Introduction

RS: Hi, this is Robin Sparkman, Wellesley class of ’91 and StoryCorps CEO. At StoryCorps, we believe in preserving and sharing humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. As a part of that vital work, we partnered with Wellesley College since 2015 to record over 50 stories with alumnae, students, faculty, and other members of the unique Wellesley Community.  Today, we’re going to hear three stories that celebrate the ties that bind Wellesley women. I hope you enjoy hearing these voices from the Wellesley community.

Jeanne and Jean

JE: I’m Jeanne Emanuel. I’m 47 years old and I’m at my 25th college reunion at Wellesley College.

JH: My name is Jean Hynes. I’m 47 years and I am at my 25th college reunion at Wellesley College, class of ’91.The very first time we met was outside of the art history on our way back from class.

JE: And I remember your green eyes. And it was a beautiful fall day. And finally we got to meet after everybody telling us that we should be friends and that we should meet.

JH: And then I think we really got to know each other on this trip to New York. So, Wellesley offered a trip to New York to look at a bunch of businesses and that’s when I think we really spent a lot time with each other, on the bus.

JE: And that’s when I realized I think invest banking may not be for me? But we became friends because of that trip so it was a worthwhile time. And I remember your pleated skirt and a messenger bag  across your body and a blue blazer.

JH: I’m happy to say I don’t wear plaid skirts anymore

JE: It was cute. Do you remember driving me to New York?

JH: Your parents rented a mini wan.

JE: Yup, And we loaded up everything that I was willing to move to New York city. There aren’t that many friends that would drive someone 250 miles to New York, load everything into the service elevator, and leave you in an apartment for the first time.

JH: I remember feeling really sad leaving you though.  

JE: Yeah I felt sad too.

JH: Yeah

JE: But Wellesley has given us this great gift of friendship.

JH: Yes.

JE: And we’ve had so many life experiences, even when we weren’t living nearby, we would always find a way to be together. And then when we were living closer to each other, our families getting to know and love each other as much as we do with each other and between the two of us there are six girls.

JH: Yes six beautiful daughters.

JE: Could be the next generation of Wellesley graduates.

JH: I really hope one of my daughters goes to WEllesley

JE: But even it they don’t, The spirit of Wellesley, I think, is part of our parenting.

JH: Absolutely. That’s always been a way where you can pass on passion and judgement: the love of life.

JE: I think my girls feel that they can truly pick what they want to do and that they have the hope and the capability and the intelligence and the access to anything and I think that is something Wellesley gives its students and its communities. This idea that if you’re interested in it, it’s there for you regardless of the fact that their a women, that they have access to what they really wanna do and what they believe in.

Sally and Helen

SG: I’m Sally Greenville. I am 62 years old.

HM: And I am Helen Criz Marshall. I am 61.

SG: Helen, it’s been said that our shared future belongs to intellectually gifted and deeply purposeful women, that is Wellesley women. I see you as one of the most purposeful woman I know. Can you tell me a bit about how Wellesley has shaped your sense of purpose over the years, whether in your home life or your professional career: this “Wellesley Effect”?

HM: Wellesley has given me a sense that I have a purpose and I need to follow it. Whoever came up with the term “the Wellesley Effect” really captured something that we’ve been talking about. We had a Wellesley gathering in my house and there was another alum who’s a 1960 graduate and she looked around and she said, “Helen, it really is true; there is something about a group of Wellesley women.” I think that we are more than the sum of our parts. You get us together and we create something additional just by being together.

SG: One of the things that I personally have found most rewarding is being about to connect with women through the generations where we both have a common point of departure.

HM: We’re all predisposed to like each other even though we’ve never met each other.

SG: Yeah.

HM: So, I do not feel hesitant to walk up to another alum and just talk to her where you might feel hesitant in some other situation.

SG: And we’re all very competitive, but Helen wouldn’t you agree that we are quite cooperative and wishing the best for our fellow alums whether that’s mentoring or just giving a leg up along the way.

HM: That’s true! Sometimes we don’t all feel so fabulous about ourselves. I was thinking of myself: I am sitting in a pew in the Wellesley Chapel, next to me is that marble bar relief, Mother Wellesley sending her daughter off into the big world with her arms around her daughter and pointing to the future and her daughter has the book of knowledge in her hand and the lamp of learning as she strides forward. So, I’m sitting in a pew and I say, “Oh woe is me. I’ll never be secretary of state. I’m not publisher of a magazine. I’ve never flown the space shuttle”, which all of our folks have done. And, I’m just moping. So Mother Wellesley looks at me, steps of the wall, comes over to me and puts her hand on my shoulder and says, “Dear, what’s the matter”. And I say, “I’m just feeling inadequate amongst all these beautiful, you know, universiverse of constellation of Wellesley women and I’m just like a burned out little dwarf star.” And she says, “Dear, who do you think you are?” And I say “Well, my name is Helen and I’m a Wellesley graduate.” And she says, “Yes. You know all of these fabulous Wellesley women. Well you’re one of them! You know that? You have got 35, 000 people who have never met you all cheering for you to do well. So, I want you to get up, figure out what it is you want to do, and go do it. We have got your back.” And I said, “Yes ma’am!”.    

SG: And you have never looked back Helen.

HM: Well, there’s a whole community of people out there. 35, 000 is how many living alumnae we have and I like the feeling that one, I have this education, I feel like I can do, and I feel like there is a whole group of people out there wanting me to do well and I feel like that is one way to describe the Wellesley Effect.

Marah and Judith

MH: My name is Marah Ann Katz Herbach, and I’m sitting at Wellesley College alongside my mother.

JK: Judith Margolis Katz, this is my 50th reunion. I had fallen in love with the concept of economics when I was in high school, so I was predisposed to take that economics course. And the woman who taught my entry-level economics course, who was the chairman of the department at the time, was Carolyn Shaw Bell who you know, I stayed in touch with so long, and who was a great touchstone, I considered a friend. I see that you established great friendships, that you had a very successful extracurricular program.

MH: I think you’re referring to choir predominantly, and my closest friends from college are my choir friends. Singing was always, for me, a break and a relief, so no matter how much one focused on classwork, it was a totally different set of skills and, if you will, a different part of my brain. It was also fun. And those friends that I have from choir, are friends whom, whenever I see them, it’s like we’ve never been apart. I would love to hear how you think of Wellesley, as your mother’s institution?

JK: Audrey Price Margolis Kauffman, class of ’35, was very proud of her Wellesley experience. She was proud of being a great student. She and my father moved from Boston to Albany when they got married in 1939, and Mom got involved with the Wellesley club there.

MH: Her affiliation to Wellesley through her club in Albany, built friendships for her and indirectly then for you and for me that yielded many unexpected things, some tangible and others not. But one of the tangible ones, when Johnathan and I got married, an enormous box arrived on our doorstep. I couldn’t fathom what this was, and I’m embarrassed that I can’t remember the woman who sent it.

JK: Oh, it’s Adi De Beer Muhlfelder, who was class of ’41.

MH: Adi sent this enormous box of dishware that I’d never seen before. I guess at one point in time, Wellesley had china with pictures of the campus, especially of Tower Court, in different colors. And I remember opening that box and feeling like, like your mom was there.

JK: Did I say, that it wasn’t until you told me that we’d be sharing a reunion, that I realized you were applying to Wellesley? So, this is the first reunion we’ve had since your kids were born, and especially it’s my 50th, makes it more special than I could ever believe.