Ms. Sara Adkins retires

After 40 years of teaching, 25 of which at Haverford, Dean of Faculty and Latin teacher Ms. Sara Adkins is retiring. 

In her numerous positions throughout her time here, Ms. Adkins has played a role in the development of everyone with whom she has engaged. She served as Chair of the Language Department, a role in which she mentored fellow teachers, and she has served as Dean of Faculty for the last two years. 

Beyond her teaching and administrative roles, Ms. Adkins has also been an integral part of the honor system. She and former math teacher Mr. Travis Loving were the first advisors to the Honor Council, and Ms. Adkins served as a faculty advisor to the Character Mentorship Program. 

Ms. Adkins says this work had the greatest impact on her. 

“Over the fourteen years that I was on the Honor Council, my faith was restored in humanity and in youth, because I saw kids really understanding what a boy had done as a mistake, and wrestling with how to come up with an appropriate punishment for that mistake and that boy and that moment,” Ms. Adkins said. 

“Getting to be there from the ground up, and helping create the words that we’re supposed to be living by was pretty massive… It’s been so emotionally fulfilling to see kids caring about their community so much that they want to help kids make better decisions or find the right punishment that would help those kids not make the same mistake again. Honor Council and [Character Mentorship Program] have been impactful to me personally as well as the way they impact the community.”

Despite her love for her other roles, Ms. Adkins said that her work in the classroom has always brought her the most joy. 

“It’s the interaction…the sharing of thoughts and ideas,” Ms. Adkins said. “The biggest joy [of upper level Latin] is every single time, even if I’m reading the same piece of Latin literature, somebody comes up with a different take. Somebody sees something that I didn’t see before, or somebody reacts to something I say.”

Ms. Adkins’s passion for her Latin classes allows her to connect with her students and bring them into the ancient world. “If I find the joy in it, then that allows the kids to find the joy,” she said. 

Much like her work with the Honor Council and CMP, Ms. Adkins looks to connect with her students and colleagues as she teaches and mentors.

“When I’ve needed advice or perspective for dealing with some of the harder parts of my job, she’s unfailingly offered both,” Head of Information Services Ms. Lisa Snyder said. “At the end of such conversations, she will acknowledge, in some form or other, that, yes it’s a hard thing you have to do, but you can do it!”

“A key thing I’ve always done is [to say] ‘I’m doing this with you. We’re doing this together,’” Ms. Adkins said. “Let’s find it hard together and tease it out together. Let’s wrestle with the Latin.”

Although her retirement is the culmination of her time working with students, she has no plans to leave Latin behind. She plans to continue reading a number of Latin works as well as to get back to reading Ancient Greek. 

In addition to spending increased time with her reading list, Ms. Adkins also hopes to travel more. 

“My wife has actually been retired for five years, and she wants a partner in crime, and I’d like to be that partner in crime and still be young enough to actually enjoy it,” Ms. Adkins said. “It is the right time, but it’s bittersweet.”

Reflecting on her tenure, “The kids and the colleagues are what make this place really interesting, and make it sort of new every year, even though I’m teaching the oldest thing there could be,” Ms. Adkins said. 

“My colleagues are bringing their A-game all the time, and that doesn’t happen in every school where your colleagues push you to be better and show you ways in which to be better. This is a very collaborative place.”

Ms. Adkins also shared her love for the camaraderie and brotherhood that the school fosters. She referred to “Haverford moments”—memories of when the “community knew how to rally behind in a way that is basic, good, human behavior.”

Ms. Adkins leaves the community with a legacy of compassionate mentorship and strong leadership. 

“As a teacher and as a mentor, she is somebody who makes everybody better, whether you’re talking about her students or her colleagues,” fellow Latin teacher Dr. Andrew Fenton said.

Having played a pivotal role in building both the community standards and the academic life of the school, Ms. Adkins shared her final advice for her colleagues and students.

“There’s room for humor in everything. That’s the hallmark of my classes, myself, and that humor is never at anyone’s expense,” Ms. Adkins said. “It’s been something that has been a really helpful tool in my particular arsenal in being able to relate with kids and get them on—whatever train I’m driving or whatever thing we’re trying to do—to see the good in humanity and see the humor in the things that we’re doing, because if you’re not having fun and seeing the fun and sharing the laugh with someone, then it’s so much harder to share the sorrow and the hard times.”

“If you can share the laughter,” Ms. Adkins said, “then that means there’s a connection and you can go deeper and you can have really good relationships and great times together.”