Evening star., 1939-01-22
Mrs. Ahrens Accurately Plotted
Course of Life in School
Linked Her Career
Early to That Of
South America
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

1t isn't given to many of us to
have the dreams and plans of our
youth come true This has been
vouchsafed to Mrs. Thomas P.
Ahrens, experienced South American
traveller. who will lecture before
the National Geographic Society on
February II on New and Old in
Western South America"
One of the few women in Amer
lea serving as representative of a
steamship line. Mrs. Ahrens has
Travelled over 1900 miles in the
portion of South America which she
will graphically portray to her au-
dience by means of word pictures
and movies in natural colors.
AS Arletta Phillips, back in her
high school days at Central, Mrs.
Ahrens won a city-wide essay con-
test on. What Want to Do With
My Life"
Plotted Course Accurately.
Today, as a petite and resourceful
young matron in the unique posi-
ton OF feminine representative of
the Grace Line, only American
steamship company with regular
salllngs to the West Coast of South
America, she is doing with her life
exactly what she planned to do in
the essay contest of her high school
days.
Not only is she learning all she
can about South America, but she
Is travelling there herself, planning
trips for other tourists who are SIM
llarly minded, and writing and talk
Ing about her own South American
travel experiences in broad, edu-
cational way.
Nor she tells you. "have my
trips to South America changed my
ideas of what it would be like in
any particular-only fulfilled and
accentuated them"
With her interest in South Amer
lea antedating by period of some
19 years that of the world in gen
eral, Mrs. Ahrens says, Consciously
or unconsciously, from the time of
that high school essay contest at
Central my life has been Influenced
by series of incidents which have
dealt with this continent
In her college days at Ohio State
and at the George Washington Uni
versity, from which latter institu-
ton she holds an A. B. degree, she
not only specialized in Spanish,
Portuguese and French, but sought
out courses in history and geography
pertaining to the continent of, her
dreams.
Her first position was a secre-
tarlal one with Franklin Adams of
the Pam American Union. In this
capacity she later served DR.. E. Gil
Borges. assistant director of the
Pan-American Union, who is now
minister of foreign affairs for Vene-
zuela.
Both Mr.. Adams and DR.. Gil
Borges," Mrs. Ahrens said, were
wonderfully kind, not only in help
ing me perfect my Spanish, but in
giving point to my reading and fur
ther study about South America. its
past, its present and it's outlook for
the future
Next came considerable raise in
salary and varied commercial ex-
perlence when she went to the
American Crayon Co. at Sandusky,
Ohio, as its assistant export man
ager. in which position she served
for two years.
Returned to Washington.
Then came the opportunity to re-
turn to Washington as secretary to
DR.. Enrique Olaya Herrera, schol-
arly Minister of Colombia. In his
service she continued to perfect her
self in the historical lore and pres
ent-day customs of the continent
OF South America until he was re-
called to become the President of
the Republic of Colombia.
A happy winter followed with Mrs.
Henry Wilder Keyes, wife of the
Senator from Vermont, who as
FRANCES Parkinson Keyes was win
nlng laurels for herself as the author
OF series of travel articles on South
America. 1t was during this period
liidG mis-. heyeS wrote her delightful
South American volume, Silver Seas
and Golden Cities"
From Mrs. Keyes. Mrs. Ahrens
went to the Grace Line and the full
hllment of her dreams of going to
South America and actually seeing
for herself the sights and scenes she
had so often visualized.
Within a year after her first trip
to South America, she began lee
turing about her journeyings before
various chapters of the American
Association of University Women, of
which she is member. Extending
the scope of her lectures to schools
ana Women's clubs, her speaking en-
gagements have taken her as far