11 REMEMBERING Karen Miller Retired faculty member Karen Miller passed away on January 11, 2023. Over her 31 years at Park, Karen held several positions including Director of College Counseling, Grade 6 English and History teacher, Coordinator of the Middle and Upper Schools, Co-Camp Director, and Scheduler, but she did so much more for Park than that. Karen was truly the heart and soul of our school for three plus decades. She got to know each and every one of her students as she walked them through the college application process, answering endless questions while helping every student find the college or university that was the best fit for them. In doing so, she established college counseling as a premiere offering at Park. The school is working hard to ensure her legacy continues through the college counseling we provide to our current and future students. Her work and care positively impacted the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of Park students and families. She was the epitome of Park’s core values of respect, responsibility, honesty, and kindness and will truly be missed. She is survived by her husband, Tom, and daughters Erin '06 and Alaina, as well as two grandsons, and many relatives and friends. Upon learning of her passing, many Park faculty and friends shared their memories of Karen to honor the profound impact she had on the school, a few of which are included here. During my time at Park, and, of course, for many years prior to it, Karen Miller was a mainstay, the person who was always there. I could go into her office any time of day–especially after school and into the evening. (Except when the office door was shut with its intimidating “do not disturb” message. The messages on the door were always more intimidating than Karen herself, who simply wasn’t.) Karen was a listener and a problem solver. She was just there for so many of us. Students adored her. Teachers respected her. Her work ethic impressed us all. We did not even know how she got it all done. Maybe she didn’t know how to say no, more likely she just committed to saying yes. When I first arrived at Park, Karen did the scheduling, among so many other tasks. She was the most sensitive scheduler I have ever known. She massaged the schedule, she tweaked and bent and plied her alchemy, making a schedule that seemed to take every single person on campus into account. We didn’t have to fit the schedule; she tailored it to fit us. I watched her work masterfully with students in crisis, often as she pulled more than one senior from the brink in college counseling or thesis work, or came to the aid of 9th graders who were struggling with leveling up. She had patience in abundance and it was a privilege to work at her side. -Kerry Reynolds, Park Faculty 2007-2020
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