GiveCampus

Ben Dize

By Susie Fordi ’18

“I never wanted to become a teacher,” said Ben Dize, Gunston’s fine arts department chair. “My mother said to me, ‘Have I ever asked anything of you?’ Of course, the answer was no. ‘Just get your teaching certificate,’ she said. ‘That way you'll always have something to fall back on.’ So I did. I reluctantly signed up for student teaching and found that I really liked it. That was over 50 years ago.”

Countless students in Maryland have Mr. Dize’s mother to thank for introducing him to his love for teaching. He first began his career in Howard County at Mt. Hebron High School where he taught industrial arts and coached track. Later that spring he was offered a teaching position at Kent County High School in 1969, where he worked for 30 years before joining Gunston’s faculty.

Mr. Dize is a Maryland native, born and raised in Crisfield, where he gained a deep appreciation for the Chesapeake Bay and its heritage. After graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1968 and receiving an M.Ed. from Towson State University in 1972, he began his 50-year teaching career. At Gunston, he was not only an art teacher, he was the advisor to hundreds of students, he organized and hosted numerous spring break trips and countless gourmet pancake breakfasts (which he made on a griddle in his classroom), and has always been the school’s biggest advocate.

“My philosophy is that everyone can learn to do art,” explains Mr. Dize. “Not everyone can become a great artist, but everyone can learn to produce a visual image that is satisfying to themselves.”

Olivia Wood ’07, who took drawing and art history recalls “Mr. Dize was the first person in my life who encouraged me to study art history in college. I am not sure that I would have pursued that path had it not been for him. I distinctly remember when he suggested that I should consider it: I finished an art history exam early and he said he would grade it while I waited for our class to end. It turned out that the reason I finished so early was because two of the pages of my exam were stuck together so I had left an entire page blank! However, I had done so well on the other pages, and answered all the extra credit, that the blank page barely impacted my grade. I was a good student but I wasn’t someone who aced every exam so this was not a typical experience for me at Gunston. But art history was the first time learning about an academic subject ever seemed effortless because I was so engaged and interested. When Mr. Dize handed me back my exam, he told me he thought I should major in art history and that is exactly what I did!” said Wood.

Wood graduated college with a degree in art history and moved to Washington D.C. to work for the National Gallery of Art (NGA) for seven years. “Working at the NGA had always been my dream thanks to the field trips that Mr. Dize organized to visit the museum each spring. During the years that I worked at the NGA, Mr. Dize was a regular visitor, sometimes bringing his students on the annual field trip and sometimes he and his wife came to see one of my exhibitions. When I left the NGA, one of the things I missed about working there was the chance to catch up with Mr. Dize in my favorite museum,” she adds.

Weixing Shepardson

By Susie Fordi ’18 & Henry Shifrin ’21

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By being not only the toughest mathematics teacher at Gunston, but also the associate international student coordinator and mentor for many students who have come to Gunston from China and beyond, Weixing Shepardson (known better to students as “Mrs. Shep”) has made a deep impression on the Gunston community. Weixing Shepardson (“Mrs. Shep”) was born in Beijing amid a cultural revolution. Her father, a stern and disciplined man, taught her that science and technology were the keys to success. He allowed her to learn for herself, and encouraged her to read her own textbooks. Mrs. Shep believes this educational upbringing is what allowed her and her sister to beat the odds and be accepted into college. She has always had a love of learning and teaching and knew from an early age that education was a career that she wanted to pursue.

“My teachers said I was born to be a teacher. That’s why for my whole life I’ve never left school. I’ve gone from student to teacher to student to teacher,” says Mrs. Shep.

Mrs. Shep obtained both a bachelor’s and masters’ degree from Capitol Normal University in Beijing, China, and began teaching as soon as she graduated. In 1998, after many years of teaching high school in China, Mrs. Shep decided to come to America and pursue a degree in statistics at the University of Massachusetts. Even after this degree, Mrs. Shep knew she wanted to continue teaching. After one year in the public school system in Talbot County, Mrs. Shep applied to Gunston. She was thrilled to be able to teach in her own style and found that the students learned well in a more intense setting. While the freedom to develop her own teaching style is what drew Mrs. Shep in, she stayed for the community that she found.

“That’s why I stayed at Gunston. The parents, the teachers, and the students; they all accept who I am. When I come to the United States, Gunston is my second family,” said Mrs. Shep. “Young people have unlimited potential. They are like a sponge. That’s how I view my students. Eventually, if I squeeze hard enough, something will come out.”

“Generations of Gunston students have reported to me how grateful they are to Mrs. Shep, as she unlocked the mysteries of mathematical thinking for them. Every school has legendary teachers, and Mrs. Shep is perhaps our most legendary: the extra help hours she offers to students, her unyielding belief in each student’s ability to achieve, and in the end, the pride she takes in their results. She’s the kind of teacher who helps students to realize that there is more inside of themselves than they ever realized,” said Gunston’s Head of School, John Lewis.

“For two decades, Weixing has also been a special touchstone for international students as they navigate the extraordinary journey from the Far East to the Eastern Shore. She has provided endless counsel and priceless bridges to understanding, translation, and cultural insight. Over the years, she’s been one of our most dedicated host parents, supporting the growth and development of dozens of international students. For me, my most memorable experience with Mrs. Shephardson was the two weeks we spent together in China, visiting our international families. As we went from city to city, region to region, and meal to meal—she was an invaluable guide, interpreter, and cuisine explainer. Here is the main thing I learned about her in China: Ms. Shep is Ms. Shep—whether she’s in China or the United States. Among students and parents from both the United States and China, she’s seen as incredibly bright, funny and loving, and a revered and relentlessly dedicated teacher of Mathematics. I can’t tell you how much we will miss her,” Lewis commented.
Rongje (Rose) Fan ’18 said “Thank you for your education and care for all students and all international students! Words cannot describe our feelings of gratitude. Thank you for so many years of quiet support. There are elderly people in your family, but we are still the first priority. I learned kindness from you. Whether in terms of school or growing up, you supported me every step of the way and gave me guidance.”

Long-time colleague and friend Mr. Mike Clemens (who also teaches Math at Gunston) has known Mrs. Shep for more than two decades. “I met Weixing about 25 years ago, as we both taught at St. Michaels (at different times.) I have worked with her at Gunston for 19 years. Her passion, drive, love and humor are surpassed by few people that I have met. I will miss hearing her teach from my room. You can always tell that she is into every class she teaches.”

Becky Schmier

By Henry Shifrin ’21

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A dedicated and kind face within Middleton, Rebecca Schmier has made a significant impact on the lives of the entire Gunston family during her tenure as business manager. Rebecca Schmier was born and raised in Massachusetts and throughout her childhood dreamt of being a teacher. She grew up during a tumultuous time in American history, amid the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. “I was in the first group of 18 year olds that could vote, so many of those events formed my thinking and unfortunately showed me early on the hard realities, beauty and at times the ugliness of life!” she recalls. Following the death of her mother, she moved to Maryland at the age of 20. After marrying her husband and taking a 10 year hiatus from the workforce, she dove back in at age 35, unsure of what to pursue.

Mrs. Schmier accepted a position as a billing clerk at a small oil company in Easton. Little did she know then that this position would lead her into the career path that she fell in love with. After 11 years at that company serving in many roles from office manager to treasurer, Mrs. Schmier decided to hone her accounting skills at a firm, CBIZ, in Easton. There she was named the first assistant controller, the first non-partner to hold this position, a role she was very proud to have secured. Her next stop was Gunston. After beating out 15 other candidates, many of whom were advantaged with advanced degrees, Mrs. Schmier was unanimously selected to be Gunston’s next business manager. All of her hard work, and layer upon layer of experience on her resume, had paid off, and for this, she was beyond proud.

“I have loved my years at Gunston and feel like it brought me full circle, although I did not become a teacher, but instead an administrator in the education field. It has been my honor to be one of the stewards of the finances of the school and I look forward to hearing about all the growth Gunston has in its future.”

“I first met Becky Schmier in the Summer of 2010, but in terms of the economy, it was the dead of winter,” recalls Head of School John Lewis. “The Eastern Shore was navigating the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, and like many independent schools, Gunston faced significant enrollment challenges and financial stress. That summer, we spent many hours together in my office, where she patiently tutored a newly-minted Head of School regarding the various elements of the Gunston budget. From those first meetings has grown one of the most meaningful professional partnerships of my adult life, with one of the kindest and most dedicated individuals that I’ve ever known.”

“Becky is deeply empathetic, and she understands that for the vast majority of Gunston families, tuition is the single largest, most important, and often most stressful monthly expense. Over the years, many Gunston families have shared with me how Becky caringly partnered with them to sustain this investment in their children’s education. It’s not easy to be the person who makes the “business” phone calls for the school, but Becky does this with exceeding grace.”