我的几位“叔伯辈”美国研究生同学（下）
In a previous post, I recounted the extraordinary life of Peggy Bair. In this one, I will paint a few more figures, albeit with much broader brushes.
are walking together...
If you have read Peggy's story, you could probably recognize her in the picture above: the lady on the left. What about the lady on the right, you may wonder. Is she a professor? Nope. She is Loie Clark, a fellow student.
I was not as acquainted with Ms. Clark as I was with Ms. Bair, but I still know a thing or two about her. Ms. Clark read government as an undergraduate at Smith College, a private women's liberal arts college in Massachusetts. In one of the first tutorials, we wrestled with Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Ms. Clark had a copy that looked like one from an antique bookstore down the street. When asked where she got the book, she replied, wryly, "It's from my old college days in the 1960s. And I am as confused about Aristotle as I was back then." She seemed to give me the reason why she came back to graduate school after decades of working in Washington D.C. as an arts administrator.
Not only the artistically inclined souls were drawn to GI, short for Graduate Institute. Some of my peers had a long, successful career in banking and consulting. Judy McGeorge, a retiree from Maine, forwent her big house, kissed her partner goodbye, and moved into a small apartment in downtown Annapolis, a stone's throw from St. John's campus. There she ruminated on the Greek classics, late into the night, that she never managed to get to during her career as a banker. She is a proud alumna of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Not everyone could make the move Ms. McGeorge did. It is no surprise that students would drive an hour or so to make classes. But this is out of the question for Donald Leopold. For family reasons, he had to travel 600 km one way to go to school. Yet he could cope. He commuted by flight from Boston to Baltimore twice every week. Wouldn't it cost you an arm, I asked. "I worked in the consulting world my whole life. I traveled a lot, and I have been fortunate enough to earn enough frequent flyer points."
a lull for Leopold
Mr. Leopold studied social sciences at Harvard College and business management at Harvard Business School. He looked like he was in his late forties, but one day when he gleefully showed to the class a photo of his new-born grandson, we knew he was already a sexagenarian.
A sharp sexagenarian indeed. He was one of the most articulate students in the class. His clarity of speech mirrored his clarity of thought. Even when he was confused about something, he could always articulate his confusion and ask for help. He always got to the point, as firefighters would whiz to the fire scene. His real-world experience as a consultant was a rich source of perspectives for him, and by extension, for the class.
St. John's College claims to be a community of learning and prides itself on lifelong learning. When you explore fundamental questions sitting in the same seminar with peers twice or three times your age, peers who grew up listening to JFK and MLK, peers who have seen the ups and downs of the land of freedom, you know this is no empty talk. The idea and ideal of lifelong learning go to the heart of this third oldest higher institution in the US and the heart of Ms. Bair, Ms. Clark, Ms. McGergore, Mr. Leopold, and every Johnny, young or old.
孟庆伟 Justin
个人微信 ID：justinqmeng
现象级英语联合创始人
《经济学人》11 年研究者
雅思写作 8 分，口语 8 分
题图：2013 年 5 月摄于美国马里兰州安纳波利斯圣约翰学院 Mellon Hall
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