Lucy Brodman Lehman ’63
- 1960s
I barely remember my own Wellesley graduation in 1963. I don’t know who the speaker was, but he was boring, and we were required to wear white.
However, both of my daughters’ Wellesley graduations were memorable: Elana’s in 1990 and Francesca’s in 1997.
At Elana’s, both Barbara Bush and Raisa Gorbacheva spoke. Barbara was warm and inspiring; Raisa’s speech translated from Russian was all platitudes.
At Francesca’s, Oprah Winfrey gave the most memorable address of the three Wellesley graduations. Oprah was funny and charming. By the example of her philanthropy, she challenged the grads to help the less fortunate. I was impressed by her sincerity.
I was happy to see that there were many women of color among the grads of 1997. There were no Black women in my class sixty-two years ago. Of course, today, Wellesley educates women of all races and ethnicities from all over the world.
