The Power of Patience and Self-Belief

Since informing the Board in late July 2025 that I would leave my current position as Head of School at St. Nicholas Alphaville, I've been asking myself, "What's next?"

After months of exploring options, conversations - and ghosting - about possible leads but with no success, I decided that staying in São Paulo and seeing what comes up was the best way forward. Then, from nowhere, I was excited to find myself having a conversation with my current Board about taking on a new role at school.

It just goes to show that things happen when you least expect it.

After a couple of months of discussions and planning, it was announced today that from August 2026, I will continue at St. Nicholas but in the role of Director of School Strategy. This newly-created role will require me to explore ways of ensuring greater alignment across our two campuses that can lead to further development of our already-great schools. I will be working closely with the teams on both campuses, finding out what they feel is working well, what could be better, what a St. Nicholas education should look like moving forward, and what they wish to share with their colleagues on the other campus.

I was at a wedding this weekend where I met a colleague from the other campus. Someone I recognised but I do not know. When we were introduced, she commented, "We see you all the time, but you don't see us", which really struck me. Collaboration will be key to this new initiative, and it is my mission to ensure that all members of the St. Nicholas community are seen and heard by being given the space to express an idea or an opinion, and to be acknowledged as a member of the community to which they belong. The approach will be one of appreciative inquiry and a coaching mindset in order to arrive at the best possible outcome for our learners.

"We see you all the time, but you don't see us",

I have always believed that things happen when the time is right, and this unexpected opportunity has only reinforced that belief. The ghosting from recruitment agencies, the lack of follow up after meetings and interviews with seemingly interested potential employers, and the ignored emails and LinkedIn messages were all for a reason. We never know why something is happening a certain way but, eventually, it all makes sense. We just need to be patient. If we want to do something, we have to go after it. If we have a vision and an idea, we are the ones to make it a reality. Deciding to leave St. Nicholas was an extremely difficult decision, so when opportunity came knocking, I opened the door.

I'm thrilled to be taking on this new responsibility, and grateful for the trust that the Board has shown by asking me to stay on. There is a lot of work to do but I'm ready.