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SPOTLIGHT ON ALUMNI COLLEAGUES
In our cover story, “It’s the People Who Matter,” David Cutler ’02 shares his experience as an educator working alongside his former teachers. And he isn’t the only one to return to his alma mater to work. Meet the additional Brimmer alums who have made our community home.
Frances Fremont-Smith ’75 Middle & Upper School Mandarin, Co-Director of International Students
What are some of your favorite memories from your time as a Brimmer student?
I went to Brimmer and May from grades 5-12 (1966-1975), and because I am still close friends with so many of my classmates, we often reminisce about that period in our lives. I loved my 6th grade teacher Miss Almy; she made me feel like Brimmer was family. My friends Amy and Durrie Durant ’75, Betsy Fitzgerald ’75, and I used to dance on the lawn behind McCoy (now the Lower School playground) to the tune of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” by Tiny Tim. Not sure what we were thinking, but we had a blast! I added Latin to my schedule in Middle School, in addition to French, and I found I loved languages. I would take Latin with Mrs. Stewart for the rest of my years at Brimmer. I took an independent study in Greek with Miss Ives, but the language that I really wanted to study was Chinese. I would have to wait until I got to Connecticut College to begin what would become my passion.
I was also an avid tennis player, taking after my mother in a small way (she was inducted into the New England Tennis Hall of Fame). I joined the Varsity Tennis Team alongside classmate Leslie (Stimmel) Guggiari ’73. Our coaches, Mrs. Jean Buzzi and Miss Linda Moulton, encouraged us to be the best that we could be, both on and off the court, and our slumber parties in the gym were always the highlight of the season. Both sports and Glee Club were our lives in high school. I can remember playing the guitar on the subway, singing “Charlie on the MTA” with the Durant twins to our conductor, whose name was Charlie!
What is it about Brimmer that brought you back here in your career?
I went to Connecticut College to pursue Chinese Language and Culture. During my study abroad in Hong Kong in 1978, I was fortunate to be traveling in China when diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China were announced. Three days later, I secured a job with the Foreign Experts Bureau to teach English in Northeastern China. I would be the first American after the Cultural Revolution to teach in the city of Changchun, and I was only 21! I found myself with 300 students, mostly older than me, and with no teaching experience. I modeled my teaching on my own Brimmer experience and introduced experiential learning to students who had only ever sat in their seats for their lessons. We put on plays and musicals, such as The Sound of Music, and it was during this production that I met my future husband, Lijun Jia. We lived and worked in China and Hong Kong for over 40 years. During a brief return to the U.S. in 1985, I received my Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and began teaching Mandarin, initiating the Chinese program at Milton Academy.
After over 25 years of teaching, I shifted careers to the nonprofit world and ran two foundations in China; one focused on environmental protection and the other on healthcare. As I was considering moving back to the U.S., I learned that Brimmer was looking for a Mandarin teacher. I knew it was an opportunity to return to my roots and pass on my knowledge of Chinese and Chinese culture to future generations. I also wanted to get to know Brimmer as a coed environment, having only ever known it as an all-girls school. Brimmer is like one big family and returning to teach here, after living and working overseas for so long, was like coming home.
Courtney McGillicuddy ’89 Assistant Head of Lower School Associate Director of Lower School Admissions
What are some of your favorite memories from your time as a Brimmer student?
As I look back, so many memories come to mind: Green & White Days, Model UN, the Outlook Program, Senior Project, graduation, and a long list of teachers and friends. However, what really stands out for me are the opportunities we had to travel abroad and explore other cultures, customs, and history (currently known as Winterim). These Upper School trips not only allowed for unique learning experiences, but they also created lasting memories!
In addition to an exceptional education, I learned to love learning and to trust that my teachers truly believed in me. My teachers were dedicated and passionate. They set high standards and expected me to work hard. They were masters of their subject areas, and they knew the most effective ways of teaching them. Most importantly, they knew the power of connecting with their students both inside and outside the classroom.
What is it about Brimmer that brought you back here in your career?
The essence of the School remains the same. The very things that attracted me to Brimmer as a prospective student are also what brought me back as an educator. Brimmer is a close, supportive community where all members work to create an environment where students can meet their full potential, feel valued, and thrive. The opportunity to work among other alumnae and former teachers and administrators was so exciting and has been truly special. Now colleagues and dear friends, these community members continue to inspire me and serve as role models for me.
BRADLEY STARR
Upper School Humanities & ESL
What are some of your favorite memories from your time as a Brimmer student?
My three brothers and I all attended Brimmer and May, and with an age range of nine years between my older brother Jason and my youngest brother Clay, there was a Starr boy at Brimmer for almost 25 consecutive years! It was a great experience going to school with my brothers, and I have many special memories from our time here as students. I remember many Share periods with my buddies, and of course, going apple picking year after year. I loved the 2nd grade rainforest project with Ms. Reyelt and coming to school in my toga in 6th grade for our end-of-year Greek Symposium. I remember asking my mom if I could go to Extended Day so I could spend more time with my friends, including Ed Hausman, who is still a good friend to this day, almost 30 years later.
Returning to work at Brimmer has been special in that many of my most cherished memories are with teachers who are now colleagues. I owe my passion for performance and theater to Bill Jacob P ’06, and I have such fond memories of Lower School drama classes with him. I still remember Diana Scharrer’s 5th and 6th grade French class, and her song to help us learn verb conjugations (-e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent again please!). Hali Hellmuth taught me and my three siblings in 3rd grade, and she became a dear family friend.
What is it about Brimmer that brought you back here in your career?
I am eternally grateful for the support and mentorship of Head of School Judy Guild. Over the course of my career in education, Judy has been extremely generous with her time, expertise, and guidance. I was at a turning point in my career in the fall of 2021 when Judy offered me a part-time position at Brimmer, and from the moment I returned to campus I knew this was where I wanted to be.
I love how kind and warm the Brimmer community is. It is special to be in a place where the students truly support each other. I believe in progressive education and Brimmer’s mission to foster intellectual curiosity and creative expression, and I wanted to work in a school with a diverse student body committed to DEIB work. I love being in a school with such a strong arts program, especially the performing arts. Something that excites me about embarking on a career at Brimmer is seeing the wide range of roles that my colleagues have taken on over the years, and I feel confident that this is a place where I will have the opportunity to grow as an educator. Brimmer’s atmosphere of collegiality and support enables its teachers to experiment with and adapt curriculum, and I appreciate how the School takes on and incorporates events of the world into its program. From direct and transparent communication about pandemic protocols during Morning Meetings to lunch meetings for students about the war in Ukraine, I am grateful to be in a school community that does not shirk from addressing these types of topics but rather brings them deftly and respectfully into student life. Finally, I wanted to be in a school that provided touchpoints for genuine connection with students. Going to France during Winterim 2023 last spring was such a special experience, and I am already looking forward to Winterim 2025!
ERIC SMITH ’99, P ’35 Facilities Team
What are some of your favorite memories from your time as a Brimmer student?
Coming to Brimmer in the 7th grade, from Boston Public Schools, I had to adjust to the smaller class size. Going from classes with over 30 kids to classes with 10, I can remember being really shy at first because I realized I couldn’t hide. I still laugh at how my teachers got me to perform in a few plays. I would never have imagined that a school could pull me out of my shell, but Brimmer did. My mom chose Brimmer because she hoped it would be challenging and fun for me. I remember that the days were long because of sports! I remember getting home late from soccer or basketball and having to write a tenpage paper and staying up late to finish it. I have great memories of math class and finding the slope with Nancy Bradley, and all that fun we had dissecting frogs in Cecelia Pan’s Biology class!
What is it about Brimmer that brought you back here in your career?
What brought me back to Brimmer was my friend [and Manager of Operations & Facilities] Tom Bray, who I have known since my years as a Brimmer student. We crossed paths again at a time when I was ready to make a change in my career. As luck would have it, there was a job opening on Tom’s team. I knew I would enjoy being back on campus and bringing new life into my old routines. I quickly secured my commercial driver’s license (CDL), and I was immediately able to drive the student bus. It has been so much fun not only to drive but to help the coaches and players. Every day has been an opportunity to laugh with the kids, talk strategy, and offer tips on how to improve their games. I think the fact that I never lost touch with the Brimmer community contributed to me coming back. Over the years, I have been back to campus to play basketball in the gym and catch up with some of the faculty. I guess you could say that when you’re a Brimmer Gator, you’re one for life!
AMANDA SPOONER EPPERS ’88, P ’22 Director of Alumni Affairs & Special Events
What are some of your favorite memories from your time as a Brimmer student?
I came to Brimmer in the 8th grade after transferring from public school. I didn’t particularly enjoy school until then, and I was really looking forward to an all-girls experience. I immediately loved the small class size, and I felt at ease in classes where previously I was shy and quiet. My teachers were smart and kind and truly cared about each student as an individual—exactly what I needed. Additionally, I loved being a member of Greenline and the smaller chamber group, Chamber Singers. Singing was my strong suit and an area where I truly excelled.
What is it about Brimmer that brought you back here in your career?
Right after graduation, I worked for several years in the Admissions and Alumni Offices. My supervisors were Barbara Shoolman and Nancy Drourr—basically my two other mothers. Because I had grown up knowing them and their families, we had a very close bond. Barby was also my tutor for English and my advisor, so returning to work at a place with many familiar faces felt like a great jumping-off point for me.
I returned to Brimmer again 17 years ago, working part-time in the Alumni and Development Office while raising my daughter Marlo ’22. I knew I had found my niche. As Director of Alumni Affairs, I have been able to get to know and work closely with alumni from the past six decades. It has also been a privilege to have my daughter be a “Lifer” at the School as she started in Grade 1, with my dear friend Courtney McGillicuddy ’89 as her head teacher (see page 16). Even though Marlo had a different Brimmer experience than I did, as the school was coed by then and with larger class sizes, we both agree that Brimmer’s core learning and values have remained the same. It continues to be a pleasure working for and with my former English teacher, Judy Guild, and I love that we have been close for almost 40 years!
