St. Margaret's School - Distinguished Alumna Mary Lloyd Pollard Lay '54

Distinguished Alumna Janie Whitt Sellers '71
Outstanding in every way

      Today it is a great joy for me to recognize the Distinguished Alumna for 2006, Jane Whitt Sellers ’71, during this, her 35th class reunion. This afternoon, I know she is thrilled to be accompanied by two of her lifelong best friends, made during her two years here as a boarding student: Margo Woodin Hardy and Liz Glascock Freshwater. Meg Mead, whose health kept her from being here, is present today in all of their hearts.
      Today’s award is not Janie’s first SMS prize. As a senior, she was awarded the Bishop’s Medal for the highest grade point average and the School Prize for the student who makes the greatest contribution to the school through her dedication to high standards, trustworthiness and leadership, consistent with our mission as a church school.
       You will not be surprised to know that her transcript shows all A’s and a class rank of #1, but it might surprise you to hear that when she took the Strong Vocational Interest Bank for Women in 1970, her highest scores showed interest in sports, followed by office practices and numbers, and her occupational interests put secretary at the top, followed by beautician, math/science or PE teacher, and banker, with lawyer toward the bottom of the list.

“Your leadership, loyalty, and friendship
... are an example to us all. Without you,
St. Margaret’s School would not be the school we are proud to call our own today.”

These comments were made by Head of School Margaret R. Broad at the award presentation during reunion.

       I think this is less a commentary on the accuracy of the evaluative instrument than an affirmation that the world has changed in the opportunities it provides for women. Janie’s successful educational and legal careers exemplify those changes.
       Right from the start, Janie’s peers recognized her promise by electing her Head of the Honor Council and voting her Most Likely to Succeed.
      And succeed she did, with B.A. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from Hollins University and Virginia Tech, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. Now, at McGuire, Woods, where she practices business law, she holds the position of senior partner.
         Today, with this award, we honor Janie’s exemplary volunteer leadership. Janie joined the St. Margaret’s School Board of Governors in 1989, my first year as Head of School, the same year she married David Sellers. She served the board as Finance Committee Chair until assuming the role of Chair in 1992, the same year that her son, Whitt, was born.
        These were not easy years to chair this board or mentor a new head of school, with low enrollment, a cumulative operating deficit, and a physical plant crying out for attention. Janie’s passionate commitment to our school’s mission, her determination to help us realize the school’s full potential, and her mentoring of her fellow board members and our school’s leaders led us from a position of concern to a position of strength. She ended her board leadership in 1998 after seeing enrollment, operating revenues, and the endowment all grow and the physical plant begin to provide much-needed new spaces: the Viola Woolfolk Learning Center, the apartment addition to Latané Hall, and the launching of the campaign for the building we are enjoying today, the Community Technology Center.
      To me, Janie has been a partner in times which held challenge and reward in equal measure. I will always appreciate her careful, compassionate leadership and strong support.
After completing her nine years on our board, Janie was selected to lead the Board of Trustees of Church Schools in the Diocese of Virginia, the official owner of our six Episcopal schools. Janie served in this role from 1999-2000 and guided the establishment of a formal structure to permit tax-exempt borrowing for building projects, as well as leadership changes at the school and Church Schools levels.
      When Janie and her family left Richmond to live in David’s hometown of Burlington, North Carolina, she did not give up her strong commitment to volunteer leadership. Today she serves as a member of the Board of Burlington Day School, where she serves on the Finance and Development Committees. She is also a member of the personnel committee of her local Episcopal Church, and has returned to St. Margaret’s as Chair of our Foundation Board.
No one more fully lives the St. Margaret’s School mission: “SMS challenges each student to make the best of herself and in so doing, make a better world.”
      Thank you, Janie, for your leadership, loyalty, and friendship, which are an example to us all. Without you, St. Margaret’s School would not be the school we are proud to call our own today.
       Let me close with a few sentences from the college recommendation letter written for you here at SMS in 1970:
      “Jane is an outstanding girl in every way. She has an excellent mind and puts it to the best possible use. She is a clear-thinking, astute student, well-organized, methodical, discerning. She writes beautifully and clearly, and yet, she is humble. She is level-headed, polite, and cooperative, obviously a harmonious, happy person.”
     And, yes, this is the Janie we know today, who has lived fully into the promise seen in her then. Please join me in
congratulating this year’s distinguished alumna, Jane Whitt Sellers.