Photo by Richard Howard

Greetings, Alumnae,

As I write this note to you in May from my living room—now commonly referred to as “Mom’s office” by my three sons and husband—it is very difficult to imagine the next chapter of this global pandemic. First and foremost, I want to extend my sincere condolences to the families and friends of alumnae whose lives have been taken in recent months. My heart goes out to anyone in our Wellesley community who has lost a loved one during this time. And I hope that anyone seriously impacted by this virus is healing. It is clearly a moment unlike any that most of us have ever experienced in our lifetime.

While there is so much uncertainty, it is comforting and, honestly, quite inspirational, to see how our College administration and our alumnae are working through the many phases of this pandemic. I am so proud of President Paula Johnson and her team for the way they are tackling each and every phase of this challenging journey. First, they put the health and safety of our current students as the highest priority. Our amazing faculty members quickly adjusted their teaching approach and embraced distance learning, while also finding clever ways to stay connected to students. The staff on campus worked tirelessly to keep the 180 students still in residence safe, fed, and supported.

And once again, our alumnae have shown exactly why we are so often referred to as the world’s most powerful women’s network. The stories I have heard of alums helping students get home on short notice in March, of providing support to those remaining on campus, and contributing to emergency funds have all been inspiring. I have heard about local Wellesley clubs reaching out to those members who may need assistance to see how they can support each other. And there was a letter-writing campaign from one of our younger classes to members of several of our older classes. (For more on this, see page 43.) And the list of selfless, kind acts to keep our alumnae connected to each other and to students goes on and on.

While there are so many unknowns, I continue to be so proud of our College and our alumnae. The Wellesley community has always risen to challenges, and this is no exception. We have alums working on the front lines of this pandemic, and we have many supporting our students, faculty, staff, administration, and each other.

Let me close by sharing how grateful I am to our editor, Alice Hummer, and her staff, for creating a magazine that not only informs us, but in this time, provides us with wonderful stories about topics that take our minds away from the challenges we are facing each and every day.

If you are asking yourself what else you can do to help Wellesley during this time, I encourage you to consider a financial donation to the College. I also hope you will consider ways to support our newest alumnae as they embark on their careers—and other alumnae who may be in transition. Check out the Hive on the Wellesley website. (You can also learn more about Career Education’s work to support the class of ’20 and other alums on the opposite page.)

Thank you to all who are supporting the College, our students, and each other during this difficult time. We are Wellesley. We will rise to the challenge, we will be part of the solution, and we will be even stronger on the other side.

Yours for Wellesley,
Martha Goldberg Aronson ’89