Linden Hall mother and daughter learn new lessons


While Linden Hall art teacher Nora Workman took off on an adventure to faraway Turkey, her daughter Anna Workman, a Linden Hall senior served her community far closer to home.

Nora Workman participated in a summer studies program Turkey, which was intended to create a greater understanding of cultures. Anna Workman was sworn in as the second-ever junior council member for Lititz Borough.

Anna Workman expects to attend college next year, with plans to major in graphic design and psychology. She was selected from recommended students to serve as a member of Lititz Borough Council as a junior council member. The first junior council member was Aaron Graybill, a Warwick High School senior last year.

"I'm so excited to have this opportunity to be on the council and learn more about how local government works," Workman said in a press release, noting that her first meeting in July involved a flood-control project, various local infrastructure improvement issues and the future of the Lititz Fire Police program.

While junior council members are not permitted to vote or attend executive sessions, they are encouraged to attend committee meetings and to meet with other council members for insight into the workings of local government.

"I am extremely proud of Anna, both for her great accomplishment at being selected junior council person and for her willingness to serve her community in this fashion," said Linden Hall's academic dean, Dr. George Scouten. "She's a true example of the way in which Linden Hall strives to prepare young women to assume the leadership roles of their generation."

The junior council program is a statewide initiative sponsored by municipalities to encourage youth education and youth participation in local government. This program, established in 1999 by the Pennsylvania Boroughs Association, allows a high school junior or senior the opportunity to not only take the oath of office, but also to contribute to the council deliberations in a meaningful way.

At the same time that Anna Workman was taking her local oath, her mother Nora Workman was serving her desire to learn more about the world. She and 27 other teachers from across the country traveled to Turkey as part of the Teacher Study Tour sponsored by the World Affairs Council and the Turkish Cultural Foundation.

The foundation, which serves to increase awareness of Turkey, exposes teachers to Turkish culture with the hope that they will, in turn, share what they've learned with their American students.

As a part of the program, Nora traveled over 2,050 miles around the nation of Turkey, visiting schools and cultural sites, and learned about Turkey's pivotal role in history, culture, and politics. As an artist, she was especially interested in learning about ebru Turkish paper marbling, karogaz Turkish shadow puppets and calligraphy.

"You carry those experiences with you, and they create memories that change you," said Workman, noting that as the daughter of Austrian immigrants, she was taught from an early age to value experience over possessions.

Workman explained that she will be sharing her experiences with her classes this year, allowing her international studies to enrich her students. She will be sharing her more than 2,000 photographs and notes on her travels with her own art classes, as well as the history, geography and literature classes at Linden Hall.

While the mother and daughter both spent their summer learning new lessons, both at home and abroad, they will be joining up next spring, when Nora Workman takes a group of Linden Hall students to Italy. This time they will be discovering new things together.

"It's one thing to look at pictures on a screen, but when you actually travel, you can smell, touch, and hear a place," said Workman. 

Linden Hall School is an independent, college-preparatory boarding and day school for girls. Founded in 1746, it is the oldest girls boarding school in the United States.  The Turkish Cultural Foundation is dedicated to promoting and preserving Turkish culture and heritage worldwide through original programs and cooperation.