Alyson Hoving Thelin '02 '04 M.A. is one of many Montclair State graduates in her family. Her great-aunt Clara L. DeGroot '33 (pictured center above) was one of the University's oldest alumni before she passed away in 2003 at age 91, leaving Thelin, the secretary to Montclair State's Board of Trustees, and her younger sister, Alexandra Jordan Thelin '05, with stories and images of life on campus in the early 1930s.
 |
| Alyson ’02 ’04 M.A. (left) and Alexandra Thelin ’05 with their Aunt Clara on Alumni Green. |
Not long before she passed away, DeGroot talked with Alyson
about her college years for an article that appeared in The Montclarion.
(Click here to read entire story.)
But DeGroot was not the only Montclair State storyteller. DeGroot's sister--Alyson
and Alexandra's grandmother, Nella DeGroot Hoving--was a 1935 graduate
who was introduced to her future husband, Herman, by a college friend,
Charlotte Hoving Los '34.
 |
 |
| Clara L. DeGroot '33 | Nella DeGroot Hoving ’35 |
"My relatives were amazing, pioneering women,"
Alyson said. "Aunt Clara was the first in our family to attend college.
All three had special memories of their alma mater during The Depression
years. I only wish grandma and Aunt Clara could have shared in the academic
accomplishments of my sister and me, but I know they would have been so
proud of us."
This May, Alexandra, a Montclair State cheerleader--both on and off the
field--will graduate with a bachelor's degree in art history. Three months
later, Alyson will marry James J. Davison '03, coordinator of Montclair
State's Admissions Ambassador Program. The couple met at the Honors Program
freshman orientation and look forward to passing down their own Montclair
State pride to future generations.
 |
 |
| Hoving poses in her academic regalia. | Class rings belonging to Hoving, Alyson and Alexandra. |