Filling the shoes of Director of Athletics Peter Sawkins will be a tough task, but after an extensive search process, Dawn Wickstrum, former Director of Athletics at the Frances Parker School in Chicago, will take the position starting next year. “[She’s] our first woman Athletic Director. It is going to be exciting,” Asst. Director of Athletics Mike Brown said.

The Search Committee began by reviewing over 150 resumes, narrowing down to 11 candidates. Those 11 were interviewed over the phone, which narrowed the choices to five who were invited to visit campus. The candidates met with Hughes, Sawkins, and groups of students, faculty, and parents. “Everyone was invited to give feedback…to the Search Committee, and after weighing all the input, the committee made the recommendation to [Head of School] Mr. Roberts to hire Ms. Wickstrum,” Hughes said.

Wickstrum will be coming with a wealth of experience ranging from playing high school and college sports to serving as an athletic director at other schools.

“The main thing was that she had previous experience with working at a small school which I think will make her transition here much easier than all of the other candidates,” sophomore interviewer Weston Lombard said.
“She really wants to be here, and she’s excited about the school and excited about being here,” Brown said.

Wickstrum’s specific experiences are very applicable to SPA. “She had a girls basketball team that had to cancel their season due to a lack in numbers so she knows what its like to have a struggling program like the football program at our school,” freshman interviewer Emma Truman said.

Wickstrum’s “presence, energy, and vision,” as Hughes put it, as well as her desire to hear what students had to say about the future of the athletic programs at SPA stood out to administrators.

Brown remarked that she had the future of SPA’s athletic department in mind: “I think one of the questions she asked students was “What would you like the program to be?” And I think she’s a very good listener. Things aren’t going to happen overnight, but she’s going to listen and learn and figure out which direction we should go.”