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 […]
Jewish Students
Shira Buchsbaum, class of 2019
Abstract In this interview, Shira Buchsbaum, Brown University class of 2019, describes her experiences as a graduate student and future librarian during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Buchsbaum begins by sharing why she chose to attend Brown University for her undergraduate studies. She explains her family legacy at Brown and feeling at home while on campus. […]
Susan Friedman, class of 1970
Abstract In this interview, Susan Friedman, Brown University class of 1970, describes her role as a leader in the creation of the open curriculum and details her professional trajectory since Brown. Friedman begins by briefly describing her childhood in Tennessee and talking about how she decided to attend Brown. She remembers being waitlisted at Brown […]
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, […]
Hilary Berger Ross, class of 1963
Abstract Hilary Berger Ross begins Part 1 of her 1988 interview by discussing her search for community at Pembroke College, and speaks about her experience as a city girl – a female day student who attended Pembroke but did not live on campus. She remembers Pembroke rules and studying women in Shakespeare. She explains that […]
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 […]
Susan Beth Adler, 1958
Abstract In this interview, Susan Beth Adler, Pembroke College class of 1958, recalls her decades of professional and volunteer service to Rhode Island and Brown University. Adler begins by describing her family’s long history within the Brown community, her mother being in the Pembroke class of 1925 and her father in the Brown class of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Lynn Nottage, class of 1986, and Ruby Aiyo Gerber, class of 2020
Abstract In this interview, Lynn Nottage, Pulitzer-prize winning playwright and Brown University class of 1986, and her daughter, Ruby Aiyo Gerber, Brown University class of 2020, discuss their experiences at Brown, living through the COVID-19 global pandemic, and processing the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Nottage and Gerber both begin by explaining why […]
Judith Weiss, class of 1944
Abstract In this interview, Judith Weiss, undergraduate class of 1944, discusses her decision to attend Pembroke College and describes her roles as assistant editor on the Pembroke Record and Brun Mael, and her participation at the Brown News Bureau. She also mentions her involvement in the National Youth Organization, the Neighborhood Youth Corps, and her […]
Sophie Pearl Schaffer, class of 1941
Abstract In this interview, Sophie Pearl Schaffer begins with a description of Pembroke Hall including the history of its development and the support of President Elisha Andrews, the layout during the late 1930s, and the administrators who worked there. She provides similar descriptions of East House, East Hall, Alumnae Hall, and the John Hay Library. […]
Harva Zelda Fisher, class of 1936
Abstract In this interview, Harva Zelda Fisher explains her reasons for attending Pembroke College, particularly citing geographic proximity to her home and small student population. She recalls Dean Margaret Shove Morriss, Physical Education Director Bessie Rudd, and Professor George Downing, but says one of her favorite professors was Israel Kapstein. She gives a brief educational […]
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 […]
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 […]
25th Reunion, class of 1994
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1994 documents the undergraduate experiences of Jessica Rachel Arons, Daphna Caperonis Cox, Gladys Mendez, Ava Natasha Nepaul, and Gladys Xiques, at their 25th reunion. The alumnae begin by introducing themselves and where they grew up. They continue to discuss what made them decide to […]
50th Reunion, class of 1959
Abstract This interview with the Pembroke College class of 1959 documents the undergraduate experiences of Katherine Robinson Hampstead, Caryl-Ann Miller, Jacqueline Jones, Diane Eileen Scola, Elizabeth Davidson Taft, Nina Wiita Krooss, and Laura T. Fishman, at their 50th reunion. The interviewees begin by introducing themselves and explaining what drew them to Pembroke. Fishman, one of […]
Jessica U. Meir, class of 1999
Abstract In this interview, Astronaut Jessica Meir, Brown University class of 1999, discusses her experiences as an undergraduate student at Brown, the steps she took to become a NASA Astronaut, and her life and work completing a mission on the International Space Station. Meir begins by sharing her family background including her parents’ immigration to […]
Carol Canner, class of 1959 (interview 2 of 2)
Abstract In this interview, Carol Canner, Brown University class of 1959, describes the difficulty of mourning the death of her husband, Atle Gjelsvik, during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Canner begins by remembering how she and her husband met at Friday Club while she was pursuing her undergraduate degree and he was pursuing his PhD. This […]
Carol Canner, class of 1959 (interview 1 of 2)
Abstract In this interview, at 80 years old, Carol Canner reflects on her undergraduate experience at Pembroke College in the 1950s.She begins by sharing some family background, including her father’s Harvard University education, and her mother’s Boston University Medical School education that was quickly ended by the Great Depression. Canner recalls that while growing up […]