We’re excited to highlight our alumni through a series of Darlington Connects blogs focusing on "Service Beyond Self." Today we hear from Charlotte Boyd ('15, LD '22), an investment banking analyst at Truist Securities in Atlanta. Here, she shares her passion for serving in her work with the Knox Martin Foundation.
Tell us about your Darlington experience:
I graduated from Darlington in 2015 as a four-year boarding student from St. Simons Island, Ga. One of the things I love the most about Darlington is the potential for involvement in all capacities. As a student, I served as a House Senate representative, academic prefect for Regester House, Tiger Expert, and on the Y-Cabinet. I participated in two spring musicals and was a member of the varsity cheerleading, track and field, and swimming and diving teams. In March 2022, I had the opportunity to return to campus and participate in Leadership Darlington.
What about your Darlington experience helped build who you are today?
As I progress through life, I would be remiss without acknowledging the foundation built from my time and experience at Darlington. As a boarding student, I spent four years gaining independence and expanding my worldview through close exposure to cultures and people worldwide. The faculty and administration at Darlington also saw to it that any idea or passion of students was accommodated. At a young age, this showed me that with the right support, we could do anything we set our minds to. I noticed recently that the school’s website reads, “Preparing you for the world you'll be changing.” And, in my opinion, that could not be more true. At Darlington, students are given the tools and capacity to dream big and emulate the school’s mission to “empower students to learn with passion, act with integrity, and serve with respect.” While these tenants are universal, I believe the experience of being a Darlington student and vowing your walk of life to something bigger than yourself propels graduates to go into the world and incite positive change. That brings me to one of my favorite parts of Darlington’s motto: “Service Beyond Self.” As a Darlington student, I watched the faculty and staff exemplify Service Beyond Self in and outside of the classroom, especially Reba Barnes and Jill Pate. Some of my favorite times as a student were spent volunteering with Mrs. Barnes in the Rome community and assisting Mrs. Pate with Y-Cabinet initiatives.
What does Service Beyond Self mean to you?
My passion for Service Beyond Self continues to be a guiding pillar of my life. It encapsulates the importance of serving the people and communities we are a part of and doing so for altruistic reasons. When we set our sights on doing good for no purpose other than that, the outcomes of dedicated time and service are limitless.
Tell us about your work with the Knox Martin Foundation.
In December 2020, one of my best friends, Knox Martin, passed away following a valiant and inspiring fight with Glioblastoma (GBM). He was 24 years old. Three months later in March 2021, the Knox Martin Foundation for Brain Cancer Research was founded and began its work to fund innovative brain cancer research, particularly in aggressive brain cancers, with the ultimate vision of a world where a Glioblastoma diagnosis is widely treatable and curable. Because this aggressive form of brain cancer is underfunded and therefore under researched, there are only four FDA-approved drugs to treat Glioblastoma. For Glioblastoma, the five-year relative survival rate is only 7.2%, and the median survival is only eight months. Few research studies are conducted in aggressive brain cancers because the outcomes are so poor, yet the outcomes remain poor because so few research studies exist. But, the work of the Knox Martin Foundation is changing that. Since inception, we have raised over $1,000,000 of funding through the generosity of our donors. The Knox Martin Foundation partners with the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University. The Duke Brain Tumor Center directly uses our funding to study new, innovative therapies in patients with Glioblastoma – the most deadly and aggressive type of brain cancer. Because of the generosity of our donors, the top research minds in the world are focusing their energy and attention on eradicating this devastating disease. In 2022, the Knox Martin Foundation was able to fund two new FDA-approved clinical trials for GBM patients. These trials will be available to patients at Duke, Harvard, and Stanford this year.
On April 1, we celebrated our third annual fundraiser, Night for Knox. In one night, we raised over $352,000 through sponsorships, ticket sales, a live auction, and donations. It was truly incredible, and I cannot wait to see the impact this funding will have on the lives of those affected by GBM. Having the opportunity to serve the foundation and further its reach and influence has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. We live in a world of instant availability and progress, and innovative and life-saving health treatments should be no different. The Knox Martin Foundation is making that a reality so we don’t have to live in a world where people lose their life simply because there aren’t any options.
To learn more about The Knox Martin Foundation, visit their website and Instagram @knoxmartin_foundation.
Charlotte would love the opportunity to discuss Service Beyond Self with any Darlington student or alumni, as there are countless avenues for involvement and many areas of need within all of our communities. Email connect@darlingtonschool.org to connect with Charlotte.
