Wildcat Tracks: Andrew Svolopoulos ’93
John F. Kennedy famously said, “The success of any school can be measured by the contribution its alumni make to our national life.” At Westminster, we are often reminded of how our alumni community takes the lessons learned while students and applies them to their current lives. For Andrew Svolopoulos, those lessons can be directly traced to our outstanding teaching staff. “I can truly say I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to attend Westminster,” Andrew said. “The teachers made my education very meaningful, and that had a significant impact on me. The caring, compassionate investment in their students and the love for what they do helped to inspire me.”
Andrew and his wife, Amy Moniz Svolopoulos ’95, reside in Ballwin with their three children. After graduation, Andrew attended UMSL, followed by Ranken Technical College. He is currently the Unified Communications Leader at Barry-Wehmiller. “My responsibility involves all development, implementation, and support for all telecommunication, instant messaging & presence (IM&P), plus video conferencing services for the enterprise. I enjoy working with and leading an amazing team that has been able to drive enterprise standardization pertaining to communication and video conferencing technology,” said Andrew. “Ironically, I was inspired to begin a career in IT while in a Bible study with a peer who was breaking into the same industry!”
Andrew recalls with fondness several members of the Westminster staff, some of whom still work here, that helped to shape his path. The values they instilled during high school directly contributed to his career success as an adult. It was difficult for him to narrow down the list, “While I could say something about many more of the teachers, here are just a few,” he said.
Eddie Jones – The time and investment he put into Wilderness Instructions Leadership Development (W.I.L.D.) and personally mentoring me on how to plan and lead.
Tim Baldwin – I appreciated the ways he made World History fun. His gentle, shepherd’s heart impacted me beyond the classroom.
Kent Kehr – He gave me the opportunity to be on the swim team. His patience, instruction, and motivation were instrumental in my success.
Jim Marsh – I do not remember a time formally meeting Mr. Marsh before starting school at WCA. It was very early into my 7th-grade year when I passed him in the hallway. Mr. Marsh took the time to say hello to me by name. I was impacted by his intentionality.
Kristi Hill – She had a great sense of humor and was very personable. Miss Hill made learning computer programming fun.
“The service that was modeled, encouraged, and even required at Westminster helped inspire the gift of service that the Holy Spirit placed in me. I was honored to receive the Obadiah award my senior year. I have gone on to serve my family, church, and community in a way I hope pleases the Lord. I know my time at Westminster helped to develop this gift in me.”
The faculty and staff definitely set Westminster apart from other private schools. As we head into the 48th year of living out our school vision, which states that we “prepare and equip young men and women to engage the world and change it for Jesus Christ,” one benefit is being able to look back to see how seeds that were planted years ago have grown—to hear the stories from alumni like Andrew who were blessed to have teachers in all classes that helped them understand and engage with the world around them based on biblical truth. For this, we are truly grateful!
