A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E - Colby-Sawyer College

Once Lost, Now Found
Growing up in Greenwich, Conn.,
with an older sister and a younger
brother, Neary was a good student
at her high school of 3,000 students,
but felt invisible. “I was kind of a lostat-sea
child; I was nothing special to
anybody there,” she says. “I was very
quiet and didn’t get into trouble, so
nobody noticed me.” Neary’s guidance
counselor thought a small college
might be just the thing and
suggested Colby Junior College for
Women in New London, N.H.
“I remember going on a lot of
college tours and finally setting foot
on the Colby campus and thinking,
This is where I’m comfortable, I want
to go here,” recalls Neary. “I loved
everything about it: that it was in the
woods and all girls; that it was small.
I thought that was divine. I loved the
college experience, when you realize
you have the freedom to do whatever
you choose.”
At orientation in Shepard Hall on
her first day, Neary met Sue Brown
Warner ’74, also from Greenwich.
They’d gone to the same school and
never crossed paths, but they became
close friends right away.
“We did so many goofy things,”
says Warner. “We used to like to put
on our ‘footie’ PJs and jeans and run
down to Jiffy Mart to buy snacks in
our matching shirts and socks.”
“It was a very safe feeling school;
you could cross the street without
looking,” Neary laughs. “And so it felt very natural. Sue and I
were roommates senior year in Shepard and we’ve been connected
at the hip ever since. Now she lives four miles away.”
A Liberal Studies major, Neary took mostly English classes
with what she calls phenomenal teachers. “Professor Tom Biuso
was a big favorite,” says Neary. “I credit him with my love of
literature. I always loved reading, but he took us to unbelievable
levels. We couldn’t wait to go to class. And Dr. Hoffman, he was
spectacular. I had great anthropology teachers, and I had the
Curriers [Harold and Esther] for science. I took zoology, how
cool is that? And we went sledding with our professors, which
I thought was terrific.”
In the close-knit, supportive setting,
Neary flourished, even ran for
dorm president her senior year. “That
was a remarkable experience because
I was so shy. Then I had to run for
election? That was so new to me, but
what I got from Colby-Sawyer was the
idea that you can do things. You can
try things. You make a difference.”
That message, she says, came from
everyone on campus: her “big sister”
mentor, the RAs, even her peers. With
the presidency—won in part, Neary
thinks, because of the station wagons
full of home-baked goods her mother
delivered on visits—she branched
out and became a tour guide.
“I was a poster child for the school
because I just loved it so much. I don’t
think you could miss that if you were
on a tour with me,” Neary says. “I
loved everything about it. I loved the
library—I love the new library more—
the gym, the mountains. We even
thought the dorms were beautiful.”
After two years in New London
and wearing a rut in I-89 North
going back and forth to Hanover
every weekend, Neary was ready to
continue her education in a city
on a co-ed campus, and the roommates
headed to Boston College. Ann
missed Colby-Sawyer and continued
to date her Dartmouth boyfriend,
Matt Neary, but earned her B.A. in
–Sue Brown Warner ’74 English Literature and followed an
interest in retail to Lord & Taylor,
where she completed a training program
to become a buyer. Prada replaced her college uniform of
jeans, flannel shirts and combat boots for what Neary recalls as
an exciting time meeting and working with designers. She also
married a colleague and had her daughter, Emily Orenstein,
who will be a junior at Colby-Sawyer this fall.
Life was full, and full of change.
“When I was younger my mom was really busy with work,”
says Emily, an English major who, like her mother, lived in
Shepard Hall for two years. “I always wanted her around more. I
remember one morning she was dropping me off at school and
I said, ‘You really should be teaching. I don’t know what you’re
doing, but you should be a teacher.’”
“Ann is a giving and nurturing
soul. There is nothing she won’t
do for her family and friends.
When my mother died at a relatively
young age, Ann dropped
everything to be with me and
also to make sure her father
(who had married my husband
and me) was able to preside
over my mom’s service. What I
love most about Ann is her soft,
gentle nature, combined with
her steely loyalty to those she
loves. And her sense of humor—
when we’re together, we invariably
laugh till we cry.”
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