By Emily Beggerow

Although Pitt Hall and Flippen Halls were built with the same layout decades ago, the two buildings could not feel more different. On the south side of campus, the Middle School hallways are lined with oversized backpacks, some nearly half the height of the students who carry them. Groups of children, some barely four feet tall, dart through the hallways with an energy that is absent from the Upper School at 8 a.m. The bulletin boards are adorned with bright student artwork, and colorful, hand-painted banners are displayed in the front hall. While the buildings bear a strong resemblance, stepping into each feels like an entirely different world. 

On a recent morning, I spoke to Middle School Administrative Assistant Cindy Bowling (‘89), a Collegiate and University of Virginia alum, who runs the front desk for the Middle School. When asked generally about her role, she said part of her job is that, “I do all things attendance.” 

One key difference in the Middle School that Bowling noted is how many Middle School students have siblings in both the Upper and Lower Schools. It is frequent for students to sign out in the middle of the day to attend an older sibling’s Senior Speech or athletic signing, just as it is common for students to leave to watch a younger sibling perform in “Fifty Nifty,” the Lower School’s States Fair celebration. She described the pace at her desk as “lots of comings and goings.”

The Upper School’s tardy policy states, “An unexcused tardy will be recorded for general lateness or slowness of traffic. More than two unexcused tardies in a marking period may result in one hour of required School service (typically before-school detention). Each additional tardy will warrant an hour of required School service.” In the Middle School, the policy is structured differently, acknowledging that responsibility for a tardy could fall on either the student or the parent. In the Upper School, many of the students are driving, and they are considered more responsible for their ability to get to school on time.

Bowling and Julie Miller, the Upper School’s Administrative Assistant at Pitt’s front desk, share a similar job description, yet each carries it out in their own distinct way. Every morning, they each send out a Daily Bulletin to faculty and students in their division, outlining key information, such as the day’s schedule, the lunch menu, and birthdays. Both Miller and Bowling add their own personal touch to the message: Bowling includes a nugget of wisdom accompanied by a lighthearted joke, while Miller chooses to feature a poem and upcoming events happening on and off campus.

Bowling’s connection to Collegiate runs far deeper than her recent recognition for a decade of service. She first experienced Collegiate as a student, forming relationships and memories that would eventually draw her back years later. All four of her children—Reese (‘17), Riley (‘19), Maggie (‘22), and Luke (‘24)—attended Collegiate as well, further strengthening her ties to a community. 

Her career at Collegiate began in Admission Testing, later expanding to roles in the Business Office and Summer Quest before she ultimately found her place in the Middle School, where her presence has become an integral part of daily life.

My brother Chason Beggerow (‘28) was lucky to have Bowling as a fundamental part of his Middle School years. He remembers the sense of energy she brought to the building each morning. “Mrs. Bowling was really outgoing and gave a lot to the students every day,” he noted, reflecting on the meaningful impact she had on his final years of Middle School. 

Prior to Bowling in the seat of Middle School Administrative Assistant, Elisabeth Jacobs had a legacy of her own, retiring in 2022. Throughout my Middle School experience, Jacobs was always a friendly face with the best intentions for whoever she surrounded herself with. 

When reflecting on her Middle School years, SCA Co-Chair, Maddy Privasky (‘26) remarked, “Looking back and seeing where we are now as Seniors, it’s wild to think about how small we once were.”Her perspective is shaped in part by having both parents on the Collegiate faculty: her father David Privasky is an Upper School science teacher, while her mother, Pam, teaches math in the Middle School. Although they work at the same school, Maddy noted that their day-to-day experiences are quite different. The age gap between Middle and Upper Schoolers may be small, but the environments aren’t. In fact, some of her dad’s students are even legal adults.

Together, the two buildings are the heart of Collegiate’s north campus. The spirit that fills each hallway motivates students to actively practice Collegiate’s core values: respect, honor, excellence, love of learning, and community. While each era of my life is entirely different, I am grateful to have a constant in the community that has supported me in every step of the way.