Alumni Return for Five-Year Reunion

Every five years, the members of each Exeter class are invited back to campus to reconnect with old friends and meet fellow graduates at a reunion hosted by Institutional Advancement.

From this Friday to Sunday, the Classes of 1998, 1993, 1988 and 1983 will be celebrating their 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-year reunions, respectively, in a series of events on campus catered to a variety of interests. Alumni attend student Harkness classes, a morning row at the Saltonstall Boathouse, tours of the campus hosted by current Exonians and a Class of 1983 Harkness discussion.

These events culminate a year or more of planning and include informal and formal gatherings, family activities, music and meals. The reunion also serves to connect entire families of alumni with a supervised children’s program available during certain reunion weekends.

Director of Alumni/ae and Parent Relations Harold Brown said that reunions are a way of honoring and recognizing the alumni devotion to Exeter by welcoming them back on campus.

"Alumni donate their time and money to help in an array of different processes, and often it is the work alumni do that make Exeter what it is," Brown said. "Reunions provide us a way of recognizing the philanthropic support and volunteer time that alumni give to the school. Our goal is to make Exeter worthy of their support."

Figures have shown that alumni also enjoy coming back on campus when classes are in session, according to Brown. "Once you’re at Exeter, you’re a member of a family, and one of the things alumni like to do is come back ‘home’ and see how Exeter is now," Brown said. "Students will remember the Assembly last week honoring some students’ favorite teachers, the early educators, so a big part of why alumni want to come back is to visit their teachers at Exeter and say thanks."

Alex Berkett ‘93 thought that reunions were a good way to reunite individual classmates as well as the class as a whole. "On an individual level, I have always enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect with classmates, particularly those I was friends with at school but not good enough friends with to maintain contact over the years," Berkett said. "On a collective level, class cohesion is improved, opportunities for professional networking are provided and fundraising is greatly enhanced."

For Mitchell Bradbury ‘78, reunions rekindle the positive experiences and influences of attending the Academy. "I think I am impacted spiritually and expansively by my association with Exeter," Bradbury said. "In particular, reunions are a warm and familiar continuity of meaningful tradition, a call to communion of kindred spirits with strong, respectful and loyal ties to the institution where one first grasped the value of growth and perseverance through the best times, the worst of times."

Sebastian Marquez ‘88 shared Bradbury’s sentiments and thought that revisiting Exeter gave him an opportunity to reflect. "I think about many of my ‘firsts,’ like DJing Afro-Exonian dances, or taking painting and drawing classes, both of which I have pursued professionally since my time at Exeter," Marquez said. "I guess I could say that I gained the satisfaction of knowing that all of my experiences during those four years were important and meaningful in shaping the person I’ve become and the life I’m living."

Bradbury noted that many individuals who attend the reunions have changed as time has progressed. "Over time, we all experience the pain of adverse circumstance, loss, illness, financial struggles, and we all transcend these experiences, the result a shedding of useless pretense and stiff or affected posturing," he said. "In short, our values and respect for the basic commodity of time and the clear limitations and certain finite aspect of our existence has become more real to us in our 50s."

As times have changed the lives of Exeter graduates, several alumni members noted that the reunions have varied in in the past as well.

"I remember my fifth reunion was more like a college after-party—many of us still single, still figuring out life, plus many more former teachers and staff were still around," Marquez said. "At our 10th reunion, some classmates were getting married and even starting families, others were balding earlier than expected, but the vibe was still lively and it still felt like an exciting party. With this being the 25th reunion, I’m sure it will be way more family-oriented, but still fun."

Many appreciated the Office of Institutional Advancement’s involvement in planning the reunions.

"I think the Alumni Office is a well-oiled machine. They are the backbone of the structure which enables the success of the reunion experience and the ongoing endowment backing the institution," Bradbury said. "If anyone has difficulty, either financially or as the result of some other hardship, our class and any variety of potential alumni assistance efforts has accommodated attendance at the reunion."

Brown, however, noted that the reunions are truly a collaborative effort with every on campus. "During reunion weekend, we have 1200 to 1800 people on campus for three-and-a-half weeks, so it has to be a collaborative effort," he said. "The Facilities Department works with us to schedule and program rooms and classrooms, the catering operation, which students know as d-hall, has to make the right considerations for meal times, and of course faculty members let alumni come to their classrooms."