Boston University College of Practical Arts and Letters - Sivad Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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LOUISE HENRY SMITH, ED.B. Instructor in Secretarial Studies Elbert Hubbard used to say: “The world was discovered in 1492 by Columbus. “Man was discovered in 1776 by Jefferson. “Woman was discovered in 1874 by Remington.” Miss Smith adds: “The secretary was discovered in 1919 by Davis.’ Miss Smith, like many other modest members of our faculty, did not wish to say anything about herself, but we learned the interesting fact that in 1919, P. A. L.’s first year, she had all the Typewriting classes here. Perhaps the remarkable success of that department is partly due to its having had such a good start. is still maintaining her high Typewriting standards is shown in the monthly contests in which several of her pupils have captured the awards. We do not wish to be selfish, but we hope many more such honors may come to our College. Evidence that Miss Smith HELEN LOUISE BELLOWS, B.S.S. Instructor in Secretarial Studies Miss Bellows is one of our fortunate graduates who has been able to return to her Alma Mater to teach. She feels that P. A. L. from a student’s viewpoint and from a teacher’s viewpoint are rather different ; however, now that she is placed in the latter grouping, the chief thing she has noticed is that the girls here now are even nicer than they were when she was a student. Miss Bellows’ winsome smile and good nature have won her many ad- mirers in her classes. She is one of our instructors whom we feel we know quite as well outside the class room as in it. Have you ever noticed the smiles she gets when she walks down the corridors? Just follow her some day and see! ’ WINIFRED ROGERS MERRILL, A.B. Instructor in Secretarial Studies Another member of our Secretarial Department who never planned to teach Shorthand. A graduate of Radcliffe, her parents opposed to her entering any field of endeavor, Mrs. Merrill was indeed handicapped when one day she learned she would have to seek employment. To teach the subjects in which had been trained would mean considerable “brushing up’’ in order to compete with the teachers already in the field. At the conclusion of a short course in a business college, she spent several years teaching—and “here I am!” Firmly convinced that the teaching profession is not the easy road it once was, she believes the traveler will meet with many difficulties ere she reach the City of Success; that there will be many sign-posts and de- tours advertised as ‘‘short-cuts’ ’ to the final destination, but only the cheerful plodder, who falls not by the wayside, will attain her goal. One question we neglected to ask Mrs. Merrill was if she believed the professional woman made the better home-maker, for, of course, you know she is filling both positions. [ 29 ]

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ead [ WALTER HENRY MECHLER, PH.B., Ep.M. Lecturer in Methods of Shorthand and Typewriting Professor Mechler may be considered a living exponent of the theory that ‘‘a good razz does everybody good’’. No more convincing evidence of this is necessary than the fact that his continual “razzing’’ prevents his Saturday morning class from becoming an awful bore. It would seem that anybody who traveled such a long distance weekly to conduct a three-hour class in the presentation of “‘that wonderful sys- tem” of English as she ain’t’” on a Saturday morning—of all days !— would evince some of the after-effects of his journey, but not Professor Mechler! His cheery introduction, ‘‘Good-morning! Let’s go! Two angles —circle goes where?’’ is characteristic of much more life and enthusiasm than his students show. And for what other professor could we exist in one chair in one room for that long period and not show signs of distress and fatigue? “A teacher may be late, but a student never!’’ he tells us, but may we remind him that the reverse is also true. That’s not sarcasm, Professor Mechler, that’s razzing ! ELIZABETH WOLVERTON CARVELL Instructor in Secretarial Studies Miss Carvell tells us that one of the most important axioms for us to remember is to “keep a stiff upper lip and a smiling heart throughout life’. She says that a misfit in the teaching profession not only makes herself unhappy, but the irritability which is the result of such unhappiness re- fiects unfavorably upon the personalities of her students. One thing she thinks so splendid about our teachers’ training course is that it prepares a girl for two walks in life. If, upon the conclusion of that course, she finds teaching unpleasant, she still has the opportunity to enter the business world. I am sure we shall all agree unanimously that Miss Carvell’s delightful personality has won our love and admiration, and that she is truly ‘‘a round peg in a round hole’’. HAZEL MARION PURMORT, A.B. Instructor in Secretarial Studies “Of all the years of college life the best, to my mind, is the Junior year. Then the student has passed successfully through the storm and stress of the Freshman period with all its various adjustments and heart- aches, its wars with the dread Sophomores; has fought through the Sophomore invasion, criticising the running of the universe as severely and indiscriminately as the mode of dress of the professor in the classroom ; and has at last arrived in the comparatively safe waters of the Junior year with all the good qualities of the two preceding years to the fore; all the bad cnes so polished up as to be hardly recognizable, and the prospect of a life of hard work still over a year away. “All hail, then, to the P. A. L. Juniors of 1928! Their Year Book ecan- not fail to be a suecess, and a welcome addition to the P. A. L. students’ library of well-loved books.”’ [ 28 ]

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DOROTHEA VICTORIA KELLAR, B.S. Instructor in Secretarial Studies “This is my very first interview, and I'll tell you truthfully that I am somewhat at a loss to think of anything to say that will contribute much to our SIVAD, especially since I have no years of experience behind me from which to draw any sage remarks or offer any particularly helpful advice. I can say, however, that I am thoroughly enjoying this year of combined teaching and secretarial work which really gives me the oppor- tunity to ‘practice what I teach’. “A hobby? Well, I don’t think of any particular one, but just at pres- ent I am spending every spare minute driving our car. This is an ac- complishment acquired only last August, so none of the newness has worn off yet.” Observing the enthusiastic attitude of the Freshmen toward this young- est member of the faculty, we might say that the pleasure is mutual. Miss Kellar’s amiable disposition and youthful dignity have won for her a secure place in the hearts of the student body. FAITH LEONARD, A.B., B.S. Instructor in Secretarial Studies “Tt is a liberal education to come East for your education if you’re a Westerner, and it’s also a liberal education to go West if you’re an Hast- erner.”’ Thus speaks Miss Leonard, herself a ‘‘mixture of the East and West’’. She was born and educated here, and then moved to Min- neapolis, where she has served on various vocational and industrial bureaus. Miss Leonard thinks that the average girl entering business in this part of the country has ever so many better opportunities for advance- ment than her sister in the West. There, very few up-to-date business men, such as Mr. Filene and Mr. Dennison, recognize the abilities of young women. Most of the responsible positions are given to older women, and the younger women serve as stenographers and typists. VELMA RICH, B.S.S. Instructor in Secretarial Studies Mrs. Rich, who became a member of our faculty family this year, surely has returned home, inasmuch as this institution claims her for a foster child. Not so very long ago—as recently as 1925, in fact—she was re- ceiving Shorthand assignments instead of giving them. Think of it, Seniors! perhaps as part of her undergraduate practice in teaching she might have had to conduct one of those awful, terrible, abominable Short- hand make-up classes we had to attend! Two years following her graduation she taught in a junior college in Maine, and although she enjoyed it there ever so much, she is very happy to be back in Boston again. A member of the younger set who enjoys hiking and a good time, she believes that the “‘grind’’ misses a very great deal in life. Maine in sum- mer, “Fording’’, and being nice are her specialties. [30]