On My Nightstand


BY NANCY JOHNSON


One of my favorite parts of childhood was the summer reading program. Every week, I looked forward to swinging by the library between summer swims and camps for the biggest stack of books the librarian and my mother would allow me to take home. Sometimes my nightstand still reminds me of those giant stacks, filled with promises of extra reading time at semester’s end. Biographies drew me in early on, and they still cover much of my nightstand. I recently finished Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime, and I’m excited to start Cicely Tyson’s Just as I Am. After hearing Reverend Sharon Risher speak at Queens’ Presbyterian and Pluralist Week, I immediately purchased her book, For Such a Time as Tis: Hope and Forgiveness after the Charleston Massacre. Her raw, honest story of pain and grief aches and inspires from the page just as it did in person.


Also joining my memoir stack


is the recently released Shaking the Gates of Hell by Pulitzer


Prize-winner John Archibald. I’ve been awaiting his reflections on growing up in Birmingham (also my hometown) as the son of a minister in the 1960s. I’m also holding some space for upcoming fiction from Birmingham’s Gin Phillips, Family Law: A Novel. However, before biographies


grabbed me, Sesame Street did, and David Kamp’s Sunny Days: Te Children’s Television Revolution that Changed America is up first for this year’s summer reading list. Meanwhile, for pure distraction, I’ve turned to Jerry Seinfeld’s Is Tis Anything? It’s worked well for comedy bursts between the Zoom calls of 2021.


—Nancy Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H., is a clinical psychologist and Charles A. Dana Professor at Queens. She specializes in clinical child and


adolescent psychology and researches grief issues, foster care issues, and teaching and learning.


Remember When DORM MOTHERS AND LIGHTS OUT


Lemie Dickson Richards ’58 lived on the second floor of Watkins and served as the president of Watkins Dormitory Council. Reminiscing about her leadership role, Lemie became a bit sentimental as the family tradition continues


with her granddaughter, Genie Richards ’19. Working on a master of science in talent and organizational development at Queens, Genie serves as the graduate hall director of Barnhardt Residence Hall. As president of Watkins, Lemie worked to make


freshman year a success for everyone. In addition to counseling students, she oversaw the phone duty assignment schedule, monitored the “closed study” hours from 7 to 10 p.m. every weekday night, as well as the “lights out” 11 p.m. rule. Kit Lyon Maultsby ’61, who also resided in Watkins dormitory, recalled that students often went into their closets to study after 11 p.m. Richards added that students would sit in empty bathtubs after lights out to get in more study time. A freshman at Queens in 1957, Maultsby says one


of her fondest memories of Watkins is Carrie Greene, the dorm mother who lived in a suite on the first floor across from the pay phone and the “phone duty desk,” just steps away from the entrance to Diana Courtyard. “Each residence hall had a dorm mother,” remembered Maultsby. “Mrs. Greene was an older woman who gave both the students and their parents a feeling of welcome, warmth and security.” recalled Maultsby. Though the titles and responsibilities have


evolved through the years, dorm leadership remains essential to a successful residence life experience. Just ask Genie, following in her grandmother’s footsteps 61 years later.


—Adelaide Davis ’61


MARIUS KUSCH ’19 AND ANABEL KNOLL ’19 HEAD TO THE OLYMPICS THIS SUMMER Anabel Knoll ’19 secured the final women’s


Marius Kusch ’19 will dive into the pool at the Tokyo Olympics this summer. As a member of the German Olympic Swim Team, he will represent his native country in the 100-meter butterfly. Kusch is experienced in international competition, winning the bronze medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2017 European Championships and competing on Germany’s 4x100-meter medley relay team in the 2018 European Championships, once again earning a bronze medal.


spot for the German Olympic Triathlon team at Germany’s Olympic Trials Race on May 26. Knoll is the first-ever varsity triathlete to qualify for the Olympics since women’s triathlon became an NCAA emerging sport. Additionally, she will be the first Queens triathlete to compete in the Olympics.


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