Calling all Classmates! (From VP, Kirse)

Hello, Class of 1994!!!

Our 15th reunion is just about eight months away, and plans are afoot to make it a fun and enriching experience for all.

We had a grand time observing the class of 1993's reunion in May. As always, we are in the need of volunteers, both in the planning stages and at the event itself, so let us know at smithreunion1994@gmail.com if you'd be willing to help. (Pictured below: Polly from the Class of '53 at her 55th reunion in May.)

There are jobs, big and small, for everyone: making name tags, helping event chairs, making banners, putting together a slide show for Saturday dinner, help with giveaways, etc.

One key area where we still need volunteers is House Reps. We are asking house reps to contact their housemates and let them know about reunion, as well as to encourage them to update their contact information with the college so we can all stay connected in the years ahead. It's not a huge time commitment, and is a great opportunity to reconnect.

We still need house reps for Albright, Capen, Chase, Cutter/Ziskind, Dawes, Duckett, Emerson, Friedman, Gillett, Haven -Wesley, Hopkins, Hubbard, Lawrence, Talbot, Tenney, and Wilder.

Let us know if you are coming to reunion and we'll add you to the list. (Pictured right: Kirse (and Naomi) atop Multnomah Falls in Oregon in May.)

Enjoy the rest of summer--stay tuned for more details about our "Groove is in the Heart" gathering.

~Kirse

Meeting of the minds

In May, I traveled to Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR and stayed for a week with Kirse. Mary Ann Hardy (and her son and husband) trekked down from Seattle to visit with us. We had such a good time--and I think we even talked about reunion a bit. (Above, L-R: Kirse, Naomi, Mary Ann).

Mary Ann will be chairing the sign committee. If you have any great ideas or want to join the volunteers, please drop Kirse a note at smithreunion1994@gmail.com.

Right: Class of 1993 parade signs from the 2008 alumnae parade. (Photo by Elizabeth Solaka '93.)

If you have photos from your travels or mini-reunions with classmates, please send them to me to post at the blog (graychase at gmail.com). You can also find shared photos from classmates at our Flickr group. Just click the link to the right to go there.

Less than a year away!

Last weekend, Kirse, Amy, and I attended the 15-year reunion for the Class of 1993.

Kirse traveled more than 6,000 miles round-trip, found round-the-clock child care for the three children she left behind, and helped Amy take care of her baby here, when it turned out Amy had to travel without her husband. She also took the time to visit every single class headquarters and attend a constant stream of events, while also investigating almost every venue on campus as a potential site for our headquarters, dinners, or other gatherings.

Amy traveled from several hours away by car with her 9-month-old, Sam, who was an absolute sweetheart about his first trip away from his dad--and his home. [Photo, right: Naomi, Susan Bullivant (who started class of '94, but graduated '93), and Elizabeth Solaka '93 at the Saturday night class dinner.]

The whole thing was exhausting for all of us and I'm tremendously grateful to Kirse and Amy for the sacrifices they are making in service to our class. I knew they would do a terrific job, but in true Smithie style, they are overachieving already.

Kirse will be sending me a blog to post sometime in the next week or so--her first one!--and hopefully I'll have some photos to post as well. We were so busy, we hardly took any photos, but Elizabeth Solaka '93 snapped quite a few and will share them with us soon. [Below, photo from Elizabeth Solaka of the Alumnae Parade on Saturday morning.]

Highlights of reunion for me were getting to spend time in my old house, Cushing (there's some new, hideous wallpaper downstairs, and the dining room is much-improved--they have fountain soda!); Illumination Night; seeing friends; eating in Smith houses; exploring campus; and sipping champagne late at night with my best friends from the Class of '93.

If you have friends from other classes, they are welcome to come to reunion, by the way. They would march with the 1776 group in the alumnae parade (if they wanted) and can attend events, such as the all-reunion dinner on Thursday night.

If you or your friends are thinking of coming to reunion and don't want to register and/or stay on campus, it's important to make other arrangements at least six months in advance. The Hotel Northampton and other venues fill up very quickly for that weekend.

As always, if you have photos to share of your life now or reunions past, or from our undergrad years, please post them at our Flickr page (link to the right) or send to me to post at our blog.

Please also spread the word about our blog and make sure your contact information is up-to-date at the alumnae house.

Hope you all are well!

[Illumination Night photo by Elizabeth Solaka, '93]

Planning Update

I traveled to Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA earlier this month and spent a week with Kirse.

In addition to a grueling hike, we also got to do some reunion planning. Thanks to everyone who completed the online survey!

Tonight, Kirse is traveling via a red-eye flight to Bradley airport. AmyO, Reunion Co-Chair, will pick her up tomorrow morning and then the three of us will spend the next few days observing the 15-year reunion of the Class of 1993.

We are still looking for volunteers to fill a variety of positions. If you're interested in helping--even in some small way like manning our headquarters for a couple of hours--please let us know!

The list of classmates who are planning to attend reunion is growing. Click the link to the right to see the list. To add your name, drop me or Kirse an e-mail at smithreunion1994@gmail.com.

The Diploma Circle

My friend Amy (Wellesley, '94) attended commencement on Sunday. It was her first Smith commencement and she was there in her capacity as a reporter. Newsweek is profiling one member of the Smith class of 2008 because she and her sister spent their middle school and high school years in foster care, but this year, are both graduating from college. Amy was there recording the event for the story.

Yesterday, she and I got to talking about our shared experience as Smith/Wellesley alumnae, about the "Smith experience," and how we get all goosebumpy and tingly when we see the older classes parade in on Ivy Day or witness special traditions, such as the diploma circle.

We also talked about the frequently felt feeling of failure that comes with believing we have never quite lived up to the expectation of greatness that comes with a Smith or Wellesley degree. One struggles to feel that one isn't a total loser if one hasn't cured cancer, or published a best seller, or made a lot of money. Now a Wellesley alumna is running for President for crying out loud! Talk about raising the bar. :-)

After the talk, I sent Amy the link to the letter I sent to our class on the 13th anniversary of our commencement, addressing some of these feelings. I'm sharing her response with you all because I love so much her articulation of the meaning of the diploma circle.

Here's what she said after reading my letter:

>>This piece is brilliant and beautiful. And, I love the diploma circle’s role in it. It was something I first heard about on Saturday night and knew I wanted to record. While I was there with my mic in everyone’s way, new graduates grumbled about the chaos. Someone said, ‘why can’t they just organize this’ while others complained the circle wasn’t being widened enough or that people with diplomas in hand weren’t leaving. There was much consternation and little celebration, though moments after receiving someone else’s diploma during the ceremony, the student I was recording actually said, “I love that we get someone else’s diploma.”

I was wondering about the value and meaning of the circle, beyond tying legions of Smith alumnae to each other in one final act of tradition. I came up with this: in the chaos that is graduation weekend, there is little stopping—stopping the noise, the energy, the flow of all things. In that circle, the actual act of graduating is prolonged, for some more than for others, and no one has the power to change the time it takes to find her diploma. There’s something lovely in that. And, of course, it’s yet another part of The Smith Experience that is impossible to translate."

We won't be reuning on commencement weekend this time, so we can't witness the Diploma Circle this time around, but I think that the return to campus and the tradition of reunion is another very special part of the Smith Experience, another link in the chain that connects us. I hope you'll join us.

Volunteering at Reunion: House Reps

House reps begin their job during the January before reunion. If you've kept in great touch with your class of '94 housemates--or would like to re-connect with them--being a House Rep could be the job for you. If you'd like to share the job with a friend, that's okay, too.

If you volunteer to be a house rep, your Reunion Chairs (Kirse and Amy) will provide you with contact information for each housemate. You'll then call or e-mail them and encourage them to come to reunion.

To volunteer as a House Rep, drop Kirse an e-mail at smithreunion1994 at gmail.com. Even though your duties won't start until January, it's a big help to AmyO and Kirse if they can line them all up ahead of time so sign up now!

Child Care at Reunion

Many of you have expressed an interest in child care during reunion. I received an e-mail today from the AASC regarding child care for this year's All Reunion Weekend. It should be the same next year, for ours.

In a nutshell, there is safe, professional, well-planned, and super-affordable child care available on campus (five hours for $20 per child including food!) on Friday and Saturday evenings only. The hours are 5-10 p.m. Children over three years of age are welcome.

The full e-mail is below. (Remember, this is for this year's reunion, so don't call yet to reserve your spot.)

>>Children's Conference Care Inc., will once again provide professional childcare for children age 3 and up, from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evening of All Reunion Weekend. We're thrilled to host it in Unity House - which most of you will remember as Hampshire House - close to the Alumnae House on Bedford Terrace. The space is beautifully renovated and ideal for this activity. There is one large room for arts and crafts activities, and two other large spaces that are comfortable and cozy for reading or playing board games. CCCI plans to use one for a quiet space, where children can wind down later in the evening while watching a video.

The Gill Hall Campus School playground is nearby and safely accessible from Unity House. It has a wonderful, large play structure and basketball court, and outdoor time will be built into the schedule (weather permitting). Dinner and snacks will be provided.

Teachers are professional and carefully selected. Most are elementary school teachers and fully certified.

The cost is $20 per child, per 5-hour session. Walk-ins will be accepted if space is available. CCCI accepts cash, check or credit card (Visa, MC or American Express).

If you haven't done so already, we encourage you to contact CCCI at info@childconf.com or by phone at 617.492.6925 for more details. While many of you will want to share Reunion with your children, this will also provide a great opportunity for them to meet other kids in a safe, supervised, fun environment while you enjoy time with your class at dinner.>>

Today's E-mail

Today, we sent out a broadcast e-mail with a quick, but important survey about reunion. If you didn't get it, this means the college does not have your current address--or that your spam filter nabbed it.

To learn how to update your contact info with the college, click here and here.

To read the text of the May Day e-mail we sent out today, click here.

May Day--and Mayday! (Class of '94 Reunion News)

My Dearest Classmates:

Today marks the end of the dreary winter half of the year and means it (finally) really is spring in the northern hemisphere. Hoorah!

It also means we are soon going to be less than one-year away from our 15-year reunion. Since May Day has traditionally been an occasion for celebration--and mayday is a call for help--our VP (who's last name is also May!) has chosen this day to ask you for help in planning our reunion celebration.

To help us find out what you want from reunion--and who is willing to volunteer--we have prepared a short online survey for you to take. You can find the free survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=VWfGeg4F9xrmUMJmhgiU1Q_3d_3d.

There are eight questions, two of them are multiple choice, and we expect it should take somewhere between two and five minutes to complete, depending on how much you have to say. (Why put it off? Click on the link now and let us know what you want.)

As always, you can keep up-to-date on reunion planning by visiting our class blog at http://www.graychase.com/Smith94.htm or by e-mailing your reunion co-chairs, Kirse and Amy, at smithreunion1994@gmail.com. We are keeping a running list at the blog of who's planning to come, so drop us a note once you've decided so we can add you to the list.

With warm wishes for spring and many thanks for your help,

Naomi
"Groove is in the Heart"

Naomi Graychase
Alumnae Class President, 1994
graychase@gmail.com

Honest to Blog

Two enterprising Smithies have come up with a fantastic idea. Amanda '06 and Sarah '05 have created the Association of Smith College Alum Blogs. Basically, a blog about Smithie bloggers. It's fantastic.

From them:

"There are over 53,000 Smith College alums, in all 50 states and in over 100 countries.

How many of them have blogs?

We're on a mission to find out.

Check us out: http://smithalumblogs.wordpress.com/

Want to be indexed? Know a Smithie with a blog? Send an email to smithalumblogs@gmail.com."

You can view the blogs by year--starting with a blogger from the class of '61, all the way up to the current graduating class ('08).

So far, three '94ers are represented. If you have a blog, send the link to them.

Update Your Contact Info

In order to receive reunion (or other class-related news and items via e-mail or snail mail) the college must have your current e-mail and/or snail mail address. As a class, we prefer to contact you via e-mail because it saves money (we have a very small treasury) and because it saves resources. ("No trees were harmed in the writing of this e-mail.")

Unfortunately, figuring out how to update your information at the AASC Web site is a bit baffling. To get the steps, I contacted Mike Yargeau, the AASC Web master. He said:

>>The process of updating your e-mail address or contact information is relatively straight forward. Once you are logged in to the Directory you simply click on the "Directory" text link on the left of the page to expose some options, then click on "My Personal Information", and then on the resulting page click on the "Edit" button on the top right corner of your profile. On the page where you actually update your data you have to click on "save" at the bottom of the page to retain any changes you make. Our records staff does receive these updates, but they still go through them manually to maintain consistency and accuracy so it can take a bit of time for changes to be implemented.

There is also an animated tutorial for this on the website at: http://alumnae.smith.edu/tutorials/

Just click on the link that says: "Change your personal information in the Alumnae Directory"
>>

Thank you, Mike!

However, there is one lingering question, right? How does one log in to the Directory??

First, go to the AASC Web site. At the top of the left-hand column are dialog boxes where you can enter your username and password to log in to the Alumnae Directory.

If you have never created a username and password, click on the New User link below the dialog boxes.

If you remember your username, but not your password, click on the Lost Password? link below the dialog boxes.

If you have no idea whether you created an account before, or if you know that you did, but can't recall your username OR your password...well...I don't know what you do.

I've written to Mike to find out and will post that information when I get it.

There is also a link at the bottom of the AASC page, which will allow you to update your mailing address and provide your e-mail address. I don't know for certain if this will mean that the e-mail address you provide will be entered into the same database that the broadcasts draw from, but it's a start. And you don't need a username or a password to do it.

Just go here.

Update your E-mail with the College

I've received quite a few e-mails from classmates who have not received some or all of my e-mail broadcasts over the last few years.

Unfortunately, I can't update or maintain the list the college uses for these broadcasts, so in order to be sure you receive all of our class e-mail newsletters, reunion info, or other broadcasts, you'll have make sure the college has your current e-mail address.

Unfortunately, this is not an easy process. I spent a bunch of time at the site today and cannot for the life of me figure out how it's done!

I am going to send some e-mails to the AASC and see if we can get instructions, which I will then post here.

In the meantime, you can update your snail mail address here.

And you can contact the AASC Web master, Mike Yargeau directly by phone or e-mail. His information, along with everyone else at the AASC is here.

Thanks for your patience! In the meantime, if you are one of the lucky folks getting the e-mails, please consider forwarding them on to your friends so that we can help more people to be in the loop.

Reunion 2004 Photos

The Alumnae Association has posted 50 photos from Reunion 2004. There are a few smiling faces from the class of '94 in there. Go here to take a peek.

Right: Mary Ann Hardy and I at the now defunct La Cazuela during Reunion 2004. Mary Ann is Parade Sign Chair for Reunion 2009. If you've got any clever ideas, MAH would love your help! E-mail sign ideas to smithreunion1994 at gmail.com. If you'd like a fancy job like Mary Ann's, e-mail our Reunion Co-Chairs at the same address.

Got reunion photos? Or, heck, commencement photos? Send 'em along and I'll post 'em. Be sure to let me know who is in the photos. (High-res jpegs are ideal.)

A Room Full of Women of One's Own

Twice a week, I take a yoga class at Smith. The classes are included in my alumnae gym membership, and while it's a stretch to leave work in time to make the 5pm start, I am deeply committed to them and have only missed them when truly sick or severely injured. (I even returned to class just three weeks after severing my ACL and bruising a bone. Turns out this was a bad idea, and I suffered for it, but you can get a sense for how important it is to me to go. I couldn't walk, but I believed I could do yoga.)

I began taking the classes in the fall of 2006. I had been very sick for a few years, but was finally feeling well enough to make it through a one-hour beginners class once a week. In the beginning, I hated the yoga. I hated my teacher, a bubbly Smith alumna who seemed way too perky for her own good.

But even amidst my stifled rage and irritation and frustration, what I loved about the classes-- immediately--was the experience of being in a room full of women. And not just any women, Smith women. While there are occasionally men, and may or may not be students in the class who don't identify as "women," the dominant experience is one of being among women, in a room of our own. This, I realized, is not something we get to experience all that often after we graduate from Smith. I hadn't realized how much I missed it, until I sat down that first day, tired and sore, on my mat and felt the uplifting comfort of it wash over and through me.

Yoga on its own is special, especially this yoga--anusara yoga--which is very heart-centered. Love, joy, and acceptance are central elements of the practice. But yoga at Smith--with a Smithie teacher--it's difficult to describe to those who haven't felt it. I can breathe better when I have this in my life. I breathe better just thinking about it.

When we were undergrads, this was the water we swam in. Since leaving school, unless we joined a nunnery or went to teach at a same-sex school, we had to adapt to a different kind of water. There have been plenty of times when I was in the full company of women; but, particularly after having spent so much time alone since moving back to Northampton, returning to that space and being with those women for an hour every week--it had tremendous healing benefits. Like a fresh water fish seeking refuge from a brackish new environment, I have returned home, and when I enter that Smith room, my gills fill up with the best and freshest oxygen imaginable.

It is my hope that some of us might come together to practice yoga for an hour with my teacher at Smith during reunion. I'll ask Kirse to put it on the survey in April, to see if there's any interest. Until then, I hope that wherever you are in your life, you may find access to a room full of women of your own--whether it is through a shared religious practice, music, service, support, or any of the other myriad things that bring us together. Namaste.

Groove Is in the Heart Lyrics

We're going to dance,
We're going to dance,
We're going to dance
And have some fun

The chills that you
Spill up my back
Keep me filled with
Satisfaction when we're done
Satisfaction of what's to come
(I) I couldn't ask for another
(I-I-I-I-I I)
No I couldn't ask for another
Your groove I do deeply dig
No walls only the bridge
My supperdish, my succotash wish
(Sing it baby)
(I) I couldn't ask for another
(Uh-huh uh-huh)
(I-I-I-I-I I)
No I couldn't ask for another

Groove is in the heart
Ah-ah-ah-ah
Groove is in the heart
Ah-ah-ah-ah
Groove is in the heart
Groove is in the heart
Ah-ah-ah

The depth the hula groove
Move us to the nth hoop
We goin' through to Horten
Hears a who-ooh
(I) I couldn't ask for another
(I-I-I-I-I I)
No couldn't ask for another
DJ Soul (soul) was on a roll
I've been told he can't be sold
He's not vicious or malicious
Just de-lovely and delicious
(I) I couldn't ask for another

(Sing it)

Groove is in the heart
Ah-ah-ah-ah
(Ne-na-na-na-na)
Groove is in the heart
(Ne-na-na-na-na)
Groove is in the heart
(Ne-na-na-na-na)
Groove is in the heart-ah-ah-ah

Groove is in the heart
Ah-ah-ah-ah (yeah)
Groove is in the heart
Ah-ah-ah
Groove is in the heart
Groove is in the heart
Ah-ah-ah

Look who's coming to reunion!

Click here for a list of classmates who are planning to attend. Are you going to come? Drop me or Kirse (smithreunion1994 at gmail.com) a note and we'll add you to the list!


Megan (Sullivan) Dawson, Kirse (Granat) May, and Amy O'Neal (above, L-R) will all be at reunion 2009! (Kirse and Amy, of course, have no choice since they're planning the festivities. :-)

Who's Coming to Reunion?

These are some of the people who have let us know they plan to attend reunion. Are you planning to come? Drop Kirse (smithreunion1994 at gmail.com) a note and we'll add you to the list! Got photos from previous reunions? Send them to Naomi at graychase at gmail.com so she can post them to the blog.

Kimberly	Adams
Melissa Merten	Belleville	Talbot House
Krista Beth	Bessinger
Laura Palucki	Blake
Julie	Bowers
Zoe Kafatou	Bunnell	Cushing House
Elizabeth (Dale)	Clark	Cushing House
Phyllis (Conti)	Collar	Cushing House
Claire	Connelly
Stephanie Chatanay	Cox
Kathleen	Coyle
Marcella	Davis
Megan (Sullivan)	Dawson	Cushing House
Alyssa B.	Duble
My Le	Ducharme
Emily	Fawcett
Elizabeth	Foley
Domnica	Fotino	Cushing House
Elizabeth	Gaffney
Eliza	Garrison
Diana Wetherall	Gerstel
Lori	Gordillo	Wilder House
Naomi	Graychase	Cushing House
Elizabeth	Gregg
Mary Ann	Hardy
Ali Novak	Hawthorne	King House
Megan Hurst	Hurst	Baldwin House
Amran	Hussein	Jordan House
Michelle	Jackson	Gardiner House
Nicole Wilson	James
Andrea	Jones -Moore	Lawrence
Elizabeth	Kase
Alexandra	Kontes	Morris House
Rachel Prizant	Kotok
Sara Emily Weinberg	Laver
Gael Levin-Simon	Levin-Simon
Jessica	Lewis
Karla Baldikowski	Long
Kate (Brustad)	Madrid
Kristen	Mangione	Gillett House
Jennifer	Mason
Kirse Granat	May	Cushing House
Alyssa B.	May	Cushing House
Jenny	Mayfield
Eleanor	McConnell	Albright House
Heather	McMann
Cristin	McMurray
Erin	McMurray-Killelea
Jennifer Pollock	McNally
Kira	Mellups	Wilson House
Ivy	Moylan	Haven-Wesley
Meredith	Mundy	Emerson House
Holly	Nydegger
Amy	O'Neal	Cushing House
Erin	Peyton	Comstock House
Susie	Poinaszek
Yolanda	Rael
Shelly (Moore)	Rexroat	Cushing House
Bert	Ritvo
Nicole	Rousseau	Emerson House
Sarah	Schriber	Cushing House
Sandy	Shaw-Wen
Jeanne Clower	Sherwin
Sunita	Sierros
Bridget (Laffer)	Silverman
Catherine	Smith	Friedman
Tamzin Sawyer	Sugiyama
Brooke	Teller	Wilson House
Marissa	Walsh	Park House
Amy	Walton	Chapin House
Natasha	Wendt
Stephanie Kampel	Wilson
Jessica Gordon	Wilson	Chase House

Big, Heartfelt News from the Class of 1994

My Dearest Classmates,

In the fall of 1990, as we arrived at Smith College to pour our hearts into new friendships, new experiences, and new studies, a distinctive dance party single was climbing the charts. We heard its joyful beat on the radio, at parties, and in our headphones throughout that first year on campus—and throughout our entire time at Smith. It even contained a line about a "supper dish wish," which, as most Smithies can attest, was a defining quality of our years at Smith. ("Please don't let it be stir fry tempeh" was mine.)

The Reunion Committee and I have chosen Valentine's Day to announce—with happy hearts—that our theme for Reunion 2009 is…"Groove is in the Heart!"

With events like a "no-talent show," and other fun things in the works, we promise it will be Deee-Lite-ful! (And yes, we're going to dance…and have some fun.)

I'm also pleased to announce that, as of last September, we have a new Vice President and Reunion Co-Chair. Our party planning is now in the hands of Kirse (Granat) May (VP) and Amy O'Neal (Reunion Co-Chair)—who, I can personally attest, have lots of groove in their hearts. Please join me in thanking Vigie Ramos Rios and Andrea Jones Moore for all of their hard work, and in enthusiastically welcoming Kirse and Amy to the team. "No I couldn't ask for another!"

To see our gorgeous reunion logo (designed by Kirse's talented and generous husband), catch up on the latest class news, or learn how you can volunteer at reunion (yes, please!), visit our new Web site at http://www.graychase.com/Smith94.htm.

In the spring, we'll be asking you to respond to an online survey about what you'd like to see and do at reunion. In the meantime, if you have ideas to share or questions to ask about reunion, you can reach Kirse and Amy at smithreunion1994@gmail.com.

If you haven't updated your mailing address with the AASC (http://alumnae.smith.edu/), please take a minute to do so—that way you won't miss out on our class newsletter or any of the reunion-related material the college will soon begin to send you. Please feel free to forward this e-mail to your friends, as well, since not everyone has updated their e-mail addresses with the AASC, and we want everyone to know what's happening!

And, most importantly, mark your calendars for our 15th Reunion: May
21-24, 2009.

Before I sign off, I'd like to offer a quick congratulations to two Executive Committee members who celebrated the births of their first children since last I wrote you: Tamzin has a baby girl; and Amy O'Neal has a baby boy, each of whom are de-lovely and delicious.

Happy Valentine's Day!

With love from Northampton,

Naomi Graychase, on behalf of the Reunion Committee
Alumnae Class President, 1994
graychase@gmail.com

Share Your Photos

We have a group on the free, photo-sharing site, Flickr. To visit the Smith College Class of 1994 photo-sharing site, just click here. (That's our new class VP on the far right.)

Save the Date: Reunion 2009

It's hard to believe it, but it's really coming soon. Mark your calendars for our 15-year reunion weekend:

May 21-24, 2009

Hope to see you there!

Introducing our new VP and Reunion Chair!

Last fall, our class quietly underwent a big transition. Our original Vice President, Vigie Ramos Rios and her trusty Reunion Co-Chair, Andrea Jones Moore, passed the baton to a new VP and Reunion Co-Chair who will take us the final leg of the journey toward Reunion 2009.

I'm happy to introduce Kirse Granat May, our new VP and Queen of All Things Reunion, and her faithful Reunion Co-Chair, Amy O'Neal (pictured above with me--guess which one of us was pregnant?).

Kirse is based in Vancouver, WA and Amy O (as her Smith friends know her) hails from Mystic, CT. Both were four-year residents of Cushing House, although each took advantage of exciting JYA options--Kirse at BYU in Utah and Amy at ConnCollege and then Australia. (I think!)

If you want to volunteer, say "welcome," or have questions, you can reach Kirse via e-mail at smithreunion1994 at gmail.com.

Hooray!

We have a theme!

Stay tuned for a very exciting announcement...we have chosen our theme for reunion 2009 and will unveil it on Valentine's Day!

In the meantime, if you haven't updated your snail mail and e-mail information with the AASC, please do--or else you might miss our newsletters or other important reunion updates.

Happy Anniversary

My Dearest Classmates,

On this day, thirteen years ago, we stood in the blazing sun in black robes and white dresses (or pants suits) and sweated our knockers off while we waited to receive the hard-won diplomas of people who were not us. Then, when all the speeches were over and all the names had been called, we marched, dazedly, onto the grass in front of King and Scales, formed a spiraling circle, and passed our diplomas until we came up with our own.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The next day remains in the Top Ten All-Time Worst Days Ever for me. I hope it does for you, as well. That would mean that you still love and miss one another, and also that your life hasn't really been that bad since you stopped singing gaudeamus igitur twice a year and eating Fisherperson's Platter.

Spring has been cold and slow to come fully into herself this season in Northampton. Ivy Day was chilly and rainy. But nevertheless, last weekend, the town was swarmed with women in white, with name tags and tote bags, and the wistful, determined expressions of people who have returned to a place that will always be familiar and yet somehow never be the same, people who have journeyed through time (and airports) to invite their past to meet their future...people who are trying to find a way to squeeze in one more trip to Herrell's before they catch their shuttle back to Bradley.

I hope that these thirteen years have treated you well; that what you learned at Smith, whether it was to remain open-minded when encountering the unfamiliar--such as grapes paired with brown sugar and sour cream for dessert--or to speak up and think hard about what you believe in, has stayed with you and helped you through every victory and every loss.

We never read in the pages of the Alumnae Quarterly about the other kinds of successes in our lives, the brave and beautiful ways we get ourselves through the bankruptcies, miscarriages, divorces, lay-offs, betrayals, illnesses, and the other ugly struggles that come to all of us eventually. I think that's sort of a shame. I consider these things to be the true successes in life; the moments when we rise up amidst adversity and make brave choices and fight our way through. That's the stuff I really wish we were sharing--not that promotions and vacations and babies aren't fantastic; I love hearing about them. But I'd also love to know more about the creative, enlightened ways that each of you has managed to navigate what has been difficult in your lives. How you got sober or recovered when your business failed or found the courage to drop out of medical school and disappoint your parents or leave your spouse or care for your sick mother or whatever it is that you've done bravely these last thirteen years.

Since we don't currently have a forum for exchanging those stories and ideas, I want to take a moment here, on the 22nd of May, 2007, to pause and to acknowledge that for every one of us who has earned her PhD or published six books or married a dreamboat or landed her dream job or bought her dream home or given birth to brilliant children, there are a lot more of us who got a little lost along the way; who made difficult choices between career and family; who quietly left marriages that weren't working or jobs that weren't right; who lost children, or couldn't have them, or had children who were sick. Some of us fled our homes when Hurricane Katrina hit, some of us fled for other reasons, and some of us are still searching for something that really feels like home. Some of us are sick and some of us are nursing spouses or children or parents who are fighting illnesses they may not defeat. And the courage, intelligence, compassion, and strength that these things take are worth applauding.

I hope that all of you are thriving and happy and healthy, but for those of you who aren't--don't let the Quarterly (or anything else) fool you. You are not alone. Whether you are plagued by ambivalence or something easier to diagnose, there is someone among us who is struggling like you.

In the diploma circle it took more time for some of us to find what we had earned than it did for others. If you are feeling lost, I hope you will hang in there, stay on your feet and keep passing to the right (as it were), and yours will come eventually. And if you are one of the ones that have already found the metaphorical diploma with your name on it, I hope you are whooping with delight and throwing your cap up in the air tonight.

Happy Anniversary.
xxoo
Naomi
--
Naomi Graychase
Alumnae Class President, 1994
PO Box 787, Northampton, MA 01061
www.graychase.com
413.527.7806 (v)
928.752.4900 (f)