Clairbourn Cougars for Life: Alumni Spotlights — Anne Gifford Ewing

I was a “lifer” at Clairbourn, attending from nursery school through eighth grade. My family was very involved at Clairbourn during my student years. My mother served on the CFA board and as a Girl Scout leader, my father served on the board of trustees, and my grandmother was even a guest speaker at graduation one year! I was so lucky to grow up with Clairbourn as my second home. Some of my favorite memorable experiences were the incredible Christmas programs (with floor-length choir robes!) and spring programs (with costumes and dance numbers!), the middle school drama productions, and the old choral singing group, Clairbourn Singers. 

I discovered a love of theater and music at Clairbourn that has been a source of continuing benefit and joy. I was active in drama when in high school and college, and I remain a passionate theatergoer. The ability to be on stage has served me well in my professional career, when I used to appear in court when I was practicing law, and now when I regularly do professional speaking engagements. I double-majored in English and French literature in college, and I attribute my early love of literature and French to my first classes in those subjects, all at Clairbourn. 

I was fortunate to attend an excellent high school, undergraduate and master’s programs,  and later law school and a clerkship program overseas. I have had a rewarding career helping individuals, families, and non-profit organizations in various roles as a trusts and estates attorney. Each opportunity and accomplishment built on the last, which means it is all built on the foundation of my earliest years at Clairbourn! Most important to me are my family relationships— my parents and sister, and grandmother, and now my husband and daughter. I’m very lucky to have shared memories at Clairbourn with each one of them at different points in time. 

I was blessed to have many wonderful teachers at Clairbourn, but I have very clear, happy memories of third grade with Mrs. Knight, fifth grade with Mrs. Leadbeater, middle school literature, history, and drama with Mrs. Gyatt, and all things music with Mrs. Sensenbach. 

A sense of place, history, and a nurturing environment remain things I am sensitive to and deeply value. Two of my most cherished friends today were my close childhood friends at Clairbourn, and I love that sense of knowing each other’s history and growing together through the different phases of life. 

Cherish your time on this beautiful campus, where your best self is seen and nurtured. Remember how it feels to be here, and carry that feeling with you.

My daughter completed kindergarten through fifth grade at Clairbourn. I have cherished my time as a Clairbourn parent and am deeply grateful for the nurturing years experienced during this era by myself, my husband, and our daughter. I am no longer a current parent, but I hope we will have opportunities to come back on campus occasionally for special events. There is something about the Clairbourn campus that will always feel like home.

Clairbourn’s culture and atmosphere has always been based upon higher concepts of values and the importance of good character, rather than stopping at lower concepts such as prestige and accomplishment. 

I feel proud and blessed that my family has four generations’ worth of experiences and memories at Clairbourn. In many ways, the school has changed dramatically since I was a student, and it’s hard not to feel wistful about some of the things that have changed forever. But in many other ways, the school is the same today, if not better and stronger, than when I was a student. I’m so grateful my daughter could spend her elementary years here. Clairbourn has adapted over time to meet the needs of the present moment, as every school must, while retaining so much of what has always made Clairbourn unique and special, namely its relentless, daily focus on values and good character.