from the head of school
Pamela Murray
After Wheeler By Dan Miller One of the pleasures of early summer is the trickle of drop-in visitors who find their way to my office in the Hope Building. Many of them are collegeage alumni back for summer jobs, or spending a few days at home before heading off to various adventures in far-flung locales. They update me on their coursework, roommate dramas, and the adventures of their Wheeler classmates kept close through Facebook. Invariably, they also tell me how well prepared they were for college; how far ahead of their classmates they found themselves; how much they appreciate the excellent teaching they received. I won’t lie: it’s satisfying. On occasion, more “seasoned” alumnae pay a visit as well – women who recall Miss Erlenmeyer, or Mr. Tinker, or Miss Van Norman. Some have not visited campus in decades, and they are wide-eyed over the changes, alive with resonant memories, startled at how quickly and poignantly they can conjure their teenage selves. And even though I’ve
been at Wheeler for six years and (as my daughter recently reminded me) I am “most definitely into middle-age,” they still remark on how “young” I am. I can’t say I mind that either. This summer edition of the Now & Then is a perfect time to focus on our alumni, as we can now welcome 81 new graduates to their ranks -- the newest link in a chain that extends back almost 120 years. Six thousand alumni, more or less, since 1889; they are our biggest fans, our benefactors, our historical memory, and our Greek chorus. The lives they have led, and will lead, embody the priorities of a Wheeler education. As you read through profiles of our alumni in the following pages, note the range of talents, the creativity, the social conscience, the entrepreneurial and risk-taking impulse; note the legacy of Mary C. Wheeler.
Six thousand alumni, more or less, since 1889; they are our biggest fans, our benefactors, our historical memory, and our Greek chorus. The lives they have led, and will lead, embody the priorities of a Wheeler education. 2
Now & Then @ Wheeler