Seniors celebrate their impending graduation at the tenth Alumni Transition Dinner.
The day after the Alumni Transition Dinner on April 7, a sea of seniors proudly showed off their blue alumni vests. The Alumni Association has existed for 10 years. Pictures of grinning groups of students wearing these vests emblazoned with “Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Association” surfaced on social media as well.
Ibrahima “Ibro” Mbaye ’16 reflected on the significance of these vests. “I think the vests are just like one of those many items that large groups of students get here like class shirts or boar pen shirts that hold far more significance that their utility or aesthetic qualities. People wear these items a lot, because they are reminded that they all belong here, and that we are all one collective entity. I think the vests evoke a similar feeling,” he said.
The dinner, which took place on April 6 this year, is a long-standing tradition at the school. It is also one of the biggest occasions in the spring term for seniors, as it represents one of the last formal chances for them to get together as a class and celebrate embarking on the next stage of their academic careers. The dinner included a speech and watching the “I Love Choate” slideshow.
Many current seniors agreed that the occasion was memorable, and alumni believed that the festive atmosphere has remained consistent through the years the dinner has been held.
David Shan ’15 commented, “The alumni transition dinner was a great experience, because it was a rite of passage for seniors. Plus, we got pretty nifty vests. My favorite part was taking pictures with my friends and peers.”
He elaborated, “Everyone kind of internally realized we were reaching the end of our time at Choate, and that this would be one of our last big moments together. Old friends who had not talked in a while got together to take pictures and savor our last moments as peers together.”
Scott Ji ’16 said, “I think the dinner is nice because we get to sit down with friends and talk to each other, it is a tradition that should definitely continue.”
Ms. Emily Lovejoy ’06, Dean of Third Form Girls, agreed for the most part. She said, “I really loved the alumni transition dinner when I was a student.” However, she remarked that the dinner had changed in the years since she was a student. “The dinner had much higher quality food than the dining hall typically fed the students; it felt a bit more special than the dinner does now. For example, they had really creative, delicious, and fun desserts. The dinner now feels a bit forced and I think that the speech from the President of the Alumni Association could be shorter.”
The dinner was also an opportunity for the seniors to start donating to the school. The Senior Gift Challenge continues during the week before the transition dinner, asking to give back to the school through financial means. The Class of 2016 raised a total of $2086.14 for the Students to Students Fund.
Associate Director of Alumni Relations Ms Katherine Maloney commented, “We hope the graduating class is inspired to take advantage of the Alumni Association’s networking opportunities and also to give back to the school by volunteering their time and continuing the financial support that they started with the Senior Class Gift Challenge.”
Khanh Vu ’16 agreed, “The alumni transition dinner is a way to encourage incoming Choate alumni of Class of 2016 to be comfortable and remember to give back to the Choate community in the future.”
Ms. Maloney said, “They will leave our campus, but not the community. We hope they find excitement and possibility in that. “
