By Rebecca Hennes | Special to the Houston Business Journal | Link to Original Story (Subscription Required)
As a member of the Dominican Family of Houston, Carmen Garrett Armistead will be the first Head of St. Pius X who is not a Catholic Sister and the second person to hold the title of Head in the school's history. After succeeding Sister Donna Pollard as Dean of Students at St. Agnes Academy years ago, Armistead will follow in her footsteps once more to succeed her as the Head of St. Pius X beginning June 1.
"To be able to do that again, in the framework of St. Pius X, is an incredible honor," Armistead said. "But it also is an incredible challenge. I have a lot to live up to and I know that."
Armistead is also taking over right as St. Pius X is in the middle of a multimillion-dollar capital campaign that includes a new Center for the Sciences and Media building, which is on track to be completed by the fall. With her first grandchild on the way, Armistead said she will be different from Sister Donna in that she might be spotted with a baby on her hip at future football games, but her mission for the school will remain true to the St. Pius X culture.
What was your initial reaction to the news that you were chosen as the next Head of School?
I think I was speechless when I got the call for a few moments. I think more than anything I was equal parts thrilled, terrified and incredibly humbled. Both my husband and I are part of the Dominican Family, and we are Dominican, so that entire charisma of what I call seeking truth and preaching justice kind of runs in our veins. So, I hope that was one of the reasons why I was chosen.
I think first and foremost is to immerse myself in the St. Pius X culture. Throughout the interview process, there was not one (interview group) that did not talk about St. Pius X being a family. And that's what my first goal is, really, to become part of that family.
How has Sister Donna inspired you and what does it mean to follow in her footsteps again?
I started at St. Agnes as a counselor, and almost as soon as I was offered that position, she invited me to come work with the student council members who had been elected on a retreat. And I recognized very clearly that she was a woman who had incredible talents and gifts. She was visionary, she was fun, she was dynamic. As a counselor, I had the opportunity to work with her and what I found was that her grounded wisdom was always the smartest voice in the room, if you will. So then, when she came here to Pius and I followed her as Dean of Students, I was equally terrified, because she was so good. She had laid a great framework for me to be able to follow her ... She works nonstop, absolutely nonstop. And while our lives, the we way we live them are very different, I certainly have a family with a grandchild on the way, I also work a lot and I work hard. So I hope that my new family will also give me the time to get up to speed with what's happening here at Pius, and take Pius to its next level as a school in Houston, as every school must continue to climb that ladder of success.
What are some of the challenges St. Pius X is facing?
I think St. Pius X faces the same kind of challenges that all private institutions face. I think for any independent school, whether it be a Catholic school or a non-Catholic school, certainly economics is always a challenge. When the economy is flush, so are the schools. When an economy is in decline, a school's enrollment often times will decline to a certain degree. And I think St. Pius is also facing a challenge that at some point St. Agnes will face — not having a Sister to fill the role of being head of school.
Can you talk to me about the new Center for Sciences and Media building and the capital campaign — how is it going?
Right now we are still on target, so that's really good news. More fundraising definitely needs to be done, but from what I can gather and looking at its history, it too is on target. St. Pius X's advancement office looks to me that they have just done a terrific job. From the alumni and parents I have met, I have great faith that they will finish paying for that building — and I am going to go out on a limb — sooner than they expect.
You worked at an international boarding school in England for 13 years. Was it hard coming back to Houston?
It was harder than I thought it was going to be, actually. Over 13 years it became home. I wasn't on vacation. I worked there, lived there, made friends there, my two sons graduated high school there. And I had heard from other expats that repatriation and re-entry was going to be more difficult than I thought and I went, "Oh that's ridiculous." But it was incredibly difficult. I realized how much I had genuinely come to love the British culture (and) the British people. I had friends there who I now miss just as much as I missed my friends here in Houston.
How is working in a school in England different than working in Houston?
It was very different in that it was not religious based, it was an independent-based, and it was also a boarding school. Which was very different for me, I never worked in a boarding school and it was highly international. One of the things that I love most about Pius is its cultural diversity. One of the things I most enjoyed about working at my school in England was I would walk into the dining room at night, for dinner, and I would hear six different languages.
What are you most looking forward to with this position?
Getting back to spending my days with teachers, young people and parents. I love that about schools.
What's something you wish you could tell yourself 10 or 20 years ago?
It's going to be OK. And life is incredibly good.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Closer Look: Carmen Garrett Armistead
Head of School at St. Pius X High School
Age: 64
Family: Husband Georg; older son Joshua and his wife Samantha are expecting their first child in August; younger son Joseph.
Neck of the woods: Bellaire
Favorite place to travel: Africa
Book she's reading: "The First 90 Days" by Michael Watkins
Favorite thing about Houston: "The food, without question. The variety of food."
Rebecca Hennes is a freelance writer