St. Stephens's School Rome
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As I begin my first year as Head of School at St. Stephen's, I find myself reflecting on what first drew me to this community.
I remember sitting in one of the weekly morning meetings during my visits to campus, listening as students and colleagues shared their work with intelligence, enthusiasm, and joy. I was struck by the remarkable diversity of voices in the room, but even more by the spirit of the community itself. There was an unmistakable sense that students here are known, challenged, and inspired. I left campus thinking I had found a school where intellectual curiosity and meaningful relationships reinforce one another.
That first impression has only deepened since I joined the community. As I have come to know St. Stephen's better, I have realized that what first caught my attention that morning is woven throughout the life of the school. Students are encouraged to think deeply, ask meaningful questions, and engage with ideas. They are also known as individuals, supported by caring adults, and challenged to grow intellectually, personally, and socially.
It is a privilege to join a community with such a strong foundation. It is that combination of intellectual ambition, genuine care, and commitment to the growth of every student that convinced me I had found the right school.
One of the defining qualities of St. Stephen's is its close-knit learning community.
With approximately three hundred students, the school is intentionally small. Our sixty boarders form the nucleus of a family within a family. Our experiential education program extends learning beyond the classroom and into the world. Our faculty are scholars, artists, writers, and scientists who bring genuine intellectual passion to their teaching, and our students, drawn from every corner of the world, create daily opportunities to learn from different cultures, experiences, and perspectives.
St. Stephen's American college preparatory program and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme provide a rigorous academic foundation while encouraging students to think critically, embrace complexity, and remain curious. Together with the school's international community, they create an environment where students encounter the unmistakable richness of learning grounded in multiple perspectives.
Rome adds another dimension to that experience. Here, history is not confined to textbooks. Students encounter the continuity of human history every day, surrounded by the ideas, achievements, and challenges of generations that came before them. It is a place where the study of history, culture, philosophy, art, and human civilization becomes immediate and deeply personal. Living and learning in Rome reminds us that we are each part of a much larger human story and that every generation has the opportunity and the responsibility to shape what comes next.
Mens, Voluntas, Gratia — Then and Now
The motto our founders chose in 1964 has lost none of its relevance. If anything, it speaks more urgently to the moment our students are entering than it did sixty years ago.
Mens: the ability to think critically, creatively, and scientifically, coupled with genuine intellectual curiosity, is the foundation of everything we ask of our students. In an age when information is everywhere and wisdom is rare, we are in the business of cultivating minds that can navigate complexity, question assumptions, and make meaning from noise.
Voluntas: the motivation to succeed and the potential to excel is not something we instill from the outside. It is something we believe every student carries within them, waiting to be met with the right challenge, the right teacher, the right moment of discovery. Our job is to create the conditions in which that potential can be realized.
Gratia: personal and social integrity, cooperation, concern for others, and commitment to community, both local and global, is perhaps the most urgent of the three. The world our students are inheriting will demand of them not only intelligence and drive, but also the capacity to act with wisdom, empathy, and ethical courage. St. Stephen's has always taken that responsibility seriously. We take it more seriously than ever.
The enduring outcome of a St. Stephen's education is not simply knowledge, but the capacity to continue growing throughout life.
Preparing students for university is essential. Equally important is helping them develop the intellectual, personal, and relational capacities that will enable them to continue learning long after they graduate. Students thrive when they develop the capacity to learn about themselves, about others, and about the world. In doing so, they deepen their ability to build meaningful relationships and the confidence to adapt thoughtfully to change. To me, education is at its best when it gives students the courage to pursue lives of purpose and to positively shape the communities of which they are a part.
What has impressed me most since arriving at St. Stephen's is that these capacities are cultivated every day. Intellectual challenge is paired with genuine care for students. Creativity and curiosity are cultivated alongside character. Some of the most enduring learning happens because people grow together.
Perhaps that is why the connection so many alumni continue to feel to St. Stephen's is so striking. Their affection for the school, their commitment to one another, and their willingness to continue giving back suggest that the most meaningful education does not end at graduation. It becomes part of who we are and how we continue to grow throughout our lives.
Whether you have been part of St. Stephen's for many years or are just beginning to explore our community, I hope you will discover what first inspired me: a school where learning prepares young people not only for university, but for lives of purpose, continued growth, and meaningful contribution.
I am grateful for the warm welcome I have already received and look forward to learning alongside this community as we continue building on the strong foundation that has made St. Stephen's such a distinctive place.
Watch our students talk about how these principles underpin the five core values of care, scholarship, independence, integrity, and creativity that we embrace and practice as a community everyday...
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