Five Questions for Karin Narcisse Stafford P’26, ’28
Karin Narcisse Stafford P’26, ’28 began her relationship with Rivers nearly 30 years ago as an Upper School French teacher, a grade dean, and an assistant coach for varsity field hockey. Midway through her Rivers career, she shifted to a role on the admission team as the director of multicultural outreach, where she leads the SOAR (Seeking Opportunities at Rivers) program, a recent initiative that gives prospective students from underrepresented groups an inside look at the independent school experience through two days of campus visits in the fall.
Q: How does multicultural outreach tie into admission work?
Multicultural outreach provides the institution with a strategic approach in attracting and yielding highly motivated and talented students from diverse backgrounds. There are families out there who have never heard of what a school like Rivers can offer. So then the question is, how do we begin to provide access to our schools for those families?
The SOAR program, now in its third year, came out of a conversation a few years ago with Director of Enrollment Management Yassine Talhaoui P’32 about how we can reach a wider demographic with our outreach efforts. By helping the community at large learn about independent schools, families learn they have options and access to educational opportunities they may never have considered before. And, while certainly we’d like these students to apply and enroll at Rivers, we also have a goal of helping families learn that these opportunities exist in the first place.
Q: What are some successes of the SOAR program so far?
We received a record number of applications to SOAR last year. Of the SOAR students who applied to Rivers and were admitted, 100% of those students chose to attend. Behind those numbers, though, is a story of connecting with families and connecting with students, and that in itself is so rewarding.
Q: What is the most challenging part of your work? Most rewarding?
Outreach work in itself is challenging, but that is an incentive, something that motivates me. The most rewarding part, to me, is knowing that there are families who now know about Rivers. It’s having a parent say, “Thank you for helping me,” whether or not their child gets in.
Q: You started here as a French teacher. Now that you aren’t in a classroom role anymore, how do you interact with students?
Much of my student interaction is now as an advisor, which I think is one of the most important roles. As an advisor, you’re in a trusted position of watching and helping a young person grow up and learn about themselves. You are a part of their journey at an important time in their lives; it’s something we take very seriously.
Q: Your kids go here now—Summer ’26 and JR ’28. How has that changed your experience?
Watching my kids go through the Rivers experience has been really rewarding. It’s a special experience when the things you hope and dream for Rivers for other children are happening for your own child. That, I think, drives my passion for the school and makes me want to keep providing excellence and thinking innovatively.
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A version of this story first appeared in the Fall 2025 edition of the Riparian, Rivers’ alumni magazine.
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