Recently, I read an article about teachers who have had students impact them. After reading it, I was shocked to see how big of a mark the students had left on their teachers, even 15-20 years later. I then wondered if the teachers here felt the same way. Were there students who left lasting impacts on them?  

Hoping to get answers, I reached out to a few of my teachers asking them that question: “Which student has impacted you most over the years?”   

Mr. Whelan’s response was immediate. He told me about a student named Pedro Ramos who graduated in 1991.

During Ramos’ time at SSES, the environment was different from what we know about today. The classes were very small, and so was the student body. The entire Upper School consisted of 88 students, and sports schedule students accounted for 50%. 

When Ramos came to SSES, both his Spanish and English were poor. But Mr. Whelan said he worked with Pedro closely on his writing and that eventually, Ramos “became a moral center for the school.”

Whelan said that Pedro was into “straight-edge punk rock”  (something Pedro describes as a form of music about “living a positive lifestyle”), and this hobby inspired Pedro. Whelan said Ramos “was always trying to teach other students about how bad decisions can impact you for the rest of your life and how to make good ones.” 

By the time that he graduated, Whelan noted that Ramos “was visiting the lower and middle school to talk to students. He later graduated with the top award given to the SSES student, the Headmaster’s Award.”  

Mr. Whelan reflected that “the biggest way [Ramos] changed me was that he taught me that my job involved as much moral education as academic instruction.”

Around five years ago, Mr. Whelan had an unexpected encounter with Pedro while he was on a Delta flight. As he sat in his seat, an ad came on the tiny TV and Pedro appeared. He had been active in organizing a walk in Atlanta for the AIDS and HIV Walk and Music Festival. It turned out Pedro had been featured in the ad because he was an employee helping his community.  

Ramos left such a powerful impact on Mr. Whelan encouraged me to talk to Pedro and see what he was up to. Later that day, I spoke with Pedro over the phone and we talked for about an hour.  There were so many interesting things he had to say about his life as an SSES student and how Mr. Whelan played a key role in helping him discover himself. 

Ramos recounted that he’s “Puerto Ric[an] born and raised. We left Puerto Rico because my dad was a college professor and he got a new job here in the US.”  

“We moved when I was 14,” he recalled, “and a year later my father unexpectedly passed away. A year after that my mom told me we were going back home to Puerto Rico.”  

But then, things changed.  Ramos said, “My mom had two sisters living on Anna Maria Island. She told me we were moving down to Florida instead of going back home.”  

“I did what I was expected to do, I was sent to Manatee High School but I ended up having a terrible time there. I was into the straight edge and I had this mohawk. Before second period on my first day, I was sent to the Dean’s office.”

“The Dean told me, ‘boy you have to shave your head, it’s a distraction to other students. I shaved my head down to the skin’.”  

“Manatee was a huge school and I was really unhappy there. One day after school my mom came up to me and said, ‘Pedro, I think I found the school for you.’ I got a tour of SSES immediately and Judy (the former Upper School Director) was very welcoming.”   

“From that moment on, those three years were some of the best I have ever had. From the very beginning teachers were welcoming and everyone looked beyond how I looked. It was a great lesson in acceptance and celebrating diversity.” 

“There were all these layers of who I was. I landed as a positive influence. Straight edge gave me this huge identity. I had a great experience not just with SSES but also with Mr. Whelan”.

“He [Mr. Whelan] was very supportive of everything I was trying to do. One of the things I did with the help of Mr. Whelan was create a student-run newsletter called ‘Our Voice’.” 

 “Mr. Wheelan helped to celebrate and encourage our differences. We were able to grow into ourselves because the teachers helped us. He would make time for us.”     

Pedro Ramos and Mr. Whelan both impacted each other in different ways positively. They demonstrate the unique student-teacher relationship achieved here at Saint Stephen’s that’s hard to find.