Teachers Who Made an Impact

List of 30 items.

• Ms. Patricia Bayliss | Veronica Carter ’79

  The Sentence

   

  Nuns vow to remain honorable to God, and physicians vow not to harm, and Amazon vows to swiftly complete next day delivery despite the snow, and dangling participles. Few people realize the historian also take a vow, hopeful in the future a published article, a chapter or a book that would contain this sentence:

   

  “History does not occur in a straight line…” Ms. Bayliss charged me to finish this sentence, and she whispered it in my ear. With a right-angle tilt, she unburdened the secret, valueless to anyone else, and an offering of self-discovery, a roadmap to uncover liberation instead of oppression. Nothing more followed her declaration of the transfer. She fascinated me!

   

  Ms. Bayliss said I could finish the sentence any way I liked but start with the first eight words. Most of us wait virtually until college to fulfill this solemn obligation because in successive university generations of history teachers, will ignore all the other words. The teacher manages to pack a lifetime of well-intention scholarship, into the first eight words and reminding us how best to finish The Sentence with their hypotheses. I knew the worse Ms. Bayliss could do, the better she would be remembered. The historian Bayliss finished The Sentence with: “My dear, history always goes in circles,” particularly… all events happen at the same time. I began researching the concurrent events of African American history while studying the assigned

  lesson plans. I was the budding anteater forging and extracting tasty ant morsels from scattered mounds (bashing the noses of others, from now and then), and the world opened up for me. In the background of the chaotic 70s and feminist thought, I interpreted the stories, as if to

  dismantle the sonata, to reveal its pieces of harmony. The pieces conscience, morality, law and ethics sat there in between the lines I heard from the written text a symphony of history.

   

  Ms. Bayliss had good reason to deceive me with The Sentence; she knew the formula, the paradigm, the authority, would haunt me. And her goal to unmask the invisible black girl worked. A full participant in a personal resiliency, singular and inventive life. Coexisting with a

  commitment at Masters for a more relational conception of community orientated to the responsibility of “Do It With Thy Might.” Profoundly, I owe a debt to my great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and Ms. Bayliss. They had no intention of being obliging — they had

  no real remedy for historical trauma — Each one awakened, nevertheless, an inquiry into remembrance of an understanding myself — who I am and what I believed. And perhaps neither could they imagine humbling metaphors of an anteater and a sonata. It seems history offers a special kind of amelioration. Character building, moral strengthening, and suitability for the imagination to walk in that room, and no one will see a difference.

   

  Up until now, I never completed The Sentence on paper, but will do that in honor of Ms. Patricia Bayliss, and with you as my witness.

   

  History does not occur in a straight line; history always goes in a circle — and returns to a site from which you started. Be careful not to repeat from the original place where the query begins, extend from the end, and begin again. Many levels of urgency exist in history; the stories are incredible and reveal themselves on the roads of time remembered, on the bookshelves, there is conscience, and memorable finds for the mechanisms of repair.

• Lisa Berrol and Elisabeth Merrill | Nora Casper '10

  I wish I could remember more specifics about Elisabeth Merrill and Lisa Berrol’s impact on my adolescence, but nearly 10 years after graduating from Masters things are already so blurry. There are some memories that are vivid; spending every afternoon at AP Bio office hours with Ms. Merrill, trying so desperately to understand it all better than I did. She never made me feel like I was bothering her (I’m sure that I was). The moment I told Ms. Berrol that I was applying to nursing school; she didn’t have to ask me why.

  When I try to identify exactly what it was that made them so special, I have the overwhelming feeling that they knew me. They saw me as more than a student in their class, but nevertheless expected me to work hard while I was there. They saw the best in me at times when I was most insecure (which, let’s be real — is all the time in high school). What a tremendous gift, to be capable of seeing the best in every one of your students.

  I think of Ms. Merrill when I’m at work teaching diabetes classes, and I mention the islets of Langerhans. And I think of Ms. Berrol any time I am engaged in a discussion about injustice in America. They will continue to shape my adult life, the same way they did my teenage years. No thank you would ever be enough, but still — thank you.

• Miss Burleigh | Lee Masselman Kallos '54

  Earth science teacher Miss Burleigh was truly my favorite teacher of all and has been the person who influenced my life the most. I loved the drawings I had to do for what I had seen as we dissected frogs and the like, studied starfish and other little creatures. She made me aware of all life and nature. Now, fortunately and maybe too late, we are becoming aware of the balance of nature and the importance of preserving open and nature spaces. She also had a small learning camp upstate in New York where a few of us went and learned more through hands-on experience. She told of places like Easter Island and how this volcanic island had changed because of seeds and winds and man. An interesting choice of a place to study. This year I finally got to her island and was reminded of Earth Science classes years ago.

• Miss Burleigh | Janet Kemp Leaton ’55

  Science was the subject I most enjoyed in both 7th and 8th grades. Miss Burleigh allowed me to escape the pressure of arithmetic and learning a foreign language. Miss Burleigh was both a task master and an encourager. She asked one questions with the objective of encouraging more inquisitiveness on my part; however, the questions were never to expose what I did not know or understand. With her gentle prodding, I found I wanted to, and could, master the information being taught and built confidence in my ability to investigate and actually diagram illustrations in India ink of which I could be proud. 

   

  To this day, if I’m faced with a new challenge, I know how to dig in and find information, communicate effectively and even on occasion illustrate a drawing to compliment a presentation. She was both teacher and friend and pasted this student together after many math and French classes. Thank you wise and loving teacher, Miss Burleigh.

• Lee Caldwell | Lee Masselman Kallos '54

  I had a reading disability and English teacher Lee Caldwell found ways to encourage me to read, write and even write poetry. Today I am always into some book and enjoy the places and new knowledge I discover through books. I am never alone. Because of her guidance, I won the English Cup for MostImproved English Student in 1953.

• Ms. Eidlitz | Lynn McGrath Tone '62

  It was a big gamble. And, young as I was, I realized it was a crapshoot. No doubt about it. And I had plenty of time to change my mind and didn’t.
  
  

  I became brave.
  
  

  Ms. Eidlitz was my English teacher at Dobbs, a woman who was both cynic and scholar. She taught Greek myths, from a book compiled by Edith Hamilton, and also poetry introducing us to the likes of Shelley and E.E. Cummings. She also taught us an awareness that we were living in a world of half-truths and bad poetry and craven behavior. She expected better of us, end of discussion.
  
  

  For our final exam, which lasted two hours, she asked us to answer four of the following seven questions. I will make this up, because I cannot truly recall the exam, since it was nearly a half-century ago, when I was a skinny and shy little girl of fourteen. Bear with me.
  
  

  Discuss the tragedy behind Ozymandias, King of Kings.

  Compare a Roman myth with a comparable Greek myth.

  Expound upon the fatal flaw of Icarus as he flew close to the sun.
  
  

  Stuff like that.
  
  

  I wrote but one sentence: “None of the following are questions.”
  
  

  And then I sat there, at that wooden desk, for two hours, watching my little life flash before my eyes.
  
  

  Could I really just write that one sentence and hope that Ms. Eidlitz would be proud that one of her students actually heard all that she had taught so well? Or would I be thrown out of school, shamed, with an F on a final exam?
  
  

  It was hot in that classroom, I remember that. May or June. If there were mosquitoes I would have heard their engines. If I had experienced puberty, I would have felt sweat run down my back. My ears surely heard my heart.
  
  

  I didn’t dare move, enveloped as I was in the noise of scratching fountain pens and fluttering pages in small blue books.
  
  

  I was truly “a traveler in an antique land.” The “frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command” felt near. I experienced elation and despair.
  
  

  Ms. Eidlitz came through. She held up my untouched blue book in class a week later and announced that she bestowed her only A+ to a student who only wrote one sentence. The class was dead silent.
  
  

  For one brief moment I was Ozymandias, King of Kings, and the sand had yet to reclaim my body.

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• Mrs. Fenstermacher | Andrea Wilheim Falco ’87

  Mrs. Fenstermacher was my Latin teacher for many years at Masters. She intrigued me; and the impact she had on me was instrumental going well beyond the Latin instruction. She believed in me. She saw how challenging school was for me, but realized my passion in learning and succeeding. Mrs. Fenstermacher empowered me and supported me like no other teacher throughout my education. Clearly, Latin does not intersect my daily life, but the lessons of prefixes and suffixes and core concepts of language do. If I could reach out to one of my teachers in high school, it would definitely be Mrs. F. Thank you!

• The Gormleys | Jazmine Figueroa '14

  The Gormleys were the mom and dad I never had. From late night diner trips, parties in their apartment, and conversations during study hall, the Gormleys always went above and beyond to make every single girl that ever walked through the Cole Dorm doors feel loved and appreciated. There are truly no words to accurately describe the impact they've had on my life, I miss them daily, but I am so grateful to have spent five of the best years of my life growing, laughing and learning with them.

• Mrs. Guibord | Janice Wald Henderson ’69

  Mrs. Guibord was one of the kindest, sharpest teachers at Dobbs that I remember. She was firm, never allowing us to wiggle out of any assignment. She was also inspiring, encouraging students to learn, not merely memorize, the facts she taught.

• Mrs. Guibord | Elizabeth (Libbie) B. Payne ’69

  Dobbs Is More Than School: A Tribute to Betty Guibord, Dobbs Science Department
  
  

  Mrs. Guibord was patient and funny and down-to-earth, yet stern enough to make us understand that education was not to be taken lightly.
  
  

  Her daughter (Barb/”Gib”) and I were not in many of the same classes, as Barb was, and undoubtedly still is, far brighter than I. Nonetheless, I spent quite a bit of time with the Guibords in Scarsdale, where I learned to play paddle tennis and have a classmate/friend and a “brother.” And, even though I never have, nor ever will, understand football, I remember watching the Jets and Joe Namath (who, at that point, had passed for 4,007 yards) at the Guibords. Apparently, that was a really amazing record.
  
  

  Then, there was Gib’s “Let’s go to Cornell” road trip. At one point in senior year, Gib decided we should take a field trip to Ithaca in the middle of the night, where we met up with some of her Cornell friends. I don’t think either of our parents knew about this for years and years. Once they did, neither family really forgot it! But, I think, they eventually forgave us.
  
  

  Even though I have several advanced degrees, most involving sports psychology and medicine, when I first met Mrs. Guibord I really didn’t know an ion from Zion (despite the additional heroic efforts of Mrs. Guibord, Barbara Jones and Hazel Berry). Still don’t.
  
  

  Does it matter? Yes, it does. What matters is that we, because of Mrs. Guibord’s ability to not only teach science skills, but life skills, has made a difference in the world. Especially, my world.
  
  

  Thanks to Mrs. Guibord.

• Larry Hopkins | Sydney Shafroth Macy '70

  LARRY THE HOP

   

   

  Mr. Hopkins taught math. He had the best classroom in Masters Hall, which was the only location for classes in the late 60s. He was directly above the headmaster’s office, on the corner, with windows on two sides. Leaded windows with small panes that let in the light.

   

  The room was set up with three rectangular tables in a U, and Mr. Hopkins’ desk formed the fourth side — a predecessor to the Harkness tables which Masters adopted in the 1990s. The cozy, congenial space nourished and encouraged learning.

   

  Behind Mr. Hopkins’ desk was a large blackboard, with equations in white chalk dappled across it. The blackboard was never blank. It was always full of math problems and solutions. And above the blackboard was a large, horizontal painting of the Mad Hatter’s tea party from Alice in Wonderland. It had been painted by a student years before I landed at Dobbs. The painting dominated the room, adding a splash of color and a whimsical aura to our math class.

   

  Mr. Hopkins often wore a bow tie, just like the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. And he was full of energy, like the hare, bouncing and hopping as he shared his passion for math with all of us. He made math fun. He made learning fun. His classroom was warm and vibrant and welcoming, and dominated by the painting of the tea party. Maybe his infectious energy is why we called him Larry the Hop!

   

  I took Geometry and Algebra 2 from Mr. Hopkins. In my senior year, I attempted to learn calculus, in a traditional classroom with desks in a row and a teacher who I don’t remember. But I do remember frequently dropping into Mr. Hopkins’ classroom that year, to shoot the breeze and solve the world’s problems, always with Alice and her companions watching over us.

• Barbara Jones | Jan Marion Bittner ’72

  Barbara Jones (aka BJ) was a born teacher and an exceptional human being! As a naive adolescent muddling my way through those years of wondering who I was and where I fit in, it was Ms. Jones who patiently allowed me to search and question everything with intellect, humor, compassion and understanding. She saw the goodness in all her students (and in life, for that matter) and encouraged us to stretch and reach beyond ourselves. There is no doubt in my mind that the confidence and self-assuredness that I left Dobbs with was due to the seeds she instilled in me those many years ago. I don’t think of Dobbs without thinking of Ms. Jones. To this day, I still see her smile with the twinkle in her eyes and hear that wonderful laugh that only she had!

• Mrs. Keppler | Nancy Wendt Evans '62

  I came with my mother to my older sister’s parents day. I was in sixth grade. 
  
  

  Mrs. Keppler was spellbinding. I was entranced. A year later, I enrolled in The Masters School and was lucky enough to have Mrs. Keppler. I loved the logic behind plane geometry. She made me want to learn!

• Lenore Laupheimer | Leslye Lynford ’73

  Lenore Laupheimer was my American History and Women's Studies teacher in the early 1970s and remained my mentor and friend until her passing this past May. She came to Dobbs in 1969 ready to teach with enthusiasm and dedication. Long after her retirement she still referred to her students as "her girls."

   

  Lenore help to mold a new generation of young women and regaled in their achievements. She was an inspiration to me and so many of my Dobbs classmates!

• Ms. Gertrude Link | Gladys Levis-Pilz ’65

  I was one of a handful of students who took four years of Latin. By our senior year, we were a pretty tight group of about six students. Ms. Gertrude Link was our teacher. She had a habit that we all thought was hilarious. When explaining a particularly confusing or complicated grammar idea in Latin she would exhort us with: “If you aren’t sure, just say ‘Ho hum, ablative absolute.’” She said this so often, we all started making hash marks in the back of our notebooks to keep track. Whenever she said it, the sound of six students surreptitiously and simultaneously turning a page to make a mark filled the air with a soft rustle. Ms. Link did not seem to notice, which made it all the more fun! I don’t remember the ultimate, exact count, but it was more than you might suspect! 

   

  We really liked Ms. Link, and she was an excellent teacher. To this day, I am the best speller in my family, thanks to all that Latin... and, possibly, all of those “ablative absolutes.”

• Miss Miller | Pam Kinnicutt Motley ’62

  Miss Miller was a member of the English Department when I arrived at Dobbs in 1958, and when I graduated in 1962, she was assistant to Mr. Mann. I actually never had her as a teacher, but our paths crossed in many other ways. As I remember, our first encounter, as well as many subsequent ones, was disciplinary, in Cushing, after I had misbehaved (which I did often). As we grew to know one another, we found we had things in common, starting with a love of sports, and I began to view her as a mentor, while she counseled me regarding my behavior.

  We kept in touch after I graduated, she visited my family on Cape Cod, and attended my wedding in 1967. She was the head of St. Timothy’s School in Maryland in 1972 when my husband was completing his Ph.d. in theatre at the University of Michigan. The school had just built a beautiful new theater, and she offered him a job teaching English and running the theater. At the same time, she offered me the job of head of residence. She knew that I would have a good handle on the discipline in the dorms, because, as she said, “I had tried every trick in the book while at Dobbs.” We stayed at St. Tim’s for three years, and our younger daughter was born while we were there.

  We stayed in contact by phone, mail and email over the years, also meeting in person on occasions when she came to Boston. She was an active, vital person throughout the years, a wonderful role model. I spoke to her shortly before her 90th birthday in 2018, and we had some good laughs sharing stories from long ago. I was so sorry to hear of her death just a few months later.

• Mr. Mullin | Sally Draper de Vengoechea '61

  After my sophomore year, I was placed in a two-year program called Humanities instead of History. The course was a life changer for me insofar as the way I saw the world.

   

  This course tied together random historical information and had a broad reach into literature, music, history, writing and English composition. I learned to write (for better or worse) in this course. We had a spiral notebook in which we wrote our compositions and we wrote the same paper, which was read and corrected time and again by our teacher for grammar and composition. Many strike outs and red penciling and more effort to get it right. No sloppiness allowed. That in itself was a wonderful take away.

   

  But I particularly remember the meat of the class was to begin with Greek civilization, including plays by Aeschylus and Euripides, art and music of the time, history of the nation, and its impact on the world. And then there were the compositions. Following that study came Rome, Europe and the Crusades, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and so forth up to modern times, always with literature, music, art, a world view and compositions.  We read some wonderful books, heard some great music, saw some amazing art and wrote compositions.  The discussions were around a round table so additionally there was idea sharing, later applicable in team strategizing.

   

  Sometime later after college, I was fortunate to work at National Geographic in Washington in the book division.  Two of the books I worked on were “Greece and Rome” and my favorite, “The Middle Ages”.  As a picture researcher, I was expected to become an expert on certain chapters of history and send photographers out to shoot locations for the book.  Then there was the review of film, layouts and preparation for the writers and editors.  It was a great job and I had a basic knowledge of how to look at the task at hand.  Thank you to Mr. McMullen. He was a task master and a mind opener, a very well educated and communicative teacher.  He was inspiring.

• Mr. Mullin | Flora Campos Cornfield '62

  I was fortunate enough to have excellent teachers in all my classes. Some were, perhaps, more intimidating than others. However, the real standout for me was Mr. Mullen who taught an amazing course in the humanities. We read and critiqued rather sophisticated works of literature. He welcomed challenge, exchange of ideas, and his choice of works was quite global and across centuries. I wrote a research paper on courtly love in the Middle Ages, a paper that was possibly more in depth than I was asked to do until I was well into my French major at the University of Pennsylvania. 

• Libby Packer and Lenore Laupheimer | Bonnie Krasik ’74

  Libby Packer: This amazing drama teacher taught me theater, but also the skills and direction to succeed in the world stage. Because the 1971 fire at Masters Hall destroyed the auditorium, the small library at Estherwood became our stage. That limitation didn’t dissuade Mrs. Packer. From “The Miracle Worker” to “She Stoops to Conquer,” her students and the entire school were exposed to a professional New York City level of the theater arts.

   

  Despite my teenage dream, I chose not to become a professional actor. I went into television news broadcasting which combined Mrs. Packer’s influence as well as that of my excellent English teachers. Thanks to her I became an anchorwoman and reporter for many years as well as an executive producer. 

   

  Lenore Laupheimer: My fantastic history teacher taught me that there are no limits to learning. I was honored to have her for several classes. But during my senior year I became restless during our lessons. I came to her about it and she was wise enough to realize I needed more challenges. So, she transferred me out of her class and moved me into Mr. Silk’s Advanced Placement History. In the middle of the year! I loved it. I’ll never forget the surprise and joy on my graduation day as I they read my name and I learned I had gotten honors in history. As I write this, I sadly learned that Mrs. Laupheimer passed away earlier this year. I wish I had told her that I carried her lesson of never being afraid of challenges and to speak up throughout my life. 

• Mr. Pierpont | Hester Kinnicutt Jacobs '69

  Mr. Pierpont, the music teacher: I attended Dobbs from 10th to 12th grades. I loved music and had been in a Glee Club at my previous school, so I immediately tried out for the Glee Club (something I had not had to do before). And I didn't make it, nor did I make it the second tryout ­— but on the third tryout, I succeeded. Without the encouragement of Mr. Pierpont, I probably would have given up. I also took a music history class from him and this started my love for classical music.  My father had loved the Viennese waltzes which he played a lot at home. He had also been a classmate of Leonard Bernstein at Harvard but other than “West Side Story,” I had not heard his music. I play music every day, the old-fashioned way on a CD player, and much of it is classical.

   

  Then in 1969, Mr. P (as we knew him) wrote the processional music for our graduation. Beautiful and brassy. Fast forward to 1978. I wrote to Mr. P asking where I could purchase the processional music from our graduation. I was getting married in a large Episcopal cathedral with an awesome organ that could play the brass. I wanted to walk down the aisle to his music. His response was to provide me a copy of the music score and wish me the best.

   

  Lastly, as my father's sister, my aunt, had married a Pierpont, we called each other cousins. And I still listen to Benjamin Britten Christmas music every year and think of Mr. P and the year we sang this music and how hard it was. Fond memories.

• Miss Amy Rehfuss | Charlotte Vandeweghe Scott ’64

  My favorite Sunday afternoon event was Hymn Sing. I can’t stay on pitch, but love to sing, still do. My second favorite was 10s. Students, from all four classes, met to listen, to discuss a passage from the Bible, without a teacher. I spent three years listening. 

   

  Miss Amy Rehfuss, a religious teacher in charge of 10s, suggested I attend a Friends school’s summer conclave, between my junior and senior years. I went, loved listening to speakers and listening in small discussion groups while knitting squares that would be made into blankets. On the campus was a small log cabin, the original Friends meeting place. Peace reigned and filled my soul. 

   

  I had another violent attack (a year later to be diagnosed as a calcified gall bladder). They usually lasted an hour and often I would faint from the pain. The bathroom called and in that cubicle, folded over in pain, I said: “Not my will, but thine be done. Please be with me.” I blew out my breath and the pain was gone. For the first and only time, never again could I capture that “connection.”

   

  On returning to Dobbs for senior year, after unpacking, greeting friends and exploring Estherwood with my roommates, I meet with Miss Rehfuss to thank her and share my experience. She became a mentor, someone I could safely “dump” all the angst and the fears. She lead me to clarify my ramblings and helped me put “life” into perspective. I was honored to be a 10s leader, especially since it meant exploring the Bible passage with other leaders and Miss Rehfuss “feeding” our hearts.  

   

  One day, several years ago I received a letter: “I’m 70 years old and you are one of 70 people who made a difference in my life.”

   

  When I turned 70, I made a “70 people who touched my life” list and wrote those who were still alive or who had relatives. Miss Rehfuss was on my 70 list. 

• David Ryan | Laura Eimicke Klimley '76

  It was the first week of school sophomore year, and I was sitting in English class in Masters Hall, anticipating what our teacher would be like. We had learned that he was new to the faculty, which added some intrigue and piqued our curiosity. 

  In walked David Ryan; a young man in his mid-twenties, dressed like a collegiate professor sporting tan corduroys, an Oxford shirt, Brooks Brothers tie and loafers. After introducing himself, he called on each of us to stand and make a brief statement as to our expectations for the class. The unique part of this scenario was that he referred to us individually by our last names: “Miss Eimicke, Miss Doerfler ...” 

  David Ryan was passionate about literature and instilled in his students a love of reading, writing and critical analysis. Among his favorites were the poets T.S. Eliot and Dylan Thomas and authors Virginia Wolf and Charles Dickens. He was an inspirational teacher and mentor. I remember the sentiment he wrote in my yearbook senior year, “Teaching is sharing. You made me want to share. You made me want to teach.” 

  After graduating from Dobbs, I stayed in contact with David and his encouragement was one of the reasons that I decided to enroll for my M.A. at Teachers College, Columbia University and pursue a career in teaching. 

  David Ryan died tragically in a fire in his Greenwich Village apartment in New York City on Christmas Day 2003. He left this world far too soon, but I will always be grateful for his wisdom, guidance, humor and friendship.

• Ms. Roche | Amy Rosenblatt Nichols ’00

  As a freshman coming to Masters from public school, I was one of the quieter kids in class, perfectly content to let others carry the conversation around that weird and uncomfortable oval table. My plans to do my very best to fade into the background were foiled, however, by my U.S. History teacher and advisor, Ms. Colleen Roche, who gave me a goal: say one thing in every class each day. I was terrified, and tried to bargain my way down, but Ms. Roche was firm and encouraging — she expected my best effort, and she knew I was capable. I ultimately gave in and did what she asked, pleasantly surprised (and slightly annoyed) that she was right. Those in my class might have some trouble remembering me as a quiet kid, as it didn't take long for me to find my voice and run with it.

  
  

  I entered college knowing that I could hold my own in a discussion and confident that there was value in what I had to say. Now, as a school counselor, I channel Ms. Roche often in my work with students, and I am forever grateful to her for teaching me to trust in my abilities and face my fears, one step at a time. Thank you, Ms. Roche!

• Richard Simon | Sandhya Malhotra Chhabria '07

  As a seventh grader at The Masters School, part of the curriculum was to take Latin as a second language. That year, there was a new upper school language teacher - Mr. Richard Simon - who would be teaching the seventh grade girls Latin. After about a week of Latin class, I was convinced I couldn't learn Latin or any language at all for that matter. I wasn't good at it and I didn't have the confidence in myself to even give it a shot. I had shut down without even giving languages a chance. 

   

  After much convincing, Mr. Simon, or Magister Simon as he was well known to the seventh grade girls, dedicated his time to breaking down the fundamentals, providing me with the tools I needed to scratch the surface. The biggest tool of all - confidence in myself. Through the seventh grade academic year, while Latin was not my favorite class, the subject became bearable because Mr. Simon had not let down, he had not let me get discouraged by the fact that Latin was harder for me than other classes. While Latin didn't come as easily to me, he had the foresight to teach me more than just the language that year, but to teach me the underlying lesson to believe in my abilities and persevere with challenges that may come my way. 

   

  Mr. Simon continued to be a part of my Masters career. He later became my upper school advisor, guiding me to stay strong no matter what challenges my Masters career brought my way. He encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone, taking courses that would challenge me and teach me to think critically - something I can't thank Masters enough for today. With the guidance of a great advisor, I took classes such as American Studies that honed my creativity, writing and questioning of the world around us - all skills that I use today in my career. 

   

  During my time as Mr. Simon's advisee, I took on the challenge to apply to The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Seen as a "reach school" at the time, Mr. Simon didn't let me give up my belief that I belonged at that school studying what I loved most - hospitality. As my advisor, he encouraged me to apply, helped me organize my thoughts for my essays and most importantly gave me the confidence to keep fighting for something I really wanted. After Masters, I did make my way to Cornell to study hospitality and I can't thank my Masters experience enough for the skills and lessons that prepared me for my undergrad years. 

   

  Fast forward a few years, I was lucky to have Mr. Simon, his wife Tanya and his daughter Viviana attend my wedding. It was wonderful to continue to celebrate with the entire family - all of which had been such a great part of my Masters experience. Mr. Simon even surprised us with a toast at our reception! 

   

  While the faculty at Masters taught me a lot in terms of academics, there was so much more that came in the way of life skills and lessons. I thank each and every member of the faculty for their efforts in making the Masters experience what it is. Their dedication, knowledge and thinking ignited ours. 

• Mr. and Mrs. Spyer | Elizabeth Wickenden McMahon '68

  When I was a student at Dobbs from 1964 to 1968, there was a couple that lived in Greenwich Village who rode the train from the city to teach art at Dobbs, Mr. and Mrs. Spyer. They were artists and created an atmosphere of fun in the art room. Mrs. Spyer was calm and pretty and taught figure drawing. There was a list of possible projects on the wall from which you could choose your activity and Mr. Spyer helped you with those. He was encouraging and easy going and funny. Occasionally, without much fanfare, he would get down on the ground and impersonate a lizard. It was hilarious. I had never seen an adult be silly like that and do something on a whim. I was drawn to those teachers because they were authentic and engaging and making art has been my calling ever since. I would have liked to have seen their art but it was the way they were as people that invited me to participate in this activity of making things and to love art. I smile when I think back on that room and the times when Mr. Spyer became a lizard.

• Mr. Spyer | Katherine (Katie) Ringland Kotz ’57

  After so many years out of school, I still remember Mr. Spyer’s Art History class. He was young, and he had just returned from a trip to Europe and had his own slides. His enthusiasm and knowledge of the history and art of Europe sparked my interest in art history. We are avid travelers and I enjoy the architecture and art of the world so much more because he inspired me so many years ago.

• Mr. Spyer | Nancy Vidal Mahler '56

  Our History of Art teacher, Richard Spyer, was wonderful.  His knowledge was vast, his enthusiasm contagious and he had a good sense of humor. I remember his describing the columns in gothic cathedrals as looking like bunches of asparagus. The classes were always interesting and stimulating.

• Grete Sultan | Lee Johnson Corbett ’57

  Grete Sultan was a piano teacher for many years at Dobbs, and she had an enormous effect on my life. I was fortunate to study with her for four years, from 1953 to 1957, where I was constantly encouraged and challenged. Because of her influence, I continued my music study after Dobbs, first at Bradford, and then at the New England Conservatory in Boston. I have been teaching piano for 55 years, and it has been one of the joys of my life. How lucky we were to have studied with Miss Sultan, a quiet and gentle person, but an extremely talented and influential teacher!

• Mrs. Verdery | Connie Odquist Wilkinson ’51

  I believe the entire teaching staff in the 40s and 50s was pretty outstanding. But, the one who stands out for me was Mrs. Verdery. She was the art teacher, and I loved every minute with her. She taught us in almost every known medium: oil, watercolor, pen and ink, charcoal, plain-air, woodcarving, basket weaving, to mention only a few.  The studio was on the third floor of Cleveland Hall at that time, and I still have a watercolor I did in the fall looking out on what was then an empty field and open woods. I had a woodcarving in study hall which burned in the fire in the 70s. Mrs. Verdery gave me self-confidence and contributed greatly to my appreciation of art.

• Mrs. Verdery and Ms. Maginnes | Elizabeth (Lee) Harding Williams ’59

  Mrs. Verdery was my art teacher. She was wonderful to me and taught me a lot. The other teacher was Ms. Maginnes. She was wonderful. I remember that I did a paper on the reunification of Germany, and she did not think that it would ever happen. I am glad she was wrong. We had friends in Germany and our daughter spent some time with their family and then their girls came and visited us.