Welcome to the first week of my version of the iconic Proust’s Questionnaire found on the back page of every issue of Vanity Fair magazine. This questionnaire explores the profound, and the superficial at the same time—all in a wonderfully playful and personal way. I will be interviewing various members of the Fieldston community and my first choice is the incomparable Ms. Karen Drohan, the infamous history teacher.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Sitting on a porch looking at water with a thunderstorm coming in.
What’s your favorite thing about being a teacher?
That moment when students connect and realize something. And the moment of realization, a moment of connection—when you watch someone have that experience..it is extraordinary and to be a part of that is incredible.
What is the best quality a student can have?
Curiosity.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Wow. Um, oh god I don’t know. I would love to say someone like Eleanor Roosevelt, or..I don’t know. I wish there was someone I could emulate to make the world better and I don’t know who I would say that I can identify with that way, but someone who made the world better.
Which living person do you most admire?
Judy Heumann is my hero, the person who overcame obstacles, didn’t see them as obstacles and demanded that other peoples didn’t see them as obstacles. She is so much in my world right now and she has just passed.
Favorite flavor of jelly bean?
I like licorice.
What’s better for the teacher: an apple or an orange?
For this teacher, it’s an orange.
What is your favorite painting you’ve ever seen in any museum?
Judith Slaying Holofernes, by Artemisia Gentileschi.
What is your favorite moment in all of history?
The moment my children were born.
What’s better in your opinion: being built for school or being built for life?
Being built for life.
What’s your favorite car model?
My Subaru Impreza that I drive right now.
Most significant female figure in history?
The leader of the Women’s Movement in Liberia, Leymah Gbowee.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Incredible. Amazing. Hypocritical.
If you could reincarnate as a tree, what type would you be?
I would be a pine tree.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I could dance.
Who is your favorite Beatle?
John.
If you could change one thing about Fieldston, what would it be?
Accessibility.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My children.
Nuts in chocolate chip cookies or no?
Nuts in everything. I love nuts.
What is your most treasured possession?
Ok this is gonna be a weird answer. My mother, when she was 19 years old, won Miss Lake Winnipesaukee and there’s a picture of her in a captain’s hat, on a boat, and she’s sort of posing—I have that photograph and there’s only one of them that exists as far I know. My mother passed 15 years ago and she was so proud of the fact that when she was a teenager she won this and when I look at her, I see her face so proud, so happy, and it brings swells of joy to me.
Mustard and sauerkraut, or ketchup on a hotdog?
Ketchup and mustard with relish. No sauerkraut.
Which time would you like to live in: the Renaissance or the French Revolution?
French Revolution since it was cleaner then.
What do you most value in your coworkers?
Joy and positivity. Sometimes because I don’t have it and I need it from others.
Who is your favorite writer?
There’s a Canadian writer named Robertson Davies, who I was obsessed with in my twenties and early thirties. And I haven’t read his work in probably more than 10 years, but I think that if I had to have a favorite, he was someone that I just kept getting back to. I would get really good memories from reading his work.
Where is your favorite beach?
There’s a beach near my stepmother’s house in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, that’s just for people that live in the town and it’s small, it’s quiet, and you can dig clams there. We do and we eat them. And I feel very much at peace when I’m at that beach.
What is your motto?
Suck it up and deal.
Grape or orange soda?
Seltzer with grapefruit.
That’s it for this questionnaire! Who do YOU think should be next?
