Alumnae News & Highlights

Maria's Q&A with students

At HB, Maria Horn was a self-described “competitive academic kid,” an active member of student government and an avid art student, so when it came to choosing her major at Princeton, she notes, “I almost majored in ten different things.” Ultimately armed with a degree in English, she worked four years at JP Morgan before heading to the University of Chicago to study law. After clerking for a federal judge and working in private practice, she spent “the bulk” of her career in New York as an Assistant United States Attorney. In 2018, Maria - also a wife and mother of three grown children - successfully ran for a seat on the Connecticut State legislature and has since worked on “a broad array of legislation,” she notes on her website. “I think it’s really important that you learn and gain skills from all the things you do,” she adds today. “Those all make you better going forward.”

An important turning point in my life was...

“coming to HB in fifth grade. I didn’t know anybody and remember feeling a bit out of it. Mrs. McCartney wanted us to guess a number to give out some privilege and I guessed [and won]. She made me feel not lucky, but smart. That approach sort of flipped a switch in me.”

I’m most proud of…

“my ability to feel confident enough to speak in front of people; that’s a skill I learned at HB. I’m pretty sure our class was the first to do senior speeches, and I gave the first one, on changing a tire – which I thought was very feminist of me!”

The most valuable parts of my HB experience were...

“first and foremost, teachers. And the belief that you can do anything you put your mind to with effort and discipline.”

In hindsight…

“a lot of work goes on beneath the surface to make a private school [like HB] seem effortless and seamless.”

My favorite space at HB…

“was the outdoor theater, beneath the buckeye trees. I also loved the art room. Success was something different there.”

My most valuable life lesson so far... 

“Don’t dismiss someone because they disagree with you politically. Take a pause and try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.”

Building the future means...

“hanging on to some traditions while also changing those that need changing.”