Stokes earns Excellence in Auxiliary Award

By Juanita I.C. Traughber, Director of Marketing & Communications

The Summer Programs and Auxiliary Revenue Collaborative honored University School of Nashville’s Director of Auxiliary Services Rebecca Stokes with its Excellence in Auxiliary Award during its annual conference on Tuesday, October 6, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The award recognizes independent school leaders and programs that demonstrate distinguished leadership and innovation through high-quality educational practice, success in auxiliary program design, significant contributions to advancing diversity and inclusion within auxiliary programming, and service as a role model for peers.

"It means so much to be recognized by peers whose work I admire and have learned so much from. I love this work, I love USN, and I’m incredibly grateful for the students, families, and colleagues who make it matter," Stokes said.

Stokes, who joined USN in 2001, became Director of After School in 2017 to manage programming for students in grades K-8 from 3 to 6 p.m. and expanded the school’s cultural and holiday celebrations to include meals for more than 250 people, performances, activities, and art projects for a comprehensive list of occasions inclusive of USN’s diverse student body. She took on additional responsibilities of the school’s then-Book Store and USN Summer Camps in 2023 as Director of Auxiliary Services. Since then, Stokes has led the transition to an online bookstore and brick-and-mortar Spirit Store, refined registration systems and processes for summer camps & enrichment activities, and given the youngest a voice in deciding how they play.

“Last year we took on a renovation project to overhaul the playground, which Rebecca led. Rebecca turned our Lower School students into architects and planners, allowing them to creatively express their thoughts on what the new installation might look like,” wrote Director of Summer Programs and High School Math Teacher Jason Shuster in his nomination of Stokes for the award. “These ideas ultimately informed our project and instantly created a bond with the new as we departed from the old. The new playground has become a cherished part of our back field, something the children look forward to utilizing each day.”

She is a constant presence at SPARC webinars & roundtables and has presented at SPARC’s annual conference several times, including this fall on “Managing the Emerging Workforce” & "Protecting Play: Leaving Room for Childhood."

SPARC is the leading consulting firm and membership organization focused exclusively on advancing independent schools through auxiliary and summer program enhancement and developing non-tuition revenue streams.