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When Domenica Lewis ’88 looks back on London Calling 2.0, the first international launch of the Campaign to advance the Wellesley Effect, she remembers “the sparkle.” The president of the Wellesley Club UK isn’t talking about sequins and bling—this wasn’t a gala evening. What was sparkling, she says, was “so many Wellesley women away from home but united in our zeal to support each other and the institution that shaped us.”

In November, nearly 90 alumnae and juniors studying abroad came together from across the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Denmark, and France for panel discussions, an update on the College from President H. Kim Bottomly, and camaraderie. Alan Schechter, professor of politics, emeritus, joined a group of alumnae on stage in a discussion on “Politics, Civic Action, and Personal Impact”—where the conversation ranged from the United States presidential election to the impact of angel investors. A second panel focused on “Feminism and the Image of Women in the 21st Century.”

The event was designed, says Missy Siner Shea ’89, executive director of the WCAA, to give alumnae time to connect and enjoy one another’s company—with breaks for lunch, tea, and a decade dinner afterward. “It was punctuated by laughter and joy,” she says, even amid the somber moments of an event that occurred just days after the Paris terrorist attacks.

Lewis agrees. “I was so happy to look around the rooms and see all our guests in animated conversation with each other,” she says. “It felt like reunion but more concentrated.”