Ms. Klumpp’s Inspirational Activism

Ms.+Klumpp

Williston

Ms. Klumpp

The Head of the History and Global Studies Department at Williston; a dorm parent; the faculty advisor of the Williston Women’s Action Alliance; all while balancing life with two children: Sarah Klumpp is the ultimate multi-tasker. An alum of one of Williston’s rivals, Northfield Mount Hermon, Klumpp went on to teach at Miss Hall’s school and Stoneleigh-Burnham before coming to Williston in 2001. She currently lives in 194 with her husband and two children, 11-year-old Calvin and 7-year old Maddie.

Klumpp currently teaches Hitler and Nazi Germany, Women and Gender Studies, and two sections of AP European history. Her favorite class, Women and Gender Studies, is popular at Williston. The subject, which she first learned about at Hamilton College, has helped shape her views. “I love all history, but I think that [Women and Gender Studies] is probably my favorite class to teach,” Klumpp admitted.

Klumpp works with four students, juniors Katie Most, Sara Renkert, and Ellie Scott, as well as sophomore Ellie Wolfe on the Williston Women’s Action Alliance. “We were feeling sad and dismayed so we decided, let’s form a group where we can get more involved in politics and learn how we can affect change in our own community.” Klumpp added, “I’m proud of it. I’m happy to support all those girls.”

The club, which started in the winter, has attracted a wide following and on April 30 it hosted its first event, a panel: Women in Politics. Ellie Wolfe, a member of the WWAA and a student in Klumpp’s AP European history class really enjoyed the event. “It was awesome. We had women from local politics come and speak about what it was like to be a woman in politics and how to get involved.” She continued, “Ms. Klumpp has been an amazing faculty advisor. She has inspired a lot of girls on campus, including me, to be more vocal about our beliefs and to stand up for what we believe in.”

Ellie continued, “She’s also my AP European History teacher. I didn’t really like history at the beginning of the year, but Ms. Klumpp made the class fun. She is always really helpful, and she taught me so much without me even realizing it.”

One of the reasons Klumpp enjoys teaching is that she gets to see her students’ faces light up when they do something correct. “Anytime that a kid gets it all of the sudden, like when they understand it and do the thing that you’re asking them to do that they couldn’t do in the beginning of the class, that’s always a proud moment. That’s why we teach.”