Nancy Herkness Theodorou ’75
50th Reunion
I came to Shipley from the public school system in West Virginia. As you might imagine, the contrast was stark. At Shipley, it was cool to care about your academic work, so I dove into learning head-first with joy and abandon. The small class sizes encouraged—no, required—a level of participation that, at first, scared me and then thrilled me. The teachers demanded a high quality of work and I loved that challenge.
So many of the teachers there inspired me and opened my mind. Mr. Barringer brought English history alive. Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Kerr fanned the flames of my passion for literature. Mrs. Gordon drew me into the wonders of physics. Mrs. Coblentz lit up a side of my brain I didn’t know I had with the logic of geometry.
One very special memory was of a published poet spending several weeks working with a group of us on writing and polishing our own original poetry. This was my first experience with “workshopping” and it was invaluable when I entered the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University. It also made me dream of being an author…and now I am one!
I was a boarder, so the boarding department became home for me. I have such fond memories of turning the molded plastic bean-shaped chairs in the boarder lounge upside down, sprawling over them, and discussing the meaning of life with my fellow boarders until late at night. Oh, to be that young and angsty again!
I plunged into extracurriculars with great enthusiasm, but I particularly enjoyed co-editing the school literary magazine–The Compass– for two years with Phebe Harding Mack ’75. I also loved the Day Girl-Boarder Exchange program, where a boarder spent a week living with a day student’s family and then the day student spent a week living in the boarding department. It was a great way to deepen friendships and to see how the “other half” lived. I fondly remember visiting Beth Crawford Hucker ’75, Katy Sherrerd ’75, and Lisa Johnstone Woody ’75 at their homes and vice versa.
Shipley was a place where I could spread my wings and soar. Being with other students who were serious about academics was sheer joy. I made so many wonderful friends, several of whom I am still close to 50 years later. The teachers at Shipley were so passionate about challenging us to do better and work harder, to expand our minds with the subjects they taught. That was heady stuff for a kid from West Virginia.
I also found the semi-independence of being a boarding student away from my home and parents an excellent way to grow and mature. It stood me in good stead when I was lucky enough to attend Princeton University. Not to mention that Shipley’s highly academic reputation undoubtedly played a significant part in my acceptance there.
My four years at Shipley were a time of tremendous growth for me, both academically and personally. I was encouraged by a caring, committed group of teachers and administrators and surrounded by an amazing and diverse group of fellow students. I am incredibly grateful for the profound and formative experience I had there.