New Faces, New Connections
Next spring, Wheaton's first coeducational class will celebrate 10 years since their highly visible 1992 graduation. Wheaton men are joining the ranks of Wheaton graduates in larger numbers with each class, marking a distinctly new era for Wheaton's Alumnae/i Association.
Like decades of Wheaton alumnae before them, graduates from the last ten years are finding their own ways to keep the college in their daily lives, whether through the Filene Center, serving as a volunteer, choosing to attend a reunion or simply staying in touch with Wheaton friends. But these young coed classes are also creating their own brand of Wheaton involvement, from networking lunch sessions in major cities, maintaining class Web pages and listserves, to a coed alumnae/i a cappella singing group.
The Quarterly met with a few of Wheaton's most recent alumnae/i to learn how Wheaton fits into their busy lives. We discovered that while some alumnae/i in this era have created ways to link to their alma mater that Eliza Wheaton never dreamed of, many of them find their strongest connections in the lasting relationships shaped during college days.
Mike Walmsley '94/Courtney Spillane '98
Mike Walmsley '94 needs only to look across the breakfast table to see his most important Wheaton connection, his wife, Courtney Spillane Walmsley '98. "I had a positive experience at Wheaton," he said. "So to have a Wheaton connection like this in my personal life is a great reward." But both the Walmsleys believe that Wheaton plays a strong supporting role in their professional lives as well. "I have a job that I truly enjoy, a testament to the great education I received," says Spillane Walmsley, employed by the Brattle Group in Cambridge, Mass. "Even if I wasn't an outspoken student in all my classes, each one was important to me and I thank my professors for their high expectations."
Her husband is a project manager at Rowe.com, a company he describes as "the BarnesandNoble.com for university librarians." Like other dot-com companies, his has fluctuated in stability, resulting in downsizing and a greater workload for those left behind. "I've done finance projects, I've written press releases, but the greatest skill you can have in today's corporate culture is adaptability," Walmsley says. "Now, more than ever since I've graduated, I think about the value of my Wheaton education. I wasn't trained in one area, I was educated, and I place a huge value on that."
Before joining the corporate world, Walmsley worked in admissions, first at Wheaton and then for a larger research university. "Working at Wheaton gave me the language to describe what I took away from my experience," he says. "I learned as much by staying up late in the dorms talking as I did in my classes, I just didn't realize it until I talked about my Wheaton experience with prospective students."
Sheri Brady '91
Sheri Brady's connection to her alma mater has ebbed and flowed since leaving Norton in 1991. After a move to Washington, D.C., and an active stint with the area Wheaton club, Brady left for law school in California and left her Wheaton connection behind. "Law school was consuming, and in the years after law school, I spent most of my time building my career," says Brady, the policy director for a national nonprofit organization. "I didn't seek out a connection with Wheaton and didn't really think about it."
But with her 10-year Reunion approaching and with close friend Renee Mangalo '91 on the planning committee, Brady began to think about Wheaton again. "Over the course of 10 years I had forgotten how much I got out of my time there," Brady says. "I just needed a reminder to get back in touch."
Brady helped with her class Reunion planning and traveled back to Wheaton in May. "Coming back , seeing the pageantry of graduation and staying in the dorms was an incredible memento of my time there. It was a great school then, and I'm happy to see how it has grown," she says.
While on campus, Brady met a graduating senior who brought her full circle. "Listening to her talk was like hearing me 10 years ago, she was so full of promise and ideas. We talked for a long time about our common interests, and we're going to meet up in Washington this fall."
Cliff Zawasky '98
When Cliff Zawasky's last name was misspelled on an envelope from Wheaton, he didn't throw it away. Instead, he wrote to the college and explained that he would be a willing donor to the Annual Fund if only his last name was spelled correctly on his mail. After receiving a cordial and apologetic note from President Dale Rogers Marshall, Zawasky made good on his promise and has been a donor to the Annual Fund every year since. "I give to Wheaton, because I know my gift is appreciated, no matter the size. I also feel that I have a responsibility to give back, because I get so much out of Wheaton."
In addition to the Annual Fund, Zawasky has invented new ways to stay connected to his alma mater. The founder of the Dimple Divers, Wheaton's improvisational comedy group, Zawasky runs occasional workshops for the group, drawing on skills he has learned as a member of a professional improv group. It was a great reward for him to perform in their five-year anniversary show last spring. "They do such a good job of entertaining," Zawasky says. "Knowing I've been part of it is a satisfaction unlike any other. And they get funnier every time I see them."
Not limited to comedy performance, Zawasky's talents include four years with the Wheaton Chorale. He keeps in contact with chorale director Tim Harbold, who invited Zawasky to join the chorale for their spring 2001 concert tour to Italy. Zawasky and another recent graduate, Ryan Saunders '00, rehearsed together in Boston, then joined the group for concerts in Florence and Rome.
And even when Zawasky isn't involved with campus events, it's hard to keep Wheaton out of the conversation: his two brothers, Matt '96 and Spencer '93, are Wheaton graduates, and his mother, Kathy Ebert-Zawasky, is Wheaton's director of academic computing. "I see my brothers often and I get the updates from my mom," he says. "It's a family thing, and I like it."
Rebecca Fisher '93
As a member of the second coeducational class at Wheaton, Rebecca Fisher '93 admits there were some rough patches in the early years. "Wheaton was in a sort of awkward, adolescent phase, struggling to find its real identity," Fisher recalls. "But then again, so was I." Fisher described a scene in the dining hall, with students discussing transfer plans over dinner. "That kind of conversation was just part of the culture. At times we got impatient with the process the college was going through, since we wanted a real coed experience and it wasn't there yet."
But what kept Fisher at Wheaton was the sense of community, the strong connection to her professors and the academic experience. " I took a writing class my first semester that really opened my eyes as a writer. It was the first time in my life I felt like a real learner. I loved being part of a vibrant academic community."
In the years following graduation, a combination of distance and personal tragedy left Fisher in limited contact with Wheaton friends and the college. "I was recovering from great loss in my family and I didn't know how to get back to the good things in life. Then I got a call from Heather Corbett '86 in the Alumnae/i Office, asking me to consider a position as class Fund agent.[per thou] Fisher adds, "I did it reluctantly at first, but now I'm very happy to be volunteering for Wheaton and back in touch. It's a good place."
Kevin Collins '95/Megan Collins Field '93/ Lisa Polo Collins '96
Wheaton is a family tradition for the Collins clan: Megan Collins Field graduated in 1993, Kevin Collins graduated in 1995 and Cara Collins will graduate in 2002. Kevin is married to Lisa Polo Collins '96 and their newborn daughter, Riely, could apply to Wheaton in 2018.
While the college experience for all three '90s graduates was remarkably different, they are finding that life as young alums brings them together in similar ways. Kevin's closest Wheaton friends, many of them basketball teammates, have dinner regularly. "We weren't seeing each other as much as we liked, so we agreed on a monthly gathering. It's ranged from Caribbean night to a March Madness basketball night where we all wore team jerseys," Collins laughs.
His sister maintains a similar connection with her Wheaton friends, hosting frequent dinners at her home. "We try to get together regularly, although we aren't as good as Kevin and his friends,[per thou] Field admits."We always wish it could be more frequent."
Their shared family experience bolsters their feelings for Wheaton as they reminisce about college days. "When Kevin arrived my junior year, I was having an amazing academic experience, feeling good that I chose a college that helped me learn important things about myself," Field says. "I remember teaching Kevin how to use the library, all the while saying things like, 'Go see Yo-Yo Ma tomorrow night." Well, Kevin didn't want to see concerts and hear lectures, he was busy with his friends in the dorm, or playing basketball, or seeing Lisa and generally having a very different, very coed experience." But by junior year, Collins and his friends did make their way to Wheaton's cultural events, while Field had made strong friendships among her brother's crowd, including her future sister-in-law.
Conversation among these young graduates often turns to parenting these days, and speculation about the next generation of Wheaton students ensues. "I'd love it if my children went there," says Field, the mother of one-year-old Taylor. Her sister-in-law agrees, saying, "A place as strong as Wheaton can only get better in years to come. Can you imagine going to a Wheaton Parents' Weekend?"
Jennifer Chase '97
Jennifer Chase is a busy communications specialist for Washington, D.C.'s Radio Free Asia, but she devotes time to Wheaton as a member of the Alumnae/i and Parent Admissions Committee (APAC) and as class secretary. "I love to talk about Wheaton, so I'm a perfect candidate to be an admissions volunteer," she says. "And I really enjoy my role in keeping our class connected."
In an age where volunteering among young adults is reportedly declining, what motivates young graduates like Chase? "I stay connected because I wouldn't be who I am today without my Wheaton education," she says. "I couldn't have gone there without the generosity of the people who came before me, and I want others to have the kind of experience I had."
During her junior year, Chase worked as a Commencement/Reunion volunteer with her classmate, Noah Duarte. Together Chase and Duarte were assigned to the Class of 1946. Before the class arrived, Chase and Duarte shared some trepidation about whether the 50th Reunion class would welcome a male student in their midst. "We needn't have worried," Chase reports. "They were wonderful to both of us, and were eager to hear how the college had stayed the same and changed. Those ladies were inspiring in their passion for Wheaton, which is now our Wheaton, too."
Stephen Larkin '92
Running into a '92 classmate on a busy New York street on the day of this interview gave Steve Larkin '92 an added moment of Wheaton nostalgia."I didn't know him that well, but seeing him reminded me so much of the experience we had in common--we were among 76 men in Wheaton's first coed class 14 years ago and there is a certain bond that comes from that."
Larkin has been thinking about Wheaton more than usual these days, after a long hiatus from Wheaton involvement. After serving for three years as the first male graduate on the Alumnae/i Board and working with Jane Martin '74 and Jeff Banks '94 to start a group for gay and lesbian alumnae/i, Larkin stepped away from Wheaton to pursue other interests, including graduate study in journalism at Columbia. "I gave up a lot of things that were important to me, like Wheaton alumni activities and competitive swimming. I really needed some time to focus on other things," he says.
Now established as a producer for television's Inside Edition, Larkin is considering ways to get reconnected with Wheaton, and looks to his 10-year Reunion next spring as a starting point."Being part of Wheaton's first coed class was something very special. The college felt like a different place each of our four years ," Larkin says."It was as if the students, faculty and administrators were all figuring it out together. We took the taking the best qualities of a wonderful women's college and made it something entirely new. I look forward to seeing where life has taken all of us in 10 years."
Sara Sharpless '93
For a group of Turkish students in Istanbul, WheatonMatters and the Quarterly are required reading. That's because Sara Sharpless, Class of 1993, is their English teacher."I have always enjoyed reading Wheaton publications, but now that I live overseas, I look forward to them more than you can imagine," Sharpless says. "My students admire them very much, which adds to my strong sense of Wheaton pride."
Sharpless is married to a Turkish native and they have lived in Istanbul since 1999. But despite being thousands of miles from home, Sharpless stays remarkably current with her Wheaton connections, mostly through e-mail, digital photos and her mother, Frances Anderson Sharpless '61. "I love tradition, and I love that I'm part of one," she says of her family's legacy.
Sharpless went to her mother's Wheaton reunions as a child, and when she did her college search, it didn't take long to realize that Wheaton was the place for her. "It was amazing to be at Wheaton at the same age my mother was when she was here. Having such a strong family connection made me feel very good about my choice." She adds, "Wheaton and I just clicked. The remarkable education I received and the wonderful people I met has indebted me to Wheaton permanently."
Anna Fitzgerald is Wheaton's associate director of communications.
