Colleen Akey Ferrer


Paul and Colleen Ferrer, March 2002

Hail Pomona Hail ... Each professor contributed something different, something special, to name a couple -- Prof. Meyers’ 19th Century Europe course which greatly expanded my understanding of how to look at causation and historical connections and Prof. Amrein’s counsel not to try to excel in everything. So did the people, the places, so many memories ... ... being measured on the steps of Harwood Court to the walk down the center of an aisle lined by our professors, hours and hours in Honnold, walks on the Quad, serenades and dances in Harwood Court (and elsewhere), non-stop bridge games in the dorm, long talks wherever, whenever, taking professors to lunch, drama productions, Semester Abroad, and ... ... ... all that wonderful, wonderful music!

The Long Journey

1962-1981 Chapel Hill, Boston, Olympia, Norman (Oklahoma); Santa Fe, Tucson "Lemon Tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat." Masters (History) at UNC. A roller coaster of a marriage, a son and a daughter, history prelims, history instructor, (U of A), had a ball . . . divorce, history went ABD, back to work. 1982-1992 Tucson, Lubbock, Chicago "In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself astray in a dark wood where the straight way had been lost." Dante’s poetry, my Inferno. Work, legal secretary, downtown Chicago. Home, I learned more about delinquent behavior, drug addiction and mental illness than I had ever wanted to know, but we all survived and each found a straighter path.

1992-2002 Chicago, Tucson, Chicago Out of the Blue Clear Sky ... Surprise! Early in 1992 I got a letter from Paul Ferrer, a romantic interest in high school. We had gone our separate ways after graduation. This time we got it right and life just keeps getting better and better. Work, corporate paralegal at a development company for the same attorney I worked for downtown (tally now is 13 of the last 15 years). Music (classical and other) and lecture tapes make my 2 hour+ suburb to suburb commute tolerable while juggling around Paul’s schedule with U.S. Customs. 2003+ Lower 48 + RV. Early next year Paul and I, accompanied by our four year old German Shepherd, plan to retire and travel, try cooking again, read, relax, rest and enjoy.

What about Pomona is still important to me? Expect the Unexpected! (but some "expecteds" sure would have been nice) Doing graduate studies in history, the importance of Pomona seemed obvious. There I had acquired the tools to study history, to ask and answer questions. All I had to do was use them and enjoy the ride, which I did. History became the avocation I still enjoy. As for the rest, my personal life turned to chaos, the experts often part of the problem, rather than the solution. I have a strong sense that I would rather have gone through all that with the liberal arts education and the Pomona experience with me than not -- a good companion, I feel, to my values and my religious faith.

Thank you Pomona! Thank you Class of 1962!