Satya Byock '97
Hellgate High Alumni, Missoula, MT
Lewis & Clark College '04, (B.A. History) Portland, OR
Masters in Counseling
Satya Doyle Byock is a psychotherapist in private practice in Portland, Oregon, and the founding director of The Salome Institute of Jungian Studies, where she teaches and hosts other speakers online.
She is the co-host of the podcast on
Carl Jung’s Red Book, and her articles
have been published in Psychological
Perspectives, The Utne Reader, goop,
and elsewhere.Her book “Quarterlife:
The Search forSelf in Early Adulthood,”
was published by Random House, 2022.
Tell us about your time at Sussex.
Sussex and Bente were hugely influential in my life. The primary thing that I have long reflected on is that I experienced being a whole human at school and that the education was more focused on supporting our ability to think and reason and engage with integrity, than it was about "knowing things” in the classic sense. I felt we were being raised to be people and community members, not to take and pass tests. I’m forever grateful.
Did you take time off after high school?
I’d planned to take a year off after high school but ended up applying to colleges quickly instead. I took off a semester in college and traveled to Sri Lanka to teach at a Buddhist temple pre-school. I needed a break from academia and some experiences in the world.
Do you still play outside?
I’m not outside nearly to the degree that most of my classmates are, I know. But I’m so grateful for how Sussex emphasized this growing up and the ways I pushed myself rock climbing and skiing as a kid. Today, in my day to day life, I’m grateful for the outdoors and couldn’t live somewhere without feeling surrounded by them, but my main engagement with nature is reading outside or taking my puppy on long walks, if I’m honest. Two of my favorite activities. I’m very lucky to live somewhere where I experience the beauty of the world just by stepping outside.
Satya and fellow Sussex School alumna Elise Loehnen '97, while they recently promoted Satya's book tour.
Mack A. '30
Comes to Sussex from:
Missoula, Montana
Year in School:
First Grade
What makes Sussex so special and different from other schools? What do you love?
The ditch! (He continued to say that he loves that his classmates and teachers are very kind and he loves that.)
Laurel F. '25
Comes to Sussex from:
Missoula, Montana but really NYC, NY
Year in School:
6th
What do you love about Sussex?
I like that we get to do a love of outdoor adventure trips and the community service things.
Dexter Roberts '80
Hellgate High Alumni, Missoula, MT
Stanford University '88, (B.S. Political Science), Stanford, CA
Columbia University '94 (Master of International Affairs), NY, NY
How did the core values that Sussex has been rooted to since Bente Winston started the school in 1971... citizenship, community, creativity, and critical thinking... apply to your field of study? to your field of work? to the arc of your life?
I would supplement those three important Sussex values with two more - curiosity and caring - also instilled in me during my Sussex years and that later helped define both my studies and career. The message that Sussex delivered in and outside of the classroom, was that there is a big world out there, go explore it, and find what interests you, and hopefully it will benefit others too.
Those values helped convince me to study Chinese language, history and politics in university, and later move to China and live and work there for over two decades. It led me to become a foreign correspondent (a wise editor once said to me that being a reporter is like being a lifetime student). It was also why I ultimately wrote my first book The Myth of Chinese Capitalism, about this huge group of often ignored and discriminated against Chinese, who hail from the villages and more remote parts of China, rather than focusing on those better-off people from the country's flashy, modern cities. (Dexter's book and website can be found here.)
Do you still play outside?
All the time. I regularly hike in the Missoula foothills and surrounding mountains. In my over two decades living in China, I regularly hiked along the wilder parts of the Great Wall...and tried to find places to walk and explore on my reporting trips around the country whether it was a Buddhist holy mountain or wandering through a city's back alleys.
Dexter & classmates on a Sussex journalism fieldtrip to the University of Montana circa 1985 and today (below).
Waverly Winterer '17
Hellgate High Alumni
Babson College '25, Wellesley, MA - current undergraduate
Throughout my Sussex experience we learned how to make positive impacts within our communities by giving back. Ecothon and other community service projects taught me this. Now I am a Peer on Wellness at Babson College, which is a student advocate that educates and raises awareness about mental health and wellness. My role as a Peer on Wellness allows me to be part of my community by giving back. As a business student I constantly have to use critical thinking skills and thinking creatively. Without Sussex I wouldn't have been able to be the successful entrepreneur I am today.
Do you still play outside?
Yes! I enjoy skiing, hiking, and hammocking.
I don’t have any specific stories, but I loved my time at Sussex and what made it such an amazing and positive experience were all my teachers.
Waverly on Sussex graduation day 2017.
Waverly at Babson today.
Class of 2018 Update
Ryder A. '18- University of Montana, Missoula, MT
Naomi B. '18 - relocating to Florence, Italy for the year to study modern/contemporary dance at Opus Ballet School.
Jack D. '18 - University of California, Berkeley, CA
Win D. '18 - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA
Lily E. '18 - moving to New Orleans, LA for a gap year
Caillagh G. '18 -Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR
Solan G. '18 - Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
Daisy K. '18 - Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
Corin L. '18 - enrolled at Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA but is planning to take a gap year before attending
Lucy S. '18 - Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
Noah T. '18 - National Merit Scholarship Finalist, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Baret W. '18 - Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR
Audrey W. '18 - Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Congratulations to all of our graduates! We are excited to hear of your new transition & adventures!
Congratulations to the Sussex School Class of 2018! They have recently graduated from high school and are off to an impressive list of universities and adventures.
Avery D. '27
Comes to Sussex from:
Missoula, MT
Year in School:
4th Grade
What do you love about Sussex?
I love all of the field trips!
Nathan D. '25
Comes to Sussex from:
Missoula, Montana
Year in School:
6th
What do you love about Sussex?
I love that Sussex encourages my love to learn and I love my teachers.