Kathy Guy Dawson ’78: Creating a Safe Space for Shipley’s LGBTQ+ Community
Jared Scott Tesler
During her very first visit to The Shipley School in 1971, 11-year-old Kathleen “Kathy” Guy Dawson ’78 was immediately struck by the lack of sidewalks. The affluent suburb of Bryn Mawr was a far cry from home for the young girl, who had been born and raised in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in West Philadelphia.
As the first member of her family to attend private school and the first Black student to join the Class of 1978, Dawson experienced a great divide between her home and school lives. “Living in two worlds, and having to survive in both worlds, I never really felt like I fit into either,” she recalls. “I knew it was important for me to be successful, because if I wasn’t, it would not be good for me or others who would follow.”
Following Shipley, Dawson studied political science at Yale University, where she was actively involved in the Afro-American Cultural Center and interacted with many LGBTQ+ students on campus. At the University of Pennsylvania Law School, she was a member of the Black Law Student Association and the Law School Minority Admissions Committee. Throughout her educational and professional career, Dawson has served as an ally and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I’m a straight cisgender woman, so I don’t identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community,” she explains, “but what I do identify with is wanting to feel like you truly belong and feel safe, supported, and loved because of who you are. I can definitely relate to how people decide to ‘choose’ their family.” And so, in December 2020, when Derrik “Rik” Morris ’80 agreed to launch an alumni affinity group for members and allies of Shipley’s LGBTQ+ community, Dawson—an Alumni Council member and former Trustee—immediately reached out to Morris to lend her support. The two serve as co-chairs of the LGBTQ+ Alumni Association, simultaneously tasked with education and programming, communication, and constituent engagement and outreach efforts.
“The association is all about fitting in, feeling comfortable being your authentic self, and helping to engage the full range of Shipley constituents in a collective desire to positively support this community,” Dawson says. “The fact that I’m co-chair of the LGBTQ+ Alumni Association demonstrates that there’s a way to be able to expand your mind and ability in terms of how you can contribute to the School.”
Affinity groups at Shipley help to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment, empowering students of diverse backgrounds to build authentic relationships, celebrate their identities, and grow into confident, compassionate global citizens. Learn more about our Lower School Affinity Spaces.
“Shipley is really special because three kids can go to a teacher and say, ‘I think it would be cool to do this.’ And the teachers and administrators support them all the way through.” Learn more about the Middle School's culture of kindness and November's Kindness Month events.
Shipley's commitment to educational excellence extends to cultivating a sense of belonging within its diverse community. This article delves into how Shipley has embraced its DEI Strategic Plan, celebrating diversity, providing professional development, and creating affinity spaces to foster inclusivity and unity.
Shipley’s Asian Student Alliance (ASA), led by co-presidents Amber Feng ’24 and Anne Gu ’25, recognized Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month with programming for Upper School students, including a presentation about AAPI Heritage Month by members of the ASA, and one by guest speaker Elvis Zhang ’17 about his life as an entrepreneur and Asian American.
View a performance of the Lunar New Year Overture by Shipley's Chamber Orchestra, in an arrangement by Richard Liu ’25 and Bambi Tang ’23, and conducted by Mr. Jhonnatan Mata. The performance was organized by the Asian Student Alliance and the Chamber Orchestra in celebration of Lantern Festival, or the end of Lunar New Year.
Middle School is a time of physical and emotional growth and transformation, but the process that each child goes through is uniquely beautiful, messy, and complex. Through conversations in sixth grade SEED, teacher and Middle School counselor Lindsay Fick hopes that her students learn to acknowledge that for themselves and build the skills to accept it when it comes to others—a powerful lesson in viewpoint diversity.
Shipley's Director of Rowing, Scott Gavin-Wisniewski discusses the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the sport of rowing and how Shipley's Rowing Academy is working to counteract that. The program's strategic partnership with Philadelphia City Rowing (PCR) both informs how we advance DEI within Shipley's program, while also advancing equity in the broader Philadelphia community through our support of their efforts.
Black History Month was celebrated throughout the month of February as divisions and as a school. Take a look at the many activities that happened on campus.
Shipley's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion asked members of the Shipley community who identify as Black or African American what their race/ethnicity means to them, why Black History Month is important, and what are their hopes for the future.
Rafhia Foster, Shipley's new Director of Enrollment, was the only African American girl in her class at a local independent school. As a Black, Muslim-raised Trinidadian, she brings with her to Shipley a rich tapestry of lived experiences. She knows well the feeling of not being heard or seen. Now, she embraces each opportunity to share her voice and story, bringing an effervescent spirit to Shipley's Admissions Office.
Vision 20/26 compelled Shipley to “Cultivate a diverse and inclusive community” as a means of “increasing our ability to work across differences in our school, in our communities, and in the world.” Five years later, Shipley has taken great strides with its DEI efforts. Are we doing enough? Too much? How can we work together as a community to advance this important work? Our panel explores these questions and more.
Kathy Guy Dawson ’78, an Alumni Council member and former Trustee, became an inaugural co-chair of LGBTQ+ Alumni Association in 2021. She was the first black student in her class and the first member of her family to attend private school. Learn more about this Shipley Changemaker and how she's supporting the LGBTQ+ community at Shipley.
Rik Morris ’80 is a strong example of the Shipley spirit and the School’s commitment to supporting everyone in the community. “I don’t believe in giving back,” says the 2020 Alumni Service Award recipient. “I believe in giving forward.” Following his retirement as a Trustee a few years ago, Morris is serving as inaugural co-chair of the newly formed Shipley LGBTQ+ Alumni Association,
“Shipley was life-changing for me. It opened up my world," says alumnus Hakiem Coles ’07. His belief in the power of education to positively impact the lives of other black students inspired him to join Shipley's Black Alumni Association and establish a named endowed fund, the Black Alumni Association Fund, to support the curricular and cultural needs of Shipley’s Black students and teachers.
In the Lower School, a lot of DEI work revolves around helping students learn about themselves and aspects of their identities, as well as encouraging them to learn about their classmates and communities. From first through fifth grade, many of our students devoted classroom time to important discussions about different identity markers, the concept of community, and how we can support one another.
Valente Hidalgo, an eighth grader, interviewed his dad, César Hidalgo, who immigrated to the United States from Ecuador as a child. César describes what it was like growing up in Ecuador versus what it was like in the U.S., how he learned English, and how he shares Ecuadorian culture with his children.
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In many schools and libraries, especially during Read Across America Week this year, the tension between “canceling” Dr. Seuss and celebrating his iconic books as emblematic to American childhood ran hot. Shipley eighth graders took a close look at this issue in conjunction with their English unit on censorship in Fahrenheit 451. They were asked: Do you think Dr. Seuss’ book should be banned from classrooms and libraries?
The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.