½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï

For the past year, I have shadowed Saskia Subramanian ’88, M.A. ’89, during her final year as the Alumnae Association president. As you know from her regular letters in this publication, Saskia’s connection to ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï (and Haverford for that matter) is deep and heartfelt. She has written beautifully about participating in an Alumnae/i Travel program trip to Japan, encouraging alums to brag about their connection to our beloved alma mater, spending a summer with her eldest son before his first semester at Haverford College, and, most recently, about how we can build a more equitable and welcoming Alumnae Association.

During Saskia’s tenure, she saw the creation of a combined Alumnae Relations and Development division at the College, provided an alumna voice on the History Working Group, helped create Project Mawrter, oversaw the re-writing of the Alumnae Association Executive Board’s bylaws, and championed the record-breaking Defy Expectation Campaign. I am grateful for her many contributions to the College and our alumnae/i, and humbled to serve as your next Alumnae Association president.

Traditionally, the Alumnae Association president uses this column to share reflections, news, and information about our College and alumnae. I hope to share this platform in the Bulletin with other members of the Alumnae Association Executive Board and with you, the College’s alumnae/i, to identify and discuss our collective hopes, vision, and action for the Association. As I begin my formal term, I want to hear, learn, and know about your ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï and what it means to you.

I appreciate that we each chose ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï for different reasons and that we all have various reasons for how and why we’ve chosen to stay connected—whether it be by maintaining and growing friendships from your time on campus, participating in Club events, attending Reunions, reading the Bulletin, joining an affinity group like Tapestry, or financially supporting the College through annual giving.

My own connections to ½ñÈճԹϒs alumnae/i community started when I was an undergraduate. One of my on-campus jobs was working on the second floor of Wyndham in the Alumnae Association offices, where I had a front-row seat to the amazing people who were once students at the College. I found each and every alum experience and story fascinating and part of a larger legacy of the College’s legacy I could be proud of and one that I also struggled with.

Over the past 24 years, I have been a consistent volunteer and prioritized my ongoing philanthropic commitment to the College. I firmly believe I would not be where I am today if it were not for people who, by supporting the College, took a chance on me. By believing in the capacity for education to open doors, they believed I could be the absolute best possible version of myself. I remain connected because I want to provide new opportunities for current and future Mawrters. I want our community to be vibrant and active for the next generation of alumnae/i. I believe that it is my, and our, collective responsibility to build a better, bold, and equitable future.

I look forward to hearing your ideas, sharing your memories, and nurturing our shared alumnae/i community with you in the coming years whether in person (!) or in this space. Thank you for staying connected.

Sincerely, Sally Bachofer ’97
President, ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï Alumnae Association