"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go."   

Dr. Seuss 

One of the greatest rewards of being an educator at a place like St. George is seeing notes like this one, sent this week from a current high school senior who graduated from St. George four years ago.

---

Dear Mrs. Voyles,

In my nine years at St. George Episcopal School, I learned an incredible amount of things. I received a wonderful education and faith base, and learned so much from each of my teachers. When I got to high school, I quickly realized that not everyone had been so fortunate to grow up at the best school in the world. St. George will always hold a special place in my heart, and because of my amazing experience at the school (middle school, in particular), I compiled a list of things that the community I grew up in gave me that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else.

What St. George game me that no other school could have:

• Experiencing mid-terms and finals with teachers who are helpful, encouraging, and patient.
• A chance to make history come to life in all kinds of ways.
• The ability to write a perfect essay with (almost) impeccable grammar that makes English class, the SAT writing portion, and AP essays as easy as possible.
• An incredible faith foundation allowing me to enter high school (and the world) with a solid idea of my morals and ethics.
• A love for science, because it was fun and because Freshman Honors Biology is a breeze when you've already learned everything.
• The opportunity to come back for a reunion and reconnect with all of your childhood friends after four years of separation.
• The advantage of already having read every book for Freshman and Sophomore year.
• The desire to join Clark's Speech & Debate team because of a little push to get me into the public speaking arena.

These are just a few of the awesome things I gained from my middle school years at St. George, and I am truly blessed to have gotten to experience all of them. I'm so thankful to all of my teachers who helped me learn and grow; you are nothing short of the best.

 

Love,

Lauren Velez, St. George Class of '08  

(Read more about Lauren's successes and future plan below) 

Our students and graduates aren't the only ones who need to catch up with one another! A group of our alumni moms gathered at Aldaco's for a luncheon hosted by Elizabeth McMillan and Blanca Garza.  Many of these ladies have students graduating from high school either this year or next, and a few still have students here at St. George.

Pictured from left: Suzy Moody, Michele Fertitta, Molly Miller, Carol Young, Holly Chance, Vicki Walters, Elizabeth McMillan, Jenny Boozer, Mia Price, Karin Hausman, Lisa Trapp, Tracey Velez, Mary Leslie Parson, Becki Holmes, GiGi Bowman, Blanca Garza, and Traci Barrios.

Click on the picture to view all the photos from the reunion!

 

What a treat!  Our St. George Class of 2008 (this year's graduating seniors) came together once more at their reunion a couple of weeks ago.  These students spread out all over San Antonio to attend high school, and this was a chance to catch up and rekindle those old friendships.  In attendance were Marshall Anderson (Texas Tech), Joel Castanon (University of Alabama), Ricky Del Rio (UTSA), Claudia Garcia (Mount Holyoke), Marissita Garcia (Texas A&M), Adriana Garza (Texas Tech), Evan Gray (Texas A&M), Chase Hardy (Baylor University), Kendall Harris (LSU), Ashley Holifield (UTSA), Rene Holmes (Texas A&M), Allison Howarth (UTSA), Kelsey Howarth (Sam Houston State), Jerred Kite (undecided), Lindsey Lashbrook (Texas Tech), Caitlin Lawrence (Trinity University), Stephen Lee (Johns Hopkins University), Maria Medrano (Cottey College), Sarah Ngo (Southern Methodist University), Mike Pirog (UTSA), Kelsi Richter (University of Houston), Marisa Salazar (UTSA), Meredith Trapp (University of Texas), Lauren Velez (University of Texas), Bri Villasenor (LSU), Kara Wright (Peace Corps), and Ashley Wysong (Texas Lutheran). Congratulations, alumni! We are so proud of you!

Evan Gray is graduating from STEM high school, and will be attending Texas A&M in the fall.  During his time in high school he continued learning about computers and was even able to do some network consulting with a local school district. We were thrilled to hear that Evan got accepted into the much-sought-after internship program at Rackspace Hosting, and will be spending time there this summer.  When he's not troubleshooting server issues and deciphering complex computer code, Evan will be engrossed in the Rackspace culture of tetherball and Nerf gun fights! He is going to college to pursue a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and will bring his love of computers along for the ride. Congratulations, Evan, and good luck at A&M.

Koy will be attending Texas Christian University beginning this fall, and plans to double major in International Finance and Supply & Value Chain Management.  She is also in the Pre-Law program for the university.  Along with her love of education, she will bring her love of horses when she competes on the TCU Equestrian Polo Team. To date, Koy has won eight national championships in the U.S. and Canada including the U.S. Youth National Championship with her horse, Pop Star (pictured).

Lauren, who wrote our introductory letter, is graduating from Clark High School, and will be attending the University of Texas at Austin beginning this fall.  She will be pursuing studies in communications and international relations. While at Clark, Lauren served as President of the Clark Speech and Debate Team, and earned awards through debate, the Model United Nations, the Clark Pillar Awards, and Senior Superlatives.  Way to go, Lauren, and have a great time at UT!

Who has returned the latest book to the St. George library? Kelsey Howarth!  Kelsey's sister Allison brought a book and a story to the 2008 reunion, which she shared with Mrs. Voyles.  When they were cleaning out Kelsey's room, they packed up a bunch of books to sell at Half Price Books.  One book in particular was denied, because "It is against policy to purchase library books for re-sale." Flipping open the front cover, Allison and Kelsey were happy to see the St. George School stamp inside her copy of The Bridesmaid by Hailey Abbott. Mrs. Ehman will sure be happy to have this title back on her shelves!

Brian and Hanna Hausman (Class of '09 and '10), have just finished their Junior and Sophomore years at Tom C. Clark High School.  Spending their entire Lower and Middle School years at St. George was beneficial in preparing them for Clark's Advanced Placement curriculum.  Both Brian and Hanna are currently ranked in the top 2% of their classes.  In addition to academics, Brian received his Eagle Scout Award which included his Eagle project of planting over 150 trees around the perimeter of the Steven Trapp Field.  Besides being active in scouts, Brian ran cross country and played tennis on the Clark Tennis team.  He is also involved in the Spanish and Drama Club, the National Honor Society and Student Council.  This year, Brian participated in the Model United Nations in San Antonio and was a delegate representing Norway in the Model United Nations in New York City.   

 

Hanna has continued her passion for music and theater.  She is active in the Clark Varsity Women's and Mixed Choirs and was elected Chair of the Media Team.  As a Freshman, Hanna was 2nd chair in the Regional Choir and both years has received the highest rating in UIL Solo/Ensemble.  She is also very active in musicals at the Jewish Community Center.  Last year, she played Mayzie in the JCC's production of Seussical, Jr. and Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie.  Along with choir, Hanna's other love is photography.  This year, she was a photographer for the yearbook and newspaper. She also competed and placed 1st in two divisions at the Texas Association of Journalism Educator's Convention.  St. George's challenging and supportive community gave both Brian and Hanna the self confidence to achieve at Tom C. Clark High School. 

After Elizabeth Brady graduated from St. George in 2010, she and her family moved to Collierville, Tennessee, including brother, Spencer (Class of '09) and mom, Allison (5th Grade Class of '79).   

 

The Brady children went on to attend Houston High School in Germantown, TN, each excelling in their areas of interest.  Spencer is on the Varsity football team and newspaper staff, and finds time to be a part of the Model United Nations. He was able to attend the Model UN ALMUN 2012 event at the University of Alabama.  In addition, Spencer won first place at the 2012 DECA Tennessee State Career Development Conference in Nashville in the Human Resources Management division. This qualified him to continue onto the International branch of the conference in Salt Lake City.  This summer, Spencer will complete his third summer as part of the Voelker Academy at the UTHSC in San Antonio to continue his project on "The Use of Therapeutic Hypothermia to Help Retain Neurological Function."

 

Elizabeth (Class of '10), is an active participant in choir, FFA, and the newspaper through Houston High School.  She is a member of the Mustang Choir, and has qualified for the Concert Choir for next year.  Along with her brother, Elizabeth serves on the school newspaper, Pony Express, and through the FFA, she has competed at the State Convention in Gatlinburg, TN with a group presentation.  Elizabeth will also be a part of the FFA Leadership during the next school year.   Both she and Spencer will be in San Antonio this summer and look forward to catching up with friends.

We have a lot happening on our great campus year-round.  'Like' us on Facebook to get updates on events, access to our photo albums, daily Chapel readings during the school year, and so much more! Connect with all our St. George community at www.facebook.com/stgeorgeschool.