Chevy Chase Junior College Catalogue,
CCHS 500.09.06There is no question that Chevy Chase College encouraged academic achievement. Nevertheless, not all of the girls and young women who attended the school did so with the aim of pursuing further education or embarking on a career. Most students would use their time at Chevy Chase College to hone their social and domestic skills, preparing for marriage and motherhood. But as more women entered the paid workforce the debate about "marriage or work" deepened.
In the 1930s and 40s, many Chevy Chase graduates went on to complete their bachelor degrees at four-year colleges, and others may have taken jobs after graduation. After the college closed, there was no way to keep track of alumnae. Joan Plummer Russell, a graduate of the 1950 class, mused on her time at Chevy Chase and the lives of her classmates by saying:
“It was a good two years. I would dearly love to see a photo of how each of us had changed and who did we marry and where are we? And what jobs did most have…homemakers or business?”
