With May 23 getting closer and closer, I want to congratulate you, fellow seniors. We are almost there.
I realize it is an unspoken faux pas for seniors to ask each other about plans for next year. So instead, let’s reflect on the past four years we have spent together.
I like to think of us as “President Higdon’s class,” a group who arrived with him as new camels, wide-eyed and excited.
Think of what you have seen accomplished at Conn during your four years here: our beautiful new AC, dorm renovations, energetic professors and department improvements and a countless number of other little things that contribute to your daily life.
The Senior Giving Program is a long-standing tradition at Connecticut College with a 28-year history. Students from the Class of 1982 took the initiative to get involved in the future of the College by forming the Senior Giving Program. Since then, each class has followed suit.
For four years, we have reaped the benefits of our predecessors through their support of Financial Aid, CELS internships, incredible semesters abroad and every other nook and cranny of our Connecticut College experience.
I am asking you to support a place that has supported you for the last four years — a place that has nourished you with friendship, knowledge and memories that will be with you for the rest of your life.
Give for your favorite professors who taught you to be a better writer, thinker, leader.
Give for the times you spent pretending to study on the Green as the air grew warmer.
Give for Sunday morning brunch in your favorite booth at Harris and every time you heard the closing bell ring in Shain.
Give for the friendships you have formed and the indelible mark they have left on your life.
I can give you a million reasons to give, but ultimately it is a personal choice. Our classmates have spoken, and this is why they are giving.
Pat Gaughn gave because, “I want to better the institution that I will look back on and be proud of.”
Kelly Arabia said she gave because, “it’s time to show Connecticut College my appreciation for these four amazing years.”
Corey Testa gave because, “the symbol of senior giving is one of class unity and appreciation to a community that we have belonged to for four years.”
There are countless reasons to give, be it for the past or for the future.
True philanthropy is doing what you can for a cause that you believe in. It is not about big numbers, but big commitment.
Think back to that day when the big white envelope arrived in the mail with your acceptance letter. Connecticut College invested in you; now it is your turn to invest in its future.
Wherever it is you find yourselves next year, be it tending to sick children in Boston hospitals, saving the world as a Peace Corps volunteer in Eastern Europe or working finance in Manhattan, your Connecticut College community will be there with you. You are part of a larger community of connected camels; our roots run deep, and I personally like that.
As President Higdon said at the first day of freshman orientation, “this is just the beginning of a wonderful friendship.”
Quinn Arevalo is the Co-Chair of the Senior Giving Program.
