StC News
Perspectives from St. Christopher's
Alumni, faculty past and present, board members share their perspectives on community and inclusion
The most recent issue of our biannual print publication StC: The Magazine of St. Christopher's focused on community and inclusion--things that go hand in hand with our mission to prepare boys for college and for life in an ever-changing world. Members of the St. Christopher's community including alumni, faculty past and present, and board members, contributed to the issue.
Below we highlight a few excerpts from the stories told in the issue. You can read the full publication on our website here.
Building Community
John Minor '95
I am a third-generation St. Christopher’s alum. Like my grandfather, father, uncle, cousin and brother, I started at St. Christopher’s in kindergarten and continued all the way through senior year, when I graduated in 1995. I will always regard my time at St. Christopher’s as instrumental in making me the person I am today. Not only did I receive a top-tier education that prepared me well for college and career, but my time at St. Christopher’s fortified the guiding principles of honor, integrity, character and faith that my parents and grandparents instilled in me from a very young age. For these things, I am forever grateful.
Below we highlight a few excerpts from the stories told in the issue. You can read the full publication on our website here.
Building Community
John Minor '95
I am a third-generation St. Christopher’s alum. Like my grandfather, father, uncle, cousin and brother, I started at St. Christopher’s in kindergarten and continued all the way through senior year, when I graduated in 1995. I will always regard my time at St. Christopher’s as instrumental in making me the person I am today. Not only did I receive a top-tier education that prepared me well for college and career, but my time at St. Christopher’s fortified the guiding principles of honor, integrity, character and faith that my parents and grandparents instilled in me from a very young age. For these things, I am forever grateful.
However, my 13 years at St. Christopher’s were not always easy. The fact is, I am gay. This is not something I decided. God created me this way, the same God that I worshiped in chapel at St. Christopher’s each week and continue to worship today.
Back in the ’80s and ’90s, the world was a different place for young gay people. There were few positive gay role models in the public eye, the TV shows Will and Grace and Modern Family were years away, and homophobia was commonplace and widespread. We have come a long way since then, but during my time at St. Christopher’s, I lived through the trickle-down effects of a society that was largely uninformed on the subject of homosexuality.
The Rev. Melissa Hollerith, Faculty '90-'94 and '00-'16
The Rev. Melissa Hollerith, Faculty '90-'94 and '00-'16
At that time, there weren't many women in Upper School. Honestly, I am sure some folks thought George had lost his good sense hiring a young woman as chaplain. If any of those folks actually called George, I sure never heard about it. George was a man ahead of his time.
There is nothing like walking into an unairconditioned Chamberlayne Hall classroom, raising the windows and hoping for a breeze, only to find that your hair and new perm has grown exponentially because of the excessive humidity. As I walked in the room one boy said aloud for all to hear, "What happened to your hair? It looks like you stuck your finger in an electric socket." That's when I knew they had me. There is nothing I love more than the honesty and transparency of a young man. We all laughed as I tried to explain what a perm was, and what humidity could do to it.
When you work at a boy's school the humor is infectious and fun. There is always a little teeter-tottering that goes on as we all try to find the line as to what is acceptable, but by and large boys get that better than anyone.
Aoky Sarhan '12
After I got a “D” in orchestra at my local public middle school, my mom and I decided it was time for a change. I was struggling academically, socially and personally. Unfortunately, public schools in my area were disappointing, and paying full-price for a great education at a private school was out of the question. When a friend told my mom about financial aid at St. Christopher’s, we scheduled a visit for the next day, and I fell in love right away.
A beautiful campus, great facilities and teachers who cared about their students. It seemed almost too good to be true, and, of course, for someone of my background, under most circumstances, it was. However, St. Christopher’s generous financial aid, provided by those committed to giving back to their community, provided me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As best as I could, I immersed myself in everything St. Christopher’s had to offer, from sports to the honor system, from physics to Ancient Greek. I made friends of different backgrounds, and I learned from my fellow students as well as from the faculty, whose myriad roles included mentoring and coaching, consoling and cheering. I grew as an athlete and a student, but more importantly I grew as a young man, supported by a community that values character and service above all else.
I wasn’t the first minority kid. Michael Grey ’79 and Fergie Reid ’77 were in the Lower School, plus classmates Mike Pak and Joe Chun started the same time I did. Of course that doesn’t stop me from occasionally rolling out a big fat lie when someone asks me where I went to school: “I desegregated an all-male, all-white prep school in the heart of Virginia.” Talk about an attention-grabber! But I certainly felt frightened and intimidated when I enrolled.
Looking back with 40 years of hindsight, I realize that my rough start was partly because I was such a nerd. Brainy and frightened isn’t exactly a recipe for social success at any new school.
.png){kind=logo}
©2023 St. Christopher's School. All Rights Reserved.