麻豆区

Cogan Alumni Fellow shares success story with students, faculty, alumni 

By Mary Kate Skehan '12 

 

When Carrie Scott Lazarus 鈥�01 finished her first semester at Dickinson with a less-than-stellar GPA, her First-Year Seminar professor, Tom Reed, sat her down for a conversation that would change the course of her life. 鈥淗e told me that if I wasn鈥檛 going to try any harder, I shouldn鈥檛 waste his time,鈥� Lazarus recalls. 

Reed remembers the interaction as well, though he did not anticipate the impact it would have on her. 鈥淚 certainly remember the conversation,鈥� the professor of English says. 鈥淔or all of the importance to me of having had something useful to say to a promising student, it seems to have been a bigger thing for her. I鈥檓 really glad it worked out the way it did.鈥� By the time Reed taught Lazarus again, in her senior seminar, 鈥渟he had found so much purpose and direction鈥攕he was really a leader, just through the force of her enthusiasm and energy.鈥� 

Eleven years after Lazarus鈥� graduation, following a decade of traveling and working in a variety of venues in the art world, Lazarus has settled in London to curate and direct the SHOWstudio Shop. On Feb. 26-27, the English department welcomed her back to campus as the Cogan Alumni Fellow to talk about her career path, her experiences living abroad and her engagement with London鈥檚 active art community.  

Cogan legacy  

The Cogan Alumni Fellowship is an annual event named in honor of Eleanor Cogan, a former Carlisle resident who audited more than 50 classes at Dickinson鈥�32 of them in the English department鈥攁fter her retirement as a research chemist. Each year, the English department invites to campus an alumna or alumnus who exemplifies the benefit and range of an English major; each Cogan Fellow offers a new answer to the question, 鈥淲hat can you do with an English major?鈥� Recent fellows include NPR journalist Frank James 鈥�79 and literary critic and poet Susan Stewart 鈥�73. This year is the first fellowship since Cogan鈥檚 death in December at the age of 102. 

The English department chose Lazarus this year in part because she has pursued a career overseas. 鈥淲e liked her for the abroad aspect at first,鈥� says Colin Tripp 鈥�14, a member of the Cogan committee. 鈥淲e got a lot of that interplay about being abroad [during her visit].鈥� 

Tripp was Lazarus鈥� campus liaison in the months leading up to her visit. When he first got in touch with her in early November, 鈥渟he was right away really enthused,鈥� he recalls. 

Lazarus is also the first fellow who knew Cogan personally. 鈥淚 was lucky enough to have Eleanor sit in on two of my classes while I was at Dickinson,鈥� Lazarus recalls. 鈥淪he was an inspiration. To now be part of her legacy is a profound honor.鈥� 

Lazarus spent two days on campus meeting with students and alumni. During the Cogan dinner in her honor on Sunday, she was the official judge of the dinner鈥檚 literary-dessert contest, granting first prize to 鈥淥ne Flew Over the Cookie鈥檚 Nest,鈥� submitted by Kaitlin Lilienthal 鈥�12. On Monday, Lazarus joined a group of English majors for lunch at local favorite Amy鈥檚 Thai and delivered her talk that evening in the Stern Center Great Room. 

In her talk, Not Just A Titular Hero: How an English Department Taught Me to Think, Lazarus recalled the suburban malaise and rebellion of her high-school years in Greenwich, Conn., and the accident that left her with a broken leg and a lot of time on her hands to find her life鈥檚 direction. 鈥淚鈥檓 telling you, [the accident] is what got me into this place,鈥� she said. After spending months crafting her college-admissions essay about the epiphany that accompanied her broken leg, Lazarus was admitted to Dickinson and arrived in the fall of 1997.  

Lazarus then projected her first-semester grades onto a screen behind her. She was met with a few giggles and some gasps. Once Professor Reed found that college-admissions essay and could see the kind of work she could accomplish when she set her mind to it, Lazarus explained, he knew she had unfulfilled potential. That鈥檚 when he sat her down for the fateful conversation that changed her attitude toward her studies.  

Lazarus鈥� career path took her from an M.A. program in art history at the University of Washington in Seattle to the Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery in New York City before she founded her art-advisory company, Carrie Scott & Partners. Through her firm, she connected with fashion photographer Nick Knight and became director and curator of the SHOWstudio Shop. With Knight, Lazarus explores the relationship between fashion and fine art, tackling issues like race and gender along the way in innovative, interactive exhibits. Lazarus has worked with celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Lady Gaga, as well as artists like Beth Campbell and Rashid Johnson.  

鈥淚鈥檓 not at all surprised to see how well she鈥檚 done for herself,鈥� Reed says. 鈥淔inding her best self in both settings [at Dickinson and professionally] made for an inspiring narrative.鈥� 

For her part, Lazarus was pleasantly surprised by the changes Dickinson has undergone since she last set foot on campus 11 years ago. 鈥淚t was wonderful to see how the college has changed over the years and nice to be able to recognize that the quality and strength of the professors sits at the core of that change.鈥�  

鈥楥omforting and inspiring鈥�

Lazarus wasn鈥檛 the only alumna on campus for the Cogan event. Megan Liberty 鈥�11, who has just been admitted to University College London鈥檚 art history master鈥檚 program and currently works as a curatorial intern in Brooklyn, N.Y., returned to learn how a fellow art lover turned her passion into a successful career.  

鈥淧rofessors [Wendy] Moffat and [Carol Ann] Johnston both told me that Carrie would be the Cogan speaker a month or so before the talk,鈥� Liberty explains. 鈥淭hey heavily encouraged me to attend. I was really excited about meeting Carrie because we have almost identical undergraduate backgrounds, and she has successfully achieved a career in the arts. It was really comforting and inspiring to see someone only 10 years away from where I am who had already accomplished so much. And there she was, encouraging me that I could鈥攁nd would鈥攁lso be able to succeed.鈥� 

Tripp agrees that Lazarus鈥� accomplishments in such a short time are encouraging, especially in difficult economic times: 鈥淚t was comforting to hear what little idea she had of what she wanted to do [while at Dickinson], and now she鈥檚 doing such cool things.鈥�