December faculty spotlight: Mrs. Harding

Daniel Demessie ’24

Did you always want to be a librarian?

No, I thought that I would be a lawyer, which would put me in good company with a lot of upper school faculty. When I was in undergraduate I studied political science and thought that I would wind up in law. I actually was a law librarian early on in my career. But part of the reason that I got into libraries is that I like answering questions and I like finding things for people. When you specialize you are limited in getting the same types of questions. I was looking for more variety. The early things that you think you are going to do may not pan out but sometimes you pivot. I wouldn’t call it a plan B more of like a plan A.2. 

What made you decide to work at EA?

I came here from an independent boarding school and I really enjoyed the character of students who tend to gravitate towards independent schools. [I appreciate] their curiosity and their desire to understand complexities in the world. I’ve grown to enjoy helping students learn how to navigate a constantly changing information world. Boarding schools are amazing because you get to see the inner-lives of students that you’re working with. But it does mean a lot of nights and weekends. So an independent school that is a day school gives me the best of both worlds. I still get to work with very remarkable, driven, character-filled students but I also get to go home to my family at night and attend things I like to do over the weekend.

How did you get involved with the Lilley Fellowship?

Mr. Kelly was the original coordinator of the Lilley Fellowship program and when he became a form dean it was needed for him to re-evaluate what he could do. It wasn’t necessarily something he wanted to give up but he had to look at everything he had on his plate (form dean, water polo coach, teacher, etc). Ms. Yu said that [the Lilley Fellowship program] is a very interdisciplinary, research-based focus and thought that someone in the library could take a stab at the job. She encouraged me to put in my resume. At that time the former assistant head of school, Mr. Sanders, and Ms. Pfifer were the people leading the search for the replacement. Earlier on in my career as a law-librarian I worked at a university so I was used to working with the type of scholarship that university students and graduate students are asked to undertake… They thought that I was a good fit. I am very appreciative and surprised that they picked me.

If you could teach any subject what would it be?

International relations. I am still incredibly fascinated by political science. And I think that many of the challenges that our community, especially young people in the world today, has to face are very interdisciplinary and international in focus. Climate change is not just a US issue—everything is complex, everything is interconnected and I think that helping students impact and understand those bonds and challenges is extraordinarily important as the world continues to change.

What is your favorite memory from working at EA?

There are so many it is hard to pick just one. I tend to really enjoy spirit week, as being involved with the student council, and I am very proud of the work that students pull together as they are balancing academics and athletics. It is a really great community building experience. It’s those ubiquitous experiences that resonate in a community—every member of this community participates or gets to experience spirit week.

What are your hobbies outside of school?

I run. I am a big reader. I have two children so I spend a lot of time on the sideline because they play soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. I enjoy going on hikes, spending time with my friends, family, and dog. I enjoy musicals and the arts. If I ever have time cleared on my plate, I would like to go back to seeing more musicals and going to more orchestras.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your time at EA/life?

I’ve learned that relationships are the key to everything. People notice when you show up. They notice when you’re present for them. What I really appreciate about this community is how often people show up for each other and help out when they can and do things without being asked. As Maya Angelou said, “people will forget what you said, but they won’t forget how you made them feel.” I think that when you’re in a career or doing things you really care about, you can’t lose sight of your relationships. People won’t look back at my time here and think “she ordered X amount of books or she taught X amount of classes,” but I hope they remember the relationships we had and the conversations that we had.