A Note from the Alumni Board President | | |
Dear Saints,
While 2026 is well underway, I would like to briefly look back to 2025 and thank those who attended the third annual Great Saints Alumni Dinner.
A record 300 alumni and friends of the School gathered together to celebrate our fellow alumni and to reconnect with one another. It was a memorable night filled with brotherhood and camaraderie. We are particularly grateful to the alumni award recipients whose outstanding contributions to St. Christopher's and their communities have made us all proud. Save the date for this year’s Great Saints Dinner on October 30, 2026. If you would like to nominate a StC alumnus for one of the four Great Saints awards, please click here.
The Saints community is distinguished by how its alumni stay in touch and support each other. Be sure to mark your calendars for Reunion Weekend on April 17-18. And read on below for more campus news, alumni events, and more.
With sincere appreciation,
Alex Grymes ’07
Alumni Board President
|
| New Alumni Survey Launching in May | | |
In May, Reunion Year classes (those ending in 1s and 6s) will receive a survey via email and/or text from Mission and Data. This confidential survey will ask St. Christopher’s alumni questions within two primary themes: First, how are you doing, holistically? How are you faring personally, professionally, civically, physically, and emotionally? Second, how did your Saints experience prepare you for life beyond St. Christopher’s Road? You will also have the opportunity to share what adjustments you think should be made to both our academic and character curriculum.
While this initial survey will only go to Reunion year classes (those ending in 1s and 6s), all alumni will eventually receive it, as we are committed to offering it annually for at least the next five years. Thank you in advance for your candid responses. Please reach out to Davis Wrinkle ’81 with any questions, and more information will follow in the coming months.
|
| Reunion Weekend is April 17-18, 2026! | | All alumni are invited for a weekend loaded with fun activities! Visit stchristophers.com/reunion for a complete schedule and online registration. | | |
As StC’s Upper School has expanded over time, and with increased student interest in strength and conditioning training, Kemper Athletic Center’s weight room has been upgraded!
Thanks to the generosity of donors Jeff Zeigler ’88 (who still holds StC’s record for bench pressing at 365 lbs.) and Peter Partee ’10, the facility improvements include increasing the number of racks from 21 to 29, additional free weights, more Olympic bars, and new benches. The refresh also includes updated flooring, lighting, new monitors, fresh paint and new Saints branding.
| |
Faculty Spotlight: Asha Bandal | |
Upper School Spanish Teacher Asha Bandal is a dedicated Saint. In addition to her decades of Upper School teaching experience, she’s been an engaged advisor and mentor to hundreds of boys. In 2011, Bandal partnered with Kim Hudson, Director of the Center for the Study of Boys, to lead St. ChristoCURES, a student club dedicated to raising funds for the Massey Cancer Center. Today, alongside Ginny Turner, Assistant Director of College Counseling, Bandal continues to pour her heart into raising awareness and support for cancer research. Since joining the School in 2005, Bandal has built a reputation for fostering meaningful relationships with students and advisees that endure well into their adult lives.
What keeps you inspired as an educator?
I made some special relationships with teachers when I was growing up, and I felt lucky to have them. I still keep in touch with some of them. Working with kids keeps me energized. It’s a fun job, and you never know what to expect. I might be teaching mostly the same material that I've been teaching for 20 years, but every lesson is different because the reaction to it is different.
I think the relationships at St. Christopher's are the main thing driving my career, like the happiness and fulfillment not only with colleagues, but also with students. Advising, to me, is just as important as teaching.
| |
Do you have any favorite memories of your time at StC?
When we started St. ChristoCURES, we used to do the Monument Avenue 10K, and I would be driving this school bus full of teenage boys down these narrow streets in the Fan. We’d have so much fun at the race and build this sense of community.
Now, with the Massey Mile, one of my favorite days of the year, everyone comes together to participate. My son, Chase, has been able to participate in it since junior kindergarten, and the fact that the whole school is there taking part, which is rare, is really special to me. When I agreed to lead the team with Kim, two of my colleagues in my department had cancer. It was the right time for me to try to give back and support them. The team has now just become part of me.
What's the best part about teaching boys?
They’re all so different. They can be hilarious and silly, but at the same time, really wise and introspective. I try to feed off of their energy and their creativity in class.
I'm also a pretty serious extrovert, so I get my energy from people, and it’s easy for me to be around them. It’s better than coffee!
Do you keep in touch with alumni? Do they ever reach out to you?
Yeah, definitely. All the time, and at every level. Some are in college, many have amazing jobs I love hearing about, some have families, and some even have kids who go to school here now. I love going to reunions; it’s one of my favorite weekends of the year. I get to see who my students have become, and I’ve truly become friends with them. I even have former students who are my colleagues now!
Last question: What's your favorite dining hall dish?
I cannot say no to their breakfast burrito, especially if it has hash browns in it. It can’t be beat.
| | |
Kyan Patel ’23 Returns to Campus
We were delighted to host alumnus Kyan Patel '23 on campus in January. Patel, now in his junior year at Wake Forest University, spoke about his burgeoning art career and about where it all started. Patel first earned praise for his portraits of Saints athletes in the Upper School.
Now, as a busy college student studying economics and studio art, Patel hasn't slowed down. He balances the daily demands of school with composing pieces for NFL and NBA players and collaborating with major brands like ESPN and EA Sports.
| | |
Middle School Joins Buddhist Monks' Historic Walk for Peace
Led by Middle School Chaplain Rev. Wade Reck and history teachers Jon Piper and Kathryn Regan, a group of MS students walked up 9th Street in downtown Richmond to join 19 Buddhist monks on their way to City Hall, where the travelers joined Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Mayor Danny Avula to deliver messages of peace and hope.
This occasion marked day 100 of the monks' incredible 2,300-mile journey, which began in Fort Worth, Texas and ended at a final ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. this February.
| | |
Williams-McElroy History Endowment Speaker Capt. Alex Armatas
It was an honor to host Capt. Alex Armatas, USN, as our Williams-McElroy History Endowment speaker in December. For two years, Armatas served as flight leader and commanding officer of the Navy's Blue Angels, the highly trained fighter jet demonstration team. He visited with our Upper School in Ryan Recital Hall, where he discussed his thoughts on leadership and his journey as an aviator.
| | |
Saints Remember Walter Lindsey ’75
In February, Rodney Williams ’13 visited campus to remember the life and legacy of Walter Lindsey ’75, StC's first Black graduate. Williams, joined by his nephew Greyson, shared the inspiration he took from Lindsey's example. After the service, Saints gathered at a space near the Historic Corridor dedicated to Lindsey's memory to offer reflections and words of gratitude.
| | |
March 24: Charlotte Area Reception - Home of Margaret Morrison Bradley ’97*
March 25: Palm Beach, FL Reception at The Sailfish Club
March 26: The St. Christopher's Fund Day of Giving
April 17-18: Alumni Reunion Weekend / Coincides with St. Catherine's Reunion Weekend
April 29: New York Area Reception at The Arts Club of NY*
May 7: Alumni and Friends Soccer Social at River City Roll
June 12: River Saints Reception
October 30: Great Saints Dinner at St. Christopher's
*Hosted with St. Catherine's School
Please contact Davis Wrinkle ’81 for details and registration.
| | | | |
