A Fond Farewell to Retiring Faculty and Staff

St. Stephen's is deeply grateful to the dedicated faculty and staff who have left an indelible mark on our school. Collectively, they have given 87 years of service to our community. Although we will miss their daily presence in our lives, we wish each retiree good health and great happiness as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.

 

Rick Pearson has mindfully served our Middle School students and campus community for 29 years.

My first academic year at St. Stephen’s was 1993. I have taught all grades, but mostly 8th. I installed and managed the first email system in the Middle School, taught Computer Literacy and coached the Robotics team. In my second year, I co-founded the Middle School outdoor program and used kid power to build many of the trails on campus. I continued as a volunteer mountain bike coach until 2019. For many years, I was a leader for the 8th-grade Big Bend trip. My interests in sustainability led me to become sustainability coordinator for several years and serve on the campus committee. More recently, I have taught 7th-grade Self-Science, provided mindfulness training to kids and faculty, and served on the Middle School Health Team. A highlight of my time at St. Stephen’s has been taking students backpacking, hiking and mountain biking all over Texas and New Mexico. I will miss my colleagues and the liveliness of the Middle School and its students. I hope that they will be at peace, even as they dedicate themselves to making the world a safer, happier and more sustainable place. 

Jenny Huth, Ph.D., has been a beloved mainstay of the St. Stephen’s English department for 26 years, serving as chair the last 10.

I joined St. Stephen’s in 1996 as a full-time English teacher. When I interviewed, the Head of Upper School, Alan Fenton, had his dog Florence in his office, and I knew this was my kind of place. I also loved the campus and all the super-friendly people I met that day. Being in the classroom and teaching literature to students has been my favorite part of my time at St. Stephen’s, and it is what I will miss the most. I also will really miss talking about books with teenagers and literature and life with my colleagues. It is all about the people. St. Stephen’s is part of my heart and always will be. Our school has worked hard to fulfill our mission through our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming. Of course, we still have work to do, but over the past several years, it has been clear that we have upped our commitment to making St. Stephens an even more inclusive, equitable and supportive community. Google Classroom and the functionality of working within Google Docs has been almost revolutionary when it comes to giving students tailored and frequent feedback during the writing process. However, texting, social media and video games have made it so much harder for students to focus. My greatest hope for our students is that they do whatever it takes to maintain a love of learning new things, whether that is reading a new book, cracking a math skill or understanding someone else’s perspective.

 

Kim Meyer has served as an Upper School math teacher and dorm parent for nine years, including eight years as Allen House leader.
 

I was hired in 2013 to teach Upper School geometry and Algebra II. I also was a climbing coach for three years, sponsor of the PawPrint animal rescue student club for four years and mountain biking coach for six years. Throughout my time on campus, I have truly enjoyed the people. They are so friendly, caring and smart! But mostly I have enjoyed getting to know the international students in my dorm. To many I became their “American mom,” and that fills my heart. My hope for the school community is that our students always become and stay curious and that my colleagues’ school lives get back to normal soon so they are not always exhausted. As for retirement, I plan to move into an RV for a few years and wander, seeing what there is to see. After a much-needed break, I will probably work part time in a national park.

I retired from engineering in 2006 and then taught at a public high school in Austin for 14 years. Cut to the pandemic year of 2020. I was ready for a change. I was ready to try my hand at teaching physics using more laboratory-based investigations and hands-on projects that shift the focus away from lectures and problem-solving drills. St. Stephen's gave me that opportunity. I hope that I have inspired my students to be more curious about how the natural world works, to ask the hard questions and to be confident in their ability to reason out the answers. I will miss being an active member of the teaching profession. I have no definite plans for retirement, but I hope to be a math and science tutor for first-generation college students.

Frank Hernandez is heading into retirement after working on The Hill for 15 years. He was the recipient of the Staff Excellence Award in 2019-20.

First of all I want to thank God for guiding me to this beautiful spot St. Stephen's. I truly have enjoyed the last 14 1/2 years here, meeting and getting to know many wonderful people, co-workers, teachers and students. As for retirement, I'm a simple guy: I plan on attending daily Mass, working on my yard's landscape to make it as beautiful as possible with flowering plants and roses, and most importantly spending more time with my wife, daughter and granddaughter. 

 
John Smith has been a Spartan for six years as a member of the custodial team. He also coached one season as a 6th-grade basketball coach, leading his team to the AIPL championship. He plans to celebrate by traveling to south Texas and Corpus Christi and visiting his son in Houston. His long-term retirement plans include traveling, spending time with family, and substitute teaching and coaching basketball at St. Stephen's. He was awarded the Staff Excellence Award for 2021-22.

We will miss all of you!