From the Desk of the Head of School: Helping our young alumni launch their careers

We have been increasingly focused on connecting alumni who are seeking jobs with members of the RE community who are looking to hire. We invite RE alumni, parents, grandparents, parents-of-alumni and special friends to share job or internship openings with the school via this form. Your opportunities will be uploaded to our ever-growing REconnect platform, a multi-faceted, four-year-old online tool just for RE alumni. (Those alumni who haven’t yet signed up can do so here.)

This is a positive situation for all who chose to participate. Alumni receive access to opportunities to begin or advance their careers; those who post jobs are rewarded with the best and brightest candidates; and the RE community continues to grow in strength.

Many of you are accustomed to REconnecting directly, through personal relationships or by word of mouth. We want to build on and improve the networks that are already there – not replace them. The spring edition of the RE Log magazine will be hitting mailboxes this month, highlighting a few impressive ways alumni have recently REconnected. You will enjoy reading about three alumni who filled job openings by hiring – who else? – fellow RE alumni. You also will learn more about how our Everglades school “girls” and Black alumni have each been reestablishing ties and reigniting connections. 

In less than two weeks, hundreds of alumni will assemble for our annual Alumni Weekend, coming to RE from locales across the globe. Our hope is to get the wider RE community more involved in our alumni networks while continually making REconnecting easier and more impactful.

As with every other endeavor at Ransom Everglades, this has been a team effort. I want to thank Vicki Carbonell Williamson ’88 – who assumed the role of Director of Advancement in December – and her outstanding team for enabling us to follow through on this important focus, which fits squarely with RE’s core value of Support and Community. I am especially appreciative of the leadership of Marissa Stamler Canida '06, who heads our Alumni REconnect Committee, and Liz Fitzpatrick, a recent RE parent to Jack ’20 and Lucy ’23, who leads our brand-new REconnect Task Force along with fellow past parents Marjorie Gouraige, Patty Rothstein, Susan Woolsey, Melissa Buckner and Bonnie Seipp.

The task force members recognized that one of the most efficient ways of extending our reach is understanding that RE Pride extends beyond students and alumni. Our dedicated parents not only support their children, they also contribute their time and resources through the Ransom Everglades Parents’ Association (REPA) and The Fund for RE. Parents-of-alumni continue their involvement even after their children depart. And our RE grandparents and special friends are rocks for their grandchildren, always ready to lend a hand.

We invite all who fall into those categories to help us continue to offer career paths and internship opportunities for RE graduates. And we would also like to hear your stories of REconnection. If you already have hired an alum or REconnected in another meaningful way, please let our advancement team know.

We want to ensure that our young alumni discover what alumni of all ages have learned since graduating: the magic of attending Ransom Everglades lasts for life.