Galloway Magazine Article

“Find out who you are and become that person.”

These words of Elliott Galloway are emblazoned on the hallway wall of Gresham’s West Wing. You’ll find quotes of his scattered throughout the campus, and yet, this is the one that always grabs my attention. Not only does it describe how The Galloway School has shaped my life, it also gives a picture of the school’s own ongoing process of self-discovery.

I am a Galloway “lifer,” having attended as a student from pre-K through 12th grade. I’m an old-timer too; I knew Mr. Galloway personally and am just a year younger than the school itself. Alongside the good memories of teachers who mentored me and fellow students who became lifelong friends, I also remember crowded trailers masquerading as classrooms, radiators that threatened to drown out the lesson, and new paint that had chipped by Labor Day. It was exciting and messy, the optimism and reality of a new community.

Eight years ago, I entered a second chapter of my Galloway life – this time as a parent. In many ways, it was clear my sons’ experiences at Galloway students would be much different. A gym? Big, fancy buildings? Cutting-edge technology? A mascot!? The school I knew as a student had always been a little shabby and a little weird.

However, my wife [UL Science Teacher] Elizabeth and I have watched in awe as our two sons have been nurtured along their own paths of self-discovery. Our boys couldn’t be more different, but Galloway has encouraged and challenged both of them each step of the way. They are still in the process of finding out who they are and becoming those people – just like their mom and dad are.

What my glassy-eyed nostalgia had failed to recognize is that Mr. Galloway’s own words shaped and continue to shape the school itself. It is a community which is constantly finding out who it is and in the process of becoming. The trailers, clanging radiators, and peeling paint are all gone, but these were not at the heart of who we were; they were just superficialities, the realities of a school on a shoestring budget in an abandoned property. Just like today’s luxuries, they were never at the core of our communal identity.

Five years ago, I had the opportunity to think deeply about that identity in the third chapter of my Galloway life as a member of the strategic planning team. Our task was to capture Galloway’s lightning in a bottle. It was an effort to provide some grounding for the process that change requires and to describe Galloway’s philosophy as simply and completely as possible. We were encouraged to be bold; the Atlanta independent school market has plenty of space for something beyond cookie-cutter college prep, allowing us to be truly fearless in our authenticity.

What emerged from that process has become known as daring, dynamic, deliberate discovery, an inspiration for what is now known as the Office of Teaching and Learning. These words gave shape to Mr. Galloway’s own wisdom about the importance of self-discovery; we should take risks, be intentional, stay curious, and dig deep. It is a snappy summary of what our school has always accomplished as learners and teachers, describing how we pursue the values on the columns of Gresham: fearlessness, mastery, individuality, and community. This is what makes us unique.

One concrete example I have seen is the renewed commitment to diversity and equity. This was something that Mr. Galloway himself prioritized in those early days; in 1969, Galloway opened its doors as an integrated school. Lately, we have begun to recapture that purpose, re-discovering ourselves and becoming that community.

Galloway has gone through innumerable changes over the past fifty years. Much of the time, these core values have guided those changes, including those that brought us new buildings, and yes – even a mascot. Fearless self-discovery is risky work. You try things, and some of those succeed while others fail. As long as you have the right metrics for success, learn from your failures, circle back to what grounds you, and try again, you’re on the right track.

The challenge remains to understand why we do what we do. If our actions are true to our core, then we move forward. If not, then we need to be fearless and daring in righting our course. It’s a lifelong process, and one I look forward to seeing take shape in Galloway’s next half century.

By Marthame Sanders ‘88

Marthame is an Atlanta-based dad, artist, and pastor. A graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago, Marthame has served in ministry, and currently hosts a weekly podcast, aijcast, that features artists from a variety of media, exploring the connections between the artist and their source of and hopes for inspiration, and how it all tries to make the world a better place.

Originally published in Galloway - The Magazine (Fall, 2019)