Barnard Magazine Summer 2021

SUMMER 2021

INTO THE FUTURE

The extraordinary Class of 2021 sets off on their next adventure A 75-YEAR BARNARD FRIENDSHIP

MARCIA SELLS ’81 AT THE MET OPERA

SA V

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DATE E TH

Giving Day 2021 is

October 20!

On Wednesday, October 20, Barnard will go head-to-head against Columbia University’s other schools and programs to compete for challenge funds during Giving Day, the annual, 24-hour online fundraising event. Last year, our community showed up en masse, held our own against Columbia’s fundraising powerhouse schools, and made Giving Day record-breaking for Barnard.

This year we can reach even higher.

Your participation this year, by donating any amount, encouraging your friends and classmates to give, and sharing your inspiring Barnard stories on social media, will help the College raise the bar even more, secure vital support for our students, and earn additional challenge funds for the College.

To learn more about Giving Day 2021 and how you can help, contact annualgiving@barnard.edu

Features

Departments 4 From President Beilock 6 From the Editor

7 Dispatches Reunion Reimagined 2021 2021 AABC Awardees 2021 Gala: A Virtual Success

17 Discourses A Dream Fulfilled: Vy Vuong ’19

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Into the World

We spoke with six graduates from the Class of 2021 who are gearing up for their next adventure Julie Seager ’21

PHOTO BY ASIYA KHAKI ’09

PRESIDENT & ALUMNAE TRUSTEE Amy

Veltman ’89

ALUMNAE RELATIONS

Karen A. Sendler

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

33 Noteworthy Millie’s Summer Reading List | Books

by Barnard authors AABC Pages | From the AABC President Class Notes

In Memoriam

Cover illustration by Cat O’Neil

Barnard Magazine will be back in print this fall.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCIA SELLS

ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION OF BARNARD COLLEGE

Geliebte Freundin!

Marion Katherine Pauck ’49 and Marlies Wolf Plotnik ’49

Parenting | School’s Out: What Next?

Coming Full Circle

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Alumna Profile | Susan A. Cole ’62

Marcia Sells ’81, P’23 returns to her performing arts roots in a new role at the Metropolitan Opera

Nicole Anderson ’12JRN David Hopson COPY EDITOR Molly Frances PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Lisa Buonaiuto CONTRIBUTING EDITOR N. Jamiyla Chisholm WRITERS Mary Cunningham, Lauren Mahncke, Veronica Suchodolski ’19 STUDENT INTERNS Solby Lim ’22, Isabella Pechaty ’23 EDITOR

Starting Up at Barnard: Claudia Polgar ’19

Virtual Roundup

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EDITORIAL

ENROLLMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS Jennifer G. Fondiller ’88, P’19

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Quenta P. Vettel, APR

DEVELOPMENT

VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNAE RELATIONS

Lisa Yeh

PRESIDENT, BARNARD COLLEGE Sian Leah Beilock

Summer 2021, Vol. CX, No. 3 Barnard Magazine (ISSN 1071-6513) is published quarterly by the Communications Department of Barnard College.

Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices.

Postmaster: Send change of address form to: Alumnae Records, Barnard College, Box AS, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027-6598

EDITORIAL OFFICE

Vagelos Alumnae Center, Barnard College, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027-6598 Phone: 212-854-0085 Email: magazine@barnard.edu Opinions expressed are those of contributors or the editor and do not represent official positions of Barnard College or the Alumnae Association of Barnard College. Letters to the editor (200 words maximum) and unsolicited articles and/or photographs will be published at the discretion of the editor and will be edited for length and clarity.

The contact information listed in Class Notes is for the exclusive purpose of providing information for the Magazine and may not be used for any other purpose.

For alumnae-related inquiries, call Alumnae Relations at 212854-2005 or email alumnaerelations@barnard.edu.

To change your address, write to: Alumnae Records, Barnard College, Box AS, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027-6598 Phone: 646-745-8344 Email: alumrecords@barnard.edu

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 3

From President Sian Leah Beilock

New York City has a special energy in the summer. But I’ve always found this to be particularly true as I walk through the gates on Broadway onto Barnard’s campus.

And this year, more than ever, the energy is palpable, as the College has introduced new initiatives, expanded existing programs, and hosted numerous events that have brought faculty, staff, students, and members of the Morningside Heights community together to engage in different learning experiences.

I am thrilled to share with you that 245 students — the largest cohort to date — are participating in our Summer Research Institute (SRI) this year. This flagship program affords students the opportunity to conduct intensive STEM research in a variety of fields, from neuroscience to chemistry, under the direction of a faculty mentor at Barnard, Columbia, or throughout New York City.

Since May, we’ve offered our very first Summer semester, which has enabled students to pursue new electives or minors and to spread coursework throughout the year at Barnard or Columbia. And now with the launch of our first Pre-Baccalaureate Program, high schoolers can explore academic interests in courses led by Barnard faculty while earning college credit.

As so many of you know firsthand, Barnard is very much part of the fabric of New York City and the local community — which makes our newest initiative, STEAM in the City, so impactful. Spearheaded by Barnard and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, STEAM in the City is a training program aimed for pre-K through 8th grade teachers working at schools in Morningside Heights and Harlem. The program provides local teachers with the tools to educate students in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics (“STEAM”) and also helps Barnard faculty learn what teachers of students at younger ages are focused on. Guided by Barnard’s faculty, these teachers have been invited onto campus to participate in experiential learning design at the Design Center and visit the Jon Snow honey bee lab atop Barnard Hall. In addition to these experiences, teachers gain the skills to build a curriculum utilizing the city’s very own sites and public spaces, like Morningside Park, as living laboratories and engage in discussions with Barnard faculty and staff about how Barnard can best be “of” the city — not just “in” it.

In recent months, we’ve continued to do the important and necessary work to bolster the inclusivity of our community across the College. We’ve met with affinity-based groups, such as the student executive board of Columbia/Barnard Hillel and the students who identify as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), to further a dialogue about how to meaningfully take steps to combat racism and ensure that inclusion is at the center of our efforts. And during Orientation this fall, all students will participate in workshops and training focused on anti-racism, including important conversations addressing anti-ableism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate and violence against Black, Latinx, AAPI, LGBTQ+ communities, and others. It is my belief that we can make collective strides in closing the door on hate.

While this year has presented its share of challenges, it has also been a time when Barnard has truly shown its ingenuity and togetherness. These summer months have been a continuation of this very can-do spirit, with the Barnard community pursuing countless opportunities for intellectual enrichment. If anything, this season is an exciting prelude to what is to come this fall. B

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PHOTO BY DOROTHY HONG

A Summer of Learning

BARNARD MAGAZINE ONLINE

A FRESH LOOK, MORE TO EXPLORE Now you can post comments, see more great stories about Barnard, and easily share content on social media.

Visit barnard.edu/magazine

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 5

From the Editor

An Artist’s Muse This past March, I received a curious email from a Virginia-based artist named Alan Rubin.

It began with a story about a visit Rubin made in the mid1990s to see his mother-in-law, Helen Farquhar Lloyd ’37, at her home in Milwaukee. As he tells it, Helen came to Barnard on a four-year scholarship from a small town in upstate New York. During this visit, Rubin came across “a large stack of Barnard Magazines prominently displayed.”

As he flipped through the issues, he was drawn to the cover of the Summer 1995 edition, featuring a photograph of Dean Virginia Gildersleeve holding her dog. The headline read: “Who Was Virginia Gildersleeve?” His interest was piqued.

Rubin borrowed the magazine and took it back home to use as a model. From the black-and-white photograph, he created an orange-and-gray-hued portrait of the celebrated dean and professor, whose tenure at Barnard lasted nearly half a century. He then gave the portrait as a Christmas present to his mother-in-law. A few years later, when Helen had passed away, the portrait made its way back to Rubin, and he hung it in his studio.

After receiving this email, I had the chance to speak with Rubin on the phone and learn his own story: A geologist by training, he worked at the U.S. Geological Survey at the National Museum of Natural History and for the Army Map Service in Washington, D.C., before going into the movie theatre business. Along with a few partners, he took over a vacant car dealership in Georgetown and converted it into what became the Biograph Theatre in 1967, screening American and international classics. He’d always had an interest in art, and in the 1990s, after a trip to France, he decided to dedicate himself fully to being a painter. This portrait of Gildersleeve was the second he painted, he told me.

I recount this interesting, if unexpected, exchange because it reminds me of something that is so quintessentially true of Barnard: It has a reach that is long lasting and an impact beyond its physical footprint up in Morningside Heights. Barnard continuously inspires those who’ve spent time on its campus — and even those who haven’t.

The portrait of Gildersleeve is still displayed in Rubin’s studio in rural northern Virginia. But he hopes for this painting to eventually find a home with someone (or some place) that he says “fully appreciates the extraordinary life of Dean Gildersleeve.”

To learn more about Rubin’s work, visit his website: alanrubin.com

Nicole Anderson ’12JRN, Editor

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Dispatches News. Musings. Insights.

PHOTO BY WILLIAM MEBANE

8 Reunion Reimagined 2021: A Virtual Celebration 10 The 2021 AABC Awardees 14 Barnard’s 2021 Gala: A Virtual Success

Headlines

Alumnae connect, celebrate, and come together for Barnard’s second virtual Reunion

by Merri Rosenberg ’78 If Reunion Reimagined 2020 was like an improvisational jazz performance responding to the immediate reality of the pandemic, the 2021 edition, which took place June 2-5, could be described as an orchestrated composition that reintroduced familiar Reunion elements and impressively hosted twice as many events as it did last year.

The Reunion Committee produced a robust program of 54 events — for an impressive turnout of 1,170 alumnae from 39 states and 17 countries, including Australia, Ecuador, India, Israel, Netherlands, and Zimbabwe — with lively, virtual gatherings that fueled intellectual conversations about timely and relevant issues. As AABC Reunion Committee chair Rona Wilk ’91 said in her welcome remarks: “Though we’re all Zoom fatigued, an event comes along that glues me to my screen and

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energizes me. And we hope that Reunion Reimagined will be just such an event for all of you.” (Wilk just celebrated her Milestone Reunion of 30 years.)

In addition to the more traditional Reunion programming, the committee created online spaces that gave classes a chance to interact. There were webinars, interactive events such as professor of history Mark C. Carnes’s “Reacting to the Past,” an alumnae award celebration, panel discussions, STEM faculty-led presentations on research projects, and conversations with current and former faculty, including history professor emeritus Robert McCaughey and bestselling author Mary Gordon ’71 (who was the Millicent C. McIntosh Professor in English and Writing until her retirement in 2020). And the four-day lineup offered plenty of fun activities for alumnae, including a talent showcase, Barnard Bingo, trivia, and even a cocktail/mocktail demonstration with Giuliana “G” Pe Benito ’16, culture manager for beverage company Diageo and former instructor for the Beyond Barnard Bartending Program.

REFLECTING ON THE PAST YEAR In her welcome address to alumnae, President Sian Leah Beilock said that in spite of the challenges the College faced during this crisis, “Barnard is stronger than ever. …

I’m heartened by how we’ve come together to support Barnard and each other.

“We met students where they were,” President Beilock said.

“Half our courses dealt with this moment. We tried to adapt to current times with a priority on health and wellness.”

By weaving in programs that put the community first, the College was able to address some other issues that arose during this extraordinary time. “In a year in which inequalities have been laid bare, we’re proud of what Barnard has done to advance social mobility, ” AABC president and alumna trustee Amy Veltman ’89 told alumnae.

The planning committee for “Undesign the Redline” hosted an insightful discussion on its upcoming interactive exhibition, which will take place at Barnard in the fall. This project — combining multiple disciplines, stakeholders, and forms of storytelling — will take a look at the history of systemic racism by examining the unfair government housing lending policies that took place in the Barnard and Columbia neighborhood.

There was no shortage of critical topics for Barnard alumnae and faculty to address at the Alumnae of Color Dinner. The event, this year entitled “Unmasking America: Drawing on Diversity to Change the Cultural Tides,” was designed to “talk about everything that’s happened — anti-Asian hate, Black Lives Matter — as we’re about to reenter the world,” said Sima Saran Ahuja ’96, co-chair of the committee. Cammie Jones, the inaugural Executive Director of Community Engagement and Inclusion, centered the conversation on “the pandemic’s impact on our lives and the communities we live in” with a focus on

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROWAN WU

Reunion Reimagined 2021: A Virtual Celebration

“inequities for women, especially women of color, healthcare workers, parents, who’ve borne the brunt of the pandemic.”

Panelists Gloria Pan ’86, vice president of member engagement at MomsRising, and Christina Kuan Tsu ’83, P’18, sophomore class dean, explored the increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans and economic and racial inequities. Pan discussed efforts to “have more racial equality and more justice for everyone.” And for Tsu, it reaffirmed how “it’s important to speak out against hate.”

To provide a wider context of other challenging moments in Barnard’s history, Wilk hosted “Morningside Memories,” in which she interviewed three alumnae — Fran Abramowitz ’48, Nicole Bigar ’49, and Marjorie “Peggy” Lange ’50 — who shared their recollections of the campus and New York City during and immediately after World War II. “Many things have changed, but one thing remains constant,” Wilk noted. “Barnard is here for all of us in the Barnard family.”

That steadfast concern was especially evident during the poignant Memorial Service, a yearly tradition when alumnae, friends, and family acknowledge those classmates who’ve died since the last milestone Reunion. “We offer support to those who’ve lost a loved one or a beloved Barnard classmate,” said Rabbi Cheryl Weiner ’71. Reflecting on those who’ve passed, she added, “We think about how their souls touched ours.”

The Class of 1971 introduced their online docuseries Stand UP, Speak OUT: The Personal Politics of Women’s Rights, which examined voting rights in the United States, from the early suffrage movement to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the legal hurdles women face today. “Voting rights are at stake,” Ruth Louie ’71 said in an interview prior to the presentation. In the film, Louie spoke about the discrimination and danger Black women faced in the Deep South during her childhood and adolescence.

“My 21-year-old grandniece can take advantage of rights and not realize that it’s not even 60 years [since they became rights],” said Louie. “Our rights are in serious jeopardy now.”

Umbreen Bhatti ’00, the Constance Hess Williams ’66 Director of the Athena Center for Leadership, moderated a panel on alumnae in public service that offered insights on how the government and nonprofit organizations can make necessary and positive changes in response to COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations.

“Public service is about working toward the greater good,” said Geneva Tiggle ’91, a panelist and the

executive director of organizational excellence for Volunteers of America, Chesapeake and Carolinas. “It’s about empowerment and access to equity to help folks have meaningful lives.”

Barnard alumnae artists also shared their experiences about navigating the limitations and opportunities during the pandemic in “Spotlight or Ghost Light?: Alumnae Reflect on the Arts and Culture in the Age of COVID-19.”

CREATIVITY AND CONNECTION The Moth storytelling event, hosted by Dr. Marilyn Stocker ’71 and introduced

by Cyndi Stivers ’78, who had originally brought the program to Reunion, featured stories that highlighted how Barnard had shaped the narrators’ lives. The 2021 storytellers were Jenn Chowdhury ’06, Ritu Goswamy ’96, Susan Jacobson ’81, Patria Baradi Pacis ’71, and Wendy Rosov ’86. Jacobson, a choreographer, spoke about how Barnard gave her the “ability to create choice and to celebrate the choices I make.”

For the first time, there was even a virtual talent showcase, “Barnard Live!” hosted by AABC president Amy Veltman ’89, who is also a stand-up comedian.

The event featured numerous creatives, alumnae singers, actors, directors, and comedians.

Although most alumnae were eager to return to campus for future Reunions, there were clear benefits to the virtual space. “I’m excited to have the recordings and be able to participate,” said Sarah Feinberg ’96, who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. “I can do it in my own time.” Her class’s social event, she said, “allowed us all to interact. It’s all about connecting our class.”

And in words that echo across the generations, Nicole Bigar ’49 said that “Barnard made me what I am now — always curious. I want to learn more, I want to listen more, I want to read more. My life is not boring because of that.” B

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 9

Awardees

Honoring the 2021 Alumnae Association Award Winners Each year at Reunion, Barnard honors exceptional alumnae celebrating a milestone Reunion year with five awards bestowed on behalf of the Alumnae Association of Barnard College (AABC). Honorees are selected by the AABC Awards Committee based on nominations from alumnae, and in 2021, nine remarkable recipients were recognized for their achievements and contributions.

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MAGGIE ASTOR ’11 Young Alumna Award Maggie Astor is a journalist at The New York Times, where she has reported on U.S. politics, breaking news, and the spread of disinformation. Her work focuses primarily on the stories of people whom the press has historically ignored or demeaned, including women, people of color, Native Americans, people with disabilities, and survivors of assault and abuse. She covered the 2018 and 2020 elections; reported on voting rights and voting access from states across the country, including Arizona, Iowa, North Carolina, and North Dakota; has written extensively about the politics of abortion and guns; and explored the many ways in which sexism, racism, and other forms of bigotry are still embedded in American politics. In a recent project, she and two other Times journalists reported on years of sexual harassment by a founder of the Lincoln Project, as well as cover-up efforts and secret financial arrangements among the group’s other leaders. Maggie’s exceptional contributions to journalism demonstrate her commitment to her craft and to bettering our world by covering issues in American society that are so often underreported.

KATHERINE JESSOP BREWSTER ’71 Award for Service to Barnard College

PHYLLIS TABBOT HANTMAN ’66 Award for Service to Barnard College

MIA KATIGBAK ’76 Distinguished Alumna Award

Katherine Jessop Brewster, also known as Kitty, is a lifelong feminist, social justice advocate, and spiritual seeker.

Her eclectic career, spanning 50 years in the corporate and not-for-profit worlds, includes coordinating opera productions, creating and launching new financial products and services, raising funds for not-for-profit organizations, and most recently, immersing herself in the health and wellness field as the founder of the ATMA Center of Transformational Yoga.

Katherine has served as president of the Barnard Class of ’71 since 2006 and, in 2011, led the 40th Reunion Committee to begin creating an oral history of their class. She spearheaded the creation of a not-for-profit corporation, BC Voices, Inc., to raise funds to establish the Barnard Class of 1971 Oral History Collection in the Barnard Archives and Special Collections, a rich source of primary material about college-educated women’s experiences coming of age during the tumultuous 1968 era and, for the past 50 years, riding the crest of second-wave feminism. Thanks to Katherine’s leadership, engagement, and enthusiasm, BC Voices commissioned two short documentaries, The Way It Was and Making Choices, Forging Paths, and has been producing a six-episode, online docuseries, Stand UP, Speak OUT: The Personal Politics of Women’s Rights.

The many ways Phyllis Tabbot Hantman has served her alma mater — as a class officer, a member of the Reunion Committee, an alumnae admissions representative, and a board member, to name but a few — have brought many alumnae back to Barnard and enhanced the lives of countless students. Phyllis spent the 1970s and early ’80s volunteering with public schools, civic groups, and religious organizations, focusing on job training for immigrants, voter registration, hospital support, and medical research. Phyllis went back to full-time work after embarking on her first career — parenthood — at the department of engineering in Rockaway Township, New Jersey, where she had a hand in significant development decisions, recommending zoning amendments, preparing reports, and summarizing recommendations. Phyllis is the recipient of several distinguished honors for excellence in and contributions to planning, training, and zoning. After retiring in 2012, Phyllis once again embraced volunteerism. She spends much of her time volunteering at the Morris County Interfaith Food Pantry and has continued her civic-mindedness, serving as a member and treasurer of the local Public Library Foundation as well as a member of the Township’s Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment. She and her husband, Allen, are grandparents four times over and enjoy frequent visits with family.

As a performer and director and through her work with the award-winning National Asian American Theatre Company, which she co-founded, Mia Katigbak has dedicated decades to and been instrumental in busting stereotypes and creating vibrant opportunities for Asian American actors. Mia is a founding director of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists and served as the president of its first board. She was one of the organizers of the first and second National Asian American Theater Festivals in New York City and is on the advisory boards of the Ma-Yi Theater and the Fulcrum Theater.

In addition to receiving several awards for her artistic contributions and accumulating numerous television credits, including How to Get Away With Murder and Conviction, Mia has served on panels for the theatre programs of the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Nancy Quinn Fund for Emerging Theatres and the Relief Fund for NYC Small Theatres, and the Asian American Arts Alliance. She has been a guest speaker for forums sponsored by The New York Times, the Humana Festival, and the Theater Communications Group.

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 11

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SUSAN SOMMER KLAPKIN ’76 Award for Service to Barnard College

CHRISTINA LAGAMMA ’16 Young Alumna Award

For decades, Susan Sommer Klapkin has served her alma mater in countless capacities, from regional leadership and her role on the AABC board as chair of regional networks to her contributions to the Leadership Assembly and the Barnard Business & Professional Network. When her husband’s work moved them from Brooklyn to Connecticut, Susan learned that volunteering could bring her closer to her community and provide her with adventures and purpose outside of her career and marriage. Pat Tinto ’76 urged Susan to get involved with the Barnard Club of Connecticut, which strengthened her ties not only with the Connecticut community but also with the larger Barnard community. From there, Susan became president of the Connecticut club, a regional club chairperson on the AABC, a member of the board of the northern New Jersey club, a Barnard student mentor, and then the networking chair of the central New Jersey club. Susan’s career in the apparel industry has taken her around the world to visit factories, make production decisions, and create meaningful supply chains. She even combined Barnard with her professional life when she was able to meet a Barnard alumna living in Hong Kong!

Third-year medical student and aspiring surgeon Christina LaGamma has shown a steadfast commitment to addressing institutional and systemic racism in medicine. She strives to provide a more inclusive and equitable environment that values diversity of experiences and voices.

Christina is passionate about neuroscience research and innovative treatments for functional brain-based diseases and dedicated to advancing humanism in medical education, as well as improving the social, cultural, and political healthcare environment for both patient and provider.

Her current research projects, under Penn State’s Medical Student Research Program, focus on utilizing a remotely administered, mindfulness-based stress reduction program on burnout, satisfaction, and worklife balance among physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Long term, Christina aims to become a physician-scientist who uses her understanding of brain-based diseases and treatment approaches to improve the quality of living for people struggling with chronic psychiatric and neurologic conditions. Ultimately, Christina intends to incorporate policy and advocacy work focused on uplifting diversity throughout her career.

DENISE JACKSON LEWIS ’66 Distinguished Alumna Award

POLLY TROTTENBERG ’86 Woman of Achievement Award

Denise J. Lewis is a retired senior partner of Honigman LLP, a preeminent business law firm of 300 attorneys based in Michigan.

As the founder of the firm’s urban redevelopment practice, she led its national practice engaged in representing developers in projects in major urban centers across the U.S. Denise is a respected expert in handling complex transactions that often include public/private partnerships and mixed-use development. She is widely recognized for her work with urban redevelopment projects that include historic preservation, zoning, and tax-incentive issues. Denise’s illustrious career as a real estate attorney and the work she has done to support underserved communities in Detroit are testaments to her commitment to the physical and social revitalization efforts in urban environments. Some of the many ways Denise has improved the lives of countless individuals both within and beyond the Barnard community are the path she formed as a student toward the creation of Barnard’s Department of Africana Studies by leading the effort to broaden the College’s curriculum to include the history and culture of developing countries and the African American experience; her namesake distinguished lectureship, which has expanded the intellectual universe for students; and her service as senior advisor to the CEO of the Africa-America Institute.

Polly Trottenberg’s distinguished 25-plusyear career as a civil servant is a true testament to her devotion to, and passion for, bettering the lives of others with data, care, and humility. As the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the number-two official and chief operating officer, she supports Secretary Pete Buttigieg in providing leadership and strategic vision for USDOT. Previously, Polly served for seven years as New York City’s Transportation Commissioner, where she ran a complex 5,800-person agency responsible for the safe, efficient, and equitable operations of New York City’s transportation network, including 6,000 miles of roadways, 789 bridges, the nation’s largest traffic operation and parking system, the Staten Island Ferry, and bicycle, pedestrian, and public plaza infrastructure, as well as key initiatives in urban mobility, smart transportation technologies, and safety. In this role, she helped implement the landmark Vision Zero program, taking a multidisciplinary approach to significantly reduce traffic fatalities and injuries, and she facilitated the COVID-19 response and recovery. Polly also ran Building America’s Future, a bipartisan organization that advocates for investment in infrastructure and better national transportation policy, and served as transportation policy advisor for Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Charles Schumer, and Barbara Boxer.

ALICE JACOBY WOLFSON ’61 Millicent Carey McIntosh Award for Feminism Alice Jacoby Wolfson is a veteran political activist and a pioneer in the women’s health movement. From her time as a Fulbright scholar and the prominent role she took as a young activist in speaking out during the congressional hearings on birth control safety to co-founding the National Women’s Health Network and the Committee to Defend Reproductive Rights, Alice’s lasting contributions to the women’s health movement have made history. As a trial attorney, Alice had a successful career representing and fighting for the rights of disabled insureds against the unreasonable denial of their disability insurance claims.

Throughout the years, she has been featured in numerous television and radio shows, most recently in She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, a documentary film about the birth of the women’s liberation movement in the 1960s, and Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein’s upcoming documentary, The Business of Being Born. Alice credits her years at Barnard for having launched her into a lifetime of fighting for women’s equality.

And she will never give up.

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Gala

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Barnard’s 2021 Gala: A Virtual Success

The annual event honored the entire Barnard community for its care, resilience, and innovative vision on campus and beyond

by N. Jamiyla Chisholm On April 21, Barnard alumnae, students, friends, and family gathered for the College’s first-ever virtual Annual Gala. Each year, proceeds from the Annual Gala help to underwrite student financial aid at Barnard, sustaining the College’s enduring commitment to empowering talented young women through education, regardless of their financial means.

The gala honored the Barnard community for how we have risen to the challenges and opportunities of our time with care, resilience, and innovative vision.

The new format featured a special project created by the Movement Lab, a performance by Bacchantae, interactive breakout rooms, a signature cocktail recipe shared by Martha Stewart ’63, P’87, and more.

This year’s gala, co-chaired by Nina Rennert Davidson ’95 and Trustee Caroline Bliss Spencer ’09, raised more than $2.2 million, which illustrates the community’s generous commitment to making sure that current and future generations of Barnard women continue to receive a world-class education.

“The one constant that has inspired our community to persevere through these historic challenges is a palpable sense of hope, creativity, and action that transcends Barnard’s gates,” Rennert Davidson said.

President Sian Leah Beilock expressed her appreciation for the community in her opening remarks. “I am ever astounded by the accomplishments of this community — and this year especially, I cannot help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude as I reflect on our strength, resilience, and continued commitment to fostering a culture of care at Barnard,” said President Beilock. “We are so lucky to have this innovative space where STEM and the arts collaborate, benefiting students and faculty across disciplines. That’s what Barnard is all about.”

President Beilock also shared highlights from

this academic year at Barnard, such as faculty and the technology team’s innovative collaboration to shift to remote learning; how virtual programming, such as interactive online events and professional development experiences, expanded Barnard’s geographical reach; the different ways that students stepped up for each other and their communities as activists, innovators, and advocates; and the dedication of campus workers, who safely maintained the College throughout the pandemic.

Cheryl Glicker Milstein ’82, P’14, chair of the Barnard Board of Trustees, also spoke about the power of the Barnard community to face and conquer hurdles together. “Every year offers a new chance to ensure we uphold Barnard’s mission to provide unparalleled opportunities to our students and to empower them with the strength and determination to meet every challenge they encounter in their lives,” said Glicker Milstein. “At a time when our attention is pulled in so many different directions, sustaining this student experience has never been more important.”

Community members came together in five different breakout rooms that incorporated a Q&A session with the moderators, who addressed athletics, the future of women in computer science, and Barnard’s growing financial, physical, and mental health and wellness hub, the Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being. There were discussions around sustainability and the arts, as well as the many career and academic opportunities that Beyond Barnard can offer to students and alumnae on and off campus.

The event also featured the “Barnard Breeze,” a special cocktail created by recipe maven Martha Stewart ’63, P’87, who walked everyone through the steps to make the tasty beverage at home. The Movement Lab showcased a performance project called Kinection — including faculty and studentalumna dancers — that was accompanied by a poem penned by Joy Lee ’21. And Bacchantae performed Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind” in homage to the contributions of Black women musicians for Black History and Women’s History Month. B

“The one constant that has inspired our community to persevere through these historic challenges is a palpable sense of hope, creativity, and action that transcends Barnard’s gates.”

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 15

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Charitable Gift Annuities Charitable gift annuities are a strong gift option that provide you with tax deductions and lifetime income while making a legacy gift to Barnard.

Life Insurance Life insurance is a simple way to make a big impact on young women as they pursue their passions at Barnard.

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Discourses Ideas. Perspectives. A closer look.

PHOTO BY JON KING

18 Spotlight: Vy Vuong ’19 19 Spotlight: Claudia Polgar ’19 20 Arts & Culture: Marcia Sells ’81, P’23 22 Connections: Geliebte Freundin!

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 17

Spotlight

A Dream Fulfilled

Alumna’s opportunities snowballed thanks to Hong Kong scholarship fund

by Kat Braz The first time Vy Vuong ’19 experienced a snowfall, she rushed outside to play in the softly falling flakes.

For this first-year student hailing from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, frolicking in the snow was somewhat of a bucket-list experience. Vuong remembers her friends laughing about her enthusiasm for the flurries.

But for Vuong, the first recipient of the Barnard Club of Hong Kong scholarship fund, every experience at Barnard felt like a treasured gift.

“I hadn’t considered studying abroad because I knew my parents could never afford the tuition, especially at a private college in the United States,” Vuong recalls. “But then a lot of my high school classmates were applying to U.S. schools, and my parents were supportive, although we knew I’d need scholarship assistance to attend. So I applied and took my chances.”

Vuong wanted to pursue a major in biology, but she was also interested in history and psychology. The combination of Barnard’s women-centered education and its partnership with Columbia appealed to her.

“I liked the idea of a small, liberal arts college where I could have a mix of smaller classes in different subjects but also take advantage of the facilities and resources of a large university like Columbia,” says Vuong. “You don’t have that opportunity in Vietnam.

There, you take an entrance exam and are put into a study track without a lot of options. If you decide to change your major, you have to start the process all over again.”

When Barnard notified Vuong that not only was she accepted for enrollment but was also the recipient of the Barnard Club of Hong Kong scholarship, she was overjoyed.

“The scholarship opened the door to a world of amazing opportunities for me,” Vuong says. “Because of the financial assistance, I was able to enjoy my four years of college.”

Throughout her time at Barnard, Vuong shared updates with Christine Mar ’65, the alumna who founded the Barnard Club of Hong Kong and spearheaded fundraising for the scholarship. Mar’s efforts raised more than $300,000 to establish an 18

endowment to provide assistance to students from Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, or Vietnam to attend Barnard. Recipients are chosen by the College during the admissions process.

“Vy is remarkable,” Mar says. “Her first semester, I offered to send her money for snow boots. She comes from a very hot climate, and New York is cold, she’s going to need snow boots. She thanked me, but she’d already bought a pair online. She was prepared. I thought, ‘She’s going to be just fine.’”

At Barnard, Vuong made the dean’s list, became active in student organizations, and worked as a research assistant. She’s now a lab technician in the Arlotta Lab in the department of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard University, assisting scientists in their pursuit to better understand the development of the human brain’s cerebral cortex using organoids — self-organized 3-D tissue culture derived from stem cells. She has aspirations to one day earn her Ph.D. in biology.

She still shares updates with Mar every Lunar New Year.

“Without her help, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Vuong says. “I have the opportunity to assist scientists with their research. I went from Barnard to a majority-women lab environment where I can thrive. As a scientist, I’m energized by the discovery process. There are so many things to be explored, so many things we still don’t know. That might be a little scary, but it’s also very exciting for me.”

She’s fully adjusted to life in New England, too.

“Boston has lots of snowstorms,” Vuong says. “I no longer find them that exciting.” B

Spotlight

Starting Up at Barnard Claudia Polgar ’19 launches CheckPoint Health to streamline caregiving

by Veronica Suchodolski ’19 As a caregiver for her grandmother, Claudia Polgar ’19 has become well acquainted with what it means to navigate the United States’ healthcare system. “From diagnosis and treatment to follow-up and ongoing care, I witnessed that the process can be a winding road,” says Polgar. “While some healthcare journeys can be straightforward, others can be filled with countless next steps or an unclear path forward.”

Polgar isn’t alone in learning how to navigate the healthcare system: More than one in five Americans are family caregivers. That’s why Polgar — who majored in medicine, literature, and society as a student at Barnard — founded CheckPoint Health, a new startup designed to help family caregivers better manage their loved one’s care. “CheckPoint reduces the burden by taking care of the coordination and logistical planning involved with caregiving so that families have more quality time to spend with their loved ones,” Polgar explains.

Polger’s health productivity app helps users organize and simplify their caregiving tasks with customized checklists. It also enables family members to divvy up responsibilities more easily by allowing for schedule synching and information sharing.

The data supports the need to streamline the caregiving process. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2034, older adults will outnumber children, increasing the stress on family members caring for both older and younger generations. Additionally, medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Yale School of Medicine.

“I believe that family caregivers hold the key to alleviate pressure on an overburdened healthcare system,” says Polgar.

To get the startup off the ground, Polgar joined the Columbia Startup Lab with sponsorship from Barnard’s Athena Center for Leadership. The Startup Lab, housed at a WeWork office in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, provides space for 71 Columbia alumni to work on entrepreneurial ventures.

Participants also gain access to Entrepreneur-inResidence hours and exclusive workshops.

“As a member of the Lab, I have access to a wealth of experts across industries, as well as membership in a cohort of founders from across the Columbia alumni community,” says Polgar. “I have received invaluable support, from reframing key challenges to rethinking market strategies.”

Athena’s support was critical to Polgar gaining access to the Startup Lab’s resources and has created a lasting partnership between her and the Athena Center. “In just one year, we’ve gotten a front-row seat to the building of a great company, built connections between students and Claudia, and strengthened our relationship to the entire Columbia entrepreneurship community,” says Umbreen Bhatti ’00, the Constance Hess Williams ’66 Director of the Athena Center.

Sponsoring Polgar is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Athena Center’s support of entrepreneurial work in the Barnard community. In June, Athena hosted the Barnard Startup Summit for students and alumnae. This threeday virtual boot camp — co-hosted by the Barnard Entrepreneurship Network — taught participants the ins and outs of creating a startup, offering workshops on branding, PR, elevator pitches, and more.

Athena also creates space for Polgar to take the advice she’s received from the Startup Lab and give it back to current students — she holds weekly coffee chats and check-ins with undergraduates through the Center. “Connecting with students has been a rewarding way for me to reflect on where I was as a student and where I am envisioning taking CheckPoint in the future,” says Polgar.

In the years to come, Polgar aims to grow CheckPoint Health into the go-to company for family caregivers — a vision that could include partnering with hospitals and healthcare systems. “I hope,” she says, “to empower patients and their families to hold an active role in their own healthcare journeys, avoid preventable errors, and maximize quality of care.” B

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 19

Arts & Culture

Coming Full Circle

Marcia Sells ’81, P’23 returns to her performing arts roots in a new role at the Met Opera

by Merri Rosenberg ’78 When Marcia Sells ’81, P’23 became the Metropolitan Opera’s first chief diversity officer in February, she found herself in a role that is not only a culmination of her professional experience but also a touching echo of an early chapter in her career — as a dancer. “It brings me back, literally, to the beginning,” says Sells, who had studied ballet and begun performing with Arthur Mitchell’s Dance Theater of Harlem prior to attending Barnard; she left the company after her sophomore year. “It’s full circle.

I felt it was kismet.”

Sells says her new role “pulls together all I’ve done”; she came to the Met after nearly six years as the dean of students at Harvard Law School. “DEI is what I’ve done my whole life.”

At Harvard Law School, Sells launched the first diversity and equity training program for students and student services staff. And in her previous position, as an associate vice president of government and community affairs at Columbia University, Sells developed pathways for underrepresented groups to enter STEM programs at the University. Similarly, when she served in high-level positions at Reuters, Columbia University Law School, and the National Basketball Association, Sells consistently made diversity, equity, and inclusion a priority. “[As an attorney], I was trying to recruit young lawyers [of color] to the D.A. office,” says Sells. While a law professor at Columbia and Harvard, she also worked on programs to recruit and support diverse students.

Sells found the Metropolitan Opera job posting on LinkedIn. “[My] time at Harvard was really great and proved I could live outside of New York City,” but, she admits, the temptation to return to the Big Apple was too strong to resist.

The position at the Met Opera takes Sells back to her artistic roots. As a young girl in Cincinnati, Sells recalls, her first performance was at age 9, in the opera Falstaff. “[My mother] loved opera and the symphony and put me in ballet. I was the only Black kid in ballet.”

Sells comes to the role at a critical moment for the 20

legendary opera house, as it grapples with its own racial reckoning in the wake of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and strives to become a more equitable institution. And no one is better equipped to guide the Met through these changes than Sells. “I thought, ‘Why not? If not me, who?’ As a person of color, I’m familiar with the argument of whether Black people and Latinx people can be part of European art forms. Classical ballet doesn’t belong to one group.”

An important element of Sells’ mission is to conceptualize and put into action a plan that creates a more diverse and inclusive organization, from the performers who appear on stage and the staff working behind the scenes to the members sitting on the board. She’s also tasked with another equally important goal: to broaden the Met’s audience.

“We want to see how to build the next generation of opera lovers,” she says.

“Where’s the next generation of stewards and opera lovers coming from? Are you inclusive? Do you have a sense of belonging?” Sells says that for art forms like opera to survive, and even thrive, they must speak to diverse audiences: “It’s about different stories and different voices.”

Part of DEI work, Sells explains, asks the question “How do you hire and recruit?” The Met Opera has an extensive labor force on the production side, with stagehands and crew, as well as other organizational positions that offer career possibilities. “How do we introduce young people to these opportunities, which are a perfect opportunity for diverse hiring?” she asks. “It’s about seeing the arts as a way to make a living without a college degree. Creating those partnerships is exciting for me.”

She is quick to point out that the Met Opera was already committed to these important issues — from connecting to new audiences to expanding hiring practices — before she stepped into the role this past winter.

“This has been percolating here,” says Sells. For the opening night of the 202122 season, the opera house presented Fire Shut Up in My Bones — its first work by a Black composer, Terence Blanchard — based on the book by New York Times columnist Charles Blow. The focus, she says, has shifted to “How do we pull it all together in a cohesive plan?”

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Sells’ favorite opera is Dialogues of the Carmelites, composed by Francis Poulenc, which tells the story of Carmelite nuns executed during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. As Sells notes, “These nuns sacrifice themselves for a cause. It’s empowering.”

Barnard was key to Sells’ own sense of empowerment. “There were teachers [there] who challenged you,” recalls Sells. “If you had the capacity to tackle challenges, no one was saying, ‘You can’t do that.’ That’s a huge lift in taking a job like this. You can still fail, but you can figure out how to get up again.”

Sells’ dedication to community service — no surprise, given that her mother was a volunteer for many local organizations and her father ran the largest settlement house in Cincinnati — started during her undergraduate years; she was the student representative to the College’s Board of Trustees, president of the Student Government Association, and active in the Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters.

Her connections to Barnard have remained strong. Her daughter is a member of the Class of 2023. Sells is a Trustee and also serves on the boards of the Revson Foundation, Coalition for the Homeless, and Columbia University Community Impact.

As committed as Sells is to the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion, she hopes that there will be enough progress and change to make her role unnecessary someday.

“It would be lovely,” she says, “to work myself out of a job.” B

“There were teachers [at Barnard] who challenged you. If you had the capacity to tackle challenges, no one was saying, ‘You can’t do that.’ That’s a huge lift in taking a job like this. You can still fail, but you can figure out how to get up again.”

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 21

Connections

Geliebte Freundin!

A Barnard connection forged just after WWII still flourishes threequarters of a century later

by June Bell Around 75 years ago, two members of the Class of ’49 became friends.

Their connection seemed almost inevitable: Both were fluent German speakers and philosophy majors, and they shared passions for writing, music, opera, and theatre. But it was also improbable: Marlies Wolf Plotnik and her family were refugees who had suffered years of persecution in Germany, and Marion Hausner Pauck’s father was upset that his daughter had befriended a Jewish girl.

Yet the classmates’ bond remained fast, even when they lived on opposite coasts and went years without seeing each other. “It never let up,” Plotnik, 93, says. “The fact that we were never not in touch is unusual. ... I had other connections, but nothing as solid as Marion.” Not surprisingly, Pauck, 93, agrees. “We’ve always been harmonious,” she says, “and that doesn’t happen often.”

Plotnik had lived in New York for just six years before being accepted to Barnard.

She and her two older siblings were born in Darmstadt, Germany, where her father was a respected lawyer and her grandfather owned a successful factory. The family traced its history in Germany to 1560 and had felt secure in their homeland.

As the Nazis and Hitler rose to power during Plotnik’s childhood, anti-Jewish sentiment festered and spread. Her 75-year-old grandfather suffered a fatal heart attack the day he was forced to purchase a large sign proclaiming “He who deals with Jews is a traitor” and display it at his factory. Plotnik’s parents waited three anxious years for visas that allowed them to join New York cousins in 1939.

“I always had the fear it could all be taken away from me,” Plotnik said in a 2010 oral history interview conducted for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. “This has haunted me.”

Pauck, the sheltered only child of German immigrants, had a very different upbringing. Raised in New York City, she savored Sunday services at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on the Upper West Side. The airy Gothic Revival building, illuminated by jewel-hued stained-glass windows, was the most beautiful building she’d ever seen, and it reverberated with stirring sermons. “And I loved the peace and quiet of it,” Pauck recalls. Barnard didn’t offer religion as a major, but philosophy, taught by respected department chair Gertrude Rich, was a popular alternative.

Pauck and Plotnik met in a philosophy class and then founded and wrote for Focus, Barnard’s literary magazine. Together, the young women interviewed the actress who’d received a Tony nomination for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in 22

Above: Marlies Wolf Plotnik Opposite page: Marion Hausner Pauck COURTESY OF THE BARNARD COLLEGE ARCHIVES

the 1947 Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire. “I thought we had some nerve ringing the doorbell of Jessica Tandy, but we did,” Pauck says. “She was so gracious! She said, ‘Please come in.’”

Devotees of Wagner and Mozart, the two women attended the symphony together and frequented the Metropolitan Opera. “We were both in love with Ezio Pinza,” Plotnik says of the Italian singer. She recalls regularly seeing Columbia president Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, on campus; the women’s diplomas bear Eisenhower’s signature.

The classmates’ connection flourished despite the disapproval of Pauck’s father.

“But he had made a big mistake,” Plotnik says with a chuckle, “because he sent her to a Friends [high] school that gave her a liberal education.” Pauck notes that her father’s views were at odds with his behavior: He gave food to German-Jewish refugee families and helped them find work. Nonetheless, she says, he harbored some prejudices. “He and I had big fights,” she recalls.

After graduating from Barnard, Pauck studied at Union Theological Seminary and earned a Master of Arts degree in 1951 from Columbia. Although she had no plans to seek ordination, a male classmate told her he did not approve of women even attending divinity school. “You’ll take all our jobs,” he said. She couldn’t help laughing “because the male ego was far more fragile than the female.”

Pauck edited religious books for Oxford University Press and studied with German-American theologians Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich. She and her husband, Wilhelm Pauck, wrote a 1976 biography of Tillich that she notes proudly is still in print. Her husband, a professor, taught at Vanderbilt, the University of Chicago, and finally at Stanford.

After his death, in 1981, Marion Pauck remained in the San Francisco area, where she is working on a memoir and still attends church services. “My inner life is certainly religiously bound,” she says, explaining that she views religion as “a way of life, a way of thinking that is with you all the time.”

Plotnik married Eugene Plotnik (Columbia ’50), who became an editor, PR executive, and creative director. Marlies Plotnik launched and ran a New York City agency that matched advertising copywriters with clients such as IBM and major banks. She was especially pleased that her earnings put the couple’s two sons through college. Eugene Plotnik died in 2008.

Plotnik and Pauck’s connection has bridged two centuries. During the five years that Plotnik served as president of the Class of ’49, Pauck was her vice president. When Pauck finished a book she enjoyed, she wrapped it up and mailed it to Plotnik. Pauck sometimes stayed with Plotnik when she visited New York.

The former classmates over the years developed a habit of beginning each letter — and then each email — with “Geliebte Freundin” (“beloved friend”). Initially, Plotnik says, “we did this as a nostalgia trip,” but the greeting stuck, and they continue to faithfully use it.

“That phrase,” she notes, “is always followed by an exclamation point.” B SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 23

INTO THE WORLD ·

We spoke with six graduates from the Class of 2021 who are gearing up for their next adventure

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This year has been unprecedented, to say the least. But even in the face of formidable challenges, the Class of 2021 forged ahead with tenacity, ingenuity, and an incredible drive to effect meaningful change. Leveraging the skills they learned at Barnard, these students hit the ground running. They launched new careers, enrolled in competitive graduate programs, and pursued international Fulbrights. The new alumnae are entering a broad range of job sectors; law, government, financial services, and tech are among the top reported fields. Teach for America, Google, HBO, Trisha Brown Dance Company, and Boston Children’s Hospital are a few of the many organizations employing Barnard grads.

So far, 22% of the members of the Class of 2021 have told Beyond Barnard that they are continuing their education at the graduate level. And their pursuits are not just bound to the United States: Many are venturing abroad to pursue research, volunteer work, and scholarship opportunities, including three recent graduates who’ve been awarded Fulbright scholarships to work as English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) in countries as far afield as Taiwan and Mexico.

Integral to these students’ success was Beyond Barnard. The career advising center provided essential support — virtually and in person — to students through interview preparation, résumé building, a summer colloquium series, conversations with alumnae, and more. And the Class of 2021 took full advantage of all that Beyond Barnard has to offer, with 97% of its members using Beyond Barnard’s advising or events at least once since it opened its doors in 2018.

Here we highlight six new graduates whose interests span a broad spectrum of disciplines and professional fields. They filled us in on their time at Barnard and where they’re headed next.

ILLUSTRATION BY CAT O’NEIL

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 25

by Mary Cunningham

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“As a biologist, you and your team are trying to solve a mystery,” says Stephanie Calluori ’21. “It’s really a giant, intricate puzzle.” For Calluori, who majored in cell and molecular biology, solving these puzzles was an integral part of her college experience — a challenge she’s now tackling in her new role as a scientific program analyst at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in Bethesda, Maryland.

Calluori knew she wanted to study biology from the moment she attended the Barnard Open House Program for Admitted Students. There, she had the opportunity to meet with professors and speak to a student studying gene regulation and honeybees in Professor Jonathan Snow’s bee lab.

She remembers thinking: “That’s the essence of what I want to do.”

At Barnard, Calluori found herself enthralled by courses like Medical Sociology with Professor Amy Zhou, which opened the door to the world of science and public health: “It helped me to see the interconnections of biology and also the social and environmental conditions.” Calluori also minored in science, policy, and ethics.

During the summer of 2019, Calluori participated in the Summer Research Institute (SRI), where she assisted Professor 26

Brandon Pearson, a behavioral neuroscientist and toxicologist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in investigating the effects of environmental factors on aging and neurological disease. The work inspired Calluori to stay on in Pearson’s lab through her senior year.

Armed with the knowledge and research skills she acquired at Barnard, Calluori now provides support to the genomics research programs funded by the NHGRI, a prong of the National Institutes of Health that advances health through genome research. In this two-year position, which started in mid-June, she analyzes scientific information and evaluates programs. Calluori looks forward to learning more about genomics outside of the traditional lab setting and exploring ways to increase equity in genomics research.

“Having a public health background that I explored at Barnard provides me with a powerful lens through which to view the world. I think it’s a really great framework to ask questions and an approach to solving our most pressing health scientific issues,” she says. “I’m very excited to bring that perspective to my position.”

Calluori credits Beyond Barnard for helping her secure the role at NHGRI, thanks to offerings like its summer colloquium series — which, she says, taught her how to strengthen her résumé — and interview prep. (She discovered the job posting on Barnard Handshake.) “Whenever I meet younger students, I always tell them, ‘Go to Beyond Barnard. It is one of the best resources that Barnard has.’”

Looking ahead to her next chapter, Calluori hopes to pursue a master’s and a Ph.D. in public health. The path, she says, might lead her to environmental health sciences or to a different field like epidemiology: “Ultimately, I’d like to take all that I’ve learned and help to inform public health and policy.”

PHOTO BY JON KING

Stephanie Calluori ’21: Problem-Solving Pursuits

Isabel Hernandez Rodriguez ’21: The Right Chemistry

by Michele Lynn ’82

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When Isabel Hernandez Rodriguez ’21 enrolled at Barnard, she had plans to go into medicine. But as a first-year student in a quantitative analysis course, she discovered a passion for chemistry and research. “Two classmates and I worked

on a project to design a way to measure the organic compound HMF in honey,” she recalls. “We had to write a proposal, come up with methods, and write up a report, and I found that doing research independently is so much fun.”

Hernandez’s academic advisor, assistant professor Andrew Crowther, was key in assisting her with the transition from pre-med to chemistry, she says.

“He helped me understand what opportunities there are in chemistry and avenues I could pursue postgraduation.”

For Hernandez, the next avenue is starting a Ph.D. program in chemistry this fall at the California Institute of Technology, where she will pursue her interests in physical and materials chemistry and possibly in clean energy. As Hernandez gets ready to embark on this journey, she feels confident that she is well prepared. “Every class I took at Barnard was very rigorous and provided me with the tools to succeed,” she says. “I am grateful that I was able to complete a chemistry department honors thesis — including doing research, writing the thesis, giving a presentation, and defending my thesis — which will make it easier when I have to do that in graduate school.”

She’s especially excited about Caltech’s focus on interdisciplinary research. “I’m looking forward to continuing to learn how to do research independently and starting to design my own research projects,” she says. “I’m very interested in continuing in research, whether I end up in academia or industry.”

Hernandez, who peer-tutored students in chemistry at Barnard, is happy that she’ll continue working with students while in graduate school.

“Teaching and helping in the lab were a lot of fun and a good way to pass the baton from my Barnard professors.”

Hernandez cites her professors — particularly Crowther, Meena Rao, director of Barnard’s organic chemistry labs, and assistant professor of chemistry Christina Vizcarra, who earned her Ph.D. from Caltech — as invaluable to her learning and determining her future endeavors. She also took full advantage of the resources in chemistry across Broadway with Columbia professor Latha Venkataraman, in whose applied physics and chemistry department lab Hernandez researched during her Barnard tenure.

“Over the past four years, my parents and friends from high school have commented on how much more confident I have become. I’m so grateful for all the support I have had from the Barnard community.”

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 27

by Veronica Suchodolski ’19

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Going from majoring in art history to working in digital marketing might not look like an obvious leap — it wasn’t initially obvious to Sofia Perez ’21, who graduated with a degree in art history and a minor in English and then segued into a junior account manager role at Pinterest.

But with unexpected internship developments, the help of Beyond Barnard, and encouragement from the Barnard alumnae network, Perez cultivated her digital

28

skills and discovered her knack for working with brands to realize their advertising goals. Her career trajectory even influenced her senior thesis, which explored makeup transformations throughout art history and connected them to TikTok and other online spaces.

“In art history, a lot of the time, we’re given a piece with no context, and we have to put all these clues together, or think about the piece from different perspectives,” says Perez. “That’s helped me think creatively and aesthetically about how an image can translate to different people, which I think is important for marketing.”

The nonlinear path that led Perez to Pinterest started at Cosmopolitan magazine, where she interned with the beauty and skincare team after her sophomore year.

“What I didn’t expect from that internship,” says Perez, “was that I developed a lot of digital skills, because Cosmo is transitioning from not being so print-based, and I think that was really critical in my career.”

From Cosmo, Perez went on to marketing internships at the social media app kickit, the Decker/Royal public relations agency, and the digital magazine Coveteur.

“I feel like with every internship, I developed little pieces of skills along the way,” says Perez. “It really helped me in the job that I’ve landed.”

Integral throughout the journey was Beyond Barnard. “There was a period of time when I was in there [the Beyond Barnard office] maybe three times a week,” Perez says, recalling meeting with peer career advisors to review her cover letters and résumés. “Afterwards, I noticed I got a lot more interviews; I got a lot more emails from positions that I was applying to. I’m really lucky that I was able to have that resource.”

The Barnard alumnae network was also a bonus.

Perez’s intern manager at Cosmo was Ama Kwarteng ’17, and her co-intern in the department was another current student. “It was really nice to have that community,” Perez says, adding that she’s looking forward to connecting with the Barnard graduates working at Pinterest.

Having just started her job in June, Perez doesn’t know what the next steps of her career will look like.

“I definitely see myself staying [at Pinterest], developing my sales and marketing skills, moving up maybe into a more creative role,” Perez says.

One thing’s for sure, though: “I’m really excited.”

PHOTO BY JON KING

Sofia Perez ’21: A Creative Spin

Kelsey Bialo ’21: A Love of Language

by Michele Lynn ’82

PHOTO BY ASIYA KHAKI ’09

·

Kelsey Bialo ’21 is fascinated by languages. After studying Mandarin in high school and at Barnard and spending the summer of 2019 with the Columbia in Beijing study abroad program, Bialo realized that it wasn’t just the Chinese language that enchanted her. “I am interested in how languages work and language pedagogy,” she says.

Bialo combined her disparate academic interests into a major in linguistics and minors in both education studies and East Asian studies, ideal preparation for her next step: a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Taiwan. She’ll spend the coming school year working in an elementary school in Taiwan, where she will offer guidance on vocabulary and conversation practice in the classroom and serve as a cultural ambassador for the United States.

“I am most looking forward to working with the students,” she says. “I expect that the students will be my biggest gateway into Taiwanese culture because children have such an amazing perspective on the world and a unique way of processing things. I’m also excited about working with teachers who have a whole different education, teaching knowledge, and pedagogy.”

The Fulbright is a perfect fit for Bialo. “I want to live outside the United States for a while, and this opportunity combines a region of the world that interests me, my teaching interest, and my language interest,” she says. “It took a lot of work to make myself into the type of candidate these competitive fellowships are looking for.

Beyond Barnard was an incredible resource to me in that process.”

Barnard prepared her for her future endeavors “in every way humanly possible,” she says. “I learned the importance of thinking through a topic from the perspectives of others, which is so valuable to prepare you for post-college and for living in another country and another culture.”

While linguistics isn’t a formal program at Barnard, administrators approved Bialo’s petition and facilitated her ability to pursue her interest. In her senior thesis, Bialo explored how the Taiwanese government’s policies and social attitudes toward the Taiwanese languages Hokkien and Hakka have affected their use, which, she says, “carry different implications for their continued vitality.”

She expects to return to the classroom for a master’s degree in applied

linguistics and to do fieldwork in language documentation, with the hope of having a career in which one foot is in academia and the other is working with communities and doing language revitalization. She also plans to stay active as a coach with the Skyliners synchronized skating team; she’s been a member for 12 years. For the past six years, she has joined the group in competing both nationally and internationally as Team USA. “I’m so excited to be part of this close-knit Fulbright community that shares similar values with Barnard,” says Bialo. “It will be a great transition.”

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 29

by Lauren Mahncke

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When Danielle Hopkins ’21 entered Barnard, she had little idea that she’d graduate, four years later, committed to pursuing a career in the criminal-legal field. But by the end of her freshman year — after her first African history course with Professor Abosede George — that path was becoming clearer.

“The class helped me to realize that history as a discipline would be the best way for me to attain the skills and knowledge necessary to work in the criminal legal field,” Hopkins says.

She credits another member of the history department, Dr. Barbara Fields, for informing her views on American history and how race is used to justify oppression. For Hopkins, who grew up in a mostly white town on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, “being in New York and having classmates who come from different backgrounds also really changed my perspective.”

After graduating magna cum laude from Barnard with a degree in history and a minor in Spanish, Hopkins started working in the Houston office of Partners for Justice, an organization that trains nonattorney legal advocates to help people at risk for incarceration. At the Harris County Public Defender’s Office, she’ll serve a two-year term as an advocate, providing case navigation and wraparound support to clients. “For example,” she says, “I might help someone whose car has been repossessed find an alternative way to get to work so that they don’t lose their job.”

The central goal is to advocate for and support clients and their families and help them deal with the consequences of being entangled in the legal system, particularly focusing on the marginalized communities who are most heavily impacted by the legal system. In Harris County, Black people are more than twice as likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts are.

Beyond Barnard played an essential role in helping Hopkins take this first step in her career. Like many new graduates, it initially took Hopkins a little time 30

to land the right job. After she discovered the position on Handshake, Barnard’s student job board, she went to the Beyond Barnard office for assistance with the application process. “[Dean of Beyond Barnard] A-J Aronstein specifically really kept me going,” she says, even prepping her for the Partners for Justice interview. In fact, Hopkins had two job offers to pick from during graduation week. Beyond Barnard also helped her with her successful application for an investigator position at the Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender.

Hopkins’ ultimate goal is to become a public defender. “That being said, I also know that my career could take me in many directions as I work to join the efforts already being done in dismantling the criminal legal system in this country,” she says. “While there need to be immense structural changes — and I hope to see those changes — I want to work as a lawyer so that I can support and advocate for the individuals, families, and communities that are being impacted right now.”

PHOTO BY ASIYA KHAKI ’09

Danielle Hopkins ’21: Reforming the System

Julie Seager ’21: Economic Impact

by Michele Lynn ’82

PHOTO BYJON KING

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As Julie Seager weighed her college admissions choices, Barnard came out on top, in no small part because of its multifaceted economics department. “The economics faculty have such fascinating research topics and do progressive work,” says Seager.

The knowledge, training, and research opportunities she gained as a dual economics and math major prepared Seager for the job she began in July as a

research analyst in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s two-year program for recent graduates. On the forecasting team, she and her colleagues use macroeconomic models to assess the current and future state of the U.S. economy.

Doing research, however, is nothing new for Seager.

Starting in the spring semester of her sophomore year, she helped Barnard economics professor Rajiv Sethi’s team conduct research on hybrid forecasting of geopolitical events — work that continued during the Summer Research Institute and subsequent semesters. In her senior year, she further honed her research skills when she teamed up with Sethi to examine disparities in police use of lethal force.

In fact, by the time Seager graduated, she had co-authored three papers with Sethi and fellow researchers. For Seager, this mentorship has been critical to her growth. “He helped me transition from being his research assistant to being his collaborator,” she says.

“Presenting my research during the poster session at the Summer Research Institute and having that practice in a safe space where people were supportive helped build my confidence before I presented at a professional conference,” she says.

Seager is appreciative of the funding she received for her own independent research over two summers, one of the many benefits of being selected for the Barbara Silver Horowitz ’55 Scholars of Distinction Program, which provides a four-year scholarly experience to a cohort of students.

For Seager, classes such as Economics of the Public Sector— taught by Elizabeth Ananat, Mallya Professor of Women and Economics — were transformative. “Professor Ananat, who served on the White House Council of Economic Advisors during Obama’s presidency,” she says, “opened my eyes to what a career as an economist in the public sector could look like.”

These courses, coupled with research opportunities, provided Seager with a road map for the future. “My interest in economics has come from a place of understanding different dimensions of social inequality,” says Seager. “I’m grateful that Barnard’s Economics Department has a commitment to economic justice and encourages students to go down different paths.”

Seager envisions pursuing a master’s in public policy or data science or a Ph.D. in economics. “I want to combine my passion for social issues and my love for data science to make an impact,” she says. “I learned at Barnard how many different career options there are that fit at that intersection.” B SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 31

KEEP WRITING THE BOOK

ON BEING DRIVEN, PASSIONATE, PROUD, IN-THE-KNOW, EAGER, IRREVERENT, ORIGINAL, GUTSY, MOTIVATED, FOCUSED, HUNGRY FOR EXPERIENCE, INTENSE, ENGAGED, AMBITIOUS, CONFIDENT, WORLDLY, FORTHRIGHT, INCLUSIVE, UNAPOLOGETIC, BOLD, POWERFUL, VIBRANT, ASPIRATIONAL, DISCERNING, GENUINE, AWARE, SPIRITED, WITTY, IRONIC, DIRECT, RELEVANT, COMMUNITY-DRIVEN, SUSTAINABLE, AUDACIOUS, AGGRESSIVE, INDEPENDENT, FEARLESS, THOUGHTFUL, RESILIENT, COSMOPOLITAN, AND FIERCELY INTELLECTUAL.

Send your unequivocally Barnard letters, essays, poems, art, photos, travels, and ideas to magazine@barnard.edu

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34 Millie’s Summer Reading List 37 AABC Pages 38 Class Notes 47 Virtual Roundup 57 Alumna Profile: Susan A. Cole ’62 66 Parenting: School’s Out: What Next?

This informal portrait, taken by Philippe Cheng for the Spring 1998 issue of Barnard Magazine, shows Aimee Sims ’98 playing guitar.

COURTESY OF THE BARNARD COLLEGE ARCHIVES

Noteworthy Connecting alumnae. Celebrating community.

SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 33

Millie’s Reading List

Millie’s Summer Reading List

Alumnae-created works to help you learn, reflect, and escape this season Launched in March 2020 to help our global network cope with COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, Millie’s List features hundreds of shows, movies, books, podcasts, recipes, and more created by Barnard alumnae.

With updates made regularly, this curated selection seeks to help the community stay connected to the College while supporting graduates’ endeavors beyond the gates.

Explore these picks from Millie’s Summer Reading List — you may want to consider tossing a few into your beach bag this summer.

PEGGY BACKMAN ’60 Peggy Backman, a psychologist turned fiction writer, explores how people’s behaviors can sometimes baffle us in The Painter’s Bad Day and Other Stories of Life’s Mysteries and Idiosyncrasies (2014). This collection of entertaining short stories — some realistic, some surreal — as well as essays and verse were inspired by the author’s dreams, daydreams, and nightmares, all written to amuse or give cause for reflection.

ANNE BERNAYS ’52, P’81 The Man on the Third Floor (2012) is a fictional read that chronicles the life of Walter Samson, a successful book editor living in post-World War II New York City who seems to be “leading the good American life” alongside his “extremely attractive” wife and two children. Everything changes when Walter falls for Barry Rogers — blue collar, handsome, single, and poor — and endeavors to keep their yearslong relationship secret during a time of pervasive and virulent homophobia.

KATHERINE BOO ’88 Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity (2012), an insightful and thoroughly researched piece of narrative nonfiction from Pulitzer Prizewinning author Katherine Boo, chronicles the memorable stories of families in Annawadi, a slum near the Mumbai Airport, striving to make a better life in a city of remarkable inequalities.

SUZANNE WALKER ’12 Mooncakes (2019), an award-winning graphic novel co-created by Suzanne Walker and illustrator Wendy Xu, tells a story of selfdiscovery through the eyes of Nova Huang, a teen witch whose feelings for a childhood crush — Tam Lang, who happens to be a werewolf —are rekindled as they work together to fight off dark forces in their New England town.

SASHA CAGEN ’96 In her book Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics (2004), an interactive guide to self-empowerment,

Sasha Cagen celebrates “singledom as a natural resting state.” Cagen coined the term “quirkyalone” — someone who enjoys being single (but is not opposed to being in a relationship) and generally prefers to be alone rather than date for the sake of being in a couple — and she deftly weaves comedic pop culture and self-help references into this fun and engaging read.

life that she wrote while at Barnard. The novel follows 12-year-old Sophie Caco as she is sent from her impoverished Haitian village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York City — much as a young Danticat herself was — where she becomes reunited with a nightmare-plagued mother she barely remembers and uncovers painful, lifealtering secrets along the way.

DIANA CHANG ’49 With The Frontiers of Love (1956), a book that explores cultural identity through Asian and Western lenses in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during the 1940s, Diana Chang became widely known to be the first American-born Chinese person to publish a novel in the United States. Frontiers tells the story of three young Eurasian socialites searching for love while trying to resolve the inner confusion brought about by their dual identities.

B.G. FIRMANI ’90 In Time’s a Thief (2017), a fictional but relatable coming-of-age story about a Barnard student’s transition to big-city life during the colorful mid-1980s, Francesca “Chess” Varani reflects back on the meaningful experiences that shaped her — from the distance of several decades of learning and the Great Recession of 20072009. Follow along as Chess explores and reevaluates her choices, from a turbulent and sometimes toxic friendship with uppercrust classmate Kendra Marr-Löwenstein to a glamorous yet gritty first job after graduation and a dynamic love affair with the boss’s troubled son.

EDWIDGE DANTICAT ’90 Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994) evolved out of an essay about her

ANNA QUINDLEN ’74 Trustee Emerita Rise and Shine (2006) is the compelling story of two sisters who are forced to reflect on what really matters after being unintentionally thrust into adversity.

When Meghan Fitzmaurice, an ambitious talk-show host, reveals a truth on air, the implications echo through her personal and professional spheres and propel her sister Bridget to reevaluate her own life. Anna Quindlen effectively captures the power of sisterhood through these two sisters’ ability to tackle challenging circumstances with wit and resilience.

These titles are available on Goodreads.

Have something to share?

Submit your work for consideration to be included in Millie’s List here: https://tinyurl.com/2fkerxfb

BARNARD REUNION REIMAGINED

From a panel reflecting on arts and culture in the age of COVID-19 ... to exclusive opportunities for milestone alumnae to gather ... to a program examining the legacy of redlining in our neighborhood ... to family-friendly storytelling, interviews with WWII-era alumnae, an athlete get-together, and more, Reunion Reimagined sparked connection, laughter, and important conversations.

Relive it all at REUNION.BARNARD.EDU

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From the AABC President

Embracing Community, Welcoming All As the first year of my three-year term as president of the Alumnae Association of Barnard College (AABC) draws to a close, I’m grateful for the honor of serving, largely because I’ve gained a closer view of the myriad ways our alumnae are extraordinary.

For a small sampling of the power of our alumnae, please watch the videos of our AABC Award recipients that were created for (the stellar!) Reunion Reimagined 2021. You will see how these scientists, artists, advocates, and trailblazers were influenced by their time at Barnard to become people who make important contributions to the world.

To see further evidence of the talent of our alumnae — or just to find your next good book, album, podcast, recipe, movie, television show, or gift — please visit Millie’s List, a compilation of alumnae creations that could keep anyone busy for weeks.

I know there are many of us who are neither AABC Award recipients, nor on Millie’s List, nor the owners of eye-popping titles and citations in our Class Notes. You, too, are using the fire of your Barnard education to raise families, serve communities, do meaningful work, and make important differences every day in the lives of those around you. You are vital members of our alumnae community.

Participation in AABC events is not meant to be exclusive. You are a member in good standing if you completed one or more years at Barnard, and you are automatically eligible for all the privileges of membership.

Recently, in an anonymous survey among our own AABC board, we discovered a perception that a lack of financial means made some alumnae feel excluded at least once during the past.

Although it’s true that the Annual Gala, the College’s signature fundraiser for student financial aid, has been historically out of reach for some (and has been for me at many points in my not-so-distant past), the move to virtual this year enabled Barnard to make the event accessible to anyone who donated any amount to support the gala. All events are meant to embrace the entire alumnae community, and as the College eventually transitions back to in-person gathering, we hope to provide similar opportunities.

During a couple of the Alumnae Circles I attended in the past year, I was relieved to hear the fleshed-out versions of several alumnae stories and their resemblance to my own complex, nonlinear path, which bears little resemblance to what we envisioned for ourselves as students.

As your life shifts in unexpected ways, I hope you will consider Barnard’s AABC a constant — a source of support, learning, and community for you regardless of your circumstances, financial or otherwise. In the years to come, we will continue to have a virtual component to AABC events to make participation ever more accessible across time zones, income brackets, childcare challenges, and abilities.

Looking forward to our next two years together.

All the best,

Amy Veltman ’89 AABC President Alumnae Trustee SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 37

Parenting

School’s Out: What Next?

Alumnae parents share their thoughts on what this summer means for their kids For the past 18 months, parents have waded through the uncertainties of the pandemic. They’ve navigated changing health mandates and school guidelines, pivoted from the classroom to remote learning, and come up with countless creative ways to keep their children social and safe. Now parents are mulling over their next challenge: how to best engage and support their children in the months before the school year starts up again. Is it time to catch up on academic work that might have fallen through the cracks? Should summer be filled with a steady stream of activities or camp? What’s the right balance?

We spoke with three alumnae parents who shared their approach to summer — and the important lessons they’ve gained over the past year.

NEW PERSPECTIVES “If there’s anything I’ve learned from the 66

past 18 months, it’s to not make plans but instead set goals, and that’s exactly what we’re doing this summer. Our goal is to make sure the kids get fresh air and physical activity daily, either with a walk around the neighborhood or trip to a local playground; water and bubble play a few times a week, such as visiting a local sprinkler or having them chase bubbles released by our little bubble machine; and just slow down to connect daily, checking in during meal times and while reading together. We really lost the ability to control much of our lives throughout the past 18 months, and by setting goals rather than specific plans, I hope to give the kids a little sense of control while continuing to learn to be flexible and adaptable.”

—Gloribelle J. Perez ’05 (parent of 5-year-old twins) A STEP BACK FROM PLANNING “Pre-pandemic, my kids were really scheduled. Now my daughter is 12 and is a little older and has the ability to be more independent. I think last summer my kids tasted more freedom and independence

than usual, and they really liked that. They are now less interested in being in camp all day. I feel like the pandemic forced us to really reevaluate how we spend our time. It is okay to have nothing to do and be at peace with that.”

—Melissa Gallin ’96 (daughter, 12, and son, 8) SETTING YOUR OWN PRIORITIES “As our communities transition to in-person and face-to-face interactions, I am starting to see how social distancing limited my own children’s ability to interact with others. My partner and I have signed up for memberships with the Houston Zoo and museums to get them out of the house to safe environments. I am signing up myself and my stepdaughter with personal and family counseling services to better communicate and process our emotions.

We’ll also take more opportunities to go on vacation and travel to locations that are safe for my 2-year-old to explore the world and develop her social skills.”

—Isamar Lopez-Veracruz ’14 (daughters, 7 and 2)

being out in a group at camp. If they are new to seeing friends again, monitor how much time they want to be with friends and how much they can handle. Small steps will allow children to adjust and feel comfortable socially, and then you can open [social time] more.

We asked Tovah Klein, Director of the Barnard Center for Toddler Development, for her tips on how to help children enjoy summer and feel comfortable, supported, and ready for fall.

After a year of remote or hybrid learning and before this new chapter in the fall, what are some of the experiences and moments should families prioritize, and why?

Having family time — even in small doses — should be a priority. Children have missed the social realm, and family members have been their consistent companions. Don’t quickly sever that. I suggest planning some fun summer family outings, which can be as simple as a picnic in a local park or visiting someplace new together. Depending on your comfort level of being in crowds, it could be going to an amusement park together or water park.

Pick a few fun summer activities to do as

a family and spread them out, maybe even bring along a close friend of your child. This family time, out in the world, is a positive next step before returning to the regularity of in-person school.

Are there any steps you suggest parents take to help their children process this past year before they’re back in school and change routines?

Parents can reflect on the year with their children. Talk about what the child has experienced during the pandemic — from the shutdown and parents working at home to online school, [social] pods, and their experiences. Recognize that there has been a lot of change, and now life is changing again as more places open up. Ask your child what good memories they have of the year and what they missed. Children count on parents to weave a narrative and pull the pieces together. This has been a huge life event, and having a narrative about it will help them feel safer as they reenter the world more fully again. B

How should parents approach this last stretch of summer?

There may be an impulse to pour on social activities to “make up for lost time,” but I would advise parents to resist doing that. A slow and gentle reentry will work best for most children —and adults! — particularly for younger children through elementary school. Children have not been in larger groups for a long time, so being in one will take time to adjust to, as will the social dynamics of being with more than a few children at a time. Plan a few activities around a child’s interests, introduce them one at a time, and give your child time to adjust. If they are at camp, that is enough, and don’t be surprised if they have meltdowns at home as they adjust to SUMMER 2021 | BARNARD MAGAZINE 67

Thank You, Barnard Donors.

The 2020–21 academic year tested us all. The strength and dedication of our amazing community is inspiring and has set the tone for Barnard to flourish for years to come. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all who empowered the next generation of women leaders by donating to the College in the 2021 fiscal year. Your support provided students with the tools they needed to thrive in the face of unprecedented circumstances and set Barnard up for success as we move into the future.

giving.barnard.edu

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