The Essence of Life-Changing Teachers — Bequest

Kim Geiser Jolley '00 and Jenn Jolley, Friend of Lawrence
(Kim pictured right)

I decided a few years ago to make Lawrence a priority in my will because it has been such an important part of my life. As a teacher and a coach, my job working with teenagers has become a huge part of my identity and neither would have happened without the education and the guidance I had from my wonderful professors, coaches, and teammates at Lawrence.

Professor Hittle pulled me into his office and asked if I had considered teaching as a career, as he thought I would be good at it. Professor Doeringer helped get me a job coaching his daughter's u-14 soccer team and then cheered for us from the sideline. Professor Taylor would drive his purple scooter to Whiting Field for our games on Saturday afternoons.

And in every class, every professor I ever had: Podair, Nicholson, Cohen, Glick, Carr, Sager, Jordan, Spurgin, (Beth) De Stasio, to name just a few; taught me how to think and communicate, while making me valued. In short, they were all the very essence of wonderful, life-changing teachers. When I considered becoming a member of the Lawrence-Downer Legacy Circle, I thought about those teachers and what an impact they had on me. I joined the Legacy Circle so that upon my death, my family would understand that impact too, along with the Lawrence community.