Of the 500 Mercersburg moments that matter to you, please share a couple that stand out.

Declamation was probably my most memorable experience at Mercersburg.  I felt that my fellow Marshall classmates were depending on me to garner the last winning points, and I was thrilled to step up to the task.  Entering the dining hall for dinner and Boone Hall for the competition, and hearing the rousing cheers of my teammates made me feel individually important, but part of a communal tradition unique to my school.  The sense of confidence and belonging I felt on Declamation night continues to inspire me as an adult.  Winning third place made the experience even more unforgettable.  Other noteworthy moments: having my father, Joel Chace, as my creative writing teacher; dancing to the Talking Heads with friends before squash practice; recording with Emily Peterson '97 in the chapel and selling our tapes to schoolmates on the last day of our senior year; hanging out in the "Day Room" in Tippetts with day-student friends; winning first place in a cross-country race my freshman year.  I could go on; there were so many special moments with great friends and faculty.


You grew up in Mercersburg. What's been best about going away for a while, then coming back?

My experiences at Mercersburg prepared me for more than I bargained for.  Though I missed the small community I grew up in, I found I was able to navigate various circumstances, towns, and cities with relative ease.  I made a full circle from Massachusetts, Idaho, and Texas before returning to Mercersburg 10 years after high school.  Every new location, school, and job bolstered my sense of adventure and curiosity, but I never stopped thinking about what it might be like to live in Mercersburg again.  My now-husband lived around the country with me, but grew up two blocks from my house in Mercersburg. This made the urge to move back to our families even stronger. After 10 years away, Mercersburg continues to provide a supportive community of people I have known my whole life, as well as new opportunities for my husband's and my photography business (www.csphotographs.com).  Being away has made me appreciate this special place all the more.  I believe you can be happy anywhere with the right attitude.


Mercersburg's endowment has grown strong and lots of great things are already happening on campus. Why is it important to you to make an annual gift to Mercersburg?

I helped with fundraising while at Mercersburg and learned first hand the importance of the annual fund and the endowment. Many possibilities were made available to me at Mercersburg thanks to the gifts of others, and I take pride in returning the favor.  I can't always give as much as I'd like, but consistent support is important to me.


What's your favorite nook or cranny on campus?      

Sycamore Lane has always enchanted me.


Besides a great education, what are you most grateful to have taken away from your time as a student?

I got my bachelor’s from Berklee College of Music in Boston, which provided a unique education, but was not altogether "academic."  I probably wrote a total of five papers during the four years I attended the school, most of them no more than 10 pages long.  Applied music was more important at Berklee, and that worked for me at the time.  But when I decided to apply to graduate school several years later to study ethnomusicology (a music degree that requires a lot of research and writing), I found I had very little to show in the way of academic writing.  I realized it was the rigor of paper-writing, as well as my creative writing class with my father, at Mercersburg that enabled me to show that I was worthy of graduate work.  I was accepted at several universities, and decided to attend the University of Texas at Austin.  I finished my Master's Report in 2006, and have since been honing my journalistic and creative writing skills.  I now write for Hagerstown Magazine (http://www.hagerstownmagazine.com/) and maintain a personal writing weblog (http://goodlifeproject.blogspot.com/).  These are just some of the skills I am most grateful for.
 

If you had to describe your relationship to this school in one word, what would it be?

On-going