Class of ‘25 Attends Annual Senior-Alumni Dinner

By KAROLINA KOZAK, ALEX LIM, JEANIE NING, ABBE SARPONG, LEON XIE and SOPHIE XUE

On Friday, Sept. 20, the senior class gathered to celebrate a beloved Academy tradition, the Senior Alumni Class Dinner. This event always provides a great opportunity for the students to make connections and gather insight from alumni. Along with great conversation, the participants also had the opportunity to listen to speeches by Principal Rawson and the Senior Class Representatives. This event was made possible by the General Alumni Association (GAA) and the Student Alumni Relations Council (STARS).

“I think it’s a really interesting event,” remarked senior class president Ava Helbig. “Initially, I was really nervous to go to the event and network. But once I realized that the alumni weren’t there to tear us down or judge us. I understood they were there to set us up for success.”  

“It was cool to realize how wide and diverse of a network Exeter has,” Helbig continued. “It really helps you realize that you can do incredible things in your own small way.”

Helbig reminisced on the different conversations she had with the trustees and alumni, and shared some of the advice she had received. “The main thing I took away from the dinner was that it doesn’t matter where you go from college. Since Exeter’s prepared you for the real world, you would be well set up for success no matter where you go, and no matter what you do.” 

She continued, “As a senior, I think that was comforting to hear, and although it’s something I already kind of knew, hearing it from an alumni who has gone through the same thing as me was really nice.” 

Upper Sophia Chaudrey was fortunate enough to be able to attend the dinner as a member of the STARS committee. “It was a really great opportunity to learn about advice for your future and also recognize just how quickly things are constantly changing,” she said. “It was a great experience to hear how far each alumni had come, and it was enlightening to hear their experience.” 

“Some impactful advice that the alumna gave was their assertion that Harkness really mimics society after Exeter,” senior King-Diorr Willsun said. “They really did emphasize that it helped them feel like that had a place in society. After Exeter, Harkness helped them understand how to disagree with a person’s values, but not their character.”

Getting to bond over dinner with Exonians who had already made their mark in the professional world was reassuring for senior Tommy Hoey as well. “The thing is, I feel like a lot of people go into those kinds of alumni events and try to reach people who work under the branch they imagine themselves falling under, and I really have no idea what I wanted to do, you know what I mean?” 

Hoey went on to explain his conversation with the alumnus at his table: “There was a man there, he told us about his 10 years at Morgan Stanley. He was doing well for himself, but he was like, this isn’t my passion, so he opened up his own dance company. I could really relate in terms of following your own path, like how you can always make a switch according to your passion. It definitely exceeded my expectations.” 

The Exeter alumni network is vast, owing to the varied backgrounds of students and the plethora of different careers they pursue after their time at the Academy. “The message was, ‘Stay connected,’” senior Caspar Bailey affirmed. “The message was ‘I wish I had stayed connected.’ Don’t let yourself become separated from the Exeter network. Attend reunions, join the organization, insert yourself into the Exeter community because it’s important and you believe in its mission.” 

When asked if he had any advice for younger students looking forward to attending the event in the future, Willsun spoke about what he gained in hearing the alumni’s stories. “Don’t just ask about how a specific class on, say, ornithology impacted them, but instead maybe on how they learned to think about things in a new perspective or their persistence was tested. Although people rarely talked about exactly which classes they had at Exeter, they always said that it made a difference in how they learned and interacted with others.” 

The dinner was beneficial to both current seniors, who stand on the cusp of life as independent adults. They were able to get advice from former students, for whom it was also a chance to revisit the school where some of the most important years of their youth took place. The longstanding tradition of Exeter veterans returning to guide students living the last year of their time at the Academy was a memorable experience for all involved.