Dear classmates,
 
Whenever I get a chance to write one of these class letters, I always spend some time thinking back to my time at Kenyon first. What memories do I want to jog for you? What approach will mean the most? Because while Kenyon’s goal is to get you to open your wallets, my goal as a writer is always to make you want to read my letter all the way through!

This time, I remembered driving away from Kenyon the day we graduated. I burst into tears. My parents were startled. “You’re all finished and your work is done,” my mom said. “Why are you crying now?” 

I responded, “Because I will never live in a place with so many people so much like me again in my life.”

It was more than driving away from friends and colleagues. I was losing a community I valued. And I was right. I’ve developed other amazing communities, but never again one so similar to me.

Because of that it’s been important to stay in touch with you through my work as a class agent, class notes in the Alumni bulletin and later in class letters, Regional Alumni meetings, reunions, and other Kenyon Alumni events, have enabled all of us to keep ties with our community and the friendships that developed during those four years on the Hill. And some of us have earned closer ties through moving back for work or in retirement. And we’ve moved together through life milestones and the cultural milestones of our world. 

It was class notes that introduced me to your spouses and children; your career successes and challenges. Later we met your grandchildren and heard about your travels. Retirement and second and even third careers developed over time. Some of us chose to remain quieter, as layoffs, divorces, and other troubles were not life events we want to share as willingly as the happy ones. That’s the hard part of a community that is separated by time and distance instead of living “cheek by jowl” as we once did. This connection only goes so far. 

And the world has changed while we grew older. Two incidents really brought my age home to me this past week, so I thought I’d share them both with you. 

I am sure you remember the controversy when Maya Lin’s design was chosen for the Vietnam War Memorial, both because of her youth – she was 21 – and her Asian heritage. The War in Vietnam was the war of our generation, just as WWII belonged to our parents, and her memorial is one of the most powerful places I’ve ever visited. Well, Maya turned 62 last week, and that racism-driven controversy is mostly forgotten – except by our generation – in light of so many other ones. I still think of her as that young girl. It’s hard to believe she’s so close to our age.

I was again stuck by our age when I found out that Paul Hollywood – the baker and middle-aged heart-throb judge of “The Great British Bake-Off”– a Netflix addiction that reached new heights of popularity during the Pandemic – was born in 1976. One year AFTER we graduated. Oh Paul, say it isn’t so!!! The guy who can rock an untucked shirt and pair of jeans better than any chubby fellow I know is definitely young enough to be my kid! Sigh…

OK. Back to business.

Kenyon has changed too, but it is aging well. The completely new Chalmers Library is open and beautiful. New construction at Kenyon seems to get the fact that capturing whatever natural light they can in the land of perpetual rain is a good idea. Like the revised Dempsey, skylights bring as much sun as possible into the library’s interior.  So far, new buildings at Kenyon have been enhancing the campus rather than damaging it. Nice to see.

Despite the limitations of the Pandemic, all four classes are studying together again in Gambier. (With a bonus first-year cohort finishing a semester in Copenhagen!) And plans are taking shape for an unforgettable Reunion 2022 on the Hill. (Mark your calendar for the weekend of May 27. All alumni are invited to attend!) Of course, we’re not that far from our 50th, and that’s really hard to believe!
 
The College just shared its new strategic plan leading up to the bicentennial in 2024 and beyond. Core elements feature 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; and expanding its environmental responsibility. I’m really proud of Kenyon’s personal ongoing commitment to sustainability.
 
Kenyon also has an 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).
 
Now here’s the pitch. Kenyon needs our help to continue to succeed. I know we faced real challenges when we were in school and when we left. The changing roles of women – and men, traveling through the career world in a competitive baby-boomer clump, re-defining ourselves as the world changed and we changed with it, living as thinking creatures while surrounded by people who actively choose more and more to react rather than engage their brains. But Kenyon is involved in proactively producing communities of thinkers. Kids who are taught to process information and make smart decisions. Kids who will challenge assumptions and make a difference. 

By chipping in, even with a little bit, you have the chance to encourage them. Your contribution may help open the door to one more student who wouldn’t get to choose Kenyon without your help. Because you all know that a private college like Kenyon is not the easy choice it was when we went. The cost is prohibitive to most today. We were lucky and the least we can do in appreciation is to help this generation who doesn’t have our good fortune in their options. And while you’re at it, how about throwing a little Kenyon’s way in your will? Too soon to think about it? Not really.

As the bicentennial draws closer, I also challenge each of you to do a little more than you have in the past to help make Kenyon the special place it is in more than a monetary way. This could mean becoming an alumni volunteer, attending a College event, or even submitting a class note for the next letter. As one of the agents, I will tell you we really enjoy hearing from you.
 
And thank you for reading my nonsense again all the way to the end!
Maria Muto-Porter