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February 2002
How great to be able to reach back in time electronically and connect with those who shared a special time! After graduating from PHS, I went to Butler University and got my teaching degree (1966). The university truly set me on a path I did not imagine during my teen years. I eventually got my doctorate (1982) in literacy education at Indiana University, Bloomington. Although I thought several times through the years that I would marry and start a family, things never went that route. Instead, I put my affection into becoming an extraordinary aunt to the children of my sister (Joann, PHS '73) and her husband, Eric, who have four daughters and my brother (Robert, PHS '67) and his wife, Donna, who have a son and a married daughter with two adorable young children. I guess I have become very good at this "aunt thing" because I actually have friends on each coast who have made me an honorary aunt to their children! Moving into the work world, I discovered that I have what a co-worker once called "incredible job Karma." I didn't have to join the navy to see the world; I just went to work! I've been a public school teacher, a university professor, an editor for language arts textbooks, a publishing consultant for schools, and literacy consultant in public administration. Along the way, I have lived in New Albany (IN), on the Virginia side of Washington, D.C., in Chicago, in Cleveland, in northern Texas (Wichita Falls) and in Southern California (San Diego and San Bernardino). I just realized that I sound a bit like I'm singing the words to that old Frank Sinatra tune, "That's Life!" I can truthfully say, however, that I have never been anything so fanciful as a puppet or a pirate!
Wanderlust kicked in the year I lived in Washington, D.C., and I could not resist crossing the Atlantic. I did a tourist romp for six weeks in Europe and England. My sister, Virginia (PHS '65), returned from her summer in Europe just two weeks before I left. She gave me packing tips like a real pro! I went off feeling well prepared, but soon learned that the misadventures in the movie, "If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium," were more true than not! This was such a highlight in my young life that I actually thought of myself as only 28-years-old (in my imagination) for the next 10 years! In 1975, I got a graduate assistantship to Indiana University, where I spent seven years working my way through graduate school. Like so many, I fell in love with Bloomington and almost wished I would never graduate and have to leave. Of course, I did graduate and all sorts of possibilities seemed to open for me. Within a couple of years, I was given the chance to make the best move of my life! I went to San Diego as a publishing consultant. I had no trouble adjusting to the "life's a beach attitude" and spent four glorious years working in the schools of Southern California. I made many lasting friendships that I still treasure and continue today long distance. Like many others in publishing during the late '80s, I got caught in the downsizing mania. I decided to be pro-active and go back into teaching at the university level. I took a one-year visiting position in Texas. This led to a tenure-track position at California State University San Bernardino. Guess what? Barbara (Hodson) Anderson, with whom I had kept in contact after PHS, was living about 15 minutes away. As it turned out, these years were such a busy time for each of us that we really had to work to even "do lunch." In 1994, I returned to Indianapolis to be with my parents who were both having serious health problems. In rapid succession, I lost both to a heart attack and a rare, incurable form of cancer. I will always miss these two dear people. Needless to say, the two charities my sisters, brother and I support the most are the heart and cancer associations. Also, I cannot give enough praise to St. Vincent's Hospice and all the wonderful support while my mother was battling cancer. When I returned to Indianapolis, I took a visiting position on the education faculty at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Imagine my surprise when I went to the new faculty reception and was greeted by Nick Kellum, one of the IUPUI faculty hosting the event! We had our own two-person Class of '62 reunion, trading any news we each had about classmates!
What am I doing these days? I decided to stay in Indianapolis, which I have discovered is one of the most liveable cities in the country. I have a huge extended family in Southern Indiana and have thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in all the family activities again. Also, I love my job as the director of a literacy project for the Indiana Department of Education. It is a little bit like the jobs of the staffers portrayed on "The West Wing" television show. I do not, of course, operate at that level because I am not part of the political hierarchy, but my workplace is fast-paced and full of energetic, exciting, and talented people. I cannot think of any place I would rather be right now. A 40th Reunion is a terrific idea, and I'm looking forward to seeing many of you there! Mary Andis
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