Grace Amelia McAuslan, class of 1928
Grace Amelia McAuslan grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. She chose to attend Pembroke College for financial reasons and commuted to school everyday. While at Pembroke, McAuslan participated in the orchestra and dramatic societies, and majored in sociology. After graduating from Pembroke in 1928, she taught English as a Second Language (ESL) and eventually became the secretary of the First Unitarian Church. McAuslan considered herself the scrapbook-master for the class of 1928.
In this interview, Grace Amelia McAuslan begins by explaining why she decided to attend Pembroke College and what her first impressions were. She notes some of the courses she took as a sociology concentrator and momentarily remembers participating in the Pembroke orchestra. She shares brief memories of Dean Margaret Shove Morriss and Dean Anne Crosby Emery Allinson.
McAuslan discusses her alumni position as class secretary and class luncheons that are held on Reunion Weekend. She reflects on the name change from the Women’s College to Pembroke College as well as the Pembroke-Brown merger, and she speaks of Brown presidents Elisha Benjamin Andrews and William Herbert Perry Faunce. McAuslan talks about life during the Great Depression, specifically talking about her job as a secretary, before returning to the topic of life at Pembroke. She mentions traditional celebrations such as May Day and the Sophomore Masque, off campus activities, and elucidates her experience as a city girl – a female day student who attended Pembroke but did not live on campus. McAuslan concludes her interview by summarizing her experiences with professors, at celebrations, and as class secretary.
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