Today, November 11, 2022, The Colorado Springs School community honored Veterans Day with an all-school assembly that included parents and grandparents, as well as special guest active duty servicemen and servicewomen, veterans, and spouses of current or former servicemen/women.
The Girl Scout color guard kicked off the event with a flag ceremony. This was followed by welcome remarks from Head of School Tambi L. Tyler, who provided a brief review of the history of Veterans Day and honored all who have served or are currently serving while encouraging students to become leaders themselves. "I am incredibly honored to stand in front of the next generation of servant leaders, innovators, problem-solvers, and global-minded citizens," Ms. Tyler said. "We, meaning teachers, leadership, and coaches at CSS value each experience that we place before you, and today is no different."
Middle School parent and veteran Maj. Lindsay Teplesky P'28, P'31, P'33, next provided a keynote address, including the story of how she joined the ROTC in college. "It turned out to be a great deal, as eight years in the Army paid for both my undergraduate and graduate degree, gave me the opportunity to live everywhere from Germany to Alaska, travel all over Europe, jump out of airplanes for free, and even spend some time in the hot Iraqi desert."
She touched on the wide variety of unexpected jobs available in the military, ranging from social workers, K-9 handlers, and veterinarians to entomologists, photographers, journalists, and ophthalmologists. "Even if all of those cool jobs don’t pique your interest, it’s OK. It’s OK if you decide you don’t want to be in the military; it’s not for everyone," she said.
"But, as you’ve learned as a Kodiak, we value service to our communities at CSS. Service can take many different forms, from picking up trash on campus to volunteering at the Care & Share Food Bank to the hundreds of hours of service learning that our Upper School students complete each year. Once you graduate from CSS, think about how you will continue serving others. Perhaps it will be through the ROTC like I did in college, or maybe you’ll join the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps, or you’ll participate in social justice efforts at your college or university. There are so many ways to serve, and I encourage you to think about what that looks like for you while you’re a student here and beyond."
The ceremony concluded with senior Landon M. playing Taps and Ms. Tyler handing out pins to the following active and retired service members in attendance:
Maj. Sylvia Alvarado P'34, Army;
Lt. Col. Michael Aul P'32, P'29, Air Force;
Maj. Bryan Boyce GP'35, Army;
Capt. Andrew Breedlove P'34, Space Force;
Capt. Robert Brown P'37, Army;
Col. Jim Charlton GP'24, GP'27, Air Force;
2nd Lt. Lara Grosjean P'29, Army;
Master Sgt. Nicole Haun P'37, Air Force;
Maj. Pio Hocate P'27, P'20, P'16, Army;
Col. Keith Jarolimek P'23, P'20, P'18, Army;
Warrant Officer 1 Ka-shara Jones-Young P'34, Army;
Maj. Bob Kelly P'34, Army;
Capt. Juan Lopez P'33, Army;
Master Sgt. Ed Malone P'23, P'29, P'31, Army;
Chief Master Sgt. Lois Miller P'27, Air Force;
Col. Amy Momber P'24, P'27, Air Force;
Staff Sgt. Karla Muñoz Garcia P'29, Army;
Lieutenant Col. Stephen Paynter GP'27, GP'30, Air Force;
Sgt. Tifarah Robinson P'34, Army;
Maj. Matt Romig P'36, Air Force;
Spc. Russ Tellup P'29, Army;
Maj. Lindsay Teplesky P'28, P'31, P'33, Army; and
Lt. Col. Ryan White P'33, P'34, Air Force.
CSS is home to 72 active or retired military families. In addition to today's ceremony, students in Lower School have written letters and created artwork for veterans to be distributed through Military Child Life, which is partnering with Veteran Last Patrol's Operation Holiday Salute to deliver 60,000 letters to veterans in nursing homes, hospice care centers, and other locations this season.
