Dear Classmates,

This past August, Antonio Melo and I had the incredible experience of driving our son, Raphael ’25, up the Hill past the stone Kenyon College sign, dropping his belongings in his dorm room on the second floor of McBride, meeting his roommate, touring campus with both the eyes of first year parents and the deep affection and memories of alumni, and sitting with the other parents under the trees for Convocation before saying our goodbyes. We watched the wide-eyed members of the class of 2025, Kenyon’s largest class in its history, (a bonus first-year cohort is finishing their first semester in Copenhagen, including the daughter of fellow classmate Lynne (Jarvela) Sommer!), process down Middle Path, and take their seats facing the stage in front of Sam Mather. My chest was tight with emotion. Antonio had to stand off to the side. Twenty six years ago we sat in that same place with you, the class of 1995, for our graduation.  

President Decatur welcomed the students and spoke of the opportunities and experiences that lay ahead. He closed by saying, “ … But perhaps most importantly your time at Kenyon will be characterized by what Toni Morrison described as, `Sweet, crazy conversations full of half sentences, daydreams and misunderstandings more thrilling than understanding could ever be.’ There will be moments of love and joy- laughing with friends so hard you forget what made you laugh in the first place but forever connect the feelings of happiness to these people at this time. In other words, you’re in for an adventure that will change your life, and it all begins right now.” 

With this I offer up perspective. We are still under the tiresome, inconvenient and for many, tragic cloud of a global pandemic. Certainly we have hope, but during a summer when many of us were finally able to visit family and friends, to return to work, and to see our children off to college, I was struck by how important it is to have perspective.  After all, what actually is important? Yes, “perhaps most importantly … forever connect the feelings of happiness to these people at this time.” We remember being Kenyon students! Kenyon College has worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic to support, build and rebuild, connect, and educate its students, as it always has and will.  Now all four current Kenyon classes are back in Gambier.  What a relief it must be!

The College just shared its new strategic plan that will guide its planning and actions leading up to the bicentennial in 2024 and beyond. It includes core elements like developing a computer science program informed by the liberal arts; enrolling, retaining and graduating a student body that is representative of the talent and diversity of our nation and the world; implementing a holistic approach to health and wellness, with an emphasis on mental health; and expanding its commitment to environmental responsibility.

You have also likely heard the announcement of the Kenyon Access Initiative which will bring more high-achieving students to Kenyon thanks to a $25 million matching grant from the Schuler Education Foundation. Any amount we give through this Kenyon Access Initiative will be matched 1:1 and will go to a new scholarship for students from families with limited means and those ineligible for government aid — up to $25 million.

Scroll on to learn more about Kenyon’s strategic plan and the Kenyon Access Initiative (and how they fit into our 2024 bicentennial celebration). As you read about what’s in store for Kenyon’s future, I hope you’ll consider supporting today’s students with a gift to the Kenyon Fund and making an additional gift to the Kenyon Access Initiative that has the potential to bring 50 additional talented students to Kenyon each year. 

Kenyon wouldn’t be Kenyon without involved and supportive alumni like us. As the bicentennial draws closer, I challenge us all to do a little more than we have in the past to keep Kenyon the special place it is.  Join me and our class representatives in becoming an alum volunteer, attending a College event, submitting a class note or setting up a recurring monthly gift.  You can include Kenyon in your will. Let the College know about your planned giving on the enclosed gift card.  And mark your calendar for the weekend of May 27. Plans are taking shape for Reunion 2022 on the Hill and ALL alumni are invited!

Some final news: McBride looks and smells exactly the same. However, when we wandered into the brand new Chalmers Library, the bubble wrap had not even been taken off some of the door handles. The sun was exploding into rays of color through the prismatic glass ceiling in the atrium.  We explored every corner, imagining what it would be like to be a student.  I lost Antonio in the stacks floors below, and found him sunken down in a brand new chair already several pages into a book. Our collective memories are part of Kenyon’s history. We all remember laughing so hard our stomachs hurt, that slightly out-of-body experience feeling after an all-nighter, those sprawling conversations in dorm rooms, maybe even in McBride, that were absolutely the most important conversations in the world.  

If you do happen to wander up the Hill, say hi to Raphael for me, and ask him to show you around.

Thank you! 
Emma Mead Melo

P.S. Our 1995 class notes can be found by scrolling down this page. Enjoy!