After the departure of former Dean of Students James Jessup, Westminster has introduced Dean Shelly Anderson as our new model of honor and unity in the Middle School. But what many may not know is that this certainly isn’t her first rodeo. 

Having worked at Westminster as a teacher a few decades ago, Anderson found that she missed the atmosphere, and she returned last year after working as a dean at Lovett for eight years. “I left Lovett because I love Westminster. As you know, my family is here, my boys are here, and so I wanted to come back . . . I was always wanting to get back into administration, and particularly [as] a dean.” 

After only a year back at Westminster, a position for Dean of Students opened up, and Anderson jumped at the opportunity. “[Dean Walter Dupriest] has helped a lot . . . and now I feel like I’ve been here forever,” she says. 

According to Anderson, enforcement of honor is her main role at the school: “I hate to term it as the disciplinarian, but I would say my main duties are making sure students are following procedures and rules of school and staying safe and being kind to one another,” she says. “I want the students to see me not as this disciplinarian, but as someone who can be helpful to them.”

Anderson also works with sponsors of the Honor Council and has frequent meetings with the grade chairs to discuss cases of honor violations and other overall concerns. 

Anderson says she appreciates the community at Westminster, and is glad to be a part of it yet again. “I would say for me, the big draw coming back to Westminster was not only my family, but the fact that I feel included here,” she says. “I love that they send that message . . . Working in a place that puts [inclusion] at the forefront is important to me. I want to get to know people . . . I want to gain the trust of the faculty and the students.”