Lakeside School

Spring semester always inspires a sense of new beginnings for me, as seemingly every tree and bush around campus replaces the bare branches of winter with colorful flowers, followed by the fresh growth of new leaves. This spring, the natural world’s botanical cycle was complemented by several other notable moments of growth and transformation for our school.

On a personal note, I found myself in a new beginning of my own during my fourth year at Lakeside, as I stepped into the interim head of school role in February after Dr. Kai Bynum announced his departure. I’m grateful for my continued partnership with Kai and for how he set us up for success during his time as head of school. His ongoing support and care for our institution remain invaluable.

The new T.J. Vassar ՚68 Center for the Sciences and Humanities officially opened in April. Hundreds of people joined us on campus for a joyous evening to officially honor T.J. Vassar’s legacy and explore the new building where generations of future Lakesiders will learn. Family and friends lingered well after the official program concluded, enjoying each other’s company while reflecting on their Lakeside experiences and imagining what experiences today’s students might have in these new spaces.

As the celebration wound down, I ran into a former faculty member and an alum walking along the Quad just after sunset, smiling and pointing at various buildings and trees. They shared that they were recounting what had changed and what remained the same since their respective times on campus. While their individual observations were slightly different, they both ended by saying how excited they were to see the school about which they care so deeply was taking these next steps forward. This sentiment is key to our work in education.

If you haven’t had the chance to spend time on Lakeside’s campus or at Lakeside events recently, I wish I could bottle for you the mood of optimism and shared purpose that many of us feel right now. My colleagues and I are energized by our vision statement’s charge to cultivate a school community that inspires and empowers all our students and educators with the will to seek joy, to be hopeful, and to transform the world with care. I rarely go more than a day on campus without finding myself in a meeting where we are discussing how to make sure that students, families, alums, and employees all feel a deep sense of belonging in our community, especially at a moment when it’s easy to find examples of deep division in the world around us. Through mutual respect and appreciation for the strengths found in our different perspectives and experiences, we build the solid foundations that underlie our hope and drive our belief that we can work together to effect change within and beyond our campus.

The colors of spring, warm weather, and longer days all signal future potential and possibility. Similarly, we need not look far for Lakesiders getting curious and creative about how they can use their resources, talents, and perspectives to positively impact their communities. In the new issue of Lakeside magazine, enjoy reading about our alums living Lakeside’s values in “Mission Statements” or take the advice of our students who ran a TEDx Youth event on campus this spring and seize “The Power of Now”, taking inspiration from the overarching message that there is no need for our students to wait and be leaders of the future when there are so many ways, big and small, they can transform the world now.

Their motivation and drive inspire me every day.

Take care,

Ryan