Co-Mawrtian of the Month: Ms. Ulmer

By: Brynn B. ‘26

When asked if there was ever another career path she considered following or another subject she would have liked to teach, the newest addition to the Bryn Mawr History Department, Ms. Ulmer, kept her answer very simple, replying, “None, I would be a history teacher”. She shared that she first knew this was the job for her while in 10th grade at Bryn Mawr because of the impact her history teacher, Ms. Henry, had on her. In the 4th grade, she was formally diagnosed with dyslexia after noticing she had difficulty reading and writing, but there were very limited learning accommodations available for her. She chose to stay at Bryn Mawr, but she had to work much harder on her own and had outside tutors to help her stay and do well in an already rigorous curriculum. She notes that Ms. Henry was the first teacher she had who really saw past her dyslexia and focused on developing her abilities as a student. She would give Ms. Ulmer feedback on her papers that was about her ideas and argument, rather than small things like grammar or spelling. Having a teacher who put that much effort and care into helping her grow as a writer was what made Ms. Ulmer realize that she wanted to become a history teacher too, so that she could have the same impact on her students.

While a student at Bryn Mawr, Ms. Ulmer remembers being involved in SGA, being the manager for the basketball team, as well as being part of Model UN. However, she notes that there are a significant number of clubs, athletics, and opportunities for student leadership that were not available while she was a student. One of her favorite parts of high school was getting to overlap with her younger sister, who was two grades below her. They also both attended William and Mary for college, which Ms. Ulmer explains allowed them to have a much stronger bond because they knew most of each other’s friends and got to share a lot of experiences. 

As a new member of Bryn Mawr’s faculty, Ms. Ulmer has taken on the position of 11th-grade co-advisor with Mr. Hindes, outside of teaching her freshmen and junior classes. It could certainly be difficult for most to take on an advisory already in its third year of high school, which is famously a time of high stress, with students thinking about college applications, senior courses, extracurricular activities, and more. However, Ms. Ulmer seems to have seamlessly stepped into this new role and become someone her advisees feel very comfortable going to for help. Liv M., a student in the Hindes/Ulmer advisory, comments, “It feels like Ms. Ulmer has been with us for a lot longer than she actually has because she’s become such a reliable person for us so quickly.” Clearly, despite it being her first year teaching here, Ms. Ulmer has already made the impact she was hoping to have on her students, and we are very appreciative that she has chosen to return to her alma mater as part of our faculty.