STA News
Alumni Visits Enliven Classes & Meetings
Several wonderfully generous alumni have returned to St. Albans this fall to share their personal stories and their insights into the world with current students and teachers. Many brought artifacts connected to their lives, including a World War I bugler’s uniform, astronauts' favorite foods, and the Stanley Cup!
Randy Kennedy ’73 came back to campus last August for a professional development conversation about diversity and equity. The Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School, Kennedy has devoted his career to teaching and writing about race relations and inclusion. At St. Albans, Kennedy spoke to the faculty about the enduring significance of his St. Albans education and the challenges facing schools as they work toward creating inclusive communities at a time when so many societal and cultural trends are working against that.
Form C and B boys had an exclusive interview with astronaut Rick Hauck ’58, who flew three flights on the Space Shuttle; once as co-pilot on the Challenger and twice as commander of Discovery. Meeting in the Little Sanctuary, the boys peppered Hauck with questions: “When you were right about to take off into space, were you scared or were you ready to go? Were your friends and family scared? Did it feel weird lifting off? When you got into space, did you feel different inside? Did any actor ever play you? The answers: Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and No –but Dennis Quaid once chased Hauck to get his autograph.
Caps Assistant General Manager Don Fishman ’87 and a team of classmates brought the Stanley Cup for a visit. Sports reporter Gene Wang ’87 reported on the event for the Post. “Part of my secret mission with the Caps is to build a generation of Washington sports fans who are going to root for the Caps,” Fishman told the Post.
At the invitation of his little brother David ’22, Alden Summerville ’18 brought their great-grandfather’s World War I uniform, bugle, and portrait photo to Noel Schiller’s Form II United States history class. Students gained insights into the value of studying primary sources and artifacts with known provenance.
Thomas Duckenfield ’82 offered Veterans Day chapel talks to the Upper and Lower School, reflecting on veterans whose stories have shaped life at St. Albans. Duckenfield, who served in the US Army infantry and the US Army JAG Corps, and was assistant to the general counsel in the Office of the Secretary of the Army, told the students: “We here at St. Albans cherish education and the pedagogical transfer of knowledge from teachers to learners. We seek to emulate the greatest teacher, Socrates, who taught his greatest pupil, Plato, who in turn taught Aristotle, who in turn taught Alexander the Great …,” noted Duckenfield. “In the same way, we can say that headmaster Albert Lucas taught [history teacher] Ted Eagles ’54, … who in turn taught current History Department Chair John Campbell ’85, who taught many of the students who graduated from St. Albans and whose names we recall as they are serving in the military today.”
Two alumni—Taylor Barker ’12 and Ted Eagles ’54—have joined us as substitute teachers, filling in while Upper School history teacher Rob Shurmer fulfills jury duty. As they return, they are sure to find a familiar face—whether a former teacher, or a fellow alum now on the faculty and staff, including Lanier Frank ’79, Jim Ehrenhaft ’83, John Campbell ’85, David Sturtevant ’92, OJ Johnson ’97, Kevin Mullin ’97, Steve Wheeler ’97, Ryan Kinney ’99, Will Segal ’00, Cam Dantley ’04, and Martin MacIntyre ’05.
Located in Washington D.C., St. Albans School is a private, all boys day and boarding school. For more than a century, St. Albans has offered a distinctive educational experience for young men in grades 4 through 12. While our students reach exceptional academic goals and exhibit first-rate athletic and artistic achievements, as an Episcopal school we place equal emphasis upon moral and spiritual education.