Thanks for Opening My World

Alumnae recall the professors whose words still ring in their ears. 

I wouldn’t feel as strongly as I do about Smith College without the role that Greg White [Mary Huggins Gamble Professor of Government] played in my life. I ended up working at a UN agency, the White House, and living and working with Gloria Steinem ’56 because of the encouragement he gave me when I was a student. We have stayed in touch and that relationship has fed me to this day.
—Megan Delgleize ’98J

Susannah Howe, director of the Design Clinic and senior lecturer in engineering, has been a source of knowledge and support since my days at Smith. Senior year, she taught me how to negotiate my first job offer. While I was preparing for my wedding, she shared with me her crafting techniques to design my wedding invitations. Recently, she provided advice while I deliberated over an out-of-state job offer. This time I had to consider my husband’s future too; Susannah and I laughed because she doesn’t cover the latter in her curriculum.
—Marice Uy ’09

As a junior, I took [Esther Cloudman Dunn Professor of Government] Dennis Yasutomo’s seminar Conflict and Cooperation in East Asia. The term paper I wrote for that class became a symbol of my biggest accomplishment at Smith. He took me under his wing and helped me sort out my thoughts and insecurities about life. Then last year, after 24 years, I received a heartwarming email from him, telling me how proud he was of my career and congratulating me on my son’s acceptance to Swarthmore College. He visited Seoul recently and I was able to bring him that term paper I’ve proudly kept over the years.
—Mary Spackman ’91

Paulette Peckol [Louise Harrington Professor of Biological Sciences] was a tireless and inspirational mentor who helped me find my voice in the classroom and beyond. Thanks to Paulette, and the early training I received as a budding scientist at Smith, I went on to receive a Ph.D. from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1997. Being a microbiologist and oceanographer opened up my life to a world of inquiry, travel and adventure.
—Ee Lin Lim ’88

At a recent dinner with my former professor [Professor Emeritus of Government], Charles (Carlo) Robertson, he amused us all by saying, “We all feel old when our children turn 50. But when a former student turns 80, one feels really old!” He was referring to me, of course. When I passed the foreign service exam in 1957, Carlo led the celebration. And he’s continued to cheer me on as I’ve transitioned from working overseas to becoming a grassroots activist stateside who even this year is neck-deep in the political process. We may both feel old, but we continue to make each other proud!
—Margaret Beshore Boonstra ’57

I first encountered [the late] Miss Elizabeth Horner [Myra M. Sampson Professor Emerita of Biological Sciences] as a sophomore in her comparative anatomy course. She was unique in her happy dedication to scientific inquiry and in her quiet delight in sharing her love for animals with her students; I passed the enthusiasm she engendered on to all my students. The joy of learning while teaching followed me through 45 years of teaching biological sciences courses with not a single day without satisfaction and purpose.
—Pamela Riley Akiri ’65

It was in the late Stuart Rosenfeld’s organic chemistry course that I fell in love with the subject as a first-year student. Conducting undergraduate research under his mentorship is the reason I pursued the doctorate in chemistry and ultimately chose to teach organic chemistry at a primarily undergraduate institution. His legacy lives on in those of us who he inspired to follow a similar path.
—Jocelyn Nadeau ’97

Elizabeth Meyersohn [lecturer in art] encouraged me to apply to graduate school, visited my studio for critiques after graduation and spoke to me candidly about the struggles of being a painter. She showed me what it meant to be an artist and a mother. During my 15-year Reunion I had the pleasure of revisiting her studio. Her work, ambition and honesty have meant a lot to me over the years.
—Meghan Brady ’98

This story appears in the Winter 2016-17 issue of the Smith Alumnae Quarterly.