Patricia Cooper Percy graduated from OCW in 1949.
“After graduating from high school I immediately began working in a local bank and saved for two years so I could fulfill a dream and go to college,” she said.
Percy says that OCW helped her fulfill her dream with a work scholarship which provided a room and board for all four years.
Percy studied dance and choreography even when OCW didn’t have a dance instructor. She received a degree in music education and taught music at Hobart. She also taught dance on Saturday’s in her own dance studio.
After a year, she applied and received a partial scholarship in the dance department at Mills College in Oakland, Calif. She earned her master’s degree and then continued her studies adding ballet and jazz.
Percy auditioned for productions on Broadway, off Broadway, for Summer Stock and for television commercials.
“It was at Summer Stock that I met Bob Percy, a singer who was to become my husband. Both of us worked in show business so there was a meeting of the minds and hearts.
After performing for several years, Percy left show business to become a music teacher.
Percy taught music in Public School 101 in Brooklyn for 24 years. “I had most of the classes for music and glee club that performed a couple of shows a year in our school as well as in homes for the aged and elsewhere,” she said.
Percy is a choir member and soloist at St. Mark’s Church, Brooklyn; is a tour guide for Brooklyn Botanical Garden; writes articles on gardening for her local newspaper; and is a member of the Sheepshead Bay Community Organization and the Manhattan Beach Community Organization.
While at OCW, she was a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, Eche Sa Social Club, College Glee Club, Dance Club and Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.