The Driving Spirit Awards are presented annually on Flint Hill Day, previously known as Founders’ Day, to Flint Hill employees who lead by example through their dedication to students, faculty, or the Flint Hill community at large as evidenced by their ability to energize and inspire the Husky community. Their embodiment of the Driving Spirit makes Flint Hill the special and unique place we all value.
Award recipients are nominated by students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni. A committee of the Senior Leadership Team, led by the Head of School, completes the selection process. This year, on January 30, five recipients were honored.
Ann Bazzarone
Middle School Learning Specialist
Written by Mary & Tom Gillespie P’22, ’22, ’26
Regardless of one’s age, most adults can recall at least one teacher who made a significant impact in their lives. Our children are very fortunate to have many Flint Hill teachers in that category, yet a particular standout is Dr. Ann Bazzarone, better known as the beloved “Miss Bazz.” It’s difficult to state what a key role Ann has played in our children’s Flint Hill education and also in their well-being. Her warmth, humor, knowledge, and steady hand are exactly what middle school students need at a time when change is all around them, and a reason why some kids affectionately call her their “school mom.” Flint Hill parents, many of whom we’ve heard sing Ann’s praises, also learn from her the tools and approaches that better support students at home.
Ann excels in many areas (who knew she’s a Latin expert?), but her expertise in executive functioning is top-notch. She invests not just her time but her heart in teaching her students critical skills for academic (and life) success, such as time management, prioritization of work, self-advocacy, and resilience. She adjusted to each of our three children’s very different needs and went above and beyond in supporting and advocating for them. Ann has a natural gift for making her students feel seen, heard, and valued. It’s no wonder many of them adore and remember her long after they’ve graduated from Flint Hill.
Shane Brooks
Web and Media Specialist
Written by Jackie Viteri, Senior Communications Specialist
I first “met” Shane by phone. He lived in Georgia at the time. Flint Hill’s Communications Office was a newly formed department, and he was convinced to move to Virginia by the then-communications director who had previously worked with him and knew his talents. For a few months, I only heard Shane’s voice during meetings. When we finally met and began working together in person, it was seamless. He was as genuine, funny, and kind as he sounded.
That was 12 years ago, and he has remained true to his voice and true to Flint Hill’s mission and vision, graciously sharing his skills toward making every project and the School better in ways that only he can. At the Driving Spirit Award ceremony, his daughter, Madeline, a 5th grader who has been at Flint Hill since Junior Kindergarten, commented, “My dad lives the Core Values every day!” Now everyone too knows what Madeline has always known.
Amy Clement
Middle and Upper School History and Social Sciences Department Chair and Upper School Teacher
Written by by Doug Schoemer, Upper School History & Social Sciences Teacher
I moved from the Middle to the Upper School in 2013. During that first year, I taught U.S. History, a class that Amy also taught that year. Although I had taught a version of this subject to 7th and 8th graders, the transition to high school juniors was daunting. Amy made it infinitely
easier and more enjoyable. She took time to help whenever I asked, she shared all of her ideas and materials, and she gave me advice and tools that I use to this day, no matter the courses I am teaching.
To move from faculty to department chair must be difficult. Suddenly your colleagues are now people you supervise, and to effectively lead can be very tricky. Amy has been an exemplary department chair. She has implemented policies and strategies that help us all, she listens to our feedback and brings it to the appropriate person or committee, and she always wants what is best for the students. In my time here, there has not been a more deserving recipient of the Driving Spirit Award.
Donna Holaday
Assistant to the Director and Assistant Director of the Lower School
Written by Sheena Hall, former Director of the Lower School
When I think of Donna Holaday, there are not enough positive adjectives to describe her; she is gentle, humble, genuine, responsive, fun-loving, sensitive, and effortlessly embodies the Core Values of Flint Hill School. Donna is wholeheartedly committed to the success of the Lower School and is the invisible thread that quietly and purposefully helps weave the inner workings of the division. She is detail-oriented, forward-thinking, an empathic and discerning listener, and a consummate professional.
Donna’s most valuable assets are her love for the children in the Lower School and her selfless service in support of the parents and faculty. Daily, students would walk into the office before snack or lunch looking for something to eat as they had left theirs at home, or arrive after a fun and active recess with their clothing covered in mud. Donna would drop everything to reassure them and meet their needs, whether it was raiding the faculty snack bin for food or providing replacement clothing. Nothing is ever too much for her! I look back on my time working with Donna and I am filled with such gratitude and feel so privileged to have worked alongside such a remarkable person!
Jeremiah Shepherd
Associate Director of College Counseling
Written by Catherine Scherer ’18
As I conclude the end of my second year as an elementary school teacher, I often reflect on my own experiences as a student in school. The reason that I am a teacher today is because of the teachers and mentors that I have had in my life, such as Mr. Shepherd. Mr. Shepherd epitomizes what it means to care about students as people, seeing beyond their performance in the classroom. Every day that I walked into Mr. Shepherd’s advisory freshman year or his office in the years following, I knew that he truly cared about me and my success. His ability to listen, empathize, understand, and give advice (I still think about the advice he gave me over six years ago) is something I try to embody with my students today.
Mr. Shepherd challenges his students daily to become the best version of themselves while walking with them where they are. I remember the day that I decided to attend Boston College; I excitedly told him as soon as I entered the building, and he was just as excited as I was. Mr. Shepherd exemplifies what it means to truly care about students, to celebrate their successes with them, to be with them in harder times, to challenge them to be better, and to walk with them every step along the way. He is one of the reasons why I am a teacher today, and I strive every day to become more like him as an educator.