Years later, while at an alumni event in Los Angeles, Sybil learned about Harley’s Hospice program. At the time, she was studying social work, deeply invested in helping others. But something about the program struck her: the idea of teaching young people how to care for others. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she could make a broader impact as an educator than she could working one-on-one with individuals as a social worker.

When she returned to Rochester and had the opportunity to join Harley, she knew she had to do it. Since 2017, Sybil has served as Harley’s Hospice, Service Learning, and Mindfulness Educator, a role that she says never feels like coming to work.

At the heart of her teaching is mindfulness. She guides students through breathing exercises, body scans, gratitude practices, and reflective listening—all essential tools for walking into uncomfortable, emotional spaces like sitting with a grieving family or visiting a dying patient. She reminds them that discomfort is natural, and that acknowledging their feelings is the first step in being present for someone else.

Sybil also prepares students through hands-on practice: connecting with residents at a local senior home, learning communication skills, and even experiencing an aging simulation that mirrors the physical and psychological challenges faced by those in hospice care. Through empathy and compassion, she teaches them not just to understand another’s suffering, but to want to help alleviate it.

One of the most meaningful moments each year is the Ceremony of Remembrance, when students reflect on their service. Sybil watches them stand vulnerably before their peers—self-aware, open-hearted, transformed—and feels immense pride in how far they’ve come.

Being a Harley parent herself deepens her investment even further. Watching her daughters Maeve ‘37 and Evelyn ‘39, grow within this community, surrounded by adults committed to their success, fills her with gratitude. She loves seeing how lessons of empathy begin in the Lower School and how she can help shape those early seeds into mature, compassionate understanding.

Ultimately, Sybil hopes her impact extends far beyond the classroom. Though her course may be about death and dying, she sees it as a class about life and living—about recognizing meaning, embracing gratitude, and making purposeful choices.

“Nothing is permanent,” she tells her students. “So make every moment matter.”