THE HILL NEWS VERBA VOLANT, SCRIPTA MANENT
VOLUME CXXXIII. NO.4
January 31, 2023
Kathleen Devaney appointed as Hill’s first female Head of School By MICHELLE LAWRENCE ’26 STAFF WRITER
On January 4, during an all-school meeting, Hill School Board of Trustees chair James Alexandre ’75, announced that beginning on July 1, Kathleen Devaney will serve as The Hill School’s 12th Head of School. When former Head of School Zachary G. Lehman announced that he would depart Hill at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, a search committee led by Michael W. Harris ’84, vice hair of the board of trustees, was formed. “We had four major responsibilities: helping our consultants gather campus voices for our position statement, reading resumes and educational philosophies, interviewing candidates during a weekend in Philadelphia, and spending time with our top three candidates when they visited campus,” Edward Tuck Hall Distinguished Chair in English Courtney Neese ’00, a search committee member, said. Devaney was the second major candidate who visited Hill from December 4-6 in 2022. Head of Tour Carrington Bernabei ’24 interned at the Admissions Office during this time and
led Devaney’s tour around campus. Bernabei showed Devaney some of the H-term classes taking place around campus, such as “Mastering the Market.” “I remember thinking how exciting it was that I got to tour her as a candidate and began to hope that she would become our next Head of School. She was very curious to hear about our personal experiences as Hill students and showed genuine interest in hearing the student body’s perspective on Hill life,” Bernabei said. Passion for Hill programs and traditions was exactly what the search committee looked for in Hill’s next head of school. Aside from being an authentic and experienced independent school leader, they wanted someone who would be able to be empathetic and passionate about their work. “At the start of the search process, we sometimes wondered if we were trying to find a unicorn,” Neese said. “Did someone really exist who could prioritize honesty, empathy, respect, and kindness while also preserving our traditions, fundraising, building community, championing our academic excellence, and continuing to propel our community forward?” “Somehow in Kathleen, we managed to find all those
things and more,” Neese said. “Kathleen was the best person to be our next Head of School. She was the strongest, most qualified candidate in our search process.” While selecting a candidate to fill the vacant head of school position was not easy, Devaney stood out among the others. “From the moment we met her in Philadelphia, our entire committee was incredibly impressed,” Neese said. “She brings extensive boarding school experience, she leads with compassion and purpose, and she believes in the mission of our school. Our community felt so strongly about her that during her campus visit, students and faculty kept asking if we could hire her on the spot.” Dean of Spiritual Life and Equity Rev. Khristi Adams, another search committee member, added that “ultimately, we wanted to choose someone that we felt could best represent Hill and acclimate the best to serving and leading in their community.” “Devaney has years of experience in all different aspects of boarding school from teaching, to coaching and to administrating,” Adams said. “She has had her hands in pretty much all areas of student and community life in independent schools.”
Kathleen Devaney is slated to be the new Head of School starting in June of 2023.
Devaney currently serves as the founding Executive Director of Horizons, a summer program at Westminster School. She has also held many administrative positions in addition to teaching
PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH BENDER
history and coaching in the past. At Westminster, she was the Assistant Head of School, Dean of Students, and Director of Student Life. Before joining the faculty at Westminster, Devaney served
as a German teacher, soccer coach, alpine skiing coach, lacrosse coach, dorm parent, and Assistant Director of Admissions at Deerfield Academy. Continued on Page 2
Spotlight: Many Hill students participate in lesser-known winter sports In the past, The Hill News has highlighted various teams around campus, ranging from thirds to varsity and girls field hockey to boys wrestling. Yet, many are unaware of those students who participate in atypical sports outside of school. Thus, we decided it was finally time to feature those Hill students who take the time to pursue their interests in lesser-known sports.
By PORTIA TUNG ’26 & VICKY ZHANG ’26 STAFF WRITERS
Kyle Chen ’24- Go-Karting
Chen, a 5th former from Wenzhou, China, has been an avid go-karter for more than five years. Since the sport required a significant amount of practice to perfect the technique, his major challenge was balancing his time. He often found himself having trouble properly splitting his time between being on the track and his academic work.
He enjoyed go-karting because, to him, it was like meditation, a break from the rest of the day. “Whenever I am on the track, my brain is only focusing on racing,” Chen said. “Go-karting gives me the time and space where I can leave all the trivial thoughts outside of my head and truly enjoy what I am doing.”
The Hill Community takes time to reflect during MLK week
CAMPUS | Page 2
Kate Zirinsky ‘26 competes in the National Standard Race (NASTAR) in Aspen, CO. PHOTO COURTESY OF KATE ZIRINSKY ’26
Kate Zirinsky ’26 - Alpine Skiing
Kyle Chen ’24 celebrates as he wins a race in Shanghai. PHOTO COURTESY OF KYLE CHEN ’24
Zirinsky is a 3rd former from Schwenksville, Pennsylvania. She has been alpine skiing for more than 11 years. Ever since she was a kid, her dad took her to the slopes, which sparked her interest in the sport. One of her fondest memories was competing in a ski race with her friends in Aspen, Colo. and placing on the podium. It was a fascinating achievement which allowed Zirinsky
Anna Carroll dishes ideas for the dining hall
FEATURES | Page 5
and her friends to bond with each other and also achieve new heights with the sport. “Skiing is a lot more than just a sport, it’s about what it brings and teaches you throughout life,” Zirinsky said. “Skiing has always brought happiness to everyone no matter what they are up against.” Continued on Page 8
OPINION: AI art heralds an artistic devolution ARTS & LEISURE | Page 7