The power of the Wellesley community is both the deep connections forged on campus and the ties built across generations.
74-86
74
On June 23, 1880, the 59 graduates of the classes of 1879 and 1880 gathered in the drawing room of College Hall to form the Alumnae Association. (Photo of the class of 1897 at reunion, year unknown, courtesy of Wellesley College Archives.)
75
Physician Connie Guion, class of 1906, was the first female professor of clinical medicine in the U.S., at Weill Cornell Medicine. She helped establish a Wellesley-to-Cornell pipe-line and mentored doctors like Carol Remmer Angle ’48, whose groundbreaking research on lead poisoning shaped national health standards. (Image Courtesy of Wellesley College Archives.)
76
The Zoë Sarbanes Pappas ’66 Wellesley-in-Washington Internship Program began in 1943. Thanks to strong DC alum connections, every year 24 students secure internships related to politics as well as scientific research, media, the arts, and more. (Photo of Wellesley and Vassar students on the steps of U.S. Capitol in 1952 courtesy of Wellesley College Archives.)
77
The Davis Degree Program, which began in 1971 as continuing education, was endowed by Elisabeth Kaiser Davis ’32 in 1991 to support students of nontraditional age. The program includes over 900 alumnae—Wellesley’s only class that keeps growing, and that marches at reunion (with the 1s and 6s) behind a four-color banner. (Photo of Davis Scholars at reunion 2011 by Richard Howard.)
78
Priscilla Allen Slater, class of 1916, established the Slater International Center in 1973. Each year, the center offers around 80 cultural, educational, social, and immigration programs, plus a five-day welcome orientation for incoming international students. (Photo of students performing at the Slater Cultural Show in 2013 by Richard Howard.)
79
In 2004, Liz Barbieri Hopkinson ’78 donated a kidney to Yolette Garcia ’77, a Wellesley dorm mate whom she hadn’t seen in 25 years, after reading about her in the class notes section of this magazine. Hopkinson told the magazine that while many people were surprised, Wellesley alums were not. (Photo of Hopkinson (left) and Garcia by Nan Coulter.)
80
When Cecilia Lam ’03 left her iPad behind on a plane that was then heading to Charlotte, Va., in April 2013, she immediately posted for advice on the Community: For Wellesley Alums Facebook group. Anna Basevich ’06, who was at the Charlotte airport, spotted the post and retrieved the iPad just before the plane took off again, cheered on by dozens of alums in real time. (Illustration by R. Kikuo Johnson)
81
Tucked behind Clapp Library, Acorns is a 1956 modernist house that since 2016 has served as a hub for more than 20 student organizations that support Asian and Pacific Islander, Latine, Native American, Indigenous, and mixed-race students.
82
Kavindya Thennakoon ’19, a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University, first heard about Wellesley from Antonia DeMeo ’89, then a UNICEF official in Sri Lanka. DeMeo was so impressed after hearing Thennakoon speak to her country’s Parliament that she personally advocated for her admission. (Photo of Thennakoon giving the student commencement address in 2019 by Richard Howard.)
83
Held annually for over 20 years, the Los Angeles tea now hosted by Wellesley Alumnae of African Descent and the Wellesley Latina Alumnae Network was started by a group of friends including Dolores Arredondo ’95, a current Wellesley College trustee.
84
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, class secretary Lara Trimarco Prebble ’19 proposed a way to keep the Wellesley community connected: Younger alums could write letters to older alums. Over 1,000 volunteers participated.
85
Mfoniso Udofia ’06’s nine-play Ufot Family Cycle will be staged over 24 months by 39 Boston-area organizations, led by the Huntington Theatre. The Wellesley Repertory Theatre, under Marta Rainer ’98 with dramaturge and faculty member Lois Roach, will produce the seventh play in March 2026. (Photo of Udofia by Billie Weiss.)
86
Since 2017, more than 2,500 alums have mentored students through the Hive; more than 200 alums have hosted a SHIP (short internship project) student; and countless others have sat on panels, shared their career journeys in webinars, and served as recruiters of Wellesley graduates. (Image Courtesy of Wellesley College Communications and Public Affairs.)
Post a Comment
We ask that those who engage in Wellesley magazine's online community act with honesty, integrity, and respect. (Remember the honor code, alums?) We reserve the right to remove comments by impersonators or comments that are not civil and relevant to the subject at hand. By posting here, you are permitting Wellesley magazine to edit and republish your comment in all media. Please remember that all posts are public.