trevordayschool

A Tribute to Cynthia Bing Cynthia Bing will be remembered as a true champion of e Day School/Trevor Day School, dedicating 40 years of service to realizing its vision. Her decades of involvement began when Cynthia and Sandy Bing's daughter, Cynthia, entered e Day School in 1976. Over the years, the list of hats Cynthia wore in service to Trevor included Class Parent, PA President, Benefit Chair, Board Member, Board President, and Trustee Emerita. In the late 1980s, e Day School embarked on its first strategic plan. During a visioning exercise, Louise Monjo, Director of the Lower School and Dean of Students, envisioned e Day School as having a high school with a campus on the other side of Central Park. Maybe there would even be a bridge across the park that would connect the two campuses. Most of us chuckled at such a notion, but I wonder if something more was going on in Cynthia's creative brain. Just a few short years later, such an opportunity came to the school—minus the bridge, of course—and Cynthia rolled up her sleeves and began to gather the great minds that would be needed to turn this dream into a reality. Her Filofax was a treasure trove of resources; everyone she contacted would pick up the phone on the first ring and could never say no to Cynthia Bing. Soon e Day School had grown from a N–8 school to a N–12 school in three locations. at bridge of Louise's dream materialized, connecting the 89th Street and 90th Street buildings to create the East Campus. Her husband, Sandy, was her best friend, the love of her life, her sage counselor, and a master cabinet builder. Cynthia was always volunteering Sandy for tasks ranging from financial guidance for the school to building exquisite chests to be auctioned at school fundraisers. Of course, Sandy always said yes! Cynthia adored their children—Abigail, Alexander, Cynthia, and Virginia— laughed with them, and worried for them, as moms do. Her involvement in their schooling even included handmade teacher gifts. I still have and treasure a needlepoint pin cushion that she made for me when her youngest child, Alexander, entered Nursery. Cynthia had a special way with people. She recognized strengths in others and rallied those talents as she governed the school through hard financial times, the purchase and renovation of a brownstone, and the acquisition and 0 6 T R E V O R D AY S C H O O L n W I N T E R 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6 creation of a high school that was true to the traditions of e Day School. She was a deep thinker, wickedly smart, warm, funny, adventuresome, courageous, generous and, to tell the whole truth, a little bit flaky. She never lost her Maine roots and she remained grounded, authentic, proud, humane, unpretentious, stubborn, and clever throughout her life. Cynthia gave endlessly of her time and resources to the organizations she believed in: e Parents League of New York, Andover, Connecticut College, Early Steps, Environmental Advocates of New York, the New York League of Conservation Voters, and Search and Care, to name a few. Cynthia's true essence can be captured from the pages of Kathryn Otoshi's book Zero—"Purpose is linking what we do to why we are here. Be generous. Be inclusive. Be welcoming. Let our mission and our values guide us every day." Cynthia Eaton Bing was a woman of purpose who encompassed these traits (and many others), which we hope every Trevor graduate will possess when they leave the school. Special thanks to Susan Powers, Co-Director of College Guidance, and Ann Klotz, Head of Laurel School and wife of Seth Orbach, for the inspirations from their writings that found their way into this piece. Jaqui Pelzer Trustee Emerita, Trevor Day School Former Lower School Teacher, Trevor Day School Executive Director, Early Steps

• Cover