Sometimes, you can point to a single decision that altered the trajectory of your life, creating a ripple effect that touched everything that followed. And although that impact may not be immediately known, hindsight can tend to pull it into sharp focus. Maybe you encountered an unexpected champion while you were in college, a professor who encouraged you, who pushed you, who then inspired you to enter a field you hadn’t previously considered. Maybe you caught up with a friend who had been out of the country, and the conversation spurred you to apply to study abroad; and throughout the course of your studies there, you met your future spouse. Maybe life threw you a curveball, and as you took a breath and regrouped, you found a creative solution that sent you in an entirely new direction. Or maybe your parents decided to send you to Windward.

Attending Windward has proven to be just that—transformational—to many alumni. For Sari Josephberg ’13, Bernard Mokam ’14, Lauren Blum ’17, and Joanna Frank ’02, their experiences at the School not only shaped their academic futures but also helped foster an unshakable belief in themselves, a combination that, along with a lot of hard work, has driven them to succeed in fields ranging from education to journalism to health care.

SARI JOSEPHBERG ’13 EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION

Sari Josephberg was in second grade when she learned she had dyslexia. She had been attending Windward since the previous year, but it was her second-grade teacher who put it into terms she could understand. Josephberg recalled, “In this very age-appropriate way, she told us, ‘You may have to take a detour, but you’ll get to the same place as everyone else.’ And this has been my mantra every time I encounter something difficult. I’m just taking a detour. I’ll be where my peers are.”

In the seven years she spent at Windward, Josephberg gained many tools like the one above, which, at age 29, she continues to use today. “I’m still brainstorming, using quick outlines and the writing techniques they taught me,” she said. So, when she transitioned to a mainstream school for eighth grade, Josephberg felt equipped to tackle the academic challenges of her new environment, Soundview Preparatory School. In her English classes, for example, she would take notes as she read an assignment, jotting down the important characteristics of each character and summarizing each chapter. “That way, when the time came to write a paper on the book, I wasn’t lost,” she explained.

Josephberg flexed the self-advocacy muscles she’d developed at Windward while attending Sarah Lawrence College, where she benefited from its Donning System; as part of the program, all first-year students are assigned a don, a dedicated academic adviser that follows the student through their entire four-year journey at the school. “At the college level, you definitely have to speak up when you need help with something. It was great having a don to meet with weekly, to brainstorm together, to check in with, and to ensure I stayed on track,” she said.

And although Josephberg had known she wanted to become a teacher since second grade, the process of researching and writing a paper on dyslexia for a course at Sarah Lawrence cemented that goal: “Around junior or senior year, I realized I definitely want to be a teacher. And I want to teach special education,” she remembered.

Josephberg joined the Americorps program after graduating, later serving as a teacher’s assistant at a public school. When the pandemic hit in 2020, she decided that the timing was ideal to start working toward her master’s degree at Manhattanville College. With the importance of early identification of reading disabilities receiving much attention by researchers, it occurred to Josephberg that obtaining a double master’s degree made sense: one in early childhood education and one in special education. “It is during early childhood that families notice a child may have difficulty in x, y, and z, or that a child is not meeting certain milestones. Again, I was six years old when I was diagnosed, and early intervention through Windward was really key for me.”

In fact, Josephberg credits the School for giving her the tools she used to pass her teacher certification exams without utilizing accommodations for extra time. After passing the exams with flying colors, she shared the news with her mom: “I could see in her eyes how surprised and proud she was that I’d passed without using my extra time. And it was because I knew how to brainstorm, capture key words, and use an outline as I was writing. If I wasn’t sure about a question, I would jot down these quick notes before flagging it to return to later.” She continued, “I learned at Windward, if you’re stuck, take a breath. You can then go back later and focus on the question with a clearer mindset.”

If you’re stuck, take a breath. You can then go back later and focus with a clearer mindset.

Armed with two master’s degrees in education and her teaching certification, Josephberg plans to work in an integrated co-teaching (ICT) classroom environment. In this instructional model, special education teachers work in tandem with the general education teacher, collaborating on lesson plans and additional supports for the students with disabilities. “They will spend most of the day—maybe 80 to 90% of their time—in the classroom with their peers who don’t have disabilities,” she said. Josephberg described one ICT classroom where several students were on the autism spectrum. She was particularly affected by seeing neurotypical students invite a student with autism to play with them or sit with them at lunch. “They don’t look at that student and think they’re different. Instead, they’re really inviting, and you see their friendships blossom. As an educator, it’s a beautiful thing to witness, that a disability doesn’t get in the way of building these peer relationships.”

With both her general education and special education students, Josephberg shares another core element of the Windward experience: If you don’t succeed, try, try again. “As basic as this sounds, it really helps them gain confidence. They may be frustrated with a task, yet understand that if they keep trying, if they keep working at it, they will get it.” This message to Josephberg’s students is all the more impactful for her having traveled the same road, detours and all.

BERNARD MOKAM ’14 JOURNALISM

Bernard Mokam has a clear mental picture of the day he learned he’d been accepted at Windward, a memory that evinced a smile as he shared it: “My mom was traveling for work, and I was with my aunt. We went to my favorite restaurant in Dobbs Ferry, a place called Sushi Mike’s. So, it was celebratory. And I think my mother did that intentionally so that I could feel positive about this new step and new chapter.”

While he was a student at a mainstream elementary school, Mokam was diagnosed with dyslexia and placed on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP); he remembered being pulled out of class—along with two or three other students in different homeroom groups—for targeted instruction. But rather than raising his confidence and academic performance, the special attention he received had the opposite effect. “There was a sense of standing out, of alienation,” he said. “And then when you’re with the rest of the class, you’re reading with a ruler, and everyone is asking what you’re doing. And you see that your friends are doing things that you aren’t. So, that creates self-consciousness.”

What immediately struck Mokam when he began attending Windward, though he didn’t recognize this at the time, were the fully integrated academic supports central to the School’s program, a direct contrast to the compartmentalized supports he’d been receiving at his previous school. “This sense of separation you feel in an environment where you’re removed from class and you’re in a closet-sized room deconstructing how to read and sound out words, it doesn’t happen at Windward. It just feels like school,” he said.

Mokam remained at the School from fourth through eighth grades, and he thrived, feeling a sense of belonging and community, connecting with his teachers, and excelling at sports. One of the most profound takeaways Mokam described from this period in his life was a sense of normalcy. In his mainstream school, he’d been regularly pulled out of class for reading intervention, “but at Windward, that doesn’t happen. In some ways, the work Windward is doing is invisible, but in part it’s invisible because it makes you feel like everyone else,” he said.

In some ways, the work Windward is doing is invisible, but in part it’s invisible because it makes you feel like everyone else.

After Windward, Mokam attended boarding school before enrolling at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, where he explored a love of writing that had begun in a journalism course at the American School in Vienna. Initially, he’d envisioned a career in sports, either as an agent or lawyer. But when he transferred to the sports management program at NYU, he gravitated toward journalism and creative writing courses, eventually graduating with a degree in Africana studies and a minor in journalism. Mokam then went on to pursue his master’s in creative writing and fiction at Hunter College.

Two mentors left an indelible impact on him during his time at NYU, which both shaped his view of writing and instilled in him a love of teaching. Professor James McBride introduced the concept of being 360: “He’s worked as a journalist and written novels, screenplays, and memoirs,” Mokam explained. “Being 360 means to embrace all different types of writing, a notion that has stuck with me.” As an undergraduate, Mokam also began spending summers working with Professor David Dent, founder of Write for the Future, an organization that guides students through crafting their college application essays. Mokam said, “When a teacher can impress upon you this idea that you will pursue this path, even—especially—through adversity you may face, that is powerful. And in a way, I wanted to model it.” Mokam has worked with over 200 students at Write for the Future, where he was program director until 2022. “Working with people who are motivated, who are opening up, and who are trusting you to help them shape a narrative around a formative experience in their lives, brings with it a lot of responsibility. And I loved the work.”

Both Mokam’s world view and approach to writing is rooted in his mother’s influence, centered on the idea of service. Many of his immediate and extended family members work as public servants, in fields ranging from diplomacy to health care to civil rights law. “My mother often talks about seeing writing as a service, that it should help society in some way. And through service comes joy,” he said.

Mokam recently completed a one-year appointment as visiting scholar at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Institute of Journalism, where he supported his mentor Professor Dent in an Africana studies class, as well as conducting research for a story on school safety in New York City. Currently, Mokam is a news assistant at the New York Times. He hopes to eventually become a reporter or editor for the outlet, led by a guiding principle often shared by his mentor, James McBride: “Talent doesn’t get you there. Perseverance gets you there.”

For Mokam, Windward, too, played a role not only in modeling tenacity but also in nurturing him as a learner overall: “For whatever reason, Windward did this magical work, where I was able to grow as a reader, where reading didn’t become so difficult, where reading is one of the things that I enjoy doing most. It allowed me to unearth my true passion for writing.”

LAUREN BLUM ’17 HEALTH CARE

The path to Windward for Lauren Blum was as much a mental health journey as it was a journey toward a dyslexia diagnosis. As a young child, she’d often insisted to her mother that she was different from other kids. “And she would reply, ‘Of course you’re different, everyone’s different,’” Blum shared. But it wasn’t until she was eight years old that her prevailing sense of being unique—in ways that required support—was confirmed. “My mom started to notice things like my timing was poor; I couldn’t keep a beat. We tried occupational therapy (OT) and a few other things. In fourth grade, I got evaluated, and I was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and dyslexia, all in one very neat bundle.”

Blum’s anecdotal experience was validated recently by multiple research studies showing that anxiety, depression, ADHD, and dyslexia are not only closely intermingled but also can influence one another in the brain. Having observed these multifaceted challenges among its students over many years, Windward had an integrated social-emotional curriculum as part of its program at that time, though neuroscientists had not yet confirmed these findings. “Once I was diagnosed, it was a no-brainer to apply. And it was a no-brainer to go when I was accepted,” Blum said.

The first thing she noticed when she began her fifth-grade year at Windward was the smaller class size. This created a comfort level for Blum, allowing her to fully connect with her teachers, to voice issues she was having, and to ask for support when she needed it. She progressed rapidly academically, so much so that by the end of her sixth-grade year, there were discussions of her testing out to a mainstream educational environment. “But I wanted to stay for the eighth-grade writing course,” Blum explained. “This was a major influence on the decision, and it was the right one. That writing program truly built the foundation for how I write, even today.”

When Blum graduated from Windward and transitioned to Scarsdale High School, the benefits of the School’s writing course became evident: “I was making up an essay test, and I was in my teacher’s office. He came in to check on me and asked, ‘Are you outlining?’ I said, ‘Yes, how else am I going to get my ideas to flow?’ And he said, ‘Most students just write it out and expect it to come to them.’ So, I knew that I had this toolkit that other students might not have.”

I knew that I had this toolkit that other students might not have.

Her academic journey post-Windward was not all smooth sailing, as Blum suffered a concussion and found herself taking a leave of absence in the latter part of her freshman year. Although it threw a temporary wrench in her life plans, Blum remembers pivoting in that moment to adjust her own expectations. “It really made me sit back, take a beat, reflect, and realize that I didn’t need to put myself in a pressure cooker. Life is going to happen and I need to deal with it the best way I can.”

Leaning into a resilient, flexible mindset paid dividends, freeing the mental space for Blum to objectively weigh her interests and strengths against future career options. She’d thoroughly enjoyed an AP psychology course in high school, which influenced her decision to take an EMT course provided by the local ambulance corps. “I think one of the hardest things I’ve ever studied for was my EMT exam,” she noted. “That’s when I started considering whether I would go clinical or not. And I realized, while I could do that, I didn’t necessarily have the bandwidth for it.”

As an undergraduate at the University of Vermont, Blum explored courses in human development, behavioral sciences, and public health while homing in on which area of study aligned most closely with her goals. She landed on human development, “which is essentially all the ’ologies put together throughout the lifespan, how individuals interact with every part of their environment, and how people overlap and interact,” she said. One of her minors was in behavioral sciences, a discipline grounded in research. Though she seriously considered going into that field, she ultimately decided to pursue policy work over clinical studies, which drove her decision to attain an accelerated master’s degree in public health.

After graduating from her master’s program, Blum joined the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal agency responsible for writing health and safety standards for all facilities receiving government funding. “We’re really working on improving the system, doing everything with patients’ health and safety at the forefront,” she explained. Despite the weight of this responsibility—her team’s regulations affect thousands of patients nationwide—Blum feels she is exactly where she was meant to be.

JOANNA FRANK ’02 SPECIAL EDUCATION

As a young child, Joanna Frank was a well-behaved student. Children like her often fell through the cracks in the 1990s, passed over for special education supports until much later in their academic careers. Fortunately for Frank, her parents knew something was wrong at the end of her first-grade year, when she hadn’t yet learned to read: “When I wasn’t reading, even though the teacher hadn’t expressed concerns, my parents really took it upon themselves to advocate.” This process involved Frank taking a neuropsychological evaluation, which confirmed a diagnosis of dyslexia.

Frank has a vivid recollection of being one of only two girls in her first class at Windward, the fall of her second-grade year. “She’s still one of my closest friends,” she shared. “And I remember just feeling really good about myself at Windward, which I think so many Windward students affirm, that sense of being in an environment that just is right and having your learning needs met in a way that is life changing.”

This environment, the close-knit atmosphere at Windward, stood out immediately to Frank: the School’s smaller class sizes, its supportive teachers, and the camaraderie among her classmates. “The School at that time was at 13 Windward Avenue, literally a house,” she remembered. “So, it was a very small, very warm little bubble.”

When the time came for Frank to move on from Windward, she and her parents knew the transition to Scarsdale Middle School—a large public school—would be a challenge; they were also confident in the fact that Frank was well equipped to rise to that challenge. Windward’s writing skills course, in particular, laid a foundation for a system Frank uses to this day. “As a teacher now, I still use the Windward teaching methodology for writing, because I think it’s the best, hands down,” she said.

Along with being explicitly taught these concrete tools and strategies, at Windward Frank had gained an understanding of her disability, as well as awareness of how to effectively self-advocate. “If you’re in an environment like Windward during a formative period in your life, it becomes baked into your experience as a person. You know what you need to do to get supports that are necessary,” she reflected.

What Frank found in the mainstream educational space was that she didn’t need hefty supports or specialized instruction. She had an IEP, with extended time to take tests, for example, but she was successful without major accommodations. “It just goes to show that with the right strategies and tools, anything is possible. I went from being a person who struggled to learn to read to majoring in English in college,” she said.

This is a message that Frank has often shared with her students as a teacher: You can do anything and everything. “It’s not a question of can you or can’t you; it’s a question of are you willing to put in the time, advocate for yourself, and get the support to make it happen?”

Frank always knew she wanted to be a teacher, a motivation that propelled her through her Manhattanville College undergraduate program, her double master’s degree in childhood education and students with disabilities, and a graduate teaching assistant position at Windward. Her philosophy as an educator is to meet children where they are, to support them in the ways they need, which echoes the qualities she most admires about teachers she’s met along her educational journey. Her goal when meeting with students and  families is always to bring an invitational spirit to the table: “Let me understand this child, let me see where they’re at, and let me work together with them to find the right strategies for them to be successful.”

Inspired by the collaborative relationships she’d had with teachers as a student, Frank understands on a fundamental level how important that support can be. “It’s such an important piece of the puzzle for every child, just knowing there’s someone in your corner that wants to work with you,” she explained. Frank also leans into her lived experience—as a small child whose parents fiercely advocated for her to receive the instruction she needed—every time she meets with a family to discuss a student. “I want to hear from that parent, who is seeing them day in and day out, in multiple settings, at home and during unstructured times. Parents know their child the best. And to me, their insights are so valuable.”

Honoring the benefits she’d had as a student—her parents’ determination, Windward’s learning environment that encouraged her to believe in herself, and the care and support from every teacher she encountered throughout her journey—allows Frank to pay it forward in a way that impacts every single one of her students.

And there’s that ripple effect.