PEA Hosts Alumni Reunions

Twenty-five alumni listen for the whistling of a Northern Cardinal on a nature walk led by Biology Instructor Richard Aaronian through the Exeter woods­—the very same walk that a few of them, perhaps, made two decades ago when they were students.

This was one of Exeter’s many reunion events held last weekend for the Classes of 1974, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2004. Every five years, each class returns to campus for a three-day reunion consisting of dinners and discussions geared to reconnect alumni.

According to Director of Parent and Alumni Relations Ann Lockwood, each class designates a committee to collaborate with administrators in planning their reunion. “We collaborate with these class volunteer committees to help them plan the program for their reunion, invite their classmates to come back and encourage their classmates to support The Exeter Fund,” she said.

Reunions allow Exonians to renew old friendships and meet new members of the Exeter community, Lockwood continued. “We consistently hear from alumni that Exeter was a life changing experience for them and reunions are a time when they can reflect on this experience,” she said. “Many leave their reunion weekend with a renewed sense of the importance of their Exeter education and the life-long friendships they made here.”

Biology Instructor Townley Chisholm agreed. “[Alumni] love the school and the chance to see how it has changed and how it has remained the same,” he said. “They especially love catching up with classmates and surviving teachers, and they love sharing stories with each other and re-visiting their younger selves. Those are powerful draws.”

Justin Mulaire ’94 reminisced about his student years at the Academy. “Exeter played a pretty significant role in [my] adolescence and growing up. It’s a place that is special to me and a lot of people … [The reunion] is a way of reconnecting with some of the people I went to school with. There are still faculty here [who] were here when I was a student,” he said.

For Eva Philips ’89, the Exeter campus simultaneously felt new and unfamiliar upon her return. “It’s always fun to revisit and gain a renewed perspective,” Philips said. “Each time I come back, there is an evolution of the campus and of the student body that I’m really intrigued by. I always end up talking to some classmates in different ways than I did as a student.”

Mulaire reflected on the Academy’s progress on various fronts since his student years. “Obviously, there are changes in technology and communications that track changes in society in general. There are fewer Saturday classes now … and the dress code is very different. I think there's a variety of cultural changes, especially concerning LGBT visibility on campus, that has changed a lot in a positive way since I left,” he said.

For Abby Pinto ’89, the most notable change was the Academy’s stronger emphasis on fostering holistic student experiences. “It seems like people are communicating about non-academic aspects of their lives in different ways now than when we were students here. There is now conversation about the whole student, unlike when I was here, when those dynamics were not named explicitly,” she said.

Chisholm, who facilitated a Harkness discussion with the Class of 1984 about environmental issues, felt that alumni contributed valuable insight. “It is clear Exeter alums are extremely well-informed, articulate people,” he said.

In another reunion event, the Class of 1989 held a panel discussion about knowledge and goodness. “Our classmates posed this really provocative set of questions, and I thought … the conversation [went] deeper [than] I could have anticipated,” Pinto said.

This workshop reminded Arlene Chan ’89 about the importance of Harkness, particularly for teenagers. “At most schools, due to social constraints, many find themselves closed off and trying to conform. Harkness, on the other hand, makes you more vulnerable. You must form an opinion, back it up with evidence and have courage in your convictions—closing yourself off is no longer an option,” she said.

Bill Burge ’84 articulated that the conversations he shared and connections he made this reunion weekend brought his memories of a 1980s Exeter back to life. “It just kind of breaks that two-dimensional freeze that you have in your mind … [where you] just seem sort of locked in time,” he said. “And now that still painting has become real-life, three-dimensional, moving and changing.”

Mulaire reflected on his most treasured takeaways from his Exeter experience. “This school ends up being a very formative experience, probably more so than college,” he said. “There is not any one lesson necessarily that one takes away from Exeter, but the values of the institution and the people that you meet here last a lifetime.”

Twenty-five alumni listen for the whistling of a Northern Cardinal on a nature walk led by Biology Instructor Richard Aaronian through the Exeter woods­—the very same walk that a few of them, perhaps, made two decades ago when they were students.

This was one of Exeter’s many reunion events held last weekend for the Classes of 1974, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2004. Every five years, each class returns to campus for a three-day reunion consisting of dinners and discussions geared to reconnect alumni.

According to Director of Parent and Alumni Relations Ann Lockwood, each class designates a committee to collaborate with administrators in planning their reunion. “We collaborate with these class volunteer committees to help them plan the program for their reunion, invite their classmates to come back and encourage their classmates to support The Exeter Fund,” she said.

Reunions allow Exonians to renew old friendships and meet new members of the Exeter community, Lockwood continued. “We consistently hear from alumni that Exeter was a life changing experience for them and reunions are a time when they can reflect on this experience,” she said. “Many leave their reunion weekend with a renewed sense of the importance of their Exeter education and the life-long friendships they made here.”

Biology Instructor Townley Chisholm agreed. “[Alumni] love the school and the chance to see how it has changed and how it has remained the same,” he said. “They especially love catching up with classmates and surviving teachers, and they love sharing stories with each other and re-visiting their younger selves. Those are powerful draws.”

Justin Mulaire ’94 reminisced about his student years at the Academy. “Exeter played a pretty significant role in [my] adolescence and growing up. It’s a place that is special to me and a lot of people … [The reunion] is a way of reconnecting with some of the people I went to school with. There are still faculty here [who] were here when I was a student,” he said.

For Eva Philips ’89, the Exeter campus simultaneously felt new and unfamiliar upon her return. “It’s always fun to revisit and gain a renewed perspective,” Philips said. “Each time I come back, there is an evolution of the campus and of the student body that I’m really intrigued by. I always end up talking to some classmates in different ways than I did as a student.”

Mulaire reflected on the Academy’s progress on various fronts since his student years. “Obviously, there are changes in technology and communications that track changes in society in general. There are fewer Saturday classes now … and the dress code is very different. I think there's a variety of cultural changes, especially concerning LGBT visibility on campus, that has changed a lot in a positive way since I left,” he said.

For Abby Pinto ’89, the most notable change was the Academy’s stronger emphasis on fostering holistic student experiences. “It seems like people are communicating about non-academic aspects of their lives in different ways now than when we were students here. There is now conversation about the whole student, unlike when I was here, when those dynamics were not named explicitly,” she said.

Chisholm, who facilitated a Harkness discussion with the Class of 1984 about environmental issues, felt that alumni contributed valuable insight. “It is clear Exeter alums are extremely well-informed, articulate people,” he said.

In another reunion event, the Class of 1989 held a panel discussion about knowledge and goodness. “Our classmates posed this really provocative set of questions, and I thought … the conversation [went] deeper [than] I could have anticipated,” Pinto said.

This workshop reminded Arlene Chan ’89 about the importance of Harkness, particularly for teenagers. “At most schools, due to social constraints, many find themselves closed off and trying to conform. Harkness, on the other hand, makes you more vulnerable. You must form an opinion, back it up with evidence and have courage in your convictions—closing yourself off is no longer an option,” she said.

Bill Burge ’84 articulated that the conversations he shared and connections he made this reunion weekend brought his memories of a 1980s Exeter back to life. “It just kind of breaks that two-dimensional freeze that you have in your mind … [where you] just seem sort of locked in time,” he said. “And now that still painting has become real-life, three-dimensional, moving and changing.”

Mulaire reflected on his most treasured takeaways from his Exeter experience. “This school ends up being a very formative experience, probably more so than college,” he said. “There is not any one lesson necessarily that one takes away from Exeter, but the values of the institution and the people that you meet here last a lifetime.”