Beaver experience:
I graduated from Beaver in 1961 while it was an all-girls school. I was there for all of high school. I had an excellent high school experience with amazing teachers in multiple sections such as the math and language department. However, one of the turning points in Beaver that had a huge impact on my life was getting a C in French class. I would tell my students about that as, ultimately, I ended up teaching French for 37 years of my life. One of the memorable teachers was Madam Fourel. She was a great teacher and a great influence on my life. Also, I was very involved in the glee club which Ms. Jarrett led. She taught us a great repertoire of songs that I took with me through my whole life when I sang in college and even today. Along with glee club, I played badminton, tennis, hockey, and lacrosse at Beaver. I love that all those sports that I played back at Beaver, I have kept up with in recent years, coaching or watching or playing even!

What is #happeningnow in your life:
After I graduated from Beaver, I went to the University of Pennsylvania. I was very academically driven in college and ended up taking my entire junior year in France. While there, I became fluent in French, which helped me later on in life with my career. Following my year in France, I went back to the University of Pennsylvania and graduated while getting into the Ph.D. program. However, I realized that I did not want to go down that path and wanted to focus on teaching high school. I then got my master’s in French from Middlebury during the summer and then conducted volunteer work in Paris and would sing at local hospitals. Following that summer, I went to live in Italy, where I became proficient in Italian. Soon after, once I had to search for an educational job, I had to get another master’s, in ESL, English as a second language, this time from Boston University. After my years in Europe, I decided to apply for the educational jobs I had always wanted. I took a job at Beaver and taught there for eight years. I was the head of the 8th grade and then the senior class. After more educational work at various schools, I retired at 59. Today, I have been looking at issues of justice and privilege and am involved with the Village Movement.

“Obviously, receiving a C in a class is not ideal, but following that, I learned to work even harder and put even more effort into my work. This was something that not only helped me flourish in school but also later in life.”
– Tracy Powers ’61

Advice to Beaver students:
“Try to figure out who your authentic self is at your age. No matter what, always try to be kind to other people and give back to the community when you can.”