Generations of Dragons: Genny Mann Morris '90
Posted on: March 19
If anyone can say they’ve been surrounded by Saint George’s, it would be Genevieve Mann Morris ’90.
Her mother Janet (Clarke) Mann graduated in the Class of 1964. Her father Paul Mann, an honorary alum, served as president of the Board of Trustees and has been a fixture on the board’s Finance Committee for over three decades.
“My sister, brother, three cousins and uncle all graduated from Saint George’s too,” says Genny, who attended the school from Kindergarten through high school graduation.
“I think about how I knew everyone at the school,” she says. “I was nurtured and challenged in my education and got to go at my own pace. And it was fun — when we did science, it was in the creek. In sixth grade we studied the land rush, so when a whistle blew we all ran out into a field with stakes. But I also learned to be friends with people at Saint George’s that I never would have in a public school and that was a real plus.”
Another plus were the teachers in her life. “Every teacher knew me as a person, knew how I thought and processed. I was surrounded by caring people in my life, but I really connected with Ross Thomas, who coached me in basketball and cross country and taught English. He even sent me letters when I was in college.”
That was at Williams College in Massachusetts, where Genny says she found herself well prepared. “It was academically challenging, but I had what I needed from Saint George’s.” After earning a Master of Social Work degree at Boston College and serving as an adoption worker, she returned to Spokane to enter Gonzaga’s Law School in 2000. She now works as an employment lawyer, handling racial and sexual harassment and discrimination cases.
“I had just moved back to town, and Bob Jones asked me to join the SGS Alumni Board. I wanted to be connected to the school — it had been a huge presence in my life. But I also wanted Saint George’s alumni activity to be more than asking people for money. Williams’ alumni organization was great, and I wanted to increase those kinds of connections between alums.”
But with all of her Saint George’s connections, Genny still researched other schools when her oldest son Jack was ready for Kindergarten. “I was on the Hall of Fame committee with Deena [Barber] and shared my concerns. She wrote me a two-page, single-spaced letter about the great qualities of Saint George’s students, and that finally sold me on my son coming here.”
“I find there is a deeper connection to the school as a parent. Of course it’s fun for me to drive through the campus and get nostalgic, but I have a deeper commitment to Saint George’s now and to finding other parents to join our community. I also reach out to other Saint George’s parents, because I want Jack to be surrounded by caring adults.”
“Jack has just blossomed in Kindergarten and come into his own,” she says. “There’s not a single day he doesn’t want to go to school and is more willing to participate. At home all he wants to do is show me what he’s writing. He’s just
loving learning.”
“I guess that’s what drew me back to Saint George’s. I wanted him to have that intimate, supportive environment — the teachers who really know him — just like I had.”
– John Carter
