Princeton Alumni Weekly Podcasts

Princeton women’s basketball has become one of the nation’s top mid-major programs, with six NCAA Tournament bids in the last seven years, including the team’s first tournament win, in the first round against Wisconsin-Green Bay, in 2015. But when the program began 45 years ago, players had to work to get basic necessities like court time and quality coaching. Janet Youngholm ’75, one of the team’s founders, marvels at how far the Tigers have come. “We couldn’t see that horizon,” she said, speaking with recent alumnae in early February. “I can’t see it except through you guys in retrospect.” Listen to reflections on the early years of Princeton women’s basketball in this episode of PAW Tracks, which features members of the Classes of ’75, ’76, ’10, and ’13. (Season 3, Episode 8)

April McQueen ’93’s struggles with and recovery from mental illness forced her to revisit her expectations and professional goals. “I believe that it’s made me who I am today,” she says. “I’m living my truth.” (Season 3, Episode 7)

Jenny Korn ’96 tried to build connections as an undergrad, founding Princeton’s Thai-American Student Organization, and that theme has continued, both in her work and in a Chicago-based alumni group.

When Jerry Sorell ’50 *51 and his family fled Austria in 1938, he left behind his hopes of becoming a professional musician. “I decided that chemical engineering would be a way to earn a living,” Sorell says, “and music would be something I really enjoyed.” Nearly eight decades later, his love of violin lives on. (Season 3, Episode 5)

Allison Slater Tate ’96’s career has ranged from TV production to blogging about parenting, and her college experience has been useful at every turn. “In some ways, I’ve been way out of the Princeton track,” she says, “and in other ways, Princeton’s never left.” (Season 3, Episode 4) Editor’s note: This interview was recorded during Reunions at Blair Hall, just as the Alumni Battle of the Bands was beginning outside. We apologize for the background noise.

Adjusting to college life wasn’t easy for Norm Tabler ’66, a freshman from a small town in Indiana — and the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis added new anxieties. (Season 3, Episode 3)

At Reunions, Carolyn Bowman Pugh ’81 and her daughter Alexa ’16 spoke with PAW about how the different time periods that they were on campus shaped their Princeton experiences. (Season 3, Episode 2)

Tony Zee ’66 made an improbable journey from China to Brazil and eventually to Princeton, where he studied physics under the tutelage of legendary professor John Wheeler. (Season 3, Episode 1)

In the spring of 1977, Robin Bennett Osborne ’81 received a moving letter from her grandfather, E. Lansing Bennett ’22, that convinced her to come to Princeton. Four years later, the two were pictured on PAW’s cover, marching arm-in-arm at the P-rade. (Season 2, Episode 14)

Writing the senior thesis is one the quintessential Princeton experiences: Months of research and exploration come together in a single document. In this episode of PAW Tracks, two alumni — Christine Galib '08 and Tim James '78 — share their thesis memories. (Season 2, Episode 13)

Alumni of the Nassoons returned to campus in April to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the group that gave birth to a cappella singing at Princeton. We spoke with several members about their favorite memories of performing, touring, and rehearsing in the ’Soon Room. (PAW Tracks, Season 2, Episode 12)

John V. Fleming *63 describes his time as a Ph.D. student as “a blur,” but his four decades on the faculty left a clearer impression. “For me, Princeton was the perfect place,” he said. “I became a Princetonian by adoption, in a sense, rather than by rite.” (PAW Tracks, season 2, episode 11)

In the early 1970s, the women’s rowing team was easy to spot in campus dining halls. “We didn’t have time to change [after practice],” Carol Brown ’75 recalled, “so we’d come up from the boathouse wet and dripping, cold and sweaty.” The experiences with her teammates built lifelong bonds, and Brown’s training on the water led her to a milestone medal at the 1976 Olympics.

For Tibor Baranski Jr. ’80, coming to Princeton was one part of a remarkable journey. Baranski, whose family emigrated from Hungary, developed a love of Asian languages and cultures as a teen. He immersed himself in both at college, and since graduation has lived and worked in Asia.

When Paul Rochmis ’60 joined us for an oral history interview at Reunions last year, he spoke about some of his happiest memories of Princeton — meeting new friends, discovering unexpected interests. But he also recalled the disappointment he felt during his sophomore year when several of his peers were not extended bids from the eating clubs — an incident that became known as the dirty bicker of 1958. (Season 2, Episode 8)

For John Potter ’65, one senior-year meeting with Dean of the Chapel Ernest Gordon changed the course of his life. He went from being a nonbeliever to eventually becoming a pastor.

As undergraduates, Edie Canter ’80 and her friends had many discussions about women’s issues, but rarely in an academic setting. That realization led them to push for a women’s studies program.

Before Van Wallach ’80 came to Princeton, his dad urged him to learn more about opera, to match his cultured peers. “What I found out was not knowing about Bruce Springsteen was a bigger social impediment,” he said. Wallach also discovered a range of new experiences on campus. (Season 2, Episode 5)

As WPRB celebrates 75 years on the air, PAW Tracks looks back at the student experience at the radio station in interviews with two alumni: Sally Jacob’88, a former DJ and music director; and John Shyer ’78, who covered news for the station and eventually became station manager.

As a Princeton freshman, Laura Landweber ’89 began the first of several undergraduate research projects and immediately knew she had found her path. “I really experienced that art of being absolutely wrapped up in what you do,” says Landweber, a member of the molecular biology faculty for the last 21 years. (Season 2, Episode 3)