A Bi-College Bond Endures

They can’t remember exactly how they met so many years ago, but Stacie Martin Giles ’79 and Sam Markind HC ’79 agree that it probably happened in Haverford’s Barclay Hall as first-year students. Markind was then a Barclay resident and Giles was a regular visitor to the dorm, traveling from Bryn Mawr to study with a guy from her Russian class. “Through him, I became friends with a lot of people in Barclay,” Giles says. Among them: Markind. 

She was a Russian major and political science minor at Haverford. He was a political science major who concentrated in political philosophy at Bryn Mawr. In an era when it was common for Bryn Mawr students to room at Haverford (and vice versa), she eventually ended up living in Barclay herself. Both treasured the close ties between the two colleges. 

“That Bi-College cooperation was a very important aspect of our college experience,” Markind says. 

Nearly 50 years later, their Bi-Co connection endures. Recently, their friendship morphed into a professional collaboration when Markind asked Giles to be the copy editor on his first book, Music Between Your Ears: How Musical Engagement Powers the Human Brain. 

In the book, Markind, a retired neurologist who often evaluated and treated patients with dementia during his 30 years of practice in Danbury, Connecticut, looks at how music affects brain development over the course of one’s life and encourages readers to actively engage with music. Connecting the book with a broader audience was important to him, which is where Giles came in. 

“Bryn Mawr’s relationship with Haverford was a great boon to me as an undergraduate,” says Giles. “And now, in retirement, I am still reaping the benefits of cooperation.” 

The pair had been out of touch for decades when Markind got Giles’ email from a mutual friend two years ago and reached out to reconnect. He had no idea at the time that she had experience as an editor. 

After graduation, Giles went on to earn master’s degrees in political science and Central Eurasian Studies, teach political science as an adjunct, and work for the CIA as an analyst. Now retired and living in Sacramento, California, she uses her Russian language skills to help out in the Russian and Ukrainian émigré communities. She also lends her skills to Sisters in Crime — an organization that supports women mystery authors and readers — by helping to edit an anthology and assisting aspiring authors. (She also published a short story of her own in the anthology Deadly Southern Charm: A Lethal Ladies Mystery Anthology.) 

“Bryn Mawr’s relationship with Haverford was a great boon to me as an undergraduate. And now, in retirement, I am still reaping the benefits of cooperation.” 

Giles had just accepted another job as a copy editor on a memoir when Markind asked her to work on his book and help make it accessible to the average reader. 

“Stacie did a wonderful job,” says Markind. “It’s been delightful to reconnect with her, and it’s really been helpful for me with this book to have a confidante — not just on a professional level but also on a personal, friend level.” 

musicbetweenyourears.com