Dear Sweet Briar alumnae and friends, At Sweet Briar, leadership is based on the lived experience of the women it has edu- cated and graduated. Our alumnae have been leaders who have rolled up their sleeves and gotten things done, without thought about who gets the credit. ln doing so, they have been effective decision-makers, problem-solvers, collaborators and morale boost- ers — and above all, they have been “useful citizens.” I believe leadership can be defined and taught, and I believe that Sweet Briar is just the kind of place where that can happen, which is why I launched our leadership core curriculum. At the base of the core is the effort to habituate in the minds of uro students the skills of problem-solving, decision-making and ethical thinking, as well as the logical and expressive ability to persuade. Not coincidentally, these are also the fundamentals of a liberal arts education. Last year, we rolled out the first six courses of the core, including Design Thinking and The Mindful Writer, and this year will see us launch the final four courses. Good leaders must have an understanding of financial resources and goals. In Dollars and Sense, students learn from economic history, institutional economics and entrepreneurship so that they’ll be prepared to advocate for themselves and the organizations they lead. In Decisions in a Data-driven World, students engage with data-rich topics from a variety of fields such as health, science and technology nda political science to develop the ability to reason and work with data, and understand and present arguments supported by quantitative evidence. Contemporary Ethical Questions asks students to address complex issues using the frameworks of philosophical ethics and apply these diverse perspectives to propose solutions for questions for which there are no clear-cut answers. Finally, in the culmi- nating capstone of our leadership core, the Consequential Citizen, students will travel to presidential locations in Virginia where they will learn through lectures, conver- sations and from primary documents about the principles that undergird American leadership. These principles will inform their leadership as women in the 21st century. I hope you’ll take the opportunity to attend events around the country and talk to our students about these courses and what they’re learning. Further, I hope that you’ll support the core curriculum, and the College, by making regular donations to our annual fund. Together, there’s nothing we cannot do. Sincerely, Meredith Woo President CONTENTS MAGAZINE Fall 2019, Vol. 89, No. 2 Opening Doors This magazine aims to present interesting and 2 Internships open doors to a world of possibilities. At Sweet Briar, we call thought-provoking news about the College and its alumnae. Publication of the material on our network of alumnae, parents and community partners to help us does not indicate endorsement of the author’s create professional opportunities for our students. viewpoint by the College. We reserve the right to edit and revise all material that we accept Welcome, Dean Garrett! for publication. If you have a story idea or 8 Chemistry whiz and hobby cyclist Teresa Garrett has joined the Sweet content to submit for publication, contact the editor, Amy Ostroth, at [email protected]. Briar community as Dean of the College. Holla, holla! Magazine Staff Student Visions Come to Life in VCCA Fellows’ CORE 150 Amy Ostroth, Editor 11 Art Class Clélie Steckel, Director of the Sweet Briar Fund SilverLining Design, Lead Design Sweet Briar students are benefiting from our close relationship with the Cassie Foster Evans, Photographer Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. This time, they learned from three VCCA fellows in a cross-disciplinary course that challenged them to dream Contributors: Janika Carey ‘10, Jane Dure ‘82, up land art installations. Alexandra Grobman ‘12, Sarah Lewis, Kathleen Placidi, Suzanne Ramsey, Sybil Slate Joshua Harris: Expressing Himself Through Music Contact Information 14 Dream job? Check. Joshua Harris knew 20 years ago that he wanted to Office of Communications teach at a place like Sweet Briar College. P.O. Box 1052 Sweet Briar, VA 24595 Sweet Briar Leadership Core Takes Young Vixen Home 434-381-6262 18 to Guatemala Office of Alumnae Relations and Development Eleven years after leaving Guatemala, Sweet Briar student Ruth P.O. Box 1057 Lechner ’21 finally returned home this summer for an internship. Sweet Briar, VA 24595 800-381-6131 A Half Decade of Sweet Work Parents of Alumnae 24 After five years, Sweet Work Weeks has become a favorite tradition for If this magazine is addressed to a daughter our alumnae. who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please email us at alumnae@ Sweet Briar Reunion 2019 sbc.edu with her new address. Thank you! 32 Check out pictures from the best weekend of the year! Find Sweet Briar Online A History of Boxwood House sbc.edu 36 As Boxwood Alumnae House approaches 100 years young, we look back on this iconic building. Building Sweet Briar 44 In 2019, Sweet Briar lost a beloved member of its campus community: Charles “Chuck” Kestner. Learn more about his legacy. DEPARTMENTS 20 On the 43 In 95 Donor Quad Memoriam Honor Roll 38Giving 46 Class Notes Opening Doors For many of us graduating from college, getting that first job was difficult. Employers want experience, after all, and how do you get that while you’re still a student? One answer? Internships. sbc.edu 2 “To see on an application that a student has done an internship Sweet Briar’s Office of Career Services Biltmore is an incredibly diverse is committed to building relationships can give them organization and as such, the company that help students get practical experi- a leg up in the has several internship programs that hire ence while they’re on campus and open more than 100 hospitality interns each doors as they get ready to take the next experience year. But the program Sweet Briar stu- step into the professional world. “Em- dents have been a part of is much smaller ployers are looking for students with category.” and requires a recommendation from strong communication skills, customer — Ann Ashley, Biltmore an owner or a company executive. A few service experience, problem solving abili- years ago, in response to a request from ties and research experience. Internships the College, Dini offered to sponsor two and work experience allow students to Dini serves as president of the family Sweet Briar interns each year. hone those skills,” says Barb Watts, who office and vice chair of the board at Bilt- Annabeth Griffin ’18 was one of the leads the office. more. Through that role, she has made it first students to take advantage of the And while colleges and universities possible for several Sweet Briar students opportunity for an internship. Today, all over the country have internship to take part in the company’s corporate she’s employed by the company. A Dallas programs, the quality of those programs internship program. native, Annabeth came to know Sweet is largely determined by the quality of the Ann Ashley, who heads up the intern- Briar through her sister, a member of the partnerships the institution forms with ship program at Biltmore, knows just Class of 2014. Annabeth wanted to have organizations who are willing to take on how important internships can be to the same amazing experience her sister interns. students who are looking for that first had. Fortunately for students at Sweet Briar, job. “To see on an application that a Annabeth was finishing up her first the College has developed a number of student has done an internship can give year in March 2015 when the school an- relationships that lead not only to intern- them a leg up in the experience category,” nounced that it would close. She became ships before graduatio, but also to jobs says Ann. “Internships can give students part of a group of students who actively after graduation. experience in their major, but more worked to keep the school open. She One of the most prestigious relation- than that, students also gain experience was a class liaison to Saving Sweet Briar ships the College has built is with The working in a business environment. For and promised that if the school stayed Biltmore Company in North Carolina. young people who have spent most of open, she’d be back for her sophomore This is partly because Dini Cecil Picker- their lives in an educational environment, year. When school started in the fall, ing, the great-granddaughter of George the transition to a corporate atmosphere Annabeth jumped in. “I felt the charge Vanderbilt, who built the estate, is also a can be difficult. Internships help ease to be involved and take ownership of my member of the Sweet Briar Class of 1979. that transition.” school,” she says. She got back into riding, fall 2019 3 Annabeth Griffin ‘18 in front of Biltmore stepped up to lead the Campus Events learn about how big companies work and culture. “The way you act and portray Organization and was captain of the helped her prepare for the interview. yourself is everything,” she says. “You Ethics Bowl team. She was an economics “The spots are coveted,” Annabeth can have a great idea, but they’re going to and philosophy double major and a math says. “And they place you exactly where remember who you were.” minor. “I didn’t mean to be a math minor, your interest lies. I told Ann about my Of course, Biltmore isn’t the only place but took so many random classes that I work with campus events, so she placed where Sweet Briar students are able to get only needed to take two more to have a me with the special events office.