Most of you have met our Residential Faculty member, Cynthia Sleight. But we thought a re-introduction might be in order now that it’s 2012. Here she is in her own words:
Hello and Happy 2012! I wanted to take a moment to reintroduce myself to all of you. My name is Cynthia and I am one of the Residential Faculty at Priory. I grew up just down Highway 280 in Cupertino, California (the home of Apple, Inc.) and I am a proud Priory graduate. After Priory, I went on to earn a degree in theatre at Barnard College, Columbia University. During my time at college, I also taught preschool on campus and worked at Columbia’s public health promotion program.
After graduation, I moved back to California to be closer to my family and for the past few years, I worked at the Children’s Center of the Stanford Community, a co-op nursery school on Stanford campus, and was assisting with a few Priory play productions as well.
Last April, I jumped at the chance to return to campus full-time as an RF. It’s wonderful to be back, working and living alongside the students and staff, many of whom are my former teachers. The boarding program and staff families who live on campus have created a lovely community for us all to live in—everyone is welcoming, supportive and full of energy. Seeing the close-knit community that has developed in the dorms makes me wish that the boarding program had been open to girls when I was a student!
In addition to working as an RF, I also teach 6th grade French and assistant direct/stage manage the Priory theatre productions. This last November, we produced a truly phenomenal version of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and just last week, we began rehearsals for our high school musical, “Beauty and the Beast.” The cast is comprised of close to 40 enthusiastic high schoolers, including many of our boarding students. When I was a senior, Priory produced its first musical, “Into the Woods,” and we barely had enough students audition to fill the 19 roles required. It amazes me that so many talented students are eager to be in this upcoming production. We’re only a week into rehearsals, but I already know that it will be a stellar production!
All of the students and staff seemed to have a wonderful holiday vacation. They all came back looking relaxed and happy, even if many of them were a bit jetlagged. I celebrated Christmas here in California with my family and then went back to New York City for the remainder of the break to visit with my friends and relatives. Ever since I moved back to California in 2009, I’ve missed living in New York City and every time I visit, I have wished that I could move back. This last trip was different though…despite all the fun I was having, I couldn’t wait to get back home to Priory. Derry (another RF and my roommate to boot!) and I often discuss how lucky we are to have this wonderful job. Not only do we have kind and supportive bosses and co-workers, we also get to work with the nicest, most entertaining, most intelligent group of young adults I have ever met. I look forward to a new semester filled with getting to know our students even better and more trips to get bubble tea, laughing and singing in the car all the way there!
