This past Tuesday, April 9, the senior class participated in the annual Senior Welcome Dinner, an event during that welcomes the graduating senior class into the Choate Alumni Association. The dinner, fondly nicknamed “the vest dinner” by many Choate students, featured alumni speakers as well as the presentation of the Alumni Association vests. The dinner offered current seniors a chance to speak with Choate alumni about their Choate experiences and their lives after graduation.
Although the event is now a well-established tradition at Choate, this year, the dinner proved to be slightly different from those of previous years. Rather than featuring one Choate alumni speaker, multiple alumni attended the event, where they could connect and speak with smaller groups of students more intimately. In the past, the invited alumni did not had the opportunity to engage with the senior class like they were able to this year.
Ms. Monica St. James, Director of Alumni Relations explained, “It’s not really effective to gather 200 kids in a room and have someone talk at them, so it’s much better to talk to real people and have an engaging conversation.” She continued, “We invited area alumni to sit at the tables with students to talk about their careers and talk about what they did after Choate — if at any part of their moving from Choate through college through a career they relied on a Choate network, if they called somebody, if they had any experience with a Choatie in their adult life.”
Choate alumni from a wide range of professional backgrounds — nurses, physicians, lawyers, real estate agents, various business entrepreneurs, and even two alumni who work with Sikorsky Aircraft and nuclear submarines — took the time to return to the Choate campus for an evening to share their experiences and stories with the seniors.
Ms. Laura Lynn van Mierlo, a sixth-form dean, said, “It’s interesting for the alumni to get the perspective of the students now, and also for the students to hear about what their experiences are as alumni of the School.”
The class of 2019 appeared eager to talk with alumni at the dinner. Owen Collins ’19 said, “It’s our beginning moment being introduced into the Choate Alumni Network, and it’s a pretty amazing thing, just knowing how vast that network is, and to become a part of something so large with such significance and history.” He added, “It’s also, for me, sort of a rite of passage and something that reminds me that my time here at Choate is coming to a close. Soon I will be an actual alumnus, and soon I will have my diploma.”
Tippa Chan ’19 said, “It’s like we’re almost done, like this is the end of it. And it’s kind of bittersweet.”
The change in the event’s structure seemed to please the senior class. Itai Mupanduki ’19, the former Student Body President, said, “Well, obviously, I think the most important part is getting connected to people who have gone through a similar Choate experience as you, who have grown from that experience, and who are going to help you make that next adjustment in life.” With more alumni to speak with, he said, “you get to mingle and find people with similar interests to yourself. That, I think, is much more useful than just one person going up. With a lot of people there, there’ll be something for everyone to learn.”
The Senior Welcome Dinner establishes more than just a connection to the worldwide network of Choate alumni. Mr. Sam Doak, a sixth form dean, said, “It give seniors a sense of accomplishment, a sense of belonging, a sense of connection with each other. “It’s one of those cohort experiences that really helps the class recognize and realize where they are in their lives right now and the transition they’re about to face.”
