The great thing about having gone to a college founded by a brewer is that the annual celebration of the school’s founder involves what else? Lots of beer. But Vassar students love to drink beer, so, unfortunately, even two trucks full of it is never enough.
Now residents of upstate New York, Jen and I returned yesterday to campus for the first time since getting married there last year to celebrate our first on-campus Founder’s Day since 1999. We met up with and ran into some old friends (Dan, Ian, Nika, David, Trel), and enjoyed the absolute perfect weather. It was also a good warm-up for this June’s class reunion.
What was most striking to me is how young all the students seemed. In the greater scheme of things, it hasn’t been all that long since graduating, but it felt very different attending Founder’s Day as an alum “outsider.” I remember well what it was like to experience Founder’s Day as a student, but it was interesting to see and experience the event from a different perspective.
Yesterday was my fifth (non-consecutive) on-campus Founder’s Day (last year was FD in SF), which pales in comparison to what’s got to be the record held by my friend Dan Merrill, who clocked in his ninth consecutive on-campus attendance. The Vassar Quarterly should do a profile next year when he hits the decade mark of Founder’s Day attendance. Rock on, Dan.
I’m really glad to have gone yesterday. I had a great time. I so much appreciate the beauty of that amazing campus more than I ever did as a student. Thinking back about my years at Vassar now seems like a distant and hazy memory. Sure, the haziness may be attributed to all the beer I consumed, but I really feel like a different person now, more in tune with and aware of the world around me.
Of course, a large part of who I am today is because of having been fortunate enough to attend such a special school, make great friends, and meet my wonderful wife.
Cheers, Matthew Vassar.
