Embracing Change

Never has been. Never will be.

 

How can that be? you might ask.

 

She’s spent the past 30 years working at Collegiate, first as the receptionist in the Lower School and later as the assistant to the head of the Upper School, and when she leaves North Mooreland Road each afternoon, she returns to the same house where she and George, whom she married in 1979, have lived for 35 years.

 

What might sound like the same-old, same-old to some is anything but, however, especially if you know Lynn and understand the joy she’s derived from assuming new responsibilities and accepting new challenges.

 

Growing up, you see, Lynn experienced nothing but change, embraced it, and reveled in it. In fact, her innate ability to roll with change set the tone for her life.

 

Her father, Col. Lee Green, was a career Army officer and medical administrator whose duties included setting up and operating M*A*S*H-type units. Her mother Marie was an Army psychiatric nurse.

 

“I was born in Germany,” she said one afternoon recently. “We moved all over. I’m from everywhere.”

 

“Everywhere” included 15 or so locales, mostly stateside, before she graduated from high school in Connecticut and headed off to Hollins College where she earned a B.A. in English and journalism and set her sights on a career in public relations.

 

She worked first for a radio station in Roanoke, then moved to Hartford, Connecticut, to work in the public relations department of St. Francis Medical Center. After she and George married, she moved to Richmond, his hometown, and landed a PR job with Hyatt Hotels.

 

“I loved public relations,” she said. “Hospitals I loved because they were so action-packed. It was one thing after another, things like photography and newsletters. I really loved working with media and so many different people.”

 

She took a hiatus when their son George Jr. (Collegiate Class of ’05) and daughter Lindsay ’07 were born, then stopped by Collegiate one day in 1994 to inquire about the possibility of PR work. There were no positions available, but she soon interviewed for the receptionist position in old North Hall and landed the job.

 

“I was working with the kids, faculty, and parents,” she said. “I loved it.”

 

After six years, she transitioned to the Upper School, and to say that she made her mark in the no-two-days-are-alike world of Collegiate is an understatement. 

 

She’s supported five Upper School heads: Scott Griggs, Jon Brougham, Ben Rein, J.P. Watson, and Patrick Loach.

 

With her wealth of institutional memory, she became a go-to person who could answer pretty much any question that came her way.

 

She’s always welcoming, an essential attribute considering that she’s sometimes the first person a visitor to the Upper School encounters. She’s discreet to a fault and has earned the abiding trust of colleagues, students, and parents.

 

A jack-of-all-trades, she’s more than willing to assist with new projects, the learning curve notwithstanding, and is the quintessential team player who never seeks the spotlight or credit for the good work she performs.

 

She’s served as registrar, not just in the computer age but when grades had to be painstakingly entered by hand onto transcripts, and she was a major player (with Patty Sinkler) in the School’s transition to PowerSchool, the digital student information system.

 

She’s provided support and guidance for colleagues, assisting with such endeavors (among myriad) as maintaining the division’s online calendar, creating the divisional planner and course catalogue, booking professional trips, scheduling appointments, and helping with the planning of special events such as Feast of Juul and parent emphasis programs.

 

In her never-a-dull-moment world, Lynn handles all that comes her way calmly and professionally and takes great pride in going about her business in an understated yet efficient manner.

 

“Part of that is her personality,” said Loach. “Part of it is that she’s done the job for so long that there’re very few problems that she hasn’t seen before or can’t solve. Her background in the hospitality industry probably lent itself to her focus on providing good customer service. She’s a very friendly person. She really loves the School.”

 

Now, the voices of change have told her the time has arrived to undertake a new challenge at the Bon Secours St. Mary’s Family Center in a role that will allow her to assist the facility’s director as well as the pre-school teachers.

 

“I want to learn new things,” she said. “It’s full circle because I’m going back to working with little kids. It’ll be like when I started in the Lower School. I love St. Mary’s. I’ll be helping teachers and helping in the office. It’s very exciting.”

 

Leaving Collegiate is bittersweet.

 

“The time has gone by very fast,” Lynn said. “Working with faculty and kids all day and then going to kids’ sports and extra-curricular activities and having two of my own go through Collegiate has just been so much fun. You really get to know the kids. Then they come back to visit, and that’s really fun.”

 

Since Lynn’s departure was announced, many friends have stopped by to wish her well and thank her for kindness, preternatural composure, wise counsel, and willingness to pitch in.

 

“If somebody asks me to run with something, I can do it. I can meet with people. I enjoy that. I deal with all the new families. I don’t mind that because I was always the new kid everywhere.”

 

Collegiate has changed over the past 30 years, but the essence of Lynn hasn’t. She remains the quintessential team player who’s open to new ideas and learning opportunities and takes quiet pride in playing her role and playing it well.

 

“Yeah,” she said with a smile. “That’s definitely me.”

~Weldon Bradshaw