People

Imagine being solo and untethered for more than two hours on the ocean floor. Picture yourself 1,200 feet under the ocean's surface with nothing but yourself and whatever mysteries lie below. In 1979, Dr. Sylvia Earle broke the record for the deepest solo walk on the ocean floor, and to this day, still holds it. After jumping into her JIM suit, Dr. Earle began her descent in a submersible. Upon touching bottom, she untethered herself, and began roaming the depths of the Twilight Zone.

Many scientists around the world, including Dr. Earle, work diligently to protect our planet. Just to put it into perspective, according to the BBC, if everyone on the planet consumed as much as the average US citizen, we would need four Earths to sustain the population. As of now, 75% of the Earth's land has been altered by human actions, 66% of ocean area have been affected by humans, close to 90% of marine fish have been overexploited, and according to CNN, roughly 171 trillion plastic particles lie in the ocean, which is equivalent to about 2.3 million tons. What's different from centuries past, is that now, in the 21st century, we know what our predecessors did not, which is that our actions have obvious impacts. Dr. Earle said: “Imagine if we did not know. We would just continue doing what we've always been doing, consuming nature, as if it would never run out, as if it would never have consequences that would matter to us.” When I asked Dr. Earle what gets her out of bed every day, she said that “It's that everyday choice. That's what gets me out of bed. What can I do today? It's the opportunity that we've never had before to understand the consequences of our actions and to move in the right direction, instead of slipping into a state where we lose the chance to choose.”

Dr. Earle began her journey after graduating from highschool at 16 and receiving her masters degree from Duke at the age of 20. Since that day, Dr. Earle has had one mission: to protect the ocean. It's important to understand, in the words of Dr. Earle, that  “there can be water without life, but no life without water,” which brings attention to the fact that the state of our oceans is in direct correlation to the health of our planet.

During her lifetime, Dr. Earle became a research fellow at Harvard University, taught at UCLA, wrote for National Geographic, started three companies that construct underwater vehicles, and led the first all-female team of women aquanauts in the Tektite II experiment, a project designed to explore the successes of surviving in an underwater habitat for two weeks. During this two-week experiment, Dr. Earle spent her time in an enclosure 50 feet below the surface of Great Lameshur Bay off the Virgin Islands observing the effects of pollution on coral reefs. This project occurred during a time when it was rare for American women to enter male dominated fields, so this was a huge step for women at the time. Dr. Earle also explored the South Pacific Ocean with underwater photographer Al Giddings, which is featured in the 1980 documentary “Gentle Giants of the Pacific.” After this expedition, she completed her two and half hour underwater walk, which is featured in her book, “Exploring the Deep Frontier.” However, one of Dr. Earles' most recognizable achievements is when she was the first woman to be appointed the Chief Scientist of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) in 1990. Working in this government agency, Earle's responsibility was safeguarding the health of the nation’s waters. 

In 1992, two years after working for NOAA, Dr. Earle returned to her work in deep ocean exploration and education. Three years later she published another book: Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans, a Call to Action to Preserve the Earth’s Oceans, which shares her experiences as a marine biologist, highlighting the beauties of the Ocean, while also raising awareness to threats such as pollution, overfishing, and climate change. Her most recent project, in 2008, is the founding of her global organization known as Mission Blue, which raises support for protected ocean reserves throughout the world, also known as hope spots. Due to the drastic loss of natural ecosystems, affected coral reefs, and endangered animal species, these hope spots act as safe havens where nature can live without human disturbance. Along with Dr. Earle’s Netflix documentary called “Mission Blue,” the Mission Blue Organization uses social media and documentaries to educate the public on the critical endangerment of the Earth's vital ecosystems, and the importance of protecting them. Dr. Earle can't put enough emphasis on the fact that if our Earth is in trouble, so are we, and that without small actions, no progress can be made. “Our number one priority is to learn everything you can about your life support system and then do everything you can to protect it. And if it's in trouble, you're in trouble.”

In today's world, humans have been destroying the one thing keeping us alive, and “we've been doing it with our eyes wide open,” she said. If you truly believe that you can't have an impact on protecting our planet, here's where you are wrong. As Dr. Earle said, “what everyone does really matters at times 8 billion, even little things add up.” It's as easy as picking up trash, recycling, reducing waste, conserving water, and being a leader for your community. So, in the words of Dr. Earle: “Use your superpower, your ability to see what others maybe don't see, and then communicate it.” 

Here at St. Andrew’s, there are many alumni to learn from. Their stories and advice are useful for current day high school students considering different career paths. The wide range of interests that St. Andrew’s cultivates within their students bleed into their later lives and careers, and these next three people are prime examples of alumni who combine their work with their passions. 

Jennifer Stayton

Jennifer Stayton is the local news anchor and host for NPR Morning Edition radio show on KUT. Stayton graduated from St. Andrew’s 6th Grade in 1979, before we had middle and high school. She attended St. Stephen’s Episcopal School 7th through 12th grade. At St. Stephen’s, Stayton participated heavily in theater as well as played on the volleyball team. After graduating, she attended Williams college in Massachusetts. “I was born in Austin and grew up in Austin so I was looking for something a little bit different,” Stayton explained. During high school, Stayton had been set on studying psychology, and that's what she majored in at Williams. She searched for a small scale liberal arts school so that she could take classes that really fit to her liking. She was interested in history and political science as well as psychology. 

Williams college had a completely student run news station that was outside of classes and credits. “I got involved in sophomore year,” Stayton said. “The time was pretty minimal, 2-3 hours per week. Junior and senior year I worked a lot more. I joined the student board and did public relations, 8-10 hours per week.” Stayton was a music host as well as public relations, making her extremely busy.

After graduation, Stayton got jobs around Massachusetts working at small market radio stations. After a year of starting with little tasks, an anchor left the news station and the head of the station knew of Stayton’s experience in college and put her in the job. As Stayton sees it, she had to “learn on the job.” With little prior experience, Stayton “was pretty committed to radio after college,” and she was pretty excited to see what could happen if she pursued it.

Stayton started working with KUT in 2004. She is on the air from 5-9 a.m. “My alarm goes off at 4 a.m. I'm out the door by 4:15 so I don't spend a whole lot of time getting ready, but that's ok because it's radio and nobody can see me,” Stayton explained. She researches and writes her own content, and hosts interviews and tapings. Her day is “ like a regular 8 hour workday, it's just shifted to earlier in the day.” After her segment and air time, first part of the day she has meetings, and second she is taping interviews for later shows. Outside of work, she is on the board of trustees at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School. She is incredibly involved. She volunteers for Women Communicators of Austin. She's a mentor for women, and they come to her for any questions or insight they need.

Jennifer Stayton advises high schoolers now to really focus on finding a good balance between academics and fun, and not to push themselves too hard. “An academic, rigorous school can be challenging and competitive. Keep balance, be sure to get good rest, be sure to have good friends, find things that are fulfilling and fun in other ways,” she said. Stayton believes that college is a time to explore your interests and she believes that “everyone should do what they love.”

Kylee Orlando

Kylee Orlando graduated from St. Andrew’s in 2012. After graduation, Orlando attended University of Texas. “I was really excited for college because I would be learning in a larger environment than St. Andrew’s,” Orlando explained. When looking for colleges, Orlando was excited to meet new people and take new classes. “I thought I wanted to study journalism when I was in high school and so I went into UT as a journalism major and switched second semester to marketing. Journalism was not what I wanted to do, not my speed,” she explained. 

Currently, Orlando works at two companies. She is the marketing director for KW Austin as well as senior social media manager for Keller Williams International. “I didn't take classes in highschool geared towards marketing, but I utilized a lot of the things I learned at SAS,” she explained. Orlando believes that it is part of life to change course and switch plans.  

When asked about her schedule, Orlando explained that “It's very different every day. I have a lot of meetings and I spend a lot of time with strategy for social strategy and content, spend a lot of time seeing what works, a lot of time being creative, planning.” 

In her time at SAS, Orlando learned skills on productivity and how to effectively use her resources around campus, something students still do everyday. “Mr. Works, my English teacher, taught me the importance of office hours. He kind of forced us into it and didn't make it easy on us. That was super helpful when I got to college because I wasn't nervous to go meet with my teachers and ask questions. That was scary to my friends.”

Orlando has had to learn to balance her work schedule with her social life. With her very busy meeting schedule everyday, it becomes increasingly difficult. “It's really hard, but it's important to be routined. I always workout in the mornings because I think that helps me keep time in the afternoons to go to dinner and other things. I think it's important for a work life balance to keep a routine but also save time to do the things you like to do.” 

When asked if Orlando had any advice for our current day students, Orlando emphasized the fact that she wished she would have been more flexible with her career path. She knew she was creative, “I liked strategy stuff and figuring things out, I just wasn't very math oriented. If I would have looked harder into different avenues for that, I could have worked for a finance company. Those companies still need marketing,” she explained. “I think there's a lot of pressure to know exactly what you want to do with your life and study in college, but once you find your major there are so many paths you can take.”

Chad McLaren

Chad McLaren is the Associate Broker for Texas Ranch Sales. He is also a realtor, focusing on farm and ranch land. Mclaren also is a licensed auctioneer who auctions off ranching equipment. McLaren graduated from SAS in 2010. As a lifer, McLaren certainly knew St. Andrew’s. After graduation, he attended Denver University for undergraduate. “I accepted CU and DU initially, DU felt like the grown up version of SAS. We had so many people from out of state that everyone was there trying to make friends and have fun and do adventures,” he explained. “I was really excited to see something new and find new challenges in life. St. Andrew’s did such a great job of building community, everyone felt like family. I was really excited to get out and try something new. The SAS community did a good job building a sense of confidence in all of us and helping us feel like we were prepared for the world at large. It was good for us to kind of test that.” At St. Andrew’s, McLaren played sports year round. “Having sports and activities really helps to get to know friends with shared experiences, different backgrounds,” he explained.

At DU, McLaren majored in international business. “When I was in high school, I hadn't put that much thought into what I wanted to do in my professional life. I was still trying to figure out my interests and hobbies, how to make those overlap with my career. I did know that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and to work for myself, and that was something that guided me all through college and going into the professional world.” After graduating from DU, McLaren attended Texas A&M for his masters in Agribusiness. He had always been around the ranch life, and loved the idea of continuing his passion into his actual work. Summer after senior year, McLaren took classes and earned his real estate license along with his best friend. “The way I kinda got into this job, our family had ranches growing up and we were always looking with realtors so I'd spend a lot of weekends in the car looking with other people who were doing this as a career, and I was thinking ‘Man these guys have it pretty good!’ This looks like a pretty easy way to make a living,” he explained.

When asked about what advice he would give to current students, McLaren said that “St. Andrew’s is amazing and everyone is such a cool addition to life, so enjoy it. I have found that the values that I appreciated about the people that were in my life in high school, I have looked for these in my friends and people I consider family these days. You learn how to be a good friend and how to meet good people.”