Shelley Johnson Carey (she/her)
Self Bio: Author of Thin Mint Memories: Scouting for Empowerment through the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Recently retired from publishing career. Now writing anything that interests me. Currently serving on the board of directors for Amherst Writers & Artists.
Year of div 3: 1979
Name of div: Developing a Magazine: New Horizons, An Alternative to Seventeen Magazine for the Black Teen Woman
Summary of your div 3 : Consisted of a historical review of all periodicals (at the time) produced for African American audiences. Included survey of 100 black teen women from Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Springfield, Mass. Ended with a prospectus for New Horizons, a magazine I had hoped to start for that audience.
Hampshire’s influence: My interest in publishing began when I worked with the development office to produce a brochure for prospective black students and my Div III grew out of that experience. I have had a chance to work on a couple of start-up magazines and the work I did on my Div III was still very useful many years later.
What place on campus was significant to you? : My favorite place on campus was the Kiva because it is where I participated in my first on-campus creative writing class. Years later when I was a trustee, I visited a poetry writing class and felt like I was time traveling.
Describe the on- campus place as you remember it.: . Intimate setting, the circular room in the top floor of the library was like a small stage.
Dear Shelley,
Welcome back to Hampshire! The first time you arrived on campus, you felt out of place. Nobody quite fit your opening for a buddy to help you feel at home. Now that you’ve spent three years growing and gaining new skills by working as a proofreader for the federal government and spending a couple of semesters at Howard University, you’ve decided to give Hampshire another chance. Here’s the good news: while you were growing up, so was Hampshire! On campus there are more dorms than when you left and there are also many more academic options that will engage your intellect and your imagination.
Now that you’ve spent time at a “normal” school where you took lots of 101 courses, you’ll be able to see and experience the differences of a Hampshire College education. At Howard, you learned whatever the professor told you would be on the test. And you did well! But, how much of that information do you still recall? In Hampshire courses you will delve into readings and discussions that will engage you, challenge you, and sometime infuriate you. However, as you connect your knowledge, you will find that—along with the growth of your own knowledge base—you’re learning how to ask the right questions and sort through ideas to draw your own conclusions. And by creating your major in Div II and designing your senior project in Div III, you’ll learn how to see each twig and leaf make up the trees and, ultimately, the forest. Once you’ve completed your Hampshire studies, you’ll be able to plan and manage large and small projects. In fact, one day you’ll complete your MFA by writing a book about Girl Scout cookies (really!), and that same ability to imagine, plan, and execute a project will allow you to be successful.
Oh, and the good news is that this time at Hampshire you’ll meet a friend who will be like a sister. You and she will support each other the entire time you’re at Hampshire and you’ll even spend January term on campus together doing work on your Div IIIs and cooking all your meals in a Merrill lounge. And years later, you’ll still be besties. Through heartaches, motherhood, loss of parents, etc., you’ll have each other to lean on. And even when you retire, you’ll still be there for one another as you reminisce about snowy days spent on a Massachusetts apple orchard.
Well, I don’t want to give you any more spoilers, so I’ll end here. Good luck at Hampshire and enjoy learning how to learn!
❤ Shelley
What We Remember 