On August 28, 2024, the Vic Maggitti Pavilion officially opened. The building, located between Riley Hall and Stewart Hall, houses brand-new counseling spaces, learning support services, and more. The larger spaces include the Leo Kindon Atrium, Learning Support Center, Rich Roper Seminar Room, and Davenport Counseling Center.
The Riley family generously donated the Leo Kindon Atrium and Rich Roper Seminar Room, which are distinctive features of the Pavilion. The Rich Roper Seminar Room honors Upper School English Teacher and College Counselor, Mr. Rich Roper. The Leo Kindon Atrium is named in memory of former teacher, the beloved Mr. Leo Kindon, who passed away in March of this year. The Kindon Atrium is located on the main floor of the building, while the Roper Seminar Room can be found on the top floor. These dedicated names are significant to the Rileys as well as the entire Malvern community.
Head of School, Mr. Patrick Sillup, spoke on the founding of the Vic Maggitti Pavilion. He hinted that additional spaces on campus will be named in the near future.
“The Vic Maggitti Pavilion is named after Vic Maggitti who [students] saw on the opening day of school. [He] is the benefactor that made that possible. There was a combination effect of the Riley Hall and Maggitti Pavilion connected. Within that ecosystem that lives in between both of those buildings, there are opportunities to name indicated spaces, like the Richard Roper Seminar Room or the Leo Kindon Atrium. There will be more named spaces to come; by this Christmas, you will see additional spaces,” Mr. Sillup said.
Mr. Sillup explained the significance of the naming process and how the names of the rooms were chosen. He highlighted the importance of honoring Kindon as not just a teacher but as an invaluable community member as well.
“We work with donors to say who are people, individuals that have had an impact on you, your son, your family. In this case, to give you the examples of the names up, those are two individuals that have had an outsized impact on the family that wanted to honor them. As a school, we were thrilled to be able to do that. Mr. Rich Roper continues to be an outstanding English teacher, counselor, community member, [and] someone who has performed at an incredibly high level for many many years…Like Mr. Roper, Mr. Kindon was an unbelievable teacher, mentor, and friend to many, but particularly to this family. There was a desire to honor him in that way and it gives us an opportunity to keep his spirit alive by referencing him,” Mr. Sillup said.
Mr. Sillup emphasized the value of both Mr. Roper and Mr. Kindon to the family and school. The spaces are open to the entire Malvern community. Both middle and upper school students are free to access and take advantage of the spaces. Mr. Sillup focuses on some of the spaces’ most distinctive features.
“Those are spaces that are accessible to all students, in different ways. That’s exciting too. If you think about the Richard Roper seminar room, I am imagining everything from scheduled counseling classes, board meetings, and college visits, that’s a great space to have that happen. It has great presentation and great acoustics, and it’s certainly got a great view. The [Leo Kindon] Atrium similarly has presentation opportunities. So you can imagine parent presentations, faculty presentations, all student or class presentations,” Mr. Sillup said.
The Richard Roper seminar room’s utility is versatile and is able to host a wide variety of meetings, presentations, and classes. Similarly, the Leo Kindon Atrium is a space for presentations. However, it also provides a quiet learning space for students to study.
“It’s got a nice capacity to it…but it’s also a space for quiet study, quiet connection. And that’s something we’ve heard ever since we had constructed the CSI that stitched together Sullivan and Carney was [that] there’s a sense of collaboration, and connection and community, awesome. But what if I really need to lock in for twenty minutes to study? Well, now you have a space to do that. You have the bottom floor of the learning support center of Maggitti, you have the atrium, which is reserved for that type of work and study. You have the counseling center. So now you get the best of both and I think that is really exciting,” Mr. Sillup said.
Drawing from feedback to the CSI, Mr. Sillup emphasized the need for a space such as the Leo Kindon Atrium, which can be used for quiet study. In addition to providing space for work and meetings at the Vic Maggitti Pavilion, the spaces, as Mr. Sillup points out, bring much more to the Malvern campus.
“When you get an opportunity to name spaces, it adds to the narrative that a community can construct. It allows people to attach to a community in ways that they otherwise can’t. So one, I think it adds to huge storytelling, and two I think it honors people like Rich [Roper] and Leo [Kindon] who have had an unbelievable impact on the school,” Mr. Sillup said.
Mr. Sillup highlights the importance of the spaces to each and every part of the Malvern community. He comments that Malvern’s projects in the last few years have included both the middle and upper school and have allowed the entire school body to utilize them.
“I think that the campus transformation in the last several years has always been an all-school initiative, not an upper school vs middle school initiative. Even Riley Hall, which is the heart of the middle school program, we’ve had upper school students and teachers take advantage of it. I think that’s really important. So our school has access to these spaces, students, staff, faculty, families, things of that nature,” Mr. Sillup said.
When asked how these spaces would impact Malvern, he highlighted the space’s most important aspect: they give students, faculty, and staff access to each other and the ability to connect more easily.
“This concept that we, years ago, started…what do boys need to thrive and what does our program need as it grows and evolves? It’s why, years ago, we went from a robotics lab that was in the basement of Alumni to the Design and Fab Lab that you currently see in the CSI. Similarly, how do you have a quiet space? How do you have space where students have access to each other, and to faculty, and staff? I think this most recent addition between Vic Maggitti connecting to Riley and the back courtyard gives us a lot of that. Gives us access to more outdoor space, gives us access to the chapel. Gives us an opportunity to really use our campus in ways that perhaps we haven’t had before,” Mr. Sillup said.
“I think that Maggitti, the courtyard, Caritas Court, all these different pieces, even this 1975 Society Garden outside of Austin, they’re all visible commitments to creating the best possible environment for you as learners. Every time we are making a tweak or an addition, it is in the spirit of ultimately centering students,” Mr. Sillup said.
Mrs. Barb Riley P ‘21, ‘26, longtime Malvern parent and involved member of the community, and Jack Riley ‘21, Malvern graduate, talked about their generous donations and what these dedications mean to their family.
Jack Riley explained why his family decided to dedicate a room to Mr. Kindon as well as the reasoning behind this decision.
“For me, Mr. Kindon was really big in high school and especially during middle school. I had a summer class with him. And ever since then, he was probably one of the biggest role models I had there,” Jack Riley said.
Mrs. Riley continued on, talking about why they named this space,
“[Mr. Kindon] was very invested in Jack. He stayed on top of him, was always there for questions, and kept an eye on them. Just went above and beyond what was expected,” Mrs. Riley said.
Jack discussed the reasoning behind their decision to dedicate a room to Mr. Roper at Malvern Prep.
“For Mr. Roper, it’s kind of the same thing. I think he was also a big role model. I always wanted to take his class. I had him in my junior year, and it was probably my favorite class at Malvern,” Jack Riley said.
Mrs. Riley talked about how she hopes to foster better learning through these generous donations at Malvern Prep.
“The space that fosters Augustinian learning and support for [its students] is a tribute to all the Augustinians that have taught at Malvern. So, I think having the comfort spaces throughout, [like] the comfy chairs, makes a better environment for the boys to learn,” Mrs. Riley said.
Mrs. Riley explained how she hopes her new learning spaces positively impact the Malvern community.
“In general, Malvern gets a voice, so having these state-of-the-art classrooms [is so important for] this next set of boys coming through. [They are] just going to be better prepared and, hopefully, take advantage of the wonderful opportunity their parents are providing for them,” Mrs. Riley said.
Mrs. Riley discussed her hopes for these new spaces in the future as well as the overall effect Mr. Roper and Mr. Kindon had on her son, Jack’s, life.
“I think it’s just great for the boys. So hopefully my grandchildren will be in that building one day… Both teachers had such a profound impact on Jack’s life. They believed in him and showed him that hard work pays off,” Mrs. Riley said.
Mr. Roper has been teaching at Malvern for forty-nine years and has been a college counselor for thirty-nine years. Mr. Roper shared his thoughts on the room being dedicated in his and Mr. Kindon’s honor.
“First it’s a great honor, it’s a wonderful honor, and I’m humbled by it, because I kind of just go along; however I can day to day with a plan that usually changes, but it was very gratifying to see that all the years brought some kind of recognition. But to have myself mentioned in the same breath as Mr. Kindon and Mr. Stewart, and to be pointed out, it’s kind of scary because it means that you have to live up to the reputation that it seems you have established,” Mr. Roper said.
Mr. Roper felt especially grateful and honored to be recognized alongside Mr. Kindon. Both Mr. Roper and Mr. Kindon’s legacies will endure for years to come, and these spaces will serve to honor them.
“When I got the phone call from Mr. Sillup two days before it was officially announced to the faculty I was flabbergasted, I had no idea. I still don’t know who is responsible. I have an idea, but it hasn’t been stated. So, the short answer to your question is: shocking, humbling, and gratifying. Those were my reactions,” Mr. Roper said.
As we step into these new spaces, remember that they are more than just innovative learning rooms; they are tributes to the legendary teachers who have shaped the Malvern community. The Leo Kindon Atrium and Rich Roper Seminar Room serve as poignant reminders that great teaching extends beyond the classroom. These generous donations shed light on their remarkable contributions to enriching the student experience at Malvern. In the end, let us honor their legacy each day and strive to make a lasting impact, just as these terrific teachers did.
