Now in her second year as president of the 144-year-old school, Cryor continues a career path in education that began in Bethesda, Maryland. Beginning as a journalism and English teacher, she became dean of students, then upper school head. For a short time she was a newspaper reporter in the Washington, D.C. but knew her passion was working with children.

"Being in a school I have the privilege of seeing the beginning turn into the middle, and turn into growth." This is true for young people, she said,and true for St. Mary¹s Academy itself in educating boys and girls, kindergartners through eighth graders and girls in a college preparatory high school.

"Our school is about loving our students and standing with them as they grow into the people they are going to be," she said.

The school she leads has a long proud history, with the signature honor of
awarding the first high school diploma in the Colorado Territory, and
awarding it to a girl.

"That long legacy of accomplished women may be the reason that some people don¹t realize that St. Mary¹s Academy also educates boys," Cryor said."We have had such a strong presence in the community for so many years that I enjoy the opportunities in my work when I can share with people beyond the school our strong academics andexcellent college placement."

As president of a Catholic, independent school, Cryor works closely with the Academy's board of trustees to further the mission of the school. Daily she collaborates with school principals and other administrators in the areas of school life, curriculum, admission, communication, operations, alumnae, and advancement to ensure that every aspect of life at St. Mary's Academy reflects the school's mission.

Schools are complicated and Cryor's job is to be leader, mentor and advocate. She is involved in keeping St. Mary's Academy on the leading edge of curriculum, implementing the latest technology, organizing leadership conferences, and inspiring a sense of community and love of the mission, and being the spiritual leader of the school.

If that sounds like serious work, it is, yet Cryor is the first to affirm that St. Mary's Academy is a place of happiness and her days filled with the pleasure of leading a faculty and staff dedicated to intellectual challenge within a nurturing community. While some days are driven by calendars, deadlines and e-mails,

Cryor is an educator first and foremost who delights in the opportunity to enjoy the moment when a student grasps a concept, makes a new friend, tries something new. No matter how busy a day is, Cryor finds time to walk through the halls, visit the playground, and follow the sounds of conversation, laughter, inquiry.

"Watching young people grow is one of the most extraordinary parts of being
an educator," she said. "It is a privilege of this job and a part of being an educator that I will never stop loving."

In the afternoon when the sun starts its slow descent behind the still mountains and the only movement is student athletes and actors heading home, Cryor glances around the campus. Stillness and movement. Tradition and innovation. Study and play. Deirdre Cryor ends the school day knowing that she and the faculty and staff of St. Mary's Academy are creating a school for the ages, as solid as the Rockies, as intriguing as kids' minds in constant movement.