In Their Own Words
Clarence Gaines '76
‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.’ Proverbs 27:17 capsulizes the essence of my EHS experience. EHS was my first exposure to a ‘competitive cauldron,’ a scholastic environment composed of intellectually talented students and demanding teachers and coaches who aimed to stimulate constant improvement in all aspects of a student’s life. EHS was the first environment where I had to extend myself on a consistent basis, and the foundational blocks that were born and strengthened during my three years at Episcopal helped me navigate life’s changing scenes.
I’m a child of the segregated South. I was born and raised on the East Side of Winston-Salem, N.C., to two educators and came of age during one of the most seismic periods in our country’s history. I attended an all-Black Catholic school for eight years before integrating the 9th grade of Summit School in 1972. On a whim, I attended an informational session at Summit on EHS hosted by Ernest Helfenstein ’50, who became my Latin II teacher in 10th grade. I was awed by Episcopal’s grounds and facilities when I toured the School for the first time, and it was an easy decision for me to decide to matriculate to the school on the Hill in the 1973-74 school year.
Playing varsity football my first year at EHS under the leadership of Jim Seidule helped ease my transition into the School. My teammates quickly nicknamed me ‘Freight Train’ and I became a key contributor as a running back. My best sport at EHS was football, and I also played football in college at William and Mary. My football career in high school and college was marked by disappointment. My proneness to injury began at EHS in my junior year and continued throughout my college career. Many life lessons were learned throughout my athletic career, the greatest being resiliency.
‘Industriousness’ is one of the cornerstones of John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success philosophy. I developed a strong work ethic at EHS that carried over to all areas of my life. I was challenged and humbled at EHS by certain courses and the brilliance of some of my classmates. I was an average student at EHS who studied five hours a night and I didn’t make the High List until my senior year, but EHS prepared me well for the next academic chapters in my life. I graduated with honors from William and Mary and was selected for a John Motley Morehead Fellowship at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
‘Being Black is having to manipulate adversity so that it becomes tolerable.’ Stan Reid, one of my Risk playing buddies, displayed that quote on his 1975 senior yearbook page. What was it like to be Black at EHS in the 70s? The most Black students that we had in a school year during my three years at EHS was eight in 1973- 74. Blacks in a predominantly White environment have to learn to get along with, connect with, and relate with the majority culture. The reverse is not true. If you were a White student at EHS during my tenure you could easily find ways to avoid the Black students on campus; but my view of the interactions between White and Black students at EHS is overwhelmingly positive. You live, play, study, learn, eat, and evolve together. People are people, and barriers are broken down and you genuinely get to know a variety of students in many ways.
I’m very positive about my classmates and my EHS experience. EHS was an incredible experience that helped shape me for the next chapter in my life.