“A good photographer is what I would like to be, and what I work to be,” Mary Barduhn, a skilled but modest photographer said.  She took courses in photography at the Newhouse School of Communications and has been competing at the Syracuse Camera Club. Mary has also learned how to use a digital camera, and enhances images on her computer. Her favorite things to take pictures of are things in nature, especially landscapes and flowers. “I started loving nature as a little girl. I remember going to nature camp and holding a snake!” she said. 

Her love for plants and animals led her to study biology at the University of California Berkley, where she got a degree in nutrition. Mary was the first nutritionist in the San Francisco Health Department, but sometimes wishes that she became a biology teacher. “I wanted to get a job right away, and with nutrition I could do that,” she explained. She later got her Masters in child development and worked as a nursery school teacher. Mary is also an experienced traveler. She even lived in Columbia with her family, and later in Iran. “Iran was a challenge because we couldn’t speak the language. It was so difficult.”

Mary came to the Nottingham when her husband passed away. One reason that she chose the Nottingham is because each resident has a porch, where she likes to bird watch. She is a reporter for the Nottingham Notes, and also a member of the Writer’s Club. “I don’t write as much as I’d like to, but I like to write. I’ve written all my life,” she said. Two pieces that she has written more recently are a valentine to her husband and a story about a camping adventure she had. Mary would like to do some memoir writing but she said that she needs more “unbroken time.” She takes advantage of the concerts, events, and shopping trips that the Nottingham offers. “It’s amazing how many things you can get involved in at this place,” she said.

Profile by Caitlin Heikkila.