‘Even as a teacher
you are always having
to push yourself to
learn new things.’
However, there is a catch. Gordon was mentally
nimble and physically agile: the oldest man ever to
run the Boston marathon. So the Gordon Junior
Fellow must not only be an academic star, he or
she must also be a prominent athlete. Perhaps it was
Gordon’s little joke, Amanda hints, to introduce
Wykehamists to the idea of sporting competition.
The story started for Amanda when Dan Gordon
(E, 1968-69) approached her on the campus of the
University of Pennsylvania and asked her if she
would be interested in spending a year in Winchester.
You do not have to spend long with Amanda to
realize that of course she was interested. Even though
she knew nothing of Winchester and had no more
than a misty memory of a single trip to London long
ago, this sounded like a challenge, and you do not get
to be a national rowing champion without a sense
of adventure.
So, in September 2011, she landed in Kingsgate
Street and set her mind to working out what
Winchester College — and the average Wykehamist
— was all about. She had given up on trying to do
research. “I quickly realized that Google cannot really
prepare you for Winchester. You just have to dive
in head first.”
Initially she was amazed at the range of opportunities
on offer. She smiles with the memory of discovering that
Ill Man Soc was for illuminated manuscript enthusiasts.
She found Common Room welcoming and highly
sociable, and quickly realized she would have to brush
up on her Wilde, Dickens, and George Elliott if she
wanted to join in the endless literary banter.
Naturally, as she had anticipated, the men made
fun of her accent. “But,” she grins, “they quickly
learned that Americans do understand sarcasm.”
40 The Wykeham Journal 2014
Her Fellowship required her to coach rowing,
which she set about with gusto, relishing the
opportunity to share her knowledge and experiences.
An early highlight was training a crew of JP novices
who promptly thrashed Eton, at Eton, stealing it in
the last 100 metres through sheer determination.
Her enthusiasm is infectious, and she was aware of a
growing sense of Wykehamists expecting excellence
from themselves athletically. (She admits to still not
knowing all the rules of Winkies but, let’s be honest,
she is in good company there).
She was also encouraged to get involved in teaching:
she is quite clearly an immensely determined person,
and wanted to do more. So, she became a JP and
Vth Book Div don as well.
Having previously worked at the Penn Museum,
and as she is contemplating a future career in museums,
her iPhone became a key teaching resource, as it is
loaded to the hilt with photographs of exhibits from
antiquity. What about Vth Book? I ask. Is