Faculty of the Week: Kerrie Tinsley-Stribling

By SOPHIE MA and NHAN PHAN

Clusters of chattering students eagerly line up in Wetherall for ice cream, mooncakes, and other desserts at the Academy’s annual Asian Student Mixer. Behind serving lines, student leaders work diligently to cut and dish out slices of mooncakes; others scoop servings of ice cream into paper bowls. Amidst the hustle and bustle of it all, Tinsley can be spotted moving from table to table, brightly conversing with students, and ensuring that the event concludes liquid smooth.

Currently residing in Peabody Hall with her daughter Bodhi and her husband Levi Stribling, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Student Coordinator Kerrie Tinsley-Stribling has been an integral part of both the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) as well as the Exeter community at large. Alongside being an adviser for several clubs, she is also known for her AAPI programming, often working in conjunction with Asian Voices and the Asian Advisory Board to plan events such as the Asian Carnival, Lunar New Year celebrations, and Asian Student Mixer. A beloved member of the Exeter community, Tinsley has left an indelible mark on campus.

Before moving to the Academy, Tinsley was working at another boarding school on the east end of Long Island. Tinsley explained that giving birth to Bodhi was one of the main reasons why her family decided to move to Exeter. “We were just looking for something that was a little more diverse than where we were [in Long Island],” Tinsley said. “Our previous school was made up of very, very affluent students. When we found out we were having Bodhi, we [decided we] didn’t want her growing up in a place with opulence and all of this excess. We didn’t want her to think that was what reality was. So we decided to move to Exeter.”

Tinsley emphasized the surrealness of how she ended up at the Academy, “When we first got this job—I am from the West Coast—I was thinking, ‘Why would you even apply for a job on the East Coast? We’ll never live there.’ Now, this is our tenth year here on the East Coast.”

International Student Coordinator Jennifer Smith recounted how she first met Tinsley. “I remember when she and Mr. Stribling moved to campus and he started working at the Academy. I saw them around with their daughter, Bodhi, and she was roughly the same age as my daughter. I remember wanting to get to know them.”

“When she then interviewed here in OMA [the Office of Multicultural Affairs] for the Asian Student Program Coordinator position, I knew she and I would click,” Smith continued. “She has a very outgoing, warm, and approachable personality.”

Senior and co-head of Asian Voices — the Asian affinity space Tinsley advises — Sage Murthy echoed Smith’s sentiment. “I met Ms. Tinsley formally when I went to H-Mart last spring…[while] in line waiting for food, and I got kimchi stew, and she [asked], ‘Sage, do you like kimchi?’ And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s pretty good, but I don’t eat this stew that often.’” Tinsley then went on to offer to bring Murthy her husband’s excellent stew next time he made it. “It was so nice,” Murthy said.

“She followed through on her promise a few days ago when she texted me randomly and said, ‘Sage, have you eaten dinner?’” Murthy continued. “Then she was like, ‘Mr. Stribling made stew, and I remembered that I told you I would give you some. Can I drop some off at your dorm?” Despite Murthy’s concern for Tinsley going out of her way, she ended up getting the stew. “It was so… delicious. She literally had bronchitis but she was thinking of me!”

Senior and OMA Proctor Keanen Andrews said, “In regard to her coordinating Asian events, she’s very open about [them, always] asking us for input and things like that. She’s just a very nice lady. I remember crossing her apartment once and seeing her and her daughter, [and she asked] me questions about my senior year and how it was going, just really checking up on me as a student.”

Associate Dean of Multicultural Affairs Hadley Camilus, and his family, moved into the Exeter community the same year as Tinsley’s family. “Her husband and I went through new faculty orientation together,” Camilus recalled. “I had a chance to interact with Ms. Tinsley at the family gatherings that took place. Almost instantly, we started talking about Netflix series that we liked watching and she put me on to a couple that ended up being favorites, like Ozark.”

After settling into Exeter, Tinsley was offered a position in OMA. She recalled, “Before I found this role, what I was doing was teaching online classes to students in Beijing who were planning to come to secondary school or college in the United States…Then one day, Dean Hernandez approached me with this position that was opening, and I thought it sounded really interesting. I had never done anything like this before and I loved the idea of being a support person for AAPI-identifying students, because I never had anything like that growing up. It would’ve just done wonders, not only for me, but for a lot of my peer group.”

Smith became her appointed mentor after Tinsley transitioned into this role. “We started meeting weekly, and I was able to talk through some of the events she had begun working on [because] when I first started at the Academy, I did a lot of the Asian student events,” Smith said. “She has completely revolutionized those programs and has brought so many amazing ideas for events here, such as the carnival last spring with noodles galore.”

A crucial part of Tinsley’s work on campus is the organization of AAPI programming. Notable events include the Asian Night Market, Asian Dinner, and Lunar New Year celebrations, as well as a plethora of other school-wide and affinity events.

“She’s so incredibly organized,” senior and Asian Advisory Board member Jacqueline Subkhanberdina said. “She always comes up with new and exciting ideas. It’s very inspiring to work with someone so engaged with the school community.”

“For example, when we were planning the Asian Dinner in May, we went all out. It was in the tents behind the tennis courts, and we had all this food and beautiful lighting and setup,” Subkhanberdina recalled. “Over the past four years, I think that was the most beautifully executed event, especially for AAPI students. And it would not have been possible at all without [Ms. Tinsley’s] work, time, effort and energy.”

Tinsley recalled a humorous incident during the organization of the Asian Dinner. “We had spent so much time trying to arrange the Asian Dinner [because] we wanted everyone to have a good time…it had been so long since students were allowed to really enjoy themselves. [But] then we had a little bit of a debacle with the food.”

“When we opened up the cake box, the bakery wrote ‘Happy AAPI Herritage Month,’” Tinsley said. “They spelled ‘heritage’ wrong. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ The cakes were so beautiful, and I wanted to take pictures of them to post on our OMA Instagram, but I couldn’t because it was embarrassing. I should have scraped one of the Rs off.”

Subkhanberdina commended Tinsley’s impact on campus. “I think especially with the past few years when many AAPI teachers on campus have left, Ms. Tinsley has really stepped in to take on this role of bringing the community together,” Subkhanberdina said. “She’s helped create these really important memories that people will remember once they’ve moved on past Exeter.”

Senior and Asian Voices co-head Maxwell Li agreed. “I think as the AAPI student coordinator, she’s integral to the experience of Asian students across campus. She’s super helpful logistically in organizing events, and she’s always enthusiastically helping [plan] the ideas for our meetings.”

“I like being able to contribute to the holistic wellbeing of students,” Tinsley said. “I remind myself frequently that you are someone’s child… And I hope that my presence and my role here on campus helps students have an easier transition and enriches their time on campus…Even though you guys are all so brilliant, we have to remember as adults that you guys are still kids, and we shouldn’t expect you to be adults yet.”

Tinsley still has many ideas she wants to implement for the future. “One of my dream events that I have been trying to [bring] to fruition is having a chef series where we have chefs from different Asian backgrounds coming to campus and teaching a standalone cooking course to [prepare] meals that students might miss from home.”

“Recently, the Art Department and OMA held a dinner where we had visiting Japanese artists. I’d love to have an artist series or a performance series or something like that where we can highlight artists from Asian backgrounds and share in rich cultural traditions,” Tinsley said.

Outside of OMA, Tinsley also advises the Bob Ross and Breakfast Club. Upper and club co-head Nora Sharma described a memorable situation with Tinsley, saying: “First Bob Ross meeting, we ordered pancakes from IHOP…then when the Dasher got to IHOP, they told them that they didn’t have the order. So when I arrived early to set up for Bob Ross, she was stressed like, ‘We have a problem. We don’t have pancakes.’ That was funny, but eventually, IHOP found the order, and we got pancakes. She brought her daughter, and her husband was also there at Bob Ross. That was really sweet.”

Looking ahead, Tinsley has a professional goal in mind. She elaborates, “One goal that I have in my professional role is to find ways to be more supportive to the intersectionality of AAPI students. I know that many times in conversations that I’ve had with students, one of the things that has been most difficult is students who are here and are exploring gender identity or their sexuality, but don’t necessarily feel comfortable doing that when they’re at home. There’s been a lot of talk about the intersectionality of being Asian and queer. And one of my professional goals is to find ways to support those students more robustly, and find ways to incorporate that into programming that we do.”

Tinsley also discussed a personal goal she set for herself: “I’m sure that the students on campus can also attest to this, but when you are in the midst of doing all the work on campus, sometimes it’s difficult to balance self care with the work that you have to do. Balance is a goal I’m striving for this year.”

Tinsley also has many interests outside of work, one of which is The New York Times crossword. “I’m a huge crossword puzzler. I have probably done thousands of puzzles; I’m really loyal to The New York Times crossword puzzles,” Tinsley said. “I have completed a ton of their puzzles, but I have only finished two Sunday puzzles. Monday is the easiest of the week, and Saturday is the most difficult. Sunday is the largest, but it’s on the same level as a Thursday puzzle.

Tinsley also shares many hobbies with her colleagues. Camilus reiterated their shared interest in Ozark, saying: “Our love for Ozark is everything. The conversations we have about that series and others are all memorable experiences because we break it down to a tee and the excitement is palpable.”

Smith emphasized their common love for true crime podcasts.“Ms. Tinsley feeds my obsession and I always joke that she would be on my list of people I could call to help with anything, no questions asked.”

Attesting to the work that Tinsley does on campus, Camilus remarked, “She brings a spirit of love into her work, which is important and refreshing. It’s clearly her North Star. She puts an incredible amount of thought into the programming she devises, which stems from a keen awareness of what students need. Ms. Tinsley is up there among people I’ve worked with in my professional career. She possesses a special combination of tangible and intangible skills. Quite simply, she’s a thinker who can bring her ideas to fruition collaboratively, or on her own.”

Fellow colleague and OMA coordinator Silvia Gerard agreed. “In the short period of time that I’ve been here, I think she’s been amazing in the role she does. She has incredible ideas…[and gives] very constructive advice, and it’s just a real pleasure to have her at OMA.”

“She offers opportunities to everyone,” Andrews said in agreement. “Especially with the foreign students…[she] makes sure they have a nice adjustment when they come to Exeter, especially [in terms of] building connections on a personal level. You can always see her in OMA. She’ll be sitting there with a smile on her face, asking people how their days are and engaging in conversation. That’s just kind of how she is: a nice spirit on campus.”

Tinsley continues to make an indelible mark on the Exeter community in everything that she does. On a personal basis, she has been a support figure for many students on campus. She has also been an important figure for her daughter, Bodhi. When asked what it was like to have Tinsley as her mother, Bodhi eagerly replied, “I love it.”