50 Stories for 50 Years: Joan O’Brien, Former ASSIST Board Member, Former Associate Director of Admissions St. Andrew’s School
To celebrate our 50th anniversary year during 2018/19, we collected stories and profiles of people and institutions that have helped us build our organization, which first began as one person's dream in 1968. We will feature one story per week on our blog. Please enjoy these “50 for 50” profiles featuring ASSIST's dedicated board members, dynamic staff, welcoming host families and enthusiastic ASSIST Scholars.
Joan O’Brien
Former ASSIST Board Member, Former Associate Director of Admissions St. Andrew’s School
I joined the ASSIST Board about 1980. Paul Sanderson, ASSIST's founder, had a dream to unite German and American students following the two World Wars. Paul’s dream was well-developed; the funds needed to support his enterprise were not. A board of directors was formed to raise money and increase the number of secondary schools willing to offer full financial aid to bright German students. There was a lot of heated discussion, but all based on a common goal: figuring out how to make ASSIST work.
Paul died shortly after I joined, and Ken Lindfors, who had recently retired as Head of Suffield Academy, was elected to become the new president of ASSIST.
Ken and Betsy Lindfors organized interview trips to Cologne, Germany where they, Ferdie Wandelt, and I interviewed prospective students. Woody Rutter travelled to several other countries to increase the diversity of the ASSIST pool of students each year.
Following Ken's retirement as Head of ASSIST, the board of directors hired Bob Stanley to take over. Like Paul Sanderson and Ken Lindfors, Bob had strong connections to Suffield Academy. Under Bob's leadership, ASSIST has developed into a household name in the boarding school world. The quality of the students who are now coming from 52 countries continues to be terrific, and the fundraising is very impressive.
I loved my involvement with ASSIST. Although I have been off the board for about 15 years, I am still in touch with a few old friends. Last October, I had lunch in Berlin with Sophia von Rundstedt and in Paris with Virag Jony. I had to share Sophia with my traveling companions, but had Virag all to myself for four hours in Paris. We didn't stop talking once, and both “girls” shared wonderful memories of their days at St. Andrew's. Hugh Cameron, a wonderful ASSIST boy from Australia, has continued to be a close contact.
About Joan:
Joan moved from the Westminster School in Connecticut to St. Andrew's School in Delaware in 1979 when her husband, Jonathan, was appointed Head of School at St. Andrew’s. At both schools, she served as Associate Director of Admissions, and just a few years after moving to St. Andrew's, she was asked to join the ASSIST board.