The Von Teichmans: Coming Full Circle

She didn’t know much about the College, but she was impressed when she and her husband, Wolf, brought Desmond in for a campus tour. 

“The students were outside playing and every single one stopped to say good morning to us,” she recalled. “That just wasn’t the case at the other schools we visited – the kids just kept on doing whatever they were doing. We knew that if Des got in, that was it – the place just had such a great feel.”

Wolf and Gill were so happy with RSGC that they also sent their three other sons, Matt ’92, Andrew ’96 and Michael ’98. 

“There’s a really special culture there – they care about people,” said Gill. “The Manners Maketh Men thing is very true in life, and education is more than just marks. It’s very hard to find that balance between coming out on top and being a good man who cares about other people. All of our kids seem to have that balance.” 

With their four boys spending their formative years at the College, the von Teichmans almost had no choice but to become active in school life. Wolf was a member of the Board of Directors, while Gill volunteered with the Georgian Parents’ Guild, holding the position of President in 1991-92. 

For Matt, his parents being involved in the school was just par for the course. 

“I don’t think I knew anything different – it just sort of was,” he said. “They were always such an important part of the school and were always more than just parents. At one point or another, my dad was on the Board or my mom was on the Guild. They were intimately involved and so were we as kids.”

Now, things have come full circle, with Matt’s son, Connor, in the Class of 2020 at the College and his wife, Jasmin, as the president of the Guild, both of which are extra special for Gill.

“It’s just marvellous. I’m very excited to have Connor here. All of the things that were true when I was a parent here are still true now, which is hard to say in education,” said Gill. “And the fact that Jasmin is the president of the Guild is great. It’s all about the continuation and history repeating itself.”

Jasmin, for her part, is thrilled to carry on the tradition, not only in holding the same title that Gill held as president, but also in running some of the same events that Gill and the Guild held almost 30 years ago, including the Gala and the Used Blazer Sale. 

“I love that I’m involved in a little piece of history and am doing similar things that Gill and her team did so many years ago,” said Jasmin, who began volunteering at the school when Connor started in Grade 5 and became Guild Secretary when he was in Grade 7. “It’s significant that we have a lot of the same values that the school had when Matt and his brothers were here that we can carry on now. And, of course, the parent involvement gives it such a nice feel.”

Matt also thinks it’s great to have a second von Teichman at the Guild’s helm. Only this time, he realizes the amount of work that goes into the job. 

“I think it’s really great that there’s a second von Teichman in the role. She loves it and so does Connor,” said Matt, CEO and President of Green Space Brands. “Seeing it come back full circle and all the work she puts into it, I guess it’s something I didn’t appreciate when I was a kid. What Jasmin does is quite something. It’s nice to see her giving back and nice to see such high-level involvement in the school. It’s good all around.”

And, of course, it’s nice for everyone that Jasmin and Gill get along so well, sharing a love for RSGC, the Guild and the von Teichman boys. Gill never made it a secret that she always wanted a daughter and is very close with her three daughters-in-law. 

Every year at Christmas, she gives them a gift – usually jewellery. Over 10 years ago, she gave Jasmin a necklace given to her by Linda Bunting, the incoming Guild president. It’s a horse stirrup, and the engraving reads, “RSGC GVT 91-92.” That necklace is now a very important part of Jasmin’s wardrobe. 

“I wear the necklace to each of my Guild meetings as a good luck symbol to think about the connection to RSGC,” she said. “It’s a symbol to everything in the past and everything the school represents.”