Time is running out to make your reunion gift! Gifts received by 3:00 a.m. TOMORROW (5/3), will count toward your class total for the reunion giving prizes. Thank you in advance for supporting the school that you love.

We hope you enjoyed the virtual events this weekend and were able to celebrate with your classmates. If you have any fun photos or stories to share, please email us at alumnae@brynmawrschool.org. Looking forward to seeing you on campus again sometime in the not so distant future!

You're Invited!

To The Bryn Mawr School's live stream of the 117th annual Gym Drill

Friday, April 30, 2021 at 2 PM

brynmawrschool.org/live

A recording of Gym Drill will be available on youtube following the performance

Happy Throwback Thursday! Today we are taking a look back at Daisy Day 2021 and the incredible career of Jerry Brown. This will be his final year at Bryn Mawr and though we are sad to see him go we appreciate his years of service and unwavering support of Bryn Mawr. In his Daisy Day 2021 video he talked about why he liked to “pay it forward.”

The Young Alumnae Award is given to an alumna who has graduated within the last 20 years who has distinguished herself in the community or in her profession.

This year, we want to recognize Grace Greene ‘16 as an outstanding Young Alumnae.

From her first days here at Bryn Mawr, Grace showed herself to be a skilled and highly motivated student. She brought joy to her classes, and the community and stood out as not only an excellent student but an incredible athlete as well! Her basketball skills were known all across the school and in 2014 her sharpshooting helped Bryn Mawr beat visiting Notre Dame Prep.

In 2016 she graduated from Bryn Mawr and began the next phase of her academic journey at Claremont Colleges. There, she used her bold voice to bring the same passion and drive to her classes as she did when she was at Bryn Mawr. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Grace was able to graduate with a degree in cognitive psychology and linguistics this past May.

During her college years, Grace served as a member of the Recent Grads Committee for The Fund for Bryn Mawr and she is currently serving on her 5^th Reunion Committee. Grace has also served as an on-campus speaker on several occasions. She was a panelist for the January Alumnae Convocation about college life experiences and was a recent graduate panelist for the Admissions Office. Grace has also been a consistent supporter of The Fund for Bryn Mawr since she graduated.

Today, Grace works as a Research Associate at Hopelab and embodies Bryn Mawr values in every facet of her life. She is constantly reflecting and writing about her experience and the ways in which she hopes to inspire others to improve their communities. In the short time since she left our school, Grace has already started making a difference in the world. We know that going forward she will bring the same passionate bold voice and accomplish even more.

To view some of Grace’s writing click the link here! 

Have questions about Bryn Mawr? We have the answers! Gabi W ’22 is one of the panelists for our Student Teacher Q&A. Make sure to tune in on Friday April 30^th, 2021 at 10:30 and take a look below to learn more about Gabi!

Gabi is the Junior Class Vice President. She is a member of several extracurricular activities including Princeton Model Congress, Ethics Bowl, Caribbean and African Culture Club, FOCUS, peer mentoring, and both the soccer and track teams. She was previously a member of the swim team and Chemathon in her sophomore year. She is also a writer for the school newspaper, The Quill. 

We can't wait to hear from Gabi and the other panelists! Hope to see you all there!

We are a little over a week away from a momentous, albeit different, Alumnae Weekend! There is so much to look forward to but perhaps nothing is more greatly anticipated than the annual presentation of Gym Drill. For 117 years, Bryn Mawr’s students have exhibited their athletic prowess in a choreographed routine designed to celebrate the abilities and strengths they have cultivated while here at Bryn Mawr. Last year, the students gave their all in Bryn Mawr’s first ever virtual Gym Drill but this year we are excited to be able to safely welcome our students on campus to complete this spectacle in person.

Though we cannot invite our alumnae back to Bryn Mawr for this momentous occasion, we are presented with a unique opportunity to be able to have alumnae from all over the world enjoy the spectacle with a livestream of the entire event!

Click here to register for Alumnae Weekend and to receive more information about this year’s Gym Drill event!

This tradition has had a rich and fascinating history and in 2004 a group of Bryn Mawr seniors took the time to create a documentary about the exhibition. In anticipation for this year’s festivities, make sure to check out the link below to view the Gym Drill documentary and learn about this favored event.

Gym Drill Documentary

The Senior Alumna Award goes to an alumna who graduated 40 or more years ago and who has made a significant contribution to the community as a dedicated volunteer or as a career professional.

This year, we want to honor Monica Brunson with this award. As her classmate Katherine Holden ‘81 described, Monica, “not only embodies all the qualities Bryn Mawr fosters in its students and prizes in its graduates, but she is an untiring cheerleader for her classmates (whom she has stayed close to for 40 years) and for Bryn Mawr.” 

Monica graduated from Bryn Mawr in 1981. We celebrated her academic success and wished her luck as she went off to study Communication and Media Studies at McDaniel College.

She then went on to become a dedicated professional with 25 years of experience in the area of transitional care for seniors. She was the Admissions Director at Genesis HealthCare for 14 years and used the skills she had been building to navigate the challenges of the role. Today, as founder, CEO, and Senior Consultant at Brunson Healthcare Consultants (BHC), she specializes in locating assisted living housing throughout the state of Maryland. According to Katherine Holden ‘81, Monica “has helped several very grateful classmates and their parents find the perfect assisted living setting for themselves.”

She goes beyond her job description to foster relationships with her community and improve her field as a whole. She even offers seminars for health care professionals who are interested in starting assisted living facilities of their own. Her entrepreneurial spirit doesn’t end there though! She also co-owns Berries by Quicha in Federal Hill which sells all different types of chocolate-covered strawberries.  

Beyond her professional life, Monica has become a leader in her community and works tirelessly to give back to others. One example, among many, is that she recently became a minister in her church. Despite an already busy schedule, she dedicated herself to a thoughtful and rigorous study to prepare herself for the role.

Monica has also shown herself to be a passionate alumna who constantly gives back to her community. She is currently serving on her Reunion Committee and has taken the lead in organizing several virtual events and gatherings for the class as they seek to achieve 100% participation in giving (go class of ‘81!).

She is committed to her family, whom she is very close with and is a role model to her peers, both from Bryn Mawr and her other pursuits. As her classmate Katherine described, “if all of Bryn Mawr’s graduates could be as successful, ambitious, generous, involved, and dedicated as Monica, the school would be lucky indeed.”

The student teacher panel is coming up! Let’s get to know panelist Riya K '21.

Riya is the President of DECA and Girls Who Code, as well as the Co-President of Model United Nations and Pi Club. She is also an Edith Hamilton Scholar, and has spent the past year researching veteran homelessness after having volunteered at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center for several years. Riya is a Peer Educator and is involved with the Baltimore Girls’ School Leadership Coalition, Invest in Girls, and the Bryn Mawr fall musical productions. She intends to study Economics in college.

We are really looking forward to hearing from Riya and the rest of the panel and we hope you are too!

The Distinguished Alumna Award is given to an alumna who embodies the highest ideal of the school through her professional or volunteer commitments. Leadership, a humanistic spirit, creativity, community involvement and professional achievement are among the qualities to be considered.

Margo Vassar ’91 embodies these ideals and has helped her field and her community through the unique challenges of the pandemic.

After Margo departed Bryn Mawr she received a BA in Health and Society and International Health at Brown University where she successfully graduated Cum Laude. She then went on to study at the University of Maryland and today holds licenses and certifications in Nuclear Cardiology, Adult Echocardiography, Cardiovascular Disease and Yoga Instruction. After receiving her education Margo became a Research Intern with the World Health organization and moved up the ranks in her profession to eventually become a Clinical Cardiologist.

Today, Margo works at The Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, HI and as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has served in both roles for over 10 years and has been an asset to her team and her field.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Margo has served as a resource in her local community by going onto “Wake Up 2Day” for a segment called “Ask A Specialist on the KHON2 News: Staying Heart Healthy During COVID-19 with Dr. Margo Vassar.” This broadcast played an important role in informing her community about one of the seldom discussed implications of the pandemic.

Margo also regularly gives back to her Bryn Mawr community as well. She frequents alumnae events and has been a role model for her classmates and current students alike. In addition, she regularly contributes to the Fund for Bryn Mawr in order to give current students the same great experience that she was able to have. Margo’s career and dedication to her community make her an exemplary alumnae and a worthy recipient of this distinction. We are so happy to have her as part of our Bryn Mawr family and thrilled to present her with the Distinguished Alumnae Award.

We cannot wait for our student teacher panel. Today let's get to know Francesca P ‘23, one of our student panelists.

                                

Francesca came to Bryn Mawr in the 9th grade, and she is currently the Sophomore Class Vice President. Aside from SGA, she partakes in Love Your Melon Club and is a peer mentor. Francesca is a member of the Bryn Mawr Varsity Soccer and Basketball teams, as well as the Lacrosse team. She has a love for languages, and so Francesca decided to take the double language path here at Bryn Mawr to learn both the Spanish and French languages and cultures. Although she still has quite a bit of time to think about it, Francesca hopes to commit and play soccer in college.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the virtual Q&A Friday, April 30, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. Make sure to come up with some questions for Francesca and the rest of the panel!

Looking for some new spring looks for this year’s Alumnae Weekend? Then make sure to head over to the online Bryn Mawrket. We have t-shirts, leggings, sweatshirts, water bottles, bags, and more! If you're in the area, you can even sign up to shop in person by registering at the link here. 

Whether you’re looking for daisy apparel or Mawrtian merch, the Bryn Mawrket has everything you need to help you show off your school pride over zoom! 

What's Bryn Mawr Like Today?

How Have Things Changed Since I Graduated?

• All-School Overview
• Lower School Overview
• Middle School Overview
• Upper School Overview

Meet Our Faculty

• Head of School Sue Sadler
• Steve Amann, Chair, Upper School Science
• Frank Ecker, Upper School Math Teacher
• Nicole Hood, Upper School Director 
• Kendra Jordan, Little School Teacher
• Kristen Kennedy, Upper School Director of Innovation
• Kim Long Riley '79, Upper School History Teacher
• Meghann McMahon, Lower School Teacher
• Vicky Miyamoto, Upper School Math Teacher
• Brooke Shriver, Assistant Athletic Director
• Rebeccah Wish, Middle School Spanish Teacher

School Year: 2020-2021

• Opening Convocation 2020 
• Founders Day 2020
• Lower School Grandparents’ & Special Friends’ Day 

Athletics

• Athletics Association Fall Hype Video 
• Honoring our Senior Athletes
• Meet Assistant Athletic Director Brooke Shriver 

Arts

• Dream, a virtual winter arts showcase 
• Upper School Dance Company Performance 
• Dayseye virtual Valentine’s Day Serenade 
• Lower School strings students perform "Joyous the Love"
• Lower School students performing “Oh, Come Sing a Song” 
• Upper School String Ensemble, Quadrivium, performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing”

Alumnae Convocations

• Young Alumnae Convocation panel discussion 
• Sara Kleppinger Fornaciari ‘69 
• Melanie Lyons Whelan ‘95 
• Anna Loup ‘10
• Marka Danielle Rodgers ‘75
• Margaret Comer ‘08 
• Polly Donaldson ‘75 

Edith Hamilton Scholars

• Aeven O’Donnell ‘20 
• Julia Kanamine-Surrick ‘20
• Jessie Gumtow ‘20 
• Jaimie Griffin ‘20 
• Tabi Summers ‘20 
• Ava Scharfstein ‘20 
• Ashley Raman ‘20 
• Astri Doub ‘20 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

• The History of Bryn Mawr (through a diversity lens) 
• MLK Assembly 2018 featuring Michele Eubanks Abdul Sabur ‘69
• Engaging Across Difference program led by Keonna Hendrick '01
• Leading a Considered and Consequential Life Alumnae Panel (coming soon!) 

Archives Corner

• The Bryn Mawr Gym Drill at 100 
• Founders Day 2019: Dr. Irina Spector-Marks ’04 and Dr. Kim Long Riley ’79
• Bryn Mawr Recollected
• The Quill (May 9, 1986)
• The Quill (June 6, 1986)
• The Quill (April 30, 1991)
• The Quill (December 20, 1996)