A parent of a recent Emma alum sent this anecdote along to Kent Jones, our college counselor. He passed it along, and it was so good I had to share it. Apparently, during this young Emma alum’s first class of History of Medieval Thought at Barnard, the professor asked who had read the first book of Dante’s Divine Comedy, the Inferno? The only hands raised were the hand of the alum and that of another girl. The professor asked who had read the second book, the Purgatorio? Only two students, the same two girls. The professor asked who had read the third book, the Paradiso? Same two girls — who, it turns out, are BOTH Emma graduates! Great small world story. Reminds me of all that we do well at Emma Willard.
How can you tell an Emma girl from all the rest?
September 15, 2008 by heademma
I had a similar experience when I was a freshman in college….(12 long years ago now!)
My English Lit professor asked our class if any of us had read “Paradise Lost”. I was the only student that raised their hand.
The next week, when we were discussing the book in class, I made several comments and shared my insights. After class, the professor pulled me aside and said, “Where did you come from? It’s obvious to me that you’ve had some sort of ‘higher education’….”
Laura, thank you for yet another example of how Emma Willard graduates stand out among their peers. At our symposium Women, Power, and Possibility last weekend, two seniors moderated the panel discussion. I watched in awe as they orchestrated the flow of comments, fielded questions from an audience of over 700, and articulately engaged with our seven remarkable speakers. I can only imagine the splash with which they will enter their college lives. TEH