The Costco Connection

Ginna and Pat are pictured on the cover.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

GREW UP in Pittsburgh and was fortunate to have a number of wonderful teachers who influenced me and certainly enhanced my education. One in particular, Ms. Jessie Webster Gress, was the greatest catalyst in my professional life. She taught a dramatics class at Brookline School, where she nurtured or kindled whatever there was in me to write, act and direct.

From the very first
day I entered her
class, I sensed
her awareness of who I was. She encour-
aged me to explore my early, undeveloped
but precocious talents. She guided me in
writing short playlets, allowed me free-
dom to act and even direct scenes when I
was ; years old!

She imbued me with a great sense of self-confidence and always urged me to take whatever talents I possessed to a new and challenging place. She recognized whatever latent abilities I had and created opportunities for me to develop them with great insight.

These years of tutelage were the foundation of my multifaceted career. Prior to producing Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, I was engaged in directing other media. I have directed nearly ;, ;;; television commercials for major national and international clients.

Student: Robert Sallin

Teacher: Ms. Jessie Webster Gress

School: Brookline School, Pittsburgh, PA

I

N ;;;;, I wrote to my former high school teacher, Burdell Hall, to thank him for being a major influence in my life. We have been weekly email pals ever since.

My high school years (;;;;–;;;;)
were tumultuous, with generational divi-
sions on everything from Vietnam and
racial strife to music and hair length. For
the most part, the faculty members in this
tiny Midwestern school were staunchly
conservative, unreasonably opinionated
(in my young opinion!) and strictly “my
way or the highway.”
Burdell Hall, a twice-wounded World
War II vet, could have easily followed suit,
but he chose not to. He was conservative,
but he allowed us to debate the liberal
thoughts of the day. He was opinionated,
but he considered, and fairly

I

Opposite page: Teacher Joeann Revis (left) and her former student, Susan Farley Madsen.

Madsen’s class photo from

1957 shows Revis on the right in the back row and Madsen in the front row, ;fth from left.

Right: Teacher Burdell Hall (center), his wife, Doris, and former student James Gartland.

MANY, many years ago, when I wasin middle school, Ididn’t do so well. Seventh grade for me was a year of hanging with the wrong crowd, skipping homework and diverting letters home. Definitely not my best moments in academia, and my parents chose to send me to a private school.

University Prep was selected as my new school, and the next fall I joined as an eighth-grader. My eighth-grade year was one of my

best school years ever. The teachers were amazing. The popular kids studied hard and encouraged me to do so as well. My focus on learning turned a complete ;;;.

Instrumental in that shift was a history teacher named Pat Grant. He was new to the school, having previously worked as a cartographer for National Geographic. His passion for history, global cultures and maps of the world sparked an interest in me that has continued to this day.

Those days of learning history from such a passionate individual as Pat Grant triggered in me a lifelong love of learning. I earned a BA in history, love to read historical fiction and challenge my children to learn history as a way to understand today’s world.

Student: Ginna Steele

Teacher: Pat Grant

School: University Prep, Seattle, WA

was selected as my

an eighth-grader.

discussed, differing opinions. He used current circumstances to add relevance to the history lessons he taught.

We respected him because he respected us. We listened to him because he listened to us. We learned from him because he taught us how to think. Degrees and certifications may earn one the title of “teacher,” but Burdell Hall epitomized the true meaning of the word.