Abstract In this Zoom interview, which took place a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Alba Malaga, who was completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown’s Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics at the time, speaks about her experience navigating quarantine due to social distancing policies, motherhood, and research in the early days of […]
Family
Joan Katz, class of 1973
Abstract In this interview, Joan Katz Betesh, Brown University class of 1973, reflects on her time on campus, her pathway to law school, and the development of her career in immigration law. Betesh speaks first about her initial attraction to Brown and to the New Curriculum as a college applicant, which she saw as a […]
Ann Martha Chmielewski, class of 1959
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 […]
Sebastián Castro Niculescu, class of 2020
Abstract In this interview, then Brown and RISD Dual-Degree student Sebastián Castro Niculescu discusses her experience growing up in and around Queens, New York, her childhood education, admittance to Brown-RISD, and social life around the turn of the Trump Administration. The child of an Ecuadorian immigrant and Romanian refugee, Niculescu begins by detailing how she […]
Markita S. Morris, class of 1998
Abstract In this interview, Markita Morris, Brown University class of 1998, brings a perspective of a north Philadelphian who attended public school, was housing insecure, and who adored her time at Brown. This is also the Pembroke Center Oral History Project’s first interview conducted via FaceTime. Morris begins her interview by explaining why it was […]
Galia Siegel, class of 1989
Abstract In Part 1 of her interview, Galia Siegel speaks about her work with Project Birth – an advocacy, service, and educational program for pregnant and parenting teens in South Providence, and founding its corollary, Peer Sister, which matched women in Project Birth with women at Brown who would tutor them. In Part 2, Siegel […]
Donna Zaccaro, Class of 1983
Abstract In this interview, Donna Zaccaro, Brown University class of 1983, discusses her life on the campaign trail with her mother, Geraldine Ferraro – the first woman Vice Presidential nominee on a major party ticket; her path to becoming a documentarian; and the impeachment trial of United States President Donald Trump. Zaccaro begins by sharing […]
Jeree Palmer-Bechkham, class of 1983
Abstract In this interview, Jeree Palmer-Beckham begins by discussing her time in Providence, where she lived with her first husband, and explaining her completion of a Brown University degree in theatre arts through the Resumed Education Program (RUE). Palmer explains how attending Brown impacted her life in theatre, particularly the production “Shades of Brown,” which […]
Deborah J. Greenberg, class of 1979
Abstract Deborah J. Greenberg begins her interview by sharing some family background information including her childhood in Chicago, her mother’s position as a therapist, and the world travels that were funded by her father’s position as a professor at the University of Illinois. Greenberg describes her first impressions of the Brown University campus and living […]
Maggie M. Wenig, class of 1978 (interview 2 of 2)
Abstract In her second interview, conducted in 2013, Maggie M. Wenig begins by discussing her admission to Brown University, where she was involved with the Brown University Women’s Minyan. She discusses the rigor of the Religious Studies Department, the strength of its professors and their mentorship, specifically Professor Jacob Neusner, and her subsequent inspiration to […]
Maggie M. Wenig, class of 1978 (interview 1 of 2)
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Maggie M. Wenig begins by sharing some family information including her parents’ careers as lawyers and her own high school education in Westport, Connecticut. Wenig explains that she knew she wanted to pursue Judaic Studies, despite her family’s lack of religiosity, and decided that Brown University was the […]
Margot Landman, class of 1978
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Margot Landman discusses her family background and their influence in her choice of college and major. She goes on to describe her nerve-wracking first day at Brown and her best and worst memories as an undergraduate. She shares memories of the Chinese and Asian history departments at Brown, […]
Ferelene Bailey, class of 1974
Abstract Ferelene “Nan” Bailey begins by discussing her childhood, the benefits of living overseas during her childhood, her experience applying to Brown University, and her expectations of her experience. She spends a significant amount of time discussing the various and bountiful activist groups she participated in, and more broadly, social turmoil during the seventies surrounding […]
Lucile K. Wawzonek, class of 1972
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Lucile K. Wawzonek discusses changing attitudes towards formal gender divisions on campus during the Pembroke-Brown merger. She begins by reflecting on the regulations at Brown in the late 1960s, including the male caller system and curfews. She speaks on the housing lottery and the advent of coed dorms, […]
Constance Worthington, class of 1968
Abstract In this interview, Constance Worthington begins by talking about her family’s involvement in Brown University, and her eventual decision to transfer to Pembroke College. She then discusses her challenging time at Brown being a student, single mother, and a widow, and what it was like raising a son later diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Worthington […]
Meryl Smith, class of 1966
Abstract In this interview, Meryl Smith remembers life as an Orthodox Jewish Pembroker. She recounts how, even before she attended Pembroke, her mother would welcome to dinner any Pembroke or Brown students who were trying to keep kosher. She fondly remembers the friendships formed around playing bridge and smoking cigarettes, and participating in Question Club, […]
Cynthia Burdick, class of 1965
Abstract Cynthia Burdick grew up on a farm in Wilmington, Delaware and attended Westover boarding school in Connecticut. After graduation, she went to Bryn Mawr College for a year and half, during which she fell in love and got married. She then transferred to Pembroke College to be closer to her husband, who was working […]
Dorothy Ann Haus, class of 1964
Abstract Dorothy Ann Haus begins this interview by talking about her life before Pembroke College, growing up as a “Pollyanna” in Brattleboro, Vermont. Haus discusses many different aspects of life as a Pembroker including the rules and regulations, the gym requirement, dorm life, dating, freshman orientation, formal dinners and demitasse, and playing varsity sports. Haus […]
Joyce Loretta Richardson, class of 1963
Abstract Joyce Loretta Richardson begins her interview by discussing the experiences and people that led her to apply to and attend Pembroke College. She cites experiences such as going to boarding school, having a high achieving family, rejection from Radcliffe, and her fear of swimming. She contrasts her experience at boarding school with her arrival […]
Carol Ann Markovitz, class of 1962
Abstract In this interview, Carol Ann Markovitz begins by describing her involvement at Pembroke outside the classroom, at Brown Youth Guidance—an outreach organization, at the Pendleton-Bradley Hospital, and at the Pembroke College school newspaper, the Pembroke Record. She then tells of her dissatisfaction with the social life on campus, her very close group of friends […]
Cynthia Lee Jenner, class of 1961
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Cynthia Lee Jenner begins by describing her family background. She talks about the contemporary stigma against a middle class wife with a career and the effect of this on her mother and herself. From this context, she attended an all-girls boarding school and Pembroke College, both of which […]
Ann Martha Chmielewski, class of 1959
Abstract The daughter of Alice Elizabeth O’Connor ’28, Chmielewski begins her 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 – a female day student who attended Pembroke but did not live on campus, who […]
Lillian S. Berberian, class of 1957
Abstract This interview concentrates on Lillian S. Berberian’s family life and her experiences as a city girl – a female day student who attended Pembroke College but did not live on campus, and she reminisces about life-long friendships with other city girls. She explains that her parents expected her to live at home while she […]
Sylvia Rosen, class of 1955
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Sylvia Rosen reflects on her freshman year at Pembroke College, the dormitories, dating, and meeting her husband. In Part 2, she expands on the “thrilling” academic atmosphere at Pembroke, as well as her experience as one of the few Jewish students on campus. In Part 3, Rosen considers […]
Stavroula James Balomenos, class of 1953
Abstract In this interview, Stavroula James Balomenos begins by describing her childhood in Portland, Maine, which consisted of “home, school, and church.” She tells of her father’s strong belief in the value of a good education—something he didn’t have the opportunity to receive—instilling the message with all his children that “education was the doorway to […]
Rita R. Schorr, class of 1953
Abstract Rita R. Schorr begins this interview by recounting her childhood in Poland, the outbreak of World War II, and her and her family’s placement in Auschwitz. She explains the trauma of this experience, as well as her determination to survive. Schorr transitions to discuss her education in Munich after she was liberated, and her […]
Lois Black, class of 1953
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Lois Black begins by explaining what it felt like to attend Pembroke College with a working class background. She describes her first experiences of Pembroke, including living in East House, and the differences between private and public high school students. Black goes on to discuss racism at Pembroke, […]
Diane Straker, Staff
Abstract In this oral history captured over the course of four interviews, Diane Straker, the Pembroke Center’s administrative assistant, details her experiences living in various states along the eastern seaboard and in Saint Thomas, her daughter’s struggle with Crescentic Glomerulonephriris, and working at Brown University. Straker begins by discussing her family background and her early […]
Beverly Anne Calderwood, class of 1952
Abstract Beverly Anne Calderwood begins this interview by explaining her parents’ self-made careers—her father’s opening of an iron foundry and her mother’s self-education. Calderwood describes her two-year experience as a Pembroke College city girl– a female day student who attended Pembroke but did not live on campus, Pembroke’s regulations and “gracious living” practices, and organizing […]
Edna Frances Graham, class of 1950
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Edna Frances graham discusses her family background and then elaborated on preparing for Pembroke at Classical High School, attending classes with “mature” veterans who had just returned from WWII, her dating experiences, and traveling with the Glee Club. She speaks briefly about her work as a teacher and […]
Elizabeth Branch Jackson, class of 1945
Abstract Elizabeth “Betty” Branch Jackson is one of Pembroke’s early students of color. During her time on campus, she was the only Black student for over two years, but this did not stop her from being extremely active during her time there and in the years following. Jackson worked for the American Friends Service and […]
Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949
Abstract Jean Ellen Miller tells the story of her life in this interview, which was recorded on three occasions in 2014 and 2015. In Part 1, Miller describes being a young child raised during the Depression in the home of her Scottish grandparents, following the death of her mother. She discusses how she received a […]
Constance Andrews, class of 1948
Abstract Constance Andrews begins her interview by describing her father’s Harvard Law education and her mother’s boarding school education. She explains that her father and brother both graduated from Brown University, and that her mother would keep her and her brother out of school to watch commencement in May. She remarks that it was assumed […]
Judith Vivienne Korey, class of 1946
Abstract Judith Vivienne Korey begins Part 1 of her interview by describing her family background, her and her father’s negative attitude toward her mother’s advertising job, and Providence during her early years. She goes on to explain her reasons for deciding to attend Pembroke College and the career aspirations she went in with. Korey remembers […]
Gloria E. Del Papa, class of 1946
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Gloria E. Del Papa begins by describing her relationship to her father, an immigrant cement business owner, her role as a “typical Italian daughter,” and how her father insisted she go to Pembroke College. When discussing her life at Pembroke, she speaks about her academic record, the discovery […]
Hilda Antoinette Calabro, class of 1945
Abstract In this interview, Hilda Antoinette Calabro begins by sharing some family background and explaining her reasons for attending Pembroke College. She recalls being supported by her family and having the freedom to choose what she wanted to do with her college education. She describes the difficult of being a city girl – a female […]
Marcella F. Fagan, class of 1944
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Marcella F. Fagan recounts her acceptance to Pembroke College in 1940 and her experience as a “day hop” or “city girl.” She describes the effects of World War II, including rations on food and gas, a social life that included few men, the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company’s […]
Hope Ballinger, class of 1944
Abstract Hope Ballinger begins her interview by explaining that her aunt’s graduation from Pembroke College in 1902, and her desire to become a nurse, influenced her decision to also attend Pembroke. She says that as a city girl – a female day student who attended Pembroke but did not live on campus, she missed out […]
Elizabeth J. Pretzer, class of 1944
Abstract At the start of this interview, Elizabeth J. Pretzer describes what it was like to attend Pembroke College while living at home with her family in Providence. She explains her decision to major in Geology and remembers some of the geology field trips she took as an undergraduate. Later, she discusses earning her Ph.D., […]
Justine Tyrrell, class of 1943
Abstract In Part 1, speaking fifty five years after her graduation, Justine Tyrrell begins her interview by noting that she is one of seventeen family members to graduate from Brown University. She states that she always knew she would attend Pembroke College and recalls asking Dean Margaret Shove Morriss for a scholarship. She briefly discusses […]
Teresa Elizabeth Gagnon, class of 1939 (interview 1 of 2)
Abstract Teresa Elizabeth Gagnon begins Part 1 of this interview by discussing her early experiences at Pembroke, including freshman orientation week and the embarrassing experience of taking posture photographs. She also talks about the academic curriculum at Pembroke, her passion for languages, and the strict physical education requirement. In Part 2, she talks about the […]
Margaret Mary Porter, class of 1939
Abstract Margaret “Peg” Mary Porter begins Part 1 of her 1988 interview discussing her family background and her motivation for both going to college and choosing Pembroke College. She reflects on what is was like to attend college during the Depression years, Franklin Delano Roosevelt becoming President of the United States, and the beginnings of […]
Clara Elizabeth Goodale, class of 1939
Abstract Clara Elizabeth Goodale ‘39 is the niece of Nettie Goodale Murdock who was a member of Pembroke College’s first class in 1895. This interview captures the memories Murdock shared with her niece of her time at Pembroke. In Part 1, Goodale explains that she and her sister, Barbara ’37, lived with Murdock while they […]
Virginia Belle Macmillan, class of 1938
Abstract Virginia Belle Macmillan begins Part 1 of her interview by describing her childhood and family in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She recalls her years at Pembroke College, in particular her role on the Pembroke Record staff, and as President of the Student Government Association. She also discusses life as a commuter student, attending college during […]
Beatrice Wattman, class of 1935
Abstract Beatrice “Bea” Wattman was the daughter of a jeweler who immigrated from Moldavia in 1895 at age 18, and a mother who came from Austria as a young child. Raised in Providence along with two younger brothers, she attended Hope High School, where her classes in the “Classical” curriculum track were taught by several […]
Ethel Colvin Nichols, class of 1934
Abstract Ethel Colvin Nichols begins her interview discussing her plans for the future and speaking of her wish to return to the workforce despite discrimination based on ageism. Also in Part 1, she reflects on classes at Pembroke College, her relationship with Dean Margaret Shove Morriss, training to become a dean herself, as well as […]
Esther Amelia Dick, class of 1934
Abstract Esther Amelia Dick begins this interview by speaking of her childhood in Reading, PA and struggling with Meniere’s Syndrome. She recalls her reasons for attending Pembroke College and discusses campus rules, requirements, clothing standards, alcohol and smoking restrictions, and access to the Brown campus. She gives her opinions of several professors and talks about […]
Cecile Lena Kantrowitz Israel, class of 1930
Abstract Cecile Lena Kantrowitz Israel begins this interview by explaining her Russian heritage and Jewish upbringing, her father’s career as a Hebrew teacher and cantor, and tracing her roots to Baal Shem Tov. She discusses her education at Classical High School, her mother’s liberated beliefs, and why she chose to attend Pembroke College. Regarding her […]
Helen Elizabeth Butts, class of 1928
Abstract In this interview, Helen Elizabeth Butts starts by discussing life at Pembroke College, the academic arena, Silver Bay (a Christian summer conference), higher-level science classes, post-graduate life, and the career/family dichotomy. She goes on to talk about her experience with Dean Margaret Shove Morriss, marriage ideals, and transition to computer usage. Butts finishes the […]
Mary Carpenter Emerson, class of 1927
Abstract In this interview, Mary Carpenter Emerson tells of her family’s tradition of attending Brown University, which included her mother, her maternal uncles and her maternal grandfather. Like her mother, Emerson became a science teacher, teaching biology, geometry, general science, chemistry and physics. She speaks of her early life: losing her father at age 11 […]
Caroline Flanders, class of 1926
Abstract In this interview, Caroline Flanders recalls telling her parents that “every girl should go to college.” Flanders reflects on her arrival at Pembroke College, taking many sociology classes on Brown’s campus, and working as a babysitter to help pay tuition. She reflects on the newfound freedom and the individualistic attitude of the “Roaring Twenties.” […]
Elizabeth Lee Young, class of 1924
Abstract Speaking more than sixty years after graduation, Elizabeth Lee Young begins her interview by noting her parent’s educational and career backgrounds as well as her own marriage history and family connection to Brown University. In part 1, Young explains that having attended Classical High School in Providence, Rhode Island, it was assumed that she […]
Helen Anderson Hoff, class of 1923
Abstract Helen Anderson Hoff begins her interview by discussing her childhood education in New Jersey and her family background. She explains that a high school superintendent convinced her to apply to Pembroke, making her the first person in her town to attend college. She discusses her experiences in various academic departments and her extracurricular involvement, […]
Isabel Ross Abbott, class of 1922
Abstract Isabel Ross Abbott was born on January 12, 1901 in Providence, Rhode Island, to parents of Scottish and English origins. She attended Rochambeau Avenue School and Hope High School. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. from Brown University in 1922, and received an A.M. from Brown the following year. She taught at […]
50th Reunion, class of 1956
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1956, highlights the under graduate experiences of Gretchen Gross, Jane Elton Hamlett, Jennifer Davis Morgan, Marjorie Jane Jenckes, Geneva Carol Whitney, Margaret Ann Devoe, and Barbara Ann Perrino, at their 50th reunion. The alumnae begin their interview by reminiscing about their reasons for choosing […]
50th Reunion, class of 1958
Abstract This interview with members of the Pembroke College class of 1958, highlights the experiences of Barbara Alice Fontaine, Maraya McCully Goff, Jane Marie Loveless, Carol May Jadick, Rayanne Lucille Walter, Beverly C. Hart, Martha Joukowsky, and Joyce P. Foster, at their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin by discussing their reasons for attending Pembroke, and […]
Diane Eileen Scola, class of 1959
Abstract Diane Eileen Scola’s oral history is an example of autonomy and feminist conviction despite gender discrimination. She begins her interview discussing her Italian-American family background, applying to college, academics at Pembroke, and commuting to school. In Part 2, Scola focuses on gender expectations in academia and the professional world, and the lack of women […]
Carol Rita Dannenberg, class of 1966
Abstract In this interview, Carol R. Dannenberg begins by explaining her decision to attend Pembroke College. She discusses dating life, and student/professor relationships, as well as her involvement with student government, tension over curfews, the lack of role models on campus, and being involved in the Peace Corps during summer break. Dannenberg also discusses her […]
Rita Ann Chao, class of 1969
Abstract In this interview, Rita Ann Chao, class of 1969, discusses growing up in Vietnam, arriving in Maine, studying applied math at Brown University, and her career in software development, management consulting, and organization transformation. She begins by describing her experience growing up in Vietnam as a person of Chinese descent during the French Indochina […]
Anna Peña Hass, class of 1917
Abstract In the first part of the interview, Anna Peña Hass discusses early life on her family’s farm and the decision to attend Pembroke despite wanting to get married and become a nurse. Hass describes the courses she took in her two years at Pembroke and some of the formative people she met during that […]
Ruth Elizabeth Cooke, class of 1914
Abstract In Part 1, Ruth Elizabeth Cooke speaks about being the youngest of six children, her close relationship with her oldest brother, gathering garnets at Diamond Hill with her father, her love of nature and her natural ability to interpret color. After graduating from Classical High School in 1910, she attended Pembroke where she studied […]
Marguerite Appleton, class of 1914
Abstract In this interview, Marguerite Appleton discusses her father, John Howard Appleton, a Brown chemistry professor; her reasons for choosing Brown; the abolition of the sorority system by Dean Lida Shaw King and the role of the Student Government Association in it. Her sisters’ sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta; athletics including bowling; traditions such as Sophomore […]