Hi everyone! I’m super excited to be here to formally and officially welcome you to the Sarah Lawrence alumni community!
I’m actually going to be celebrating my 25th reunion here in a few weeks, which I’m obviously really psyched for. But it’s also got me thinking a lot about the many similarities between campus life back then versus today. For starters, you’re all wearing the same clothes—the baggy jeans, the flannel, the Doc Martens, and I’m pretty sure I saw one of you wearing that Nirvana t-shirt I left in the closet when I moved out of Andrews Four. It’s ok, you can keep it. I know where it’s been. Of course we thought our clothes looked cool and edgy, and you’re all doing it ironically.
But beyond our dark clothes and brooding music, Gen X also has a reputation for our introversion. And let me just tell you, in that regard, the mid-90s here on Mead Way were peak Gen X. There was even a joke at the time that the most outgoing a Sarah Lawrence student ever got was lighting your cigarette instead of tossing you the matches. OK, I guess smoking on campus is one thing that was different 25 years ago. But this brings me to an even more interesting similarity I hope you'll appreciate. As introverted Gen Xers, it was totally normal for us to spend long periods of time in our rooms, staring at our computer screens, and avoiding all human contact. So yeah, you may be wearing our clothes ironically, but we did social distancing before it was cool.
Seriously though, I do find myself in the interesting position of talking about the importance of lifelong connections and relationships to a group of folks whose college and grad school experiences have been so centrally defined by the avoidance of human contact. But I suspect it’s precisely because of that journey that you and your peer classes have a stronger appreciation than all of us for what it means to feel connected to people, and how important those connections are.
This alumni community you now join spans from the White House to Hollywood; to law, medicine, and education; across the written, visual, and performing arts; and so many other fields. A community made so much richer today by your entrance into it. A community of alums who are the living, breathing examples of the exceptional outcomes born of the intellectual challenges of this campus, but reared and nurtured by these very connections—not just to the folks sitting here with you today, but to all of us who’ve sat there before you as well.
In closing, my only ask is that you stay connected. Stay connected with each other, but also stay connected to this institution. Come to alumni events, drop by campus once in a while. Give your time or money when you can. Because as we all learned when the world shut down in March of 2020, these connections don’t just happen by accident. They happen because we care about one another, and because we set the intention to support each other and build new shared experiences together. So, on behalf of the Alumni Council, and the entire Alumni Association, welcome now, my fellow alumni, and congratulations!
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