Nina Stavropolous ’17: Although it may be difficult to imagine EA teachers as anything but educators, many members of the faculty have pursued other career paths and passions before coming to Episcopal to teach.
Prior to teaching English, Sam Willis, IV Form Dean, was working in construction for a man who was building a house from the ground up. “I was living at home, working construction, making ten dollars an hour outside during the month of December in Connecticut.” He continued, “I was freezing, working hard, coming home, sometimes bloody and exhausted without getting paid anything and I began to realize I was wasting my parents’ investment in me and my education, which made me feel like I had a purpose in life and I realized what I wanted to do.”
Willis then made the decision to go to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, in a program focused on urban education to “try to give back and help the underprivileged.” After graduating, Willis taught at Saint Gabes, a juvenile detention facility for young boys where he worked on getting the boys up to their reading levels. Willis explained, “I was trying to teach them how to read so if they ever turned their life around they could get a job or just become a productive member of society.”
After teaching at Saint Gabes and Strawberry Mansion in Philadelphia, Willis began to realize that teaching at a privileged school would possibly be more effective in creating a long lasting impact on education for underprivileged students. Willis said, “I thought why not teach the most privileged in an effort to open their eyes so when they become adults maybe they will give back more. So instead of changing one persons life I could change hundreds of peoples lives by teaching at Episcopal.”
After teaching at Episcopal for nine years, Willis commented, “Ultimately I am glad I made the decision to teach at EA. The students push me intellectually, and when coming to Episcopal I thought I would be the source of change, but I never thought that the students would help to change and push me at the same time.”
Photo courtesy of IMBD
Director of Theater, Dan Clay, also shared his experiences before teaching at EA. Clay had previously attended acting school and participated in plays, movies, and even commercials. He also took part in performances at the Hackmatack Playhouse in Maine, and was a part of a theater company at the Firehouse in Newbury Massachusetts. Clay was an actor in a local film called On the Fringe. He revealed, “The film was about a guy who comes back to his hometown after a tragedy and hides in the background and watches, and nobody knows he is home.”
Clay began working as an educator at Brewster Academy before coming to Episcopal, where he has resided for the last eight years. “I have always been interested in how theater and education work together because they are kind of the same thing,” Clay said. “You learn so much when you are doing theater, not just about the art of theater but about yourself as well as other people.”
Robert Maier, Upper School History teacher, was a business lawyer in Philadelphia for ten years prior to teaching. “I was advising companies and doing mergers and acquisitions for them, but what I liked most about what I did was that I was a trusted advisor,” Maier revealed. “Some of the most rewarding situations I was in was when my corporate clients trusted me with their personal issues and that is how I started to think that something else more along those lines would be a better fit for my personality.”
After Maier’s friend, who had made a major career change to pursue his passion, died on 9/11, Maier and his wife decided it was time to shift careers to something they were more passionate about. After announcing his decision to become a teacher to his law firm, Maier remembered that, “Half of the lawyers thought I was crazy. The other half wondered how I was making this transition and how they too could make this transition.”
Maier’s wife, Jen, who was also a lawyer, began teaching at Episcopal one year prior to her husband’s transition. Maier explained how grateful he is for the teachers in the history department for taking a risk and welcoming him, especially Kris Aldridge, who was a lawyer prior to teaching as well. Maier stressed that, “If I won the lottery this is what I would do. I barely even think of it as work but as a great way to live a life.”