Abstract
The daughter of Alice O’Connor Chmielewski ’28, Ann begins her own interview by relating childhood memories of accompanying her mother to Pembroke College reunions. She then describes her social and academic life as as a student herself, a “city girl” who later lived on campus. Among the specific experiences she recalls: spending time at West House and the Gate as a commuter student; inviting her future husband, Jack Anderson ’58, to the Pembroke Christmas Dance; her somewhat reluctant participation in the 1958 Miss Cranston Pageant; and developing an academic interest in Psychology. Ann also describes her life after college, including her decision to pursue social work; serving as an administrator at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY; her decision earn a Ph.D. while raising two children; and her private psychotherapy practice. Finally, she discusses how she has stayed connected to the University as an alumna and how academics at Brown had changed by the time her son, Brian Anderson ’90, entered as a student.
See also: Alice Elizabeth O’Connor, class of 1928
Part 1
Part 2
Recorded May 25, 2013 in Pembroke Hall, Brown University, Providence, RI
Interviewed by Wendy Korwin
Suggested Chicago style citation: Chmielewski, Ann Martha. Interview. By Wendy Korwin. Pembroke Center Oral History Project, Brown University. May 25, 2013.
Biography
Ann Martha Chmielewski Anderson was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1938, the daughter of Alice O’Connor Chmielewski ’28, a social worker, and Alexander Chmielewski, who worked as Banking Commissioner for the State of Rhode Island. Her family moved from Providence to Cranston at age twelve, and Ann graduated from Cranston High in 1955. She attended Pembroke for two years as a commuter student before moving on campus.