As a fifth-year doctoral candidate in Critical Social/Personality Psychology at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, Janan Shouhayib ’12 studies the historical, cultural, and political contexts of personhood, seeing individuals more fully and from a variety of angles. Upon reflection, she notes it’s not unlike the model of teaching that attracted her to McLean School in
grade 9.

“McLean’s appreciation for each individual student and flexible way of teaching inspired me, even in areas like math and physics that weren’t my strong suits,” says Janan. “I stopped worrying so much about things like grades and just embraced the learning. It was a completely different experience and environment than at my previous school, where I wasn’t as comfortable or confident.”

Janan was already somewhat familiar with McLean: her older brother Nabil ’10 started at the school in Grade 6. She remembers him talking about how much he loved his teachers, and quickly came to understand why. “Everyone at McLean cares about what they’re teaching, and it makes you care about what you’re learning,” Janan says.

She remembers Mr. Belliveau doing handstands to demonstrate inverted fractions; Mr. Dunn’s class walks while teaching history; Mr. Booth’s creative writing class, where students were able to be vulnerable and very much themselves. The class Valedictorian, Janan spoke at graduation, thanking teachers for their commitment and caring. “I think about those teachers all the time, and what a happy environment they create for students,” she says. “I know I had an appreciation for it back then, but now I realize it is truly something to cherish.”

Janan went on to Connecticut College, where she majored in Psychology. “My studies were very clinical, but what I really wanted to learn were the stories,” she says. In her junior year, Janan started working alongside a professor doing research on cultural identity. “I loved that, because I was putting people into context. That’s the work that ultimately led me to graduate school.”

After earning a Master of Arts in 2021 and Master of Philosophy in 2022, Janan is writing her PhD dissertation on mother-daughter relationships in the Lebanese American diaspora. “My research has always been super personal,” says Janan. She credits McLean with kindling her love for humanities, which continues to be a strong influence today. “When I’m conducting qualitative interviews with people, I always pay close attention to the words they say, almost like literature or poetry.”

When she’s not busy with school or her work as a Program Coordinator for a mentorship program based at City College of New York, Janan enjoys taking long walks around her Upper West Side neighborhood, journaling, and spending time with friends and family, including traveling to see loved ones in the DC area and Lebanon. And she’s a longtime collector of maps—“I guess you could say it ties into my interest in how people relate to their environment. I just love looking at them!”

Janan’s career aspirations are varied—she thinks about becoming a therapist or maybe a teacher—but one thing is certain: “Whatever I decide to do, I know it will involve having meaningful, close connections with people,” she says. “And McLean was absolutely where I first understood and appreciated how valuable those relationships can be.”

Harris Bergman learned to advocate and think big at a young age. As a fourth grader at McLean, he and his friends started a classroom energy-saving campaign that earned them an apt nickname: “the light squad.” Today, at 27, he continues to apply the creativity and confidence he gained from those early experiences as he helps his clients at socially conscious organizations brainstorm ways to maximize their impact. “The teachers could have dismissed or ignored our idea but they embraced it,” Harris recalls. “Even at that young age, the school encouraged advocacy and independence.”

“We work with a network of consultants and a wide variety of social and environmental clients looking to improve their impact, so it’s very collaborative and strategic. McLean fostered my 30,000-foot view of life and my curiosity, where other schools would have tried to stifle it  and told me to sit down and shut up. Being in a boutique consultancy allows me the same kind of freedom to be myself and operate in the way that’s best for me.

Looking back, Harris sees McLean as a safe harbor that prepared not only himself but his younger brothers Parker ’12 and Shafer ’22 to embark confidently, and with resilience, into adolescence and adulthood. “It helped my parents enormously, knowing they had a partner in the school. It was not a transactional experience; it was a continuum of care that provided what each brother needed, which was different in every case. Wherever Harris’s advocacy and big ideas take him next, one thing is for certain: he will be following a path and a passion that began back in fourth grade. As a new member of the School’s Board of Trustees, Harris will help McLean continue to deliver exceptional education to the next generation of gifted students.

Meet him today, and it’s hard to believe lack of motivation was ever an issue for Jordan Wilmot ’15. He pressed pause on his traditional college experience to attend culinary school in Europe at ALMA La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana before landing a job as a chef in one of Montreal’s finest restaurants. It’s a life that demands discipline and dedication, and has him up early six days a week, putting in the time and perfecting his process. All this, and a pandemic side hustle, too: Spiceboyz Mtl, a free homemade meal delivery service he started during lockdown with his best friend and a government grant.

But Jordan will be the first to tell you he wasn’t always so driven. “When I arrived at McLean in sixth grade, I was feeling pretty uninspired by school,” he says. “But having caring teachers changed everything. It helped me build confidence and become more engaged.”

Caring faculty members like Bobby Edwards, “who made sure I knew his door was always open,” says Jordan, adding, “people at McLean were patient with me.” He remembers a time in Upper School when a book project weighed on him and his English teacher went above and beyond to lighten the load. “I hated reading and would find any excuse to not do it, but she sat with me at the end of every day and read with me. She had kids of her own and things to do, but still she did this for me and I’ll always appreciate that.”

Much like his self-confidence, Jordan’s interest in food was always there but took some time to click. “Food is huge in my family,” he says, “and it wasn’t until much later that I realized not everyone ate the same way at home that I did. I’d show up with lamb chops and steak and grilled asparagus,” he recalls with a smile. “At university, the cafeteria was so bad that I started cooking for myself and others and I liked the positive reinforcement I got from it.”

By then he was three years in at Concordia University in the heart of Montreal, studying classics, but realized he needed a change. Along with a friend who’d just graduated, off he went to Italy to follow his dream. “ALMA is in a castle that once belonged to Napoleon’s second wife, which is pretty cool,” he says. Jordan remembers walking in that first day and seeing everyone looking very professional in their whites: “I thought to myself ‘this isn’t TV’s Chopped, this is the real deal!’”

Over the course of his two-year program, Jordan met a lot of star chefs and got to see fine dining at its finest. “It was very inspiring,” he says. “I’d had amazing meals my whole life but never saw behind the scenes and all that goes into that. I fell in love with it.”

He likens restaurant culture to the military in terms of its strict codes of discipline, hierarchy, and teamwork. His internship at northern Italy’s renowned Ristorante Schöneck was a baptism by fire, with the fast pace of a Michelin Star kitchen and the added burden of a language barrier. But he credits McLean with helping him build the organizational tools–and the confidence and self-advocacy skills–to handle it.

When it comes to his own style of cooking, Jordan’s growth mindset serves him well. “I’m still trying to figure it out,” he says. “I’ve studied Italian cuisine, and I also love Japanese cuisine, but Jamaican food is home for me, it’s my culture. I’m open to it all.”

It’s an attitude cultivated during his time at McLean: “The school does a great job helping facilitate people’s interests whether you’re the best at it or not. If you like to act, do it. If you like to play sports, do that. You’re a happier person when you follow your passions.”

For Jordan, this includes spending time in nature, sports like soccer and snowboarding, and going out to eat with friends, naturally. “Montreal has everything I would want: good food, good activities, nature and hiking, beautiful things,” he says with the confidence that eluded him all those years ago. “It’s important to follow your own path because you never know where it might take you.”

“As dramatic as it sounds, I can honestly say McLean School saved my life,” says Kate (Dykstra) Middleton ’05, who started at the school in Grade 10. “Middle school and high school years are such hard, emotional, self-growth times. A lot of my friends at public school were getting into some scary things. I saw that happening and knew I needed to make a change.”

McLean’s focus on students who learn differently didn’t matter to Kate, who doesn’t have any diagnosed learning disabilities, because the school’s best practices serve all kids well, she notes. “I fell in love with the size of it, and the way the kind and caring teachers interact with their students. They really know them personally, and I wanted that for myself, too,” says Kate.

Those three years at McLean were even better than she could have imagined: “I have almost no negative memories–most people can’t say that about high school!” Kate adds. With only a handful of girls in her small graduating class, the group grew very close. “We did everything together, and the truth is that in any other school we wouldn’t necessarily be friends because we were all so different,” says Kate.

“At a bigger school, you often get pigeonholed into a specific group or clique, but at McLean you are free to explore all your interests,” she says. For Kate, that included sports like hockey and lacrosse–and, she laughs, one basketball game’s worth of cheerleading. “I was horrible at sports, but they still let me try!” she says. “There’s a lot to be said for just being able to be part of a team, and I never would have had that experience at a bigger public school, with their tryouts and cuts and intense competition.”

Seeking the same small, supportive atmosphere and intimacy that drew her to McLean, Kate enrolled at Susquehanna University after graduation. After three semesters, however, she decided she was ready for a bigger environment and transferred to University of Maryland, College Park, where she received a degree in Studio Art.

A series of work experiences followed, including one with TV show “America’s Most Wanted,” but after a job posting at “a small private school in Potomac” caught her eye, she returned to McLean in 2010 to work in the Learning Commons Library. “It was wonderful being back in that environment again,” says Kate, who, in addition to her position as Assistant Librarian, also helped oversee the Yearbook and third grade technology.

When she and husband Scott married in 2012, the wedding was a fun mix of old and new McLean, with former classmates and current colleagues alike. Soon after, the Middletons began talking about where they wanted to put down roots and start a family. “We knew we wanted to live near the ocean in a community that could support his work as a personal trainer and my desire to start an interior design business,” she says. A visit to Hilton Head sealed the deal, and in 2013, the two moved to Bluffton, SC; daughter Allie, 7, was born the next year, and Juliette, 3, followed.

Today, she’s back working with students, this time as a third-grade classroom teacher, having returned to school for a degree in Elementary Education. “Working in a public system has been very eye-opening,” says Kate, who looks to bring her love of teaching to a smaller, independent school setting like the one that changed her life all those years ago. “I’m reminded of how I felt as that young high school student and what I want out of education, for myself and also now for my students,” she says.

“My years at McLean were truly some of the best of my life,” adds Kate. “It’s such a formative time, and I got to go through it in such a safe, comforting, all-inclusive environment.

“I hope the same for my own girls someday,” she says.

As a television news producer, Zach Levine ’16 knows a good story when he sees one. His own is pretty compelling, too.

Zach’s time at McLean might best be described as the Abilities Model® in action: being seen and celebrated for your strengths while receiving support and skills for learning–and for life. In 7th grade PE class, Zach often would chime in with entertaining real-time commentary and his teacher invited him to announce starting lineups for the Middle School basketball games.

Former science teacher, Cathy Noon, also took note. “She was a big sports fan, too,” Zach recalls. “She’d see me at games and invite me to sit at the scorer’s table, which helped me evolve my announcing role.”

It wasn’t long before Zach became “The Voice” for the Upper School basketball games, including play-by-play and highlights. “I didn’t even know this was a passion of mine until I started doing it,” he says. “I appreciate that people at McLean saw something in me and encouraged, and trusted, me to build on it because they thought it would be good for me and my personal growth.”

Zach expanded on his interests and started a McLean sports newsletter that, while short-lived, got him thinking about a career in news. He went on to Syracuse University, where he majored in broadcast journalism. “Syracuse is pretty big, and even though I was coming from a small high school experience, my time at McLean did a good job preparing me to make that jump to a larger environment,” he says. “McLean taught me to learn how to learn.”

Part of that, he says, included knowing himself well enough to align his abilities and aspirations. “Sports journalism can be cutthroat and those who go into it tend to be very competitive–and that’s just not me,” he says. “By my second year, I started to notice that news might be a better fit for my personality and that I might actually get more opportunities and experience doing that,” Zach says. “I felt more appreciated and liked that I had room to grow, which was certainly something I had at McLean.”

Appreciated he was: as an undergrad, Zach interned at a Syracuse news outlet and kept in touch with his boss, who reached out to Zach about a job opportunity at her new station. Just hours before a COVID-19 hiring freeze went into effect, and a few months before his June 2020 graduation, he accepted an offer as a producer for the local ABC affiliate in Colorado Springs, KRDO Newschannel 13.

“It was a huge leap, moving 1,500 miles away,” says Zach. “But knowing I had gone from McLean’s nurturing environment to a big university helped me understand that I could do it. And it’s really paid off.”

It was that nurturing environment that first attracted Zach to McLean back in elementary school. “I was struggling with the public school system,” he says, “it was increasingly competitive and I was falling behind because I needed more time to learn things and didn’t have the confidence or tools I needed.”

He started at McLean in grade 5, and although it was a bit of an adjustment, it wasn’t long before Zach hit his stride. “I remember feeling a lot of anxiety and negativity, holding myself to social and academic standards,” he says. “But soon I started to feel comfortable in my own shoes. The persona I took on as ‘The Voice’ helped shape my identity and gave me confidence as people began to show an interest in my abilities.”

“I’ll be honest,” he adds, “it took me a year to feel that way at work, too!”

Today, however, Colorado feels like home, and Zach enjoys taking advantage of all it has to offer. “I’ve developed some new interests since moving here, like skiing and hiking,” he says. But much remains the same, including his love for all things news and Washington sports teams.

One thing Zach will always appreciate about McLean, he says, is the School’s willingness to support him in pursuing his own path. “Even though my interests didn’t necessarily line up with the school’s existing clubs and activities, the teachers were always willing to work with me,” he says.

“That’s part of what makes it such a welcoming place,” he adds. “McLean is open to people of all abilities and learning types, but also passions. It sounds cliché, but it’s true that they want you to have opportunities you might not otherwise get, to grow and flourish in whatever ways possible.”

“In a world where you’re expected to go from A to B then C, McLean helped me understand that the line between them might be a little squiggly sometimes,” says Joyce Gendler. “Lucky for me, I love squiggly lines — they’re a lot more interesting.”

It’s no surprise that Joyce thinks like an artist — for as long as she can remember, the arts have played a huge role in her life. “My mother was an art teacher, and I was always doing plays and other artistic stuff,” she says. “It was such an important part of my learning.”

Joyce recalls that her teachers not only took an interest in her love of all things theater, but created opportunities for her to integrate it with her studies — like the time she was given permission to write a play instead of a paper. “It helped me realize that if you ask for something and advocate for your needs, most of the time you can make it happen.”

After graduating from McLean, Joyce went on to pursue educational theater at New York University, where experiences as a student teacher opened her eyes — and she set her sights in a new direction. “I was quickly becoming aware of how fortunate I had been as a student, and how our public education system doesn’t support everyone in it,” she says. “I became pretty obsessed with the injustices I saw, and that became more of a focus for me than the theater.” Joyce transferred to NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study and created her own major, social justice education through the arts, graduating in 2012.

Her first job was teaching a social/ emotional class to high school-age students incarcerated at Riker’s Island, the prison where she’d done some work as an undergrad as part of a class. “New York is one of just two states that tries 16 to 18 year olds as adults in the court system,” she explains. “Working there, I was seeing them at a time in their lives when so many other interventions had failed them. I was like ‘what can we be doing in the schools so that this doesn’t happen?’”

Joyce’s quest for answers led her to nonprofit work with an organization called The Future Project where she was a Dream Director — “best title ever!” — working in high schools with students and teachers to create a positive school culture. “The idea is that when kids can learn by pursuing things they’re excited about, like creating a comic book or recording a song” — or writing a play instead of a paper? — “it shifts the energy of what school can be, and grades and attendance and morale go up.” During her time there, Joyce met her now-husband John-Michael and was promoted to lead the team of Dream Directors. In 2017, Joyce left for graduate school at Lesley University in Boston, where she studied clinical mental health counseling and expressive arts therapy.

“The arts had given me a way to understand myself and the world,” says Joyce, “and when I realized I could combine education and the arts in this way it was like OMG! That was my story.”

Joyce and John-Michael recently bought a house by the water in Connecticut, where she works as an expressive arts therapist at a community agency for adults with chronic mental health issues. “I’ve always worked with adolescents, and hope to again, but with a different perspective now that I see what life looks like 10 or 20 or 40 years down the road for people who grapple with some of these same things.”

As she reflects on her own squiggly-line journey, Joyce is grateful to McLean for helping her to become the person she is today, personally and professionally. “If I hadn’t had such a supportive community of people who saw my abilities instead of my disabilities, my life would have been totally different and I’ve had a glimpse of what that can look like,” she says. “McLean was a safe place where I was celebrated for literally all of who I was, including the parts of myself I felt shame around.”

“Now, working with people who struggle with their own diagnoses and challenges,” she adds, “I see just how much the right support along the way make all the difference.”