Medallion adviser Joel Rickert to leave school next year
Joel Rickert, ’83, current AP Art History teacher and Medallion adviser, will leave the school next year.
Rickert has had a part-time job for 12 years at SCDS but wanted a full-time teaching job, a request the school could not accommodate.
So he decided to “make a change and find full-time work,” Rickert said.
The administration does not currently know how Rickert’s current positions will be filled, but the replacement will be found internally.
Rickert, who first came to Country Day in seventh grade, will miss many aspects of working at the school, such as distributing the completed Medallion and performing in the graduation night skits.
In addition, many students will miss Rickert.
“He contributes to everything. He doesn’t teach just one thing; he teaches all over (the campus),” senior Janice Barajas said.
Currently, Rickert does not know where he will be working, but he and headmaster Stephen Repsher discussed the possibility of Rickert’s returning to SCDS, he said.
—Kamira Patel
Chris Kuipers becomes new college counselor
Chris Kuipers, middle-school history and debate teacher, can now add high-school college counselor to his resume.
Kuipers will be taking over for Brooke Wells as assistant college counselor when Wells becomes head of high school next year. Jane Bauman will remain the main college counselor.
Kuipers, who attended Amherst College, worked in the admissions offices of Amherst for four years and Stanford University for one year.
“I hope I can contribute that insight from the other side, use my knowledge of what college admissions are looking for,” said Kuipers, who was chosen by current head of high school Sue Nellis, Wells and Bauman to fill this role.
“I know there are a lot of misconceptions about the college process that people think are true that are just wrong,” he said.
Kuipers is looking forward to working in the high school. “I love middle-school kids but I’m really looking forward to connecting with high-school students,” he said.
—Micaela Bennett-Smith
