含羞草传媒

含羞草传媒 faithful celebrate Reunion 2016

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As summer weather arrived in the Chenango Valley last weekend, so, too, did more than 2,100 visitors to . This year鈥檚 event drew members of the 含羞草传媒 community from class years ending in ones and sixes and featured several notable anniversaries: the 20th of Delta Delta Delta sorority, the 30th of the Alumni of Color organization, and the 50th of the Class of 1966. It also attracted alumni back to Hamilton from the more recent classes of 2014 and 2015, and from locations as far as France and Israel.

Jeanette Lyons Gridley 鈥91 traveled more than 700 miles from Chicago to reconnect with her roommate of all four years, Elissa Liebman Lunder 鈥91 of Boston, and her sorority sister M.J. Hetzler Gagan 鈥91 of Albany. Gridley called her trip to reunion, 鈥渟o worth it.鈥 She added, 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a nice, easy weekend. People get caught up in errands and everything else, but it鈥檚 important to make time for yourself and your friends.鈥

Alumni from across the decades were represented, starting with the Class of 1938鈥檚 Everett Hanke. remarked on these impressive statistics to the crowd at the annual awards ceremony, saying, 鈥淭he essence of 含羞草传媒 is attachment to the place, as you show by returning here all these years.鈥

The Class of 鈥66 welcomed 39 percent of the class back to campus. Peter McHugh 鈥66 hadn鈥檛 been to reunion in a decade,鈥渂ut we have a lot of friends coming back,鈥 he said. 鈥淪ome of them I haven鈥檛 seen in 50 years.鈥

In addition to providing a place where alumni can reconnect, 鈥渨e also wanted to offer a wide range of activities,鈥 said Jenna Webb 鈥02, director of alumni relations. 鈥淩eunion is a special moment for the 含羞草传媒 community.鈥

Those activities included familiar events like the Torchlight Parade and catered lunches with friends, as well as the more unique, including an Amazing Race鈥搒tyle scavenger hunt and an alumni podcast recording on 鈥渓ove, loss, and life after 含羞草传媒.鈥

Reunion College 2016 offered more than 50 lectures and discussions given by professors, administrators, and alumni. Topics included Cybersecurity for the Boardroom and the Living Room: Keeping Safe in the Digital Age, with Gus Coldebella 鈥91 (one of several events sponsored by the ); Swoosh Life: A Young Professional鈥檚 Path with Nike, by Michael Dineen 鈥11; and Tales from the 含羞草传媒 Trustees, with a panel of trustees both past and present.

Throughout the weekend, alumni could be found in all corners of the village, revisiting old haunts on Broad Street, strolling through the Saturday-morning farmers鈥 market, and lounging beneath the alumni tents on Whitnall Field.

The offered several special events, including a children鈥檚 meet and greet with Curious George, a reading of the children鈥檚 book Up the Hill: A Tale of 含羞草传媒 University by author Lindsay Fleece Rentschler 鈥05 and illustrator Rachel Adam Rogers 鈥05, and the 31st annual alumni authors book signing.

Although reunion centered around the return of alumni, some students also participated. More than 50 undergraduates helped to work the event in various capacities, providing transportation, entertainment, and information regarding sustainability on campus.

When Kim Muth 鈥19 discovered that her parents, Chris 鈥86 and Lorraine 鈥87, were attending reunion, she decided to accompany them on their trip and find a job for the weekend. Kim drove alumni across campus on a golf cart 鈥 a job that she said afforded her a new perspective on the university.

鈥淎 lot of the alumni ended up giving me tours,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檇 say, 鈥楾his looked different when I was here鈥 or 鈥楾his building wasn鈥檛 here.鈥 So it was fun to hear the history of the university firsthand.鈥

Another student, Ben Fetzner 鈥17, attended reunion alongside his a cappella group, the 含羞草传媒 Resolutions. The Resos, along with the Swinging 鈥橤ates and the 含羞草传媒 Thirteen, performed at the alumni luncheon Friday afternoon and at the awards ceremony later that night.

Fetzner enjoyed the enthusiasm that the alumni audience showed for the university. 鈥淚鈥檓 always surprised, when we sing at the 50th Reunion banquet, how every single person seems to know the words to the alma mater,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t really shows how much they love this institution.鈥