Latin School of Chicago

Penelope Bingham '61 & Vicki Edelston Ebeling '61 "From the day I first walked into Latin ...I gained personal self-confidence that's helped me tremendously, in my life and my lasting friendships." – Vicki Edelston Ebeling time. Her family had just moved to Chicago, and, she said, the prospect of starting at this new school was "daunting." You'd never have known it from her first interaction with the Latin faculty. "The first day of school, I remember holding my mother's hand tightly . . . and walking up to a bulletin board where a woman, who turned out to be Miss Brokaw, was standing. She asked me my name and told me my room number, and then she asked if I knew on which floor my room would be. Unfortunately, I responded by saying something to the effect that I had never been in the building, so how could I possibly know on which floor my room would be. Oh, well . . . " V icki Edelston Ebeling was 11 when she walked into Latin School for the first Needless to say, Ebeling found her room. And nearly six decades later, she returned to the Latin hallways twice in one year: To march in the 2011 commencement ceremony and to attend her 50-year class reunion. Leading the commencement procession was, she said, "a wonderful experience." She, like her classmate and friend Penelope Bingham, was struck by how much the school had changed since their own graduation in 1961. But when it comes to Latin, Ebeling said, "I still do have a feeling of home." What does she remember most about her time at Latin? "The friendships I made, which are strong even to this day, friendships that I find are a priceless addition to my life." Latin nurtured her intellectual curiosity, Ebeling said, and bolstered her self-assurance. "From the day I first walked into Latin until the day six years later when I graduated," she said, "I gained personal self-confidence that's helped me tremendously, in my life and my lasting friendships." Ebeling is unabashed in her praise for her alma mater, while her longtime friend Penelope Bingham is unsentimental about her time at Latin. Everything about today's Latin experience – from the physical setting to the student body – is unlike her own, she said, adding, "A good thing that, because the world of 2011 is different from that of 1961!" In the end, Bingham left her reunion in September with a renewed sense of connected- ness to her classmates. "I was impressed that so many of us did come to the 50th," she said. "All the 'girls' who actually graduated from Latin (and are still alive), and a good number of the 'boys.' The wonderful part is that we are still connected, still friends," she added. "Friends in real time, not just memory." l Vicki Edelston Ebeling '61 and Penelope Bingham '61 36 Latin Magazine ALUMNI

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