Saunders Receives the Hopkins Medal: Hopkins' Highest Honor

The Hopkins Medal, first awarded in 1994, is given to “a member of the Hopkins community in recognition of unparalleled commitment, devotion, and loyalty to the School,” according to a May 8 press release by the school. “I cannot think of somebody more deserving than [Sanders],” Head of School Matt Glendinning said at the ceremony. “His impact on Hopkins and New Haven is immeasurable.” 

Over the years, Saunders helped shape numerous programs at Hopkins. He served on the admissions and financial aid committees and often acted as a liaison between the school and the broader New Haven community. Saunders said, “I’m trying really hard to get Hopkins to be more involved in New Haven. So whenever someone asked Hopkins a question,  it's been my job to try to answer them.” 

Saunders’s most visible legacy may be Pathfinder, the enrichment program for New Haven public middle schoolers. Before becoming executive director, he served in a variety of roles, including summer teaching fellow, “school-year volunteer,” the program’s first dean of students, and its first instructional coach. “I helped design the model for instructional coaching and student teachers,” Saunders said. Under his leadership, Pathfinder expanded significantly, becoming a vital link between Hopkins and the wider New Haven community.

Saunders also brought a Pathfinder favorite to the Hill, further weaving student life into his legacy: “Foursquare is a really big deal. My first year [at Pathfinder], we decided to play foursquare.” Since then, the game has become a perennial fixture on the quad. Saunders also helped the Pathfinder program grow significantly: “At the start, it had 30 students in one grade from five or six schools. Now the program has 120 students from over 20 schools, across four grades.”

Saunders reflected on the emotional significance of receiving the Hopkins Medal, especially given his long history with the school. “We talk about how Hopkins is for the breeding up of hopeful youths,” he said, “and Hopkins has brought me up as a hopeful youth.” He continued, “I've grown up here in many ways, and so it's my home in many ways. And so it's really nice to see that I've been able to give the place as much as it's given me.” Saunders also noted that he is “the first African American to ever get the award,” which he said “is very exciting.” Still, the moment was “pretty bittersweet, bittersweet,” as this marks his “last year at Hopkins.” He explained that he is “having to move to Boston to be with my family.” While the transition is difficult, he said, it feels good to know he has “made a difference.”

Eduardo Perez, Saunders’ mentee through the Penn Fellows program, described him as someone who “deeply cares about people,” a quality he called “increasingly rare.” From the start, Perez said, it was evident how much “thought and intention” Saunders brought to every interaction. “His attention to detail is not limited to the way in which he delivers content,” he explained, “but extends to the way he genuinely invests in his students’ growth and success.” As a mentor, Saunders was “generous with his time,” always ensuring others felt supported. “The joy we all felt was immense,” Perez added, “because we know just how truly deserving he is.” He credited Saunders as “an instrumental part of my journey as a young teacher,” saying, “I would not be half the teacher I am today had it not been for his guidance, instruction, and generosity.”