Daniel Eskinazi, class of 1994

"St. Paul’s gave me the education and background to connect with other cultures and peoples abroad, while at the same time retaining the Brazilian outlook to life which is much cherished around the world."

The son of a refugee, Daniel found St. Paul’s School to be a multicultural environment where he was able to grow and develop a multitude of skills. During his days as a pupil, he participated several curricular and extra-curricular activities, with lifelong memories which survive to this day. Nowadays, as a current parent, Daniel reflects on how the school has changed as well as the impact of St. Paul’s on his life and career to date. 

1.     What brought you and your family to St. Paul’s? 

My father was born in Egypt, where attended Victoria College, a British school which was quite sought after at the time in the region (King Hussein of Jordan, for example, was an alumnus). Cairo was then a true Levantine city, with residents from a wide variety of backgrounds and religions, and a plethora of languages being spoken on its streets (my family, for example, was Francophone).

All this came to a grounding halt in the 1950s with the rise of nationalism and socialism. After all their assets were expropriated, my grandparents left Cairo in 1958 making São Paulo their final destination. Victoria College was abruptly shut by the Egyptian Government at the outset of the Suez Crisis in 1956 – my father ended up sitting his A Levels in Paris as a refugee.

When it came time to select a school for my brother and I in São Paulo in the late 1970s, my father had few doubts as to what type of education he wanted for his sons. He was already a fan of a British education and also saw St. Paul’s as a mean to transmit some of the values of the multicultural upbringing he treasured in Egypt. Finally, as a former refugee with family spread around the world, he also realised Brazil is but one piece of the global puzzle. The country was much more closed at the time, there was less traveling, obviously no internet and no tv channels in foreign languages – he also saw the school as a way to expand our opportunities worldwide.

2.     Tell us more about your experience as a St. Paul’s pupil? 

I was fortunate to be a pupil at a time of great changes at the school. When I joined as a five-year-old, the student body was different – there was a larger number of British pupils, many children or grandchildren of British immigrants to Brazil and “inpats” (Brazilian families who had lived abroad and returned to Brazil). There was also a wave of immigrants from Argentina in the early 1980s. I remember as a young boy listening to a lot of Spanish in the playground. In line with the rest of society, life was rather more carefree (not necessarily in a good sense). No seat belts in cars and as a boy I distinctly remember the javelin throw was a track and field discipline taught to seniors in the school lawn.

An international education was not as aspirational as it is today, and the school was less well known in São Paulo itself as it is today. While a pupil, I often referred to the school as “Escola Britânica” since many people around town had not heard of “St. Paul’s.”

The late 1980s and early 1990s were a period of much change in the school curriculum and revamp and investment in school facilities under the administrations of Headmasters Gysin and especially McCann. At one point, much of the school was being refurbished and renovated – this was something which we benefited from greatly as pupils once finished. There was also a renewed focus on academic performance, while retaining the school’s “all ability” approach. I can now see as a parent that these initiatives have been very successful.

Overall, I embraced school wholeheartedly. Homework notwithstanding, I truly loved coming to school, taking part in lessons, forging friendships and participating in extracurricular activities.

3.     What made St. Paul’s special? What is your fondest memory of the school?

Many of the same things that make it special today: the strength of the British and IB curriculum, a sense of community and the school's almost hundred-year experience in educating youngsters.

I spent fourteen years at St. Paul’s, I have countless unforgettable classroom recollections - hard to really pinpoint just one! Many memories also playing for our varsity basketball team. A lesson in persistence as the American schools in the league overinvested in their teams which led to many more losses than wins. One year a school recruited a semi-professional player who was over two metres tall and nicknamed “Montanha”, which made the games rather unbalanced. We fortunately had better results in the Rancho Ranieri Camp competitions, which were also a great experience to mingle and meet students from other schools. Finally, I remember the adrenaline and rush of being on stage for a proper school play for the first time… I wish I could go back and do it all over again.

4.     Did you have a teacher at St. Paul’s who was particularly impactful? 

There were so many who made a difference, I will name only a few. Mr. Licudi was a fantastic and creative Maths instructor. Mr. Roseblade was an inspiring English and Theory of Knowledge teacher which aroused my interest in the two subjects (no mean feat). Mrs. Pentreath invited me late in my tenure to participate in two school plays. Pity she had not extended the invitation earlier. Mrs. Makins introduced me to French in Form 1, a journey which would last seven years and all the way to francophone Switzerland. Last but definitely not least, I have to mention Mr. McCann. He was a memorable teacher of IB Organization Studies and Headmaster during my formative years as a teenager right through graduation. A very demanding, yet caring individual with a strong streak of good humor who led the institution during an important inflection point in its history.

5.     How would you describe your cultural identity and what role did St. Paul’s play in developing it? 

Brazil is a country which is distant from other major population centres and can at times be quite insular. St. Paul’s gave me the education and background to connect with other cultures and peoples abroad, while at the same time retaining the Brazilian outlook to life which is much cherished around the world. Being British is a distinct advantage for the school, given the UK’s traditionally open, multicultural and internationalist heritage. We were taught with a global perspective, not from the standpoint of one or other particular country.

6.     Do you remain in contact with your friends from St. Paul’s? 

Yes, very much so. As a parent at the school I frequently encounter former colleagues and their children, events which inevitably bring back good memories.

7.     To which university did you go after leaving school? Talk more about your higher education studies, please.

I attended Brandeis University in the Boston area on a partial scholarship where I completed a B.A. with a major in Economics. After graduation I went to the University of Lausanne in Switzerland for post-graduate degrees in Economics and Finance as a Swiss Government Scholar.

8.     How did your studies lead you to your career choice? 

As a pupil at St. Paul’s I was very much drawn to Maths and Science while also being enthusiastic about current events and public policy. Economics was a natural choice as it allowed me to combine all these interests into a single discipline. At one point I considered an academic career, but I noticed the lack of fit in graduate school. Research in economics is a solitary endeavour and I love working and being around other people. I then migrated to Finance due to its more practical and collective bent.

9.     What are some skills you learned at St. Paul’s that apply to your professional life? 

I once heard that “Education is what's left once you have forgotten everything you learn in school”. While I do not fully subscribe to this ideal, it condenses some of the key challenges to schooling today. In an era of accelerating technological change and “degree inflation”, education is a lifelong process and school is less about learning and more about “learning to learn.” In that respect, St. Paul’s was instrumental in setting up the groundwork for my next steps. In particular by fostering critical thinking while at the same time providing me with a solid background in Maths and Sciences.

10.     What is your proudest professional moment? 

I will cite two. Firstly, leading Franklin Templeton’s Private Debt business in Brazil for ten years. We rebuilt the strategy beginning in 2010, faced a challenging environment with several internal and external shocks, including significant depreciation of the Brazilian Real, but still managed to generate very strong returns in US Dollars to our investors. Secondly, my current position as CFO of JFL Living, the leading multifamily operator in Brazil. In little over three months after I joined, our small yet able team managed to submit a filing for an Initial Public Offering, which as of this date is currently suspended due to market conditions. We did over 80% of the heavy lifting and were weeks away to concluding the process, which alas did not happen. The company has evolved substantially during these few months, benefitting from the new procedures we implemented and is in good shape to restart the process as soon as practical.

11.  How do you see the school evolving as a parent now?

As an Old Paulean I know the enduring qualities of the school are here: solid academics and a caring community dedicated to developing children in a challenging yet inclusive environment. In my view, the latter is an underrated feature of the school’s approach to education. Unlike some of our peers, we are an “all-ability” school. We do not discard pupils with “low scores” in exchange for those with “high scores”. It is education the old-fashioned way: recognising pupils have different strengths and abilities and working with each and every one of them, hopefully over many years, to allow them to flourish. Other than being an Old Paulean, this was a key consideration in our family’s decision to enroll our two daughters at school.

As a parent, I need not harp wistfully about the past. My girls are getting a better education than I did, which is precisely how things should be: every generation improving upon the previous one. While school was demanding during my tenure, with the benefit of hindsight I could have been pushed harder. I am happy to see academic results have improved across the board since then, with truly impressive scores for an institution that does not select pupils based on academic ability and entrance exams.

The university outlook for school leavers has also greatly improved. St. Paul’s had been graduating secondary school students for less than ten years when I was applying for universities in 1993. Looking back, I see the school was still developing the know-how and procedures to guide pupils through this tortuous process. Little effort was expended by us on standardized tests. I also did all of my applications on my own, no counselling or reviewing by third parties (not even my parents). Much effort has been placed on this front since I left. Our stellar placement results can now speak for themselves.

12.  What advice would you give to St. Paul’s students? 

Push harder and enjoy the ride.