I Believe in You

Dr. Clay Anderson ’83 and his wife Lauri

Dr. Clay Anderson ’83 was greatly impacted by knowing the Kinkaid faculty believed in him. "When someone tells you, day after day, 'You are capable. You can grow. I believe in you,' it sinks in—in a way that stays with you your whole life."

He remembers one profound experience with Barry Moss, a former teacher and Head of Upper School. "In Mr. Moss' philosophy class, he asked us to write a credo describing our deeply held beliefs. To my astonishment, nearly every word in Mr. Moss' graduation speech ran counter to my credo. I was troubled that Mr. Moss and I saw the universe so differently, and so I went to see him. In the middle of the school day, we embarked on an impassioned philosophical discussion. There was an explosion of rhetoric; logic shrapnel littered the Upper School Office. We talked for nearly three hours! Over the summer, I received a handwritten letter from Mr. Moss, which I still possess, thanking me for taking the time to talk to him! This interaction has stayed with me for decades."

Clay studied at Johns Hopkins University, where he met his wife Lauri. After completing his master's and doctorate degrees at the University of Texas, he accepted a position at Stanford University in the Department of Bioengineering. "I loved it and did well there. The challenge was maintaining balance."

When their daughter, Bryn ’17, was four years old, she asked her mom, "Does Daddy live here?" Clay knew then that something had to change. He says, "So, I looked back on my life and asked myself what had made a difference. Kinkaid had made an enormous impact on my life." It all came full circle when Clay applied for a job at Kinkaid.

Now as a faculty member teaching physics since 2008, Clay tries to encourage his students the same way he was by his Kinkaid teachers. "The best part about being a teacher at Kinkaid (in addition to the students) is that I am respected and trusted to do my job well. This means I have great freedom in my classroom to teach the way I believe will benefit my students most." Lauri, who joined the Upper School faculty in 2016 as a Learning Support Specialist, enjoys "getting students excited about math and science."

Both Lauri and Clay hope one day their students will look back on their experiences at Kinkaid and remember a teacher, mentor, or coach who believed in them. As Clay learned with Mr. Moss, what starts out as a heated academic discussion can become a positive memory that stays with a student forever. And like Mr. Moss, Clay strives to make time for his students and deliver the affirming message that they are capable of amazing things. The School is fortunate to have Clay and many other faculty members like him.

You can support Kinkaid students, too, by including the School in your future plans. To learn more about ways to give, contact Lisa Wood at lisa.wood@kinkaid.org or (713) 243-5023.