Nan Keohane '61 and Geneva Overholser '70 Talk About Coming to Wellesley, Unexpected Opportunities and a Cherished Sense of Sisterhood

Throughout the spring semester, our Monday Daily Shot has been devoted to sharing conversations, recorded by StoryCorps, about Wellesley's effect on the lives of its students and alumnae. This week, in our final (for now) installment in the series, Former Wellesley President Nan Keohane '61 talks with her sister, Geneva Overholser '70, about coming to Wellesley from Arkansas, opportunities they never expected, and a new sense of sisterhood they cherish to this day.

"We lived in Arkansas, just west of the Mississippi River," recalled Keohane. "And a Seven College Conference Recruiter came to town."

"I remember, our family they didn’t know the Seven Sisters from the Seven Dwarves or something, you know?" Overholser said, drawing laughter from both sisters.

"It was all a new world to me," Keohane said. "I said Wellesley, I was accepted, I arrived all by myself and thought, 'What on earth am I doing?' But, before I knew it, I was feeling at home."

Listen to an excerpt of their conversation.

This conversation, and other stories representing a rich mix of anecdotes, insights, and memories, will be preserved for future generations to serve as a lasting record about the women of Wellesley. The stories will be posted to the Campaign microsite and added to Wellesley's archives. StoryCorps, known as "America's oral history project," will also add these stories to the national archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Alumnae are invited to record their own stories by using the StoryCorps app or add their voice by submitting their written stories directly to the Campaign website.