Description
- Abstract:
- Jean Miller tells the story of her life in this interview, which was recorded on three occasions in 2014 and 2015. In Part 1, she describes being a young child raised during the Depression in the home of her Scottish grandparents, following the death of her mother. She discusses how she received a scholarship to Pembroke College before she had even applied to attend the school, and she relates several elements of her life as a student, including the summers that she spent working in New Hampshire. Jean then recollects aspects of her long career as a teacher and administrator working in schools across the country, sharing stories about specific students and events. Parts 2 and 3 of the interview concentrate largely on Jean's life as a volunteer and an advocate for different cultural initiatives. She describes the Dorset Theatre, the Maple Street School, the Vermont Women's Fund, and several other organizations that she has supported as a fundraiser and board member. In Part 4, Jean discusses attending Pembroke College after World War II. She then describes her family and several events from her childhood in more detail, and comments on her experiences in positions of leadership. The conversation then turns to travel and the many places Jean has visited, which include the Soviet Union and Antarctica. She ends the interview with a story about meeting Robert Frost.
- Notes:
- Class year: 1949
- Biographical note: Jean Ellen Miller was born in Brockton, MA in 1928. After her mother's death when she was a young child, Jean and her family moved in with her Scottish grandparents. She attended secondary school in Whitman and Uxbridge, MA, and entered Pembroke College in 1945 as a recipient of a local scholarship. Although she began college with a focus on science, she graduated with her degree in English. As a student, Jean was part of several sports teams and a staff member on the Brun Mael. She also worked in Andrews Dining Hall. After graduating from Brown, Jean pursued a long career as a teacher, and later also an administrator, in private schools across the country. She was Head of St. Timothy's School in Maryland from 1964-1977 and spent time at other schools in Vermont, New York, California, and Florida. As a retiree, she has lived in Vermont and been very active on the boards of the Maple Street School, the Dorset Theatre Festival, and the Vermont Humanities Council, among others. She is a member of the Pembroke Center Associates Council and the recipient of a Brown Bear Award.
Citation
"Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949"
(2014).
Pembroke Center Oral History Collection.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:698999/
Relations
Has Parts:
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Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949 Part 1
- Type: Audio
- Order: 1
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Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949 Part 1
- Type: Stream
- Order: 1
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Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949 Part 2
- Type: Audio
- Order: 2
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Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949 Part 2
- Type: Stream
- Order: 2
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Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949 Part 3
- Type: Audio
- Order: 3
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Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949 Part 3
- Type: Stream
- Order: 3
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Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949 Part 4
- Type: Audio
- Order: 4
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Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949 Part 4
- Type: Stream
- Order: 4
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Jean Ellen Miller, class of 1949
- Type: Pdf
- Order: 5
Collection:
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Pembroke Center Oral History Collection
This collection contains oral history interviews with alumnae of Brown University, which admitted its first women students in 1891. The Women's College at Brown was renamed Pembroke College in 1928, and in 1971, Pembroke College merged with the Men's College …...