Dominican College of San Rafael - Firebrand Yearbook (San Rafael, CA)

Page 102 text:

ELLEN MARY MIENTZ Houston, Texas MAJOR: HISTORY MINOR! ENGLISH Carillon Staff '67, '68 Assistant Editor '68 Meadowlark Editor '68 F irebraml Staff '69 Community Service '67 Irish Club '66, '67 Young Republicans '67, '68 Secretaijy '67

Page 101 text:

JAN MEECKE ,I an belongs in the. classroom . . . carefully explaining a historical point to her students . . . enunciating each word precisely . . . her forehead wrinkled. As she draws the explanation out line by line, the wrinkles fade, one by one. J an wants to belong in a classroom - this is her niche. But she is not a person afraid to try other ways, afraid to go outside her niche to make sure she has chosen correctly. She was not afraid to leave Dominican for a semester at USF, and likewise she was not afraid to return to Dominican, admitting that this was her present niche, that this was Where she was happy. J an worries a lot, but she also laughs a lot. Her class- room will not be a strictly serious one. Her own laughter, which comes often and lasts long, will make it lively. This sense of humor plus a certain graciousness makes her a wanted guest-she is a good mixer at any party. J an wants her world organized and is upset if plans result in confusion. When she sets her mind to do some- thing, she does it. She is no procrastinator . . . unless, of course, you consider sleeping in to be procrastination. Getting up in the morning is one of her special trials. Jan's plans are realistic and one can be sure they will be accomplished. Yet, she has her hidden dream: to be a princess. And there is something just a little regal about J an . . . something about her erect posture . . . her love of formals and Grecian curls . . . something indefinable in her fastidious dress and manner that makes her stand at little away from the crowd. 95

Page 103 text:

ELLEN MINTZ There is an expression which says that the harder something is to attain, the more worthwhile its final attainment is. In a way, Ellen's friendship falls in this category. She is a hard person to know, and even after four years too few people have seen beyond her mini- skirts and sometimes child-like outbursts. But those who have opened the door to her personality have been charmed and impressed, although they have also at times been perplexed. Ellen is intelligent . . . and informed. She reads the newspaper over an English assignment with few regrets, and one of her pet peeves is people who don,t know what's going on in the world. Ellen's room wears her character. Sister Corita seriographs hang on the walls, characters from Winnie the Pooh occupy the beds in the form of hand-made stuffed animals, and the bookshelves betray a love of American history and literature. Her interests are contagious. One cannot be around her for long without reading an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. She would defend the author to his mother, the American public, and even Sister Martin. When Ellen is happy, the whole world can relax. When something is wrong-beware. Arguing with her is a chal- lengeg she is positive and can back up opinion with fact. Ellen is not everybody's friend. She is perceptive and sees deeply into a person, perhaps too deeply. But when you have won her friendship, you can start to enjoy her world. 97