someone puts the ball in the air. / Together we create a singular power.” The subject is lacrosse, but really Kate was talking about faith, confidence, the strength that comes with committing to a common cause—ideals memorialized by the Kate Risley ’93 Scholarship Fund. Through the generosity of the Risley family, future students will have help in finding their excellence.