Class of 2011, Cum Laude members. Front row, left to right: Elizabeth Simmons, Megan Young, Helen Isaac, Bridget O’Donnell, Emma McGregor. Back row: Morgan Conkle, Rachael Pappa, Mary Muigai, Samantha Wobst, Taylor Lint, Therese Kaltenecker, Megan Murray.
Cum Laude: Paige Shalter Bruening, ’89 Paige came to CSG in Form II and graduated, cum laude, in 1989. She earned a B.A. from Kenyon College in 1993 and did her graduate studies at the University of Toronto. Paige is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at Capital University where she teaches Educational Psychology and Social Studies Methods courses to pre-service teachers. She and her husband, Andy, live with their daughter, Lizzy, Form I, in Upper Arlington.
When I was asked to speak for this chapel, I will admit that I was quite nervous. My first thought was “I have no idea what a young woman would want to hear from an old woman like me!” I tried to solicit advice for possible topics – I asked some of you, I asked my students at Capital University, I even facebooked a few of my former middle school students and asked them. Basically, I asked anyone who would listen to my pleas for ideas on what to say to you. Yet time and time again I was met with “Oh you will know what to say!” or “You will do fine, you will figure it out!” Needless to say this did nothing to alleviate my anxiousness. Then one night as I was lying in bed trying to fend off a panic attack about this speech, I realized that all of the people I had asked for advice and who I thought had blown me off actually had helped me. When they told me “Oh you will come up with the right topic” they had essentially told me to listen to and trust myself and I would be OK. I realized that this was the topic I wanted to address with you, for knowing yourself is a very important aspect of learning. I know you probably have heard many times before that it is important to be yourself in order to be happy in life. What you probably have not heard as much is how difficult identifying that true self can be, especially when you have been exposed to the multitude of opportunities a great education provides. Thus, I have come up with a way that can help you identify the choices that will best suit you. Before I begin, I want to stress that I am not trying to be stereotypical or cliché by linking women and fashion. If you know me at all you will know that I am not a fashionista and that you columbus school for girls Forte et Gratum Summer 2011 24