Life Beyond the Lanyard – Discovering the Person Behind AISG’s Dean of Students and Her Aspirations to Create a Positive Environment.  

By: Carolina W.

Ms. Eileen Rueth, AISG’s student Dean, has taken on a role that goes far beyond being a lanyard police. She describes her job as “really building relationships; I am the advocate for students, you have two principals, and they deal with different things like curriculum and scheduling and my focus is really students. While I oversee behavior and even if I must do things that are not necessarily fun, I want to make it so that students don’t leave thinking ‘ugh that was the worst experience of my life’.” 

 She hopes students will see her as a person, not just as their Dean 

How well do we know our Dean of students? Apparently, not very well. AISG emphasizes inclusivity and community among students and staff, yet a month into the school year, some students still don’t recognize our Dean. This article will introduce Ms. Eileen to our school community.  

“I believe that a Dean of students should be aware and knowledgeable of the key most relevant events and issues that students face and be able to provide guidance and knowledge…  But shouldn’t be involved in day-to-day capacity as it would impact upon students’ abilities to manage their own work.” A junior, relatively new to AISG said. 

Ms. Eileen enjoys spending time with friends, playing trivia and softball, and caring for her new dog. “I’m human, and I want students to understand that I have a strange sense of humor, I would like students to keep an open mind. I don’t mind being goofy, I don’t mind making an idiot of myself because I like to normalize it.” Ms. Eileen shares. 

However, some students hold a more negative view of a Dean’s role. Both AISG’s juniors and sophomores have claimed that the primary role of a Dean is to punish students and set us in our place. Secondary students at AISG are unable to get past their fixed, negative, and at times untrue associations with the role of a Dean. 

Ms. Eileen has a multicultural background, allowing her to empathize with the challenges of frequent moves within an international school. “I was born in St. Louis, Missouri, I moved to Germany for 3 years, to Turkey for 2 years, I spent some time in Washington DC, and I call Charleston South Carolina home, that’s where I lived the longest of my life.” 

 She describes her family dynamic as “the three musketeers” as it was her mother, younger brother, and herself moving from place to place. She recalls moving frequently as a challenge but knows that her ability to adapt ended up being a valuable skill. 

Her family was her support system, with a “tight nuclear family, and big extended family.” Like a multitude of students, Ms. Eileen valued summers spent abroad with her family. “My family has a beach house in South Carolina, and we go down there all the time, because it was a family house I would go down there with different aunts and different cousins and that’s where I felt I was at home. My cousins and I would play in the sand dunes and play pinball” she said as she describes her fondest childhood memories. 

Ms. Eileen continues to discover different aspects of herself and reflects upon her past actions. Laughing, she said she would “listen to some of the advice that people who are closest to me gave” She is getting back to her catholic practices, as she previously “didn’t really practice it; it was more like ‘well I believe in it and that’s how I grew up’”  

Job wise, Ms. Eileen didn’t enter the educational field until 2001. She grew up dreaming to be a fighter pilot, flying F-15 fighter jets as her mother was in the military. “My mom said I wanted to be a trashman, but I don’t remember that” she adds, laughing. Starting work in high school, Ms. Eileen had various jobs to keep her occupied. “I worked in retail, I did that for a long time, I worked in event catering when I got out of university and I studied public relations and bar tending… things like that, at one point I babysat, and I coached softball” 

Life is never static, nor ever planned, “I went into my student teaching, and I was like I love this so my plan didn’t work out as anticipated” According to her plan, she didn’t foresee going through with education, it was more of a backup career. 

Initially, it was not her desire to join AISG as she wasn’t seeking a job. However, after Mr. Robb introduced this school to her, and upon further research, Ms. Eileen decided to come. “This more so than any other school aligns with what my goals are for school, the community building, the missions, etc” 

Welcomed with open arms, Ms. Eileen was delighted by the enthusiasm of students. “The students are so nice; they wave at me! And they ask me how I’m doing! They feel comfortable interacting with adults, we have an amazing list of events that we do annually, the staff are like that do! They ask how they can help; they are welcoming, and the ethos are being lead every day” 

Ms. Eileen believes in a balance of academics and personal life. She is passionate as she advises students to “keep perspective, academics are important but a lot of people including myself got into our professions from clubs and activities, and that’s important, you don’t want to get wrapped up in academics for everything” Ms. Eileen describes friendships as critical, because friends are the ones that sustain and support students through life. 

Ms. Eileen poses with her two friends at Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. (Photo provided by Ms. Eileen) 

“I have my oldest friends that has been friends with me since kindergarten and some of my friends from the states we have been friend for 25 years or more, which is funny because I’m only 26” said Ms. Eileen humorously, as she expresses the importance of having an ‘anchor of people’ that students can spend time with. 

In comparison, AISG’s previous Dean, Dr. Burnside, was a well-known figure of authority. “I think and I don’t know but my personality is very different from Dr.Burnsides and I think I have a very different approach…” Ms. Eileen assumes.  Students describe interactions with Dr.Burnside as “mostly short” and “He gave some negative feedback to our guitar classes” suggesting that personal aspects of Dr.Burnside was known but only briefly. Ms. Eileen strives to build deeper connections with students and be a better listener. 

Regarding changing policies in school, students appear much more opinionated than Ms. Eileen. “its early” Ms. Eileen said, “schools are completely different and I don’t like the bring context and experience from previous schools and say ‘this is how we need to do it’ because every place has its own student body and this is a very different place from the other schools I’ve been to. If you come in and start making all sorts of changes and you don’t sit and wait first, you end up messing up the system.” 

Some students have recognized Ms. Eileen’s reflective nature, “I think that our current Dean is a good person who appears to be open to understanding different perspectives before making a decision” said a 11th grader. 

On the other hand, a multitude of students push our Dean for more freedom and privileges. Wearing lanyards at AISG is a heavily debated and protested rule in our community. “In case of emergencies we need to be able to identify all our students, and it also helps our teachers know who is in the building at what time” Ms. Eileen explains. She adds that lanyards additionally help with identification and distinction between elementary, lower, and upper secondary students.  

“It is something we need to get used to” explains an 11th grade Genco member. “We need the lanyards to keep everyone safe, and it is convenient for students as well… last year the lanyards were often misplaced and misused.”  

In the long run, Ms. Eileen aims to make a positive impact and have positive influence on the student body… “I don’t want to be known for lanyards” “that’s my least favorite thing, it is to remind people of the lanyards” she concludes. A Dean of students really is a role that expands beyond enforcing rules and discipline, and Ms. Eileen continues to make a difference one lanyard at a time.