Point of Pride: Our Alumni

You will see a picture in my “Photos from the Head” this month of a member of the Class of 1988 talking to a member of the Class of 2026 in the Upper School Bass Commons. That picture says so much. Allow me an especially long “caption” here.

Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine ’88 is the alum in the photo. She was one of five recipients of our Alumni Association Awards this fall. They had just finished a panel presentation to the Upper School student body. All four alumni recipients were remarkable individuals during their time at FWCD and have continued to be remarkable in their lives since graduating from FWCD. (Peggy Wakeland H’25 was honored for her 32 years in our Upper School by becoming an Honorary Alumni of the Class of 2025.)Please see here a short video of our celebration of these alumni.

During Homecoming Week, at the Thursday night dinner and again at the Friday morning student assembly, each of those alums spoke about the teachers and coaches who powerfully impacted their lives as students at FWCD. No question about the reality: the wonderful facilities, the stunning campus, the curriculum and co-curriculum all matter, and yet it is the classmates and the faculty and staff, it is the people of Fort Worth Country Day, that have the enduring impact on our students. It was simply inspiring to be in the space as our Upper School students heard how each of the honorees had taken their experiences at FWCD and leveraged them into getting an asteroid named after her, or into starting a renowned investment firm based on conscious capitalism, or into playing a pivotal role in developing shows for cable television’s FX Studios.

The student in the photo, Zaiya Collins ’26, could be talking to Geraldine about any number of topics. Zaiya had formative years in China. Geraldine had talked in assembly about work she had done in Asia (the Philippines, in particular). Perhaps they were discussing being a lawyer or an investment specialist, both of which were professions in which Geraldine had experience. Maybe she was asking about developing a nonprofit to solve a major disease, as Geraldine had done.  

Many schools around the country and around the world produce amazing graduates. What we celebrated this Homecoming, and with these awards, were the unique accomplishments of a very special group of graduates from FWCD. The possibilities for the lives our graduates might lead are unbounded. What we want is for our students to always be inspired, to always know they can make so many choices for what their lives after FWCD will be. We can be proud of award winners, and we can also be proud of alums who lead lives with less visible accomplishments. Whichever path is theirs, we just hope our current students carry core values, powerful learning tools and important relationships with them.