Called to Serve

Nothing was etched in stone.

 

All Liz Bowling knew when she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Colby College with a B.A. in Spanish and minor in women’s studies was that her cup of energy and enthusiasm was overflowing and her passion for serving others was boundless.

 

What was next, though? That was the million-dollar question.

 

Liz, who will retire in June after 28 years of teaching, 22 of which she spent in two stints at Collegiate, smiles, as she often does, when she reflects on that time as well as on her fulfilling and meaningful career.

 

In college, she had tutored in Spanish. She involved herself with an organization called Student Health on Campus that went into dorms and delivered programs ranging from substance abuse to date rape to body image issues.

 

“I looked at what I was doing in my service life,” she said. “The service opportunities were all essentially teaching. I needed to look at what I was good at doing and liked doing. Then I had to figure out how to do that in front of a classroom.”

 

One thing led to another, and she signed on at Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg as a Spanish teacher, head coach of both JV and varsity volleyball in the fall and varsity lacrosse assistant in the spring, and dorm parent amongst numerous other duties.

 

Two years later, she stepped away from teaching and worked as the front office manager at Lowry Chiropractic Life Center. The urge to return to the classroom beckoned, and in 1996 she accepted a position in Collegiate’s Upper School.

 

“I really missed teaching,” she said. “I missed the connection with the kids. I missed every single day with teaching as the focus.”

 

In 2002, she and her husband Carlisle adopted their daughter Paige from China. Balancing her new family responsibilities and teaching proved difficult, so she stepped away in 2003 to be a stay-at-home mom.

 

“The Collegiate community was incredible when we were preparing to go (to China) and having baby showers and once we adopted her,” she said. “They really supported us in that journey.”

 

In time, though, with Paige starting school, Liz embarked on a part-time Spanish assignment at Powhatan High School near their home and remained there for four years.

 

In 2010, she returned to North Mooreland Road where she shared the next leg of her journey with her colleagues, students and her daughter, a 2020 alumna who will graduate in May from Christopher Newport University with a double major in communications and leadership and a minor in Spanish and has accepted a position with IBM in Hampton.

 

During her stints at Collegiate, Liz has played multiple roles (including teaching Spanish levels I through Advanced Placement and leading student trips to Argentina and Nicaragua), and she’s played them with professionalism, dedication and joy.

 

She’s served as chair of the world language department and as a Freshman and Sophomore advisor. She’s served as a divisional diversity representative and as a member of the JK-12 Inclusion Committee. She’s served as a sponsor of the Mosaic Inclusion Club and as a STAR Mentor and Tutoring program coordinator for Middle School immigrant and refugee students. She’s served as Sunshine Coordinator for faculty support and as Cum Laude Society coordinator.

 

The operative word is “served.”

 

“I think that’s part of my nature,” she said. “Service was always a core piece of how I was raised, and staying connected to the community really interested me.

        

“I really liked the aspect of seeing students outside the classroom and interacting with them. When I was a Cub Volleyball coach, it was really valuable to build a relationship in practices and several years later have that same student in my class in the Upper School.

        

“And (fulfilling different roles) is the way to evolve and to feel that as you change, you can stay in the same place and change the focus of what you do with teaching being the core.”

 

What has Liz, a master teacher who earned the 2020 Ann Griffin Award for Excellence in Teaching, enjoyed most about her time at Collegiate?

 

She smiled as she considered her many roles and prodigious contributions.

 

“That’s a tough one,” she said, not an unexpected response since she’s found joy and meaning in each of her assignments. “I think being department chair and my inclusion work will probably be the most rewarding because they were really meaningful ways for me to connect in different ways.

        

“There’s been a natural progression. When I first came back, I was chair of the Cum Laude Society. Then I had a chance to get involved with the Inclusion Committee and STAR Tutoring. Those are things that felt more intrinsic to who I was.”

 

When she announced to her department that she was retiring, she said that her decision was simultaneously the easiest and most difficult she had ever made.

 

“The most difficult,” she said, “because while I feel ready to make the transition, it’s incomprehensible that I won’t have the people in my life and the connections every day. This place is so special. It’s a unique and special community that I’ll miss. My relationships have been super meaningful.”

        

Then why retire?

 

“My husband’s been retired for five years,” she said. “Paige is graduating from college, so it’s a good time. We can graduate together. I know I’ll end up serving the community and pursuing passions and interests that I might not have the time, energy, or structure in my day to do now.”

 

How would she like to be remembered?

“I hope people remember my enthusiasm for the people here,” she replied. “I hope that I’ve created some change and taught people, obviously the subject matter, but helped them feel that they matter as human beings as part of this community and the greater community.

        

“And I hope people will remember the fun. It’s been hard, hard, hard work, but when I think about what I do every day with students, it’s been so enjoyable.

        

“When I create lessons, I want them to be fun for both of us, so every day in class, I’m enjoying myself and building these relationships. And my colleagues…what an incredible group of talented people that it’s been so enjoyable to work with. It’s been a blast.”

~Weldon Bradshaw