This year’s yearbook was donated to a pillar of campus cheer and Wildcat life: Erin Davey.

The yearbook committee asked students to nominate faculty members they thought were worthy of the dedication. Following submissions, a round of voting by seniors determined Ms. Davey as the winner.

Davey is the director of Student Activities and the Assistant Dean of Students, as well as a dorm head of Mem West, the Assistant Coach of Girls’ Varsity Hockey, and a club advisor.

Davey returned to campus last year (2016-2017) after spending a year at Pomfret. Students and faculty who had known her before were thrilled she came back home. Since she has come back, her positive energy and overall adoration for the Williston community has made her presence one of the strongest on campus.

Sara Renkert ’18 was one of the many seniors who voted for Davey. “I voted for Davey because she is such an integral of the community, she knows the faculty and kids so well. She’s always happy and lifts the spirits of everyone around her. Although she is connected to everyone at Williston, our class feels especially close to her,” she said.

Davey said that she feels especially connected to this year’s senior class as well.

“I think with the second year of implementing new Williston traditions it could have been easy for the seniors to say, ‘This is lame I’m not doing this,’ but they embraced each activity with enthusiasm and it showed in events like under the lights games and Willympics,” she said.

Sara said she loved other Davey-planned events like Willy Gras and the Annual Egg Hunt.,

With the title of this year’s yearbook being “Words of the Wildcats,” it was fitting for Davey to receive the dedication.

Her presence radiates among the LGBTQ+ community, and she is an encouraging and positive force in every cause and helping people find their voice. She does everything she can to raise awareness of current social and cultural issues.

One of the many examples is her organization of Williston’s Why Not Speak? Day (WNS). This is a day where students run their own workshops, discussing difficult, necessary subjects such as prejudice, oppression, sexual assault, and identity. She said that of all the events, this is her favorite day on campus.

Whether it is joining students in local marches, participating in the Day of Silence, or attending the People of Color Conference, she is beyond supportive of every community and encourages her students to be socially active whenever they can.

Davey expressed her hopes for the seniors as they move forward into the world beyond Williston’s green gates.

“Just be present,” she said. “Embrace the new chapter as it is, move forward and take everything you’ve learned and the connections you’ve made here with you to college. Explore your passions. You’re already a step ahead from having gone to Williston.”

Davey thanked the senior class, as they have done just as much for her as she has for them.

“They embraced everything with enthusiasm and the overall excitement of being back on campus in the fall bled into the rest of the year. They really made my job so much easier in the smallest ways, like the Wildest Cats club getting everyone excited for under the lights games.”

In an email she sent out to the seniors after the dedication was presented, Davey further expressed her gratitude.

“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for giving me the biggest gift I have ever received. This is something I will keep close to my heart forever along with the wonderful connections I have been fortunate enough to make with this special class.”