(borrowed from Mimi’s 50th reunion web page)

BS, Early Childhood/Elementary Education/Special Needs, Wheelock College of Education & Human DevelopmentUniversity of New Mexico 1983 (MA, Special Education with a Major in Gifted Education)University of New Mexico 1999 (DEd, Administration and Supervision/Organizational Development)

Partner/Spouse

Bob Richter-Sand

What I’m up to now

Retired
Living in Albuquerque, NM
Grew up in Cheltenham, PA

Residence(s)

Peabody Hall

Organizations

Wheelock Glee Club

Wheelock Family Theatre

My journey…

Since graduation, I’ve lived in Pittsburgh, PA, Idaho Falls, ID, and Albuquerque, NM. Each location allowed me to teach–first at a private elementary and then in public schools. I enjoyed connecting with peers through participation in multiple programs of study at several universities. My deepest opportunities arose within the field of gifted education classrooms in Albuquerque Public Schools, and later, as a Professional Staff Developer working with peers in collegial teams to support educational administrators and principals with reflective and outcome-based best practices in teaching.

Over the course of my career, I was fortunate to be a recipient of several Rockefeller Foundation grants, a New Mexico Public Education Department grant for bringing artists into the schools to work with teachers, American Educational Research Foundation (AERA) academic grants, and a Fulbright Educational Grant that sent me to Japan and connected my group of educators to many Japanese schools, labs, writers/poets, artists, and politicians. Upon my return to the US, this honor enabled me to serve as a host teacher for yearly Japanese cultural interns who came to the US to share, with students, their traditional crafts, music, language, and brushwork for Kanji characters.

Retirement has provided me with time to write and occasionally publish, and a renewed dedication to wheel-thrown porcelain in the Japanese Arita method, gardening, photography, travel, and tackling the process of learning to paint with soft pastels. While each of these passions has their own purpose and benefits, aviation is truly something I’d always thought was out of reach in my own life. In our years together, my husband Bob became a licensed Sport Pilot, and I’ve taken over 200 hours of flight instruction. We ended up ordering a Kitfox airplane kit in 2011 and built its parts from the frame out; this included the body, wings, electronics, engine, radios, the tail number registration, and execution of a paint design! It took six dedicated years, start to finish, before Bob was able to test-fly the Kitfox SuperSport 7, a 2-seater Light Sport Aircraft, under the ‘wing’ of his CFI and fellow pilots. Once it passed FAA flight-worthy certification, we began flying together after Bob accrued 40 hours of solo flight testing to ensure his knowledge and performance of the plane in multiple conditions. Sadly, I had to discontinue my own flight training due to medical reasons, but it is still a wonder to understand this world and the passion of its fellow aviators. One of my favorite views is from the passenger/co-pilot side of our cockpit, capturing many unique geological features from the altitude of 3000+ ft AGL.

My husband Bob and I currently have two beautiful whippets, one of them (out of two service dogs I trained) still alerting me to dropping glucose levels. It’s a beautiful circle in terms of the deep relationships we’ve had over 40 years with this special breed.

Bob (MIT, 1976) and I have two grown kids–Erica and Matt–both of whom live in southern CA with their own families. It’s very nice to visit, and just as nice to get home and recover from the cacophony of four rambunctious (but wonderful) grandchildren, too!

Looking forward to our special 2026 reunion activities and reconnecting with BU Wheelock alum!

My friends…

Hola, mi amigas! @Angela Yakovleff @Bonnie Page @Margaret Webb @Regina Bachini @Carla Uribe @Brita Josephson @Daria O’Connor @Dolores Testa @Elaine Allen @Caroline Imbrie @Gayle Goldberg @Marianne Chellgren @Mary Mason @Nora Richards @Karen Ezzi @Diane Thompson @Nancy Alvanas and others I recall so well!

When I wasn’t in class you could find me…

hanging out to draw and paint in Wheelock’s beautiful ART STUDIO!

in the library!

working in the Peabody Dorm kitchen!

in the student center for snacks and meeting friends!

walking to Coolidge Corner!

Favorite memories…

I LOVED being in Glee Club. Rehearsals and practices helped me work hard to learn new pieces. And being a huge part of the Wheelock Family Theatre’s productions was AMAZING.

I loved Marcia Folsom and Joan Thornton, also Dr. Struthers!

Can we plan to see you at the reunion?

Attending Reunion