Children's advocate David Lawrence visits RE
Former RE board member and parent David Lawrence Jr. admonished Upper School students to lead lives of energetic purposefulness during a Jan. 29 assembly at the Lewis Family Auditorium. Lawrence, who retired as publisher of the Miami Herald at 56 to become one of the nation's leading proponents of childhood welfare and education, detailed a personal journey that began on a chicken farm in New York and included two full and productive careers in newspaper publishing and children's advocacy.
Lawrence encouraged students to get out of their comfort zones, seeking people and experiences to challenge them and help them grow. He urged them to become lifelong learners, noting that he still reads at least one book a week. He told them to prioritize loving and helping others, and he took questions from a panel of RE students – Juanchi Roca-Paisley '19, Alex Prio-Touzet '21, Zoe San Martin '20, Jessica Lee '19, Isa Peña '19 and Sofia Andrade '19.
"You are going to get ahead," he said. "Some of you are going to get spectacularly ahead ... You can do almost anything you want. I want you to lead a life of service, doing something bigger and beyond yourself."
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"You are going to get ahead," he said. "Some of you are going to get spectacularly ahead ... You can do almost anything you want. I want you to lead a life of service, doing something bigger and beyond yourself."
Lawrence told of growing up in a Roman Catholic family with eight siblings and a farm to manage. By age 10, he worked on the farm, driving a tractor. He honed his love for reading and knowledge by devouring the family's prized volumes of the World Book Encyclopedia. After attending the University of Florida, he worked at a number of newspapers, including the Detroit Free-Press and Miami Herald, assuming the position of managing editor by age 27. His career brought him opportunities to interview or dine with Queen Elizabeth, Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, Fidel Castro, U.S. presidents and others.
He retired from the Herald in 1999 after helping the newspaper win five Pulitzer Prizes. He now chairs The Children’s Movement of Florida, whose goal is to make children the state’s top priority for investment. He has led various governmental and private sector initiatives to help children, including the Governor’s Children and Youth Cabinet, the Florida Partnership for School Readiness, The Children's Trust and the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection.
"I'm as optimistic and idealistic today as I was at age 16," Lawrence said. "I always thought the best I could do would be to work hard, be fair and listen to other people."
He has received 13 honorary doctorates, including one from his alma mater, the University of Florida, and has earned dozens of local, state and national awards. He served on Ransom Everglades’ Board of Trustees from 1990-2003 and with his wife Roberta had five children, including three who attended RE: Dana Lawrence ’03, John Lawrence ’98 and Amanda Wood ’94.
After the assembly, he engaged with students and signed copies of his memoir, A Dedicated Life: Journalism, Justice and a Chance for Every Child.
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He retired from the Herald in 1999 after helping the newspaper win five Pulitzer Prizes. He now chairs The Children’s Movement of Florida, whose goal is to make children the state’s top priority for investment. He has led various governmental and private sector initiatives to help children, including the Governor’s Children and Youth Cabinet, the Florida Partnership for School Readiness, The Children's Trust and the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection.
"I'm as optimistic and idealistic today as I was at age 16," Lawrence said. "I always thought the best I could do would be to work hard, be fair and listen to other people."
He has received 13 honorary doctorates, including one from his alma mater, the University of Florida, and has earned dozens of local, state and national awards. He served on Ransom Everglades’ Board of Trustees from 1990-2003 and with his wife Roberta had five children, including three who attended RE: Dana Lawrence ’03, John Lawrence ’98 and Amanda Wood ’94.
After the assembly, he engaged with students and signed copies of his memoir, A Dedicated Life: Journalism, Justice and a Chance for Every Child.
Photo Gallery
Middle School
2045 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 250 6850
Upper School
3575 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 460 8800
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.