Page 18 - Priorities #61 2015-April/May

18
Leslie grew up and went to high school in Hong Kong, and then studied Economics and Political Science at UC Berkeley. She started working for Wells Fargo bank after college in portfolio management, and has remained in the investment business throughout her career. In 1986, she became the first woman president of the Asian Business League of San Francisco, and, in 2005, she became the first Asian woman to be appointed to the Board of Regents of University of California.
Though the Schillings allowed their daughters to choose what school they would attend, Leslie agreed that Andy’s alma mater was a unique destination for learning. “What I found very attractive about Priory was the ethics it instills,” she says. “I think, in this day and age, it’s really important for kids to learn to be ethical people.”
Though Leslie admits that
her busy schedule has made it
hard to volunteer time at Priory,
she feels strongly about helping
to support the school financially,
and tries to specifically direct the
family’s funds toward scholarships. “It’s important that the Priory have as much diversity in its school population as it can. It would be very easy to load up the Priory with white, middle class kids—which is basically what the surrounding community is made up of—but that’s not the real world.” In addition to Priory, the Schillings are also major supporters of UC Berkeley, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, as well as other educational and community-based institutions.
As for their three daughters, they’ve all taken lead roles in giving back to the community. Alec has started to promote the use of a written ethical ethos (like Priory’s) to her work colleagues; Lauren is heading off to the Philippines to do volunteer work for the Peace Corps; and Elizabeth regularly volunteers in the childcare program at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. “All of our kids have been very conscious of giving back,” says Andy.
Thinking back to his Priory days, Andy suddenly has another memory, one which exemplifies the individual support and attention he received at the school as a teen. In his senior year, Andy received a speeding ticket in Oregon, and was mandated to return to the state at a later date with a legal guardian to fight it. The Priory senior field trip was to Ashland, Oregon, so Father Jude (who was acting as one of the chaperones) told Andy’s parents he would be happy to escort Andy to court so that his parents wouldn’t have to make the trip. “The morning of my court appearance, Father Jude appeared in his full monk’s regalia to escort me to court,” Andy remembers. “I will never forget waiting for a couple of hours in the large waiting room of the court with hordes of other teenage scofflaws and their parents. I was the only one who had
my own monk.”
When Andy and Father Jude were finally called
to the bench, Father Jude shared a few words with the judge, testifying to Andy’s great qualities and ensuring that Andy had learned his lesson. The judge dismissed the ticket.
Andy did come away that day having learned a lesson about the repercussions of speeding. But the more profound lesson was about how important it is to know that someone really believes in you. Priory taught him that—and his three daughters, too.
Leslie and Andy
“What I found very attractive about Priory was the ethics it instills,” she says. “I think, in this day and age, it’s really important for kids to learn to be ethical people.”