Personal Reflections
Members of the Westminster School community offer personal reflections on their coeducation experience.
Tally Briggs
Faculty Member, 1977–1998 “Coeducation was a lifesaver for Westminster in many ways, after having gone through some hard times in the late sixties. The addition of girls was not only an important shift from an admissions point of view, but also a great boon to the classroom and community, infusing new energy and perspectives. For Westminster, I think it was the best path to take at that time and it’s been nothing but a positive for the school over the last 50 years.” |
Suzanne Daglio Armstrong ’94
Head Prefect, 1993–1994 “When I was named Westminster’s first female head prefect, it was an honor because it was a vote by my peers. It also felt like a big responsibility as people trust that you're going to move things forward, represent the school and its values, and set a good example. The female faculty, students from classes above me and the whole community were so supportive. People were screaming and cheering when I was pulled onto the lawn. It was a really special moment.” |
Joan Howard
Faculty Member, 1977–1981, 2000–2016 “The girls were certainly fully vested in everything that the boys did. They had their teams and activities. Don Werner, the headmaster at the time, did a great job of focusing on what brought us together and kept us in a community as a school as opposed to focusing on so many elements that could have split us apart. We always had the black and gold to rally around, the grit and the grace, the sense of community.” |
Wendy McKinley Uvino ’75
Former Trustee “I felt Westminster embraced women on campus in every way. I never thought we were excluded. Obviously, it was a transition and new norms were being established. I served on student council and as a prefect. There were girls involved in the yearbook, the newspaper and other activities. As one of the first female students, I didn't feel there were any impediments whatsoever to participating, and there was always the support of the faculty.” |
Mary Minns Peck ’90
Board of Trustees When I came to Westminster in 1987, coeducation felt fully integrated to me in most ways. But the glass ceiling hadn’t yet been broken in student leadership; head prefects and junior prefects were still boys, as was the head of John Hay. And, of course, the Headmaster and Assistant Headmaster were both men. I think that sort of lurked in the back of some of our minds. We’ve come to realize or acknowledge how much that kind of representation matters. We were always told that we could do anything we set our minds to, but it is important to actually see the possibilities. I cheered loudly from afar as an alumna when the first female head prefect and head of John Hay were announced and as female faculty took increasingly senior roles in administration. These days the girls can really see themselves in all roles on campus and I think it’s an exciting time for the school.” |
Lizzy Moran ’06
Former Trustee “It was critical for me, at the age of 15, to see female faculty members and students in leadership roles at Westminster. They embodied grit and grace and their presence in my life during those formative years gave me models to emulate. The support I was given to find my voice and strengths as a young woman in the athletic and academic realm and the space to share those strengths were foundational in my growth as a person.” |
Moy Ogilvie Johnson ’86
Former Vice Chair, Board of Trustees “For young women, when you're at a school like Westminster where you have equal opportunities in the classroom, on the athletic fields and in general, you're pushed and encouraged to try new things—even if you've never played that sport before, acted in the play or sung in choir. You come out with this understanding that you can really try or do anything that you want. It's so powerful to leave a place like Westminster at the age of 18 and have this confidence, knowing that you can compete with the best of the best, especially men.” |
William V.N. Philip
Head of School, 2010–2021 Faculty Member, 1983–2021 “When you arrive at a place where you're different—where there are not many of you and where there are many of them, that demands a lot of courage. Many of these first women have a deep emotional connection to Westminster. They remain involved and continue to care about the school. Some have sent their children to this school, some have been trustees, and some have served on the faculty. So it was a really important moment for them personally in their lives.” |
Meg Rittenhouse ’20
Head Prefect, 2019–2020 “I've had so many female role models to look up to—coaches like Ms. Keough, teachers like Ms. Devaney, team captains and older girls from past years. Athletics is a major part of Westminster and so are the females that feed into that and all they have to give. It's just so nice to see female athletics growing, not only at Westminster, but also in the world. It’s great to see that the tide is turning with female power.” |
Kirsten Schiller Webb ’98
Board of Trustees Admittedly, I did not think much about coeducation while I was a student at Westminster in the late 1990s. I was surrounded by strong women and men among my student peers and the faculty, and we were all expected to conduct ourselves according to the school’s motto, Grit and Grace. Every day, it was expected of you to live, learn, compete and give back in this way. The school’s mission truly imbued itself every aspect of my Westminster experience. I felt equally challenged and supported by my male and female friends, teachers and coaches to engage in the classroom, to participate in our school community, and to try new things that would not only strengthen my character, skills and confidence, but also prepare me for the eventual transition to life in a greater community beyond Westminster. |
Nancy Urner-Berry ’81
Faculty Member, appointed 1985 “When I arrived at Westminster in the fall of 1979, I actually didn't feel that the school had recently gone co-ed. I think the faculty did a great job making the girls who were on campus feel like they'd always been a part of the community. Reflecting back, I didn't have a lot of female teachers. I think Westminster was still getting up to speed on that. But having come from a public school with many male teachers, it didn't strike me as being odd. There were more females who were coaches and more females in the dorm. But the main woman I looked to was my advisor, Joan Howard, who was very supportive of girls. I didn't get the sense that there was a big divide between girls and boys. It seemed to be a nice, seamless transition for the school.” |
Donald H. Werner
Head of School, 1970–1993 Faculty member, 1960-1993 “The first twelve girls were a group of very bright, eager pioneers and they set a very good tone for the girls that came after them. Westminster was just livelier and more energetic with the girls here. The girls provided good competition for boys and vice versa—and that competition was beneficial in the classroom.” |
Susan Wilcox White ’74,
Former Trustee “I think the young women who first arrived at Westminster with me had a lot of grit. Otherwise, they would have been scared away by the sheer numbers. We were competing in the classroom and on the athletic fields, but at the same time, we were taught to be somewhat graceful. The school set the tone of being modest in your achievements, but that doesn't mean you didn’t try your very hardest and, for the most part, that’s what everybody did. That's what I really liked about the school then and now...and that's how I’ve tried to live my life. Westminster’s motto of “grit and grace” aligned with me and I think that's why I was so happy here.” |
