Carter Ladd Green (Peterson)

LIFE SINCE GRADUATION

Growing up in Oregon, I’d heard of Williams, but didn’t think about applying. It was a school for men. Instead, I went to Bradford Junior College in Haverhill, Mass., which is now defunct, but I did receive a decent education there. In the fall of ’69, I heard that Williams was going coed. I applied on a lark, thinking it would be a long shot—and got in. My father gave me some advice: “I think you should go because it will be an incredible experience. But don’t get a swelled head. With that men-to-women ratio, any girl can get a date.”

Entering Williams junior year, I read the list of colleges previously attended by the other women, and most came from seven elite New England women’s colleges. Thankfully I was paired with Eliza Woodin from Sweet Briar College, and we immediately became (and still are) fast friends. We were lucky to live in Susie Hopkins House that first year. Only 10 of us, no housemother, and no rules. There was no special orientation for women. We were just plunked down. As a result, the women did not became well acquainted with each other initially, sometimes not until later reunions.

At the start, no men “dated” us. Maybe they all felt everyone else was dating us, so why try. Great yearbook quote: “If the ratio of guys to coeds is supposed to be 12 to 1, then somebody has my twelve guys.” Taking the initiative, I pursued my future husband Gregg at a ski team party by sitting down right next to him. It worked.

A few memorable stories: One guy at The Fort commented on how much I was eating of Joe Florini’s wonderful lunch spaghetti. I was starved, so he was right. I told him that the amount of food his women consumed on the weekend was not reflective of what they probably ate during the week. Getting acquainted with the men was challenging initially. At Greylock Dining Hall lunchtime, the guys wouldn’t make eye contact, as they did in my early classes, so where to sit? I finally solved it by finding a table full of men with one empty chair, sat down, and said, “Hi, my name is Carter. What’s yours?” That broke the ice. It was a lesson that has stuck with me through life. By senior year, we were full partners in the social fabric: I played a diminutive Santa Claus with Bob Muller ’73 as a massive Mrs. Claus at The Fort’s Christmas party!

I majored in psychology and graduated cum laude because Williams only counted our junior and senior grades. Sorry, guys! I learned a lot in psych, especially the Risky Shift Phenomenon. Our professor showed us how individual decisions can differ from group decisions, both good and bad. As a result, I am leery of what crowds will do or group-think.

I’ve had a great life after Williams. Before Gregg and I had children, I was able to reach my dream of becoming a buyer in the retail business. After that, my “job” was a stay-at-home mom raising three kids plus a wide range of meaningful volunteer work, including serving 14 busy and rewarding years on our local school board. Now we have seven grandchildren to enjoy.

I am most grateful for all the wonderful people I got to know at Williams and continue to know better at reunions. A great college experience is not just diverse courses and professors, it’s different people with different views or opinions. It’s a gift to be thrown in with different people and gel as a class. I am very thankful to be a ’72er.