Dr. Michele DeMusis 1982

She made our world bigger by making us understand what Anna Karenina felt, or what Lear felt, and she was able to do it because she believed so sincerely in the importance of the books we were reading.  I remember her standing in front of the class, eyes closed, book open and hugged against her chest, willing us to understand for a moment what it was like to be Raskolnikov or Emma Bovary.  (Or her daughters Debbie and Nancy.  We also did learn quite a bit about life from the stories about Debbie and Nancy).  She was my favorite teacher, and my advisor, and she was there for me 10 years later when I asked her to read my medical school application essay (which I think she found pretty unexciting).

 

Great teachers inspire you and guide you, and I was lucky to have several at Hamden Hall--Dan Zibello, Judy Bratt, and Barbara Beitch, to name a few.  But the best teachers change you.  They open doors in your mind that make you see the world differently.  Thank you, Betty Lou, for being my best teacher ever.  I never hear the word Shakespeare without thinking of you.

 

With love and gratitude,

 

Michele DeMusis