Why Families Choose Friends: Joel G. P’24, ’33

Joel G., Partner at Pharos Capital Group, serves as Clerk of the Board of Trustees and is an assistant coach for the IAAM varsity soccer team. Joel and his wife, Kim, are parents of Macy ’24 and Hazel ’33 and have a long history of volunteering at Friends School. Macy is currently a sophomore at Haverford College and Hazel is in fifth grade.

In what ways have you seen your child grow academically at Friends School, and how has the School challenged and supported them to reach their full potential?

Hazel loves learning and thrives in math, but has found that language arts doesn’t come as naturally to her. We are very appreciative of the extra attention she gets to develop her reading skills, both in class and through break-out sessions with the learning specialists. We feel like we are in a partnership with the school, including her teachers, counselors, and administrators, to get Hazel the support she needs.  

How has the Quaker approach to education, including values like stewardship, reflection, and community, shaped your children’s experience at Friends?

What makes Friends School special for us is the community. We love being surrounded by like-minded families and educators who share a common set of values anchored in what we believe our world needs most today: kindness, empathy, simplicity, and balance. As non-Quakers ourselves, this has been our primary takeaway for what it means to receive a Quaker values-based education. It’s much more than just the mindfulness they learn in Meeting for Worship. The core values come across in the classroom as part of everything they do.  

What opportunities, whether in academics, the arts, athletics, or leadership, has your child been able to pursue at Friends that have made an impact?

The programming offered at Friends is everything we could want. In addition to the academic rigor we expected, as a fifth grader, Hazel has already had enrichment opportunities before and after school in orchestra, chorus, and dance, all of which she loves. She’s really looking forward to playing for the Middle School soccer team next year and participating in the musical. We love that she can pursue all of these interests without having to choose between them because they’re all built into the schedule.

As both a parent and trustee, what makes you most proud to have your children at Friends School, and why would you recommend it to other families?

We are constantly impressed by how Hazel’s passion for inclusion, peacefulness, and acceptance of others regularly comes out in her daily life. We’re proud to know that when she leaves here, she is going to be a good steward of the environment, a friendly neighbor to her community, and an advocate for those in need. Because of the academic rigor and reputation of Friends, we’re confident she will have every opportunity to achieve her personal goals when she leaves the school, but equally important, those goals will have been shaped by the values that her time at the school has taught her, positioning her not just to thrive, but to lead with integrity.

Why do you choose to support Friends School philanthropically, and how do you see your giving making a difference for students and families?

Supporting Friends School philanthropically is our way of contributing to the society we aspire to live in. We know that by providing financial support to other families, we are playing a part in improving the lives of students who might not otherwise be able to attend. But in addition to that, we know these students are going to leave Friends and bring what they’ve learned to the broader community around them, at a time when these values are deeply needed in our country. The more Friends grads in the world, the better!

See more about Joel and Hazel's experience at Friends here.