Exeter Alumni Return for Leadership Weekend

By ADRIAN CHAN, CHLOÉ LIND, SEAN RICARD, JANIBEK SUBKHANBERDIN, and ANNIE ZHU

    Every year, for a weekend in September, campus teems with the life of its current, and past generations. Often seen through classroom doors and walking the paths, alumni return to campus not just to reminisce on their time at the Academy and reflect on all its change, but also for an important mission: Exeter Leadership Weekend. This year, it was held on the weekend of Sept. 20.

    Exeter Leadership Weekend is an event in which class volunteers, parent committee members, admission representatives, and alumni are invited to partake in speaker events, panels, and volunteer training, among other affairs. The goal of the event is to gather a group of Exeter community members who are passionate about institutional advancement and the individual experiences of students on campus and educate them about the current state of Exeter.

    The “launch of the fund year,” the Exeter Leadership Weekend is a unique opportunity for volunteers, class presidents, and parents alike to learn about what is happening at the school, according to Director of the Exeter Fund Lynn Taylor. The information volunteers gain from student panels and teacher conversations over the two days is essential for peer-to-peer Exeter Fund volunteer solicitations builds “more robust cases for supporting the school.”

    Preparation for this essential event begins months in advance, with Michelle Curtin, director of Alumni Relations and Advancement Communications, and her department marketing the opportunity for alumni volunteers to return to campus for Exeter Leadership Weekend via “email, [PEA’s] quarterly alumni magazine, and a monthly newsletter.” The Alumni Relations department crafts “an amazing program” that covers all of the major funding categories of the Exeter Fund: Academic Excellence, Financial Aid, Equity & Inclusion, Athletics, Health & Wellness, The Arts, Global Initiatives, and Sustainability, ensuring volunteers are “confident and motivated to go out and solicit their classmates.”

    The highlight is the Alumni Dinner with the graduating class—this year the class of ‘25—where generations of Exeter alumni and the current seniors can share their experiences. Alumna Veronica Juarez ‘00, reflected that taking a picture with a senior and four other alumni from Dunbar demonstrated to her that the dorm community was “beyond even your class, like your class year, of other people who lived in the dorm.”

    For alumni, the gaps between scheduled events allow for nostalgic walks across campus, reconnecting with alumni from different generations, watching current Exonians, and, in. Juarez’s case, enjoying “chocolate-covered gummy bears” from the Chocolatier.

    To keep the school up and running, support from alumni that have previously attended the school is critical. The Exeter Leadership Weekend is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of, as groups of previous Exonians return to their alma mater, eager to re-experience their nostalgic high school years at this unforgettable emy. Phillips Exeter has guided many students to greatness, students who long have been looking for a school that could bring them to full potential.

    Thus was the case for Lori Lincoln, class of ‘86, and Veronica Juarez, class of ‘01, two returning alumni. Being challenged and brought to their full potential were the main pull of Exeter for Lincoln and Juarez, and it will be for many generations of students to come. As Lincoln explained, “I had been skipped a grade and was still at the top of my class so my middle school counselor told my mother, ‘You have to find her something else.’” Such is the case for many Exonians, who have overgrown the requirements of their old schools, and have come to Exeter with a hunger for knowledge, growth, and the trademark rigor that continues to shape us all.

    Exeter has many assets that allow it to meet its students’ desires. However, no matter if it was the small class size nor the well-equipped infrastructure, none of these factors would have been possible without the generosity of alumni that continuously gives to the Exeter Fund. So who exactly helps to run this significant program, and how does this program work?

    Taylor directs a group of nine other people to support the program. The Exeter Fund “has a goal every year, a dollar goal. This year it’s 10.5 million.” To reach this amount, Taylor and her team communicate with volunteers, usually through Zoom. They also try to “go out on the road”, where they travel throughout the States to meet alumni and persuade them to contribute to each year’s goals. As seen through Taylor and her staff’s efforts, communicating with alumni is highly important to the development of the Exeter Fund. Leadership Weekend is thus the prime time for both alumni and the school to build connections and build upon the school’s foundation. For current students, the Exeter Fund is used to “fill in the gaps” and provide a “margin of excellence for the school,” “as playing a role between a good and an exceptional Exeter experience.”

    Shannon Earley, class of ‘95, reflected on her involvement with Exeter Leadership Weekend and the Exeter alumni network, and how many of their decisions to return reflect the values shared by many Exonians: “I think directly after leaving Exeter there was a strong affinity for other students who had attended Exeter…and now it’s really it’s a community of people who you tend to find who have the same core values and want to interact. [They are] especially the ones who want to maintain and continue to be involved and to take action.” She continued, “This was an incredible and formative experience in my life, and I want to make sure that that institution continues to be strong and continues to be shared so that the students of today and tomorrow can have those incredible experiences that I had…” It is clear that non sibi, a foundational Exeter value, is the propelling force that brought volunteers from all four corners of the world back to Exeter for this weekend.

    The gathering was received with enthusiasm by alumni and non-alumni alike, faculty, tour guides, and Exeter fund coordinators participating in a myriad of Leadership weekend events. The alumni mentorship program, which features alumni from diverse backgrounds inspires the next generation of Exonians to pursue their budding aspirations. Juarez remarked, “I talked to a student today who was really interested in law and encouraged her to sign up…I think it’s across all fields that you can find somebody alike (in the alumni mentorship program)”.

    With alumni departing campus, ready to focus on the lessons and goals they’ve forged during their time at the Leadership Weekend, alumna Elizabeth Dutton, class of ‘79, offered a piece of advice to every Exeter student as they consider their future at and beyond the academy. “Try to get sleep, try to eat. Take in all that you can, and there’s always going to be someone who’s much better at something than you are, but it doesn’t mean you are not great. Everyone has their own specialty, so never lose sight of that. Even if it’s something that isn’t shiny and bright, it’s still very important.”