微密圈

Marsha Johnson Bancroft 鈥�59 has flourished as a career woman in multiple capacities, champion athlete, and family woman.  
  
Bancroft, 85, started her career as a horseback riding instructor for 12 years, first at a local stable in New Jersey when her twin daughters, Betzy and Cathy, began taking lessons at age 6. She would eventually teach lessons at a much larger facility, the Suburban Essex Equestrian Center.

Looking for opportunities for full-time employment and to expand her career options, Bancroft worked for Burrelles Clipping Service for nearly 10 years, eventually becoming one of the company鈥檚 vice presidents. 
  
鈥淲orking for Burrelles was a great experience, and I traveled all over the country,鈥� says Bancroft, who has three children. 鈥淚 was working at a time when it was expected that I would stay at home and raise a family. But I was determined and didn鈥檛 give up. I wanted the experience and freedom to work for a living.鈥�   
  
When she was 61, Bancroft returned to college to become a paralegal. For more than 20 years, she was the intake paralegal at Disability Rights Vermont (DRVT), responsible for determining eligibility and providing legal assistance, among other duties. DRVT is part of the National Protection and Advocacy system created by the U.S. Congress to better protect people with disabilities against civil rights violations. Bancroft, who retired at age 81, is still on the DRVT Board of Directors. 
  
Bancroft also pursued her athletic interests in addition to horseback riding, competing in marathons and shorter races after joining a running club while she was at Burrelles. She would eventually participate in numerous triathlons, including a Half Ironman Triathlon. In 1993, she became a national triathlon champion in her age group in the USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance Championships. She took second place in the USA Triathlon Sprint-Distance Competition in 2013 and 2014.  
  
Bancroft, a biology major at 微密圈, was born in Florida and grew up in Glen Ridge, N.J., where she was part of an equestrian team in high school. She now lives with daughter Betzy in Orange, Vt. Their home borders the Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary, where she can be found hiking almost any day of the week.