50th Anniversary Alumni Spotlight Ann Elliot - Garrett College

Garrett College Alumni


Ann Elliot


Ann Elliot

Ann Elliot, Garrett College's first student.

Elliott looks back on unique role in Garrett College's history

Ann Elliott has played a unique role in Garrett College history. She was the first student accepted at GC in 1971 and the first student to receive a Garrett College diploma as part of the Class of 1973. Elliott said her decision to be a Garrett College pioneer is one she'll never regret.

"It was a great foundation," recalled Elliott, who went on to earn a bachelor's degree at West Virginia University. "I think they did an excellent job in recruiting [the initial group of] professors. I received a quality education that set me up well for going on and finishing my four-year degree."

Elliott said she particularly appreciated the inter-personal relationships that could be developed at such a small college.

"We had a snowball battle with president of the college that first year. Where else would you go and have a snowball battle with the president?" asked Elliott, who said the snowball battle with President Luther Shaw occurred in one of the then-open breezeways between buildings.

Elliott said she and her classmates were aware of the duties they needed to fulfill as Garrett College's student pioneers.

"We had some responsibilities, like setting up the Student Government Association and other things that would set the path for the students that followed," she said.

Elliott recalled that one of the challenges for that first class was adapting to the open-space environment that was prevalent in education in the early 1970s.

Ann Elliot

Ann Elliot addresses the crowd and the Garrett College 25th anniversary gala.

"We were in class spaces that were only separated by dividers," explained the McHenry resident. "It was tough if you had two teachers with very strong voices in the central learning area whose voices carried – like Professors [Sandra] Schweitzer and [George] Dailey. It was tough if one was giving a test and one wasn't!

"Sometimes I would look at the feet – which you could see under the dividers – and try to guess who was going by," added Elliott with a laugh. "You always knew when [Professor] Dennis Fearnow went by – he had a very distinctive walk."

Elliott said the eclectic nature of the first student body made for a rich experience.

"The interesting thing when we started was it was a real community college – there were adults who hadn't had the opportunity to go to college now taking advantage of the fact that there was a community college in the county," said Elliott. "You were interacting with adults all on the same level learning together, and it was kind of cool."

And then there was the challenge of students from competing high schools coming together.

"There was a very strong rivalry between Northern and Southern high schools," noted Elliott, who grew up in Oakland and graduated from Southern High. "Now you're throwing kids who went to Northern in with kids who went to Southern – but it went really well. We developed a lot of special friendships."

After working as a manager of the Village Inn in Garrett County, Elliott eventually moved to Baltimore to work in the electric industry with a pair of companies (Lee Electric Company and Square D). She returned to Garrett County after retiring, and still keeps tabs on what's happening at Garrett College.

"It's nice to see the college continue to grow and continue to provide education for kids in the community who might not otherwise be able to go to college," said Elliott.