So, it’s been a couple of weeks since the traveling Expedition rolled back into Williamstown, tired and zany to be sure, but in high spirits after such an amazing trip.  We spent a few days in Williamstown debriefing and decompressing, and then each of us eventually went our separate ways.  We’ve been working on wrapping up the details the past couple of weeks and i think, at this point, we’re nearly finished.  So, now, with the benefit of a little distance and some recuperative time spent back in New Jersey, I have a few final thoughts and impressions from the trip.

The first and most important thing we need to do is say thank you.

Thank you to everyone in the Alumni Office back in Williamstown for supporting us throughout the duration of the trip; thank you to all of the regional volunteers who helped organize this epic series of events in rapid succession around the country; thank you to all of our hosts for putting us up, showing us around your fair cities, and putting up with us and all of our loopy moods and requests to do laundry brought on by extended hours in a van with one another; and most of all, thank you to all the alums who we met out on the road.  You all were welcoming, friendly, gracious, and, of course, so interesting, and it was wonderful to have the chance to meet all of you.  Thank you!

Many of you who attended our events got to hear us on the trip talk about how one of our goals was to provide the common narrative, the connective thread with which to bind these various events and associations in different cities together.  An amazing thing about this trip, though, was seeing how, on some level, that was already done for us.  Not only do we, as Williams alums, have a shared geographic past and, in many ways, a shared college experience, but also we share many things in common about post-Williams life.  I don’t mean to suggest that all of us are doing or have done the same things, far from it.  I guess what I mean to say is that, despite the incredible diversity of paths each of us has taken, what was instead highlighted to me are the common failures and successes, the shared narrative, the things that unite us and bring us together.  Anyway, enough waxing sentimental, I just thought it was cool and, in some ways reassuring that when we heard all these different stories, we were in some ways hearing the same story.  Moving on…

Perhaps because this was the first time the alumni offiice had done anything like the Expedition and we weren’t really sure what we were going to get, or perhaps merely because they’re important questions, I spent a lot of time on the trip thinking about whether or not we were being successful and whether or not what we were doing was worthwhile.  As in most work that has a goal of “strengthening the Williams Community” and “forging ties between alums and the college and alums and one another,” it’s hard to actually measure whether your work has been a success.  However, anecdotally, the response we received while out on the road was overwhelmingly positive.  We had 21 events in 23 cities in 25 days, and while some of those cities have well-established and active regional alumni groups, some have groups that meet once or twice a year, others have groups that haven’t met in years, and still others don’t have any official regional association at all.  The last cities were some of the most fun to visit, as we brought together Williams alums who hadn’t seen a Williams sticker in years and didn’t know one another existed.  I lost count of the number of people who drove at least two hours to come to our events, including some who had never been to a regional event before, but decided to come this summer.  Also, we met at least three alums who had never, ever, been to any Williams alumni event before, including reunion; that was really exciting.  Can you quantify those connections?  I don’t know.  But I’m comfortable saying that I think we accomplished our goals and helped bring people together.

So, for now, that’s all I have to say.  It’s been great meeting everyone and writing in this space the past two months.  This trip was a pleasure and a privilege to work on.  Thanks again to everyone involved and everyone we met, and hopefully I’ll see you all again out there in the ‘real world.’

Lastly, I leave you with a few numbers Jen, Ko, Emily and I collected in the van that will help summarize our experience.

All my best,

~Jason

estimated total mileage: 5834

number of tastykakes given out on the last day: 7

cups of coffee consumed: 73

number of pages of Pride and Prejudice read: 167

number of hours of sleep averaged per night: not enough

number of cities over-nighted: 23

number of states visited: 25

number of photos taken: 1316

number of professors: 3

number of talks given: 10

oldest class met: 1950

youngest class met: 2014

number of subway sandwiches consumed: 14

number of expedition hats given away: 200

number of hours spent in the van: 116

number of spats among the team: 0

longest detour to lunch: 30 miles

number of speeding tickets: 0

number of traffic accidents: 0

number of pounds gained from sitting in a van all day:  don’t want to know

Loose estimate number of members of the Williams Family met:  circa 500

I like your hat. From L-R Betsy Balderston, Mary McTernan, Tom Balderston, Susan Brown, Steve Brown, and many other alums rocked Williams Expedition Hats at the Philly event

The group stayed on for over an hour afterwards, asking Professor Burger questions and continuing the talk.

As everyone filtered home, our host, Mary McTernan and her husband Tom Lee, as well as Stephen and Susan Brown and a few other young alums were part of the crowd that went to enjoy a staple of Philadelpia fast-food connoisseurship: Philly cheese steaks. The locale? Pat’s (King of) Steaks, where one could order “Wit” or “Wit-out” (a guide to toppings preferences using Philly vernacular).  We all sat around picnic tables after we got our order taken from the gruff Pat’s workers (Mary told us this was part of the cheesesteak charm).

At the end of the evening, we drove to Mary and Tom’s home, where they graciously housed the entire Expedition team before our long trek home the next morning. They stayed up with us, plying more food (though considerably healthier than cheesesteaks) and conversation. A running theme through most of this trip is how kind and hospitable the people and hosts that we’ve met on this trip have been. (It sets a really high bar for all of us young alums!) Perhaps one day Jason, Jen, Ko and I will be able return the favor and to host young alums as they travel around the country (or the world).

The Baltimore association (more formally known as WCAM – Williams College Association of Maryland) is headed by Sarah Platman Baird ‘93.  Sarah’s husband is Cameron Baird ‘93, and, in a way, the Baird family bookended our trip, as we met Cameron’s sister Bridget ‘89 and father Brent ‘60 in Buffalo on our first night out.  Sarah worked with Dennis O’Shea ‘77, an outgoing member of the Executive Committee and and the Communications and PR director at Johns Hopkins to find a venue downtown for our event.  We ended up at the Hopkins downtown event center, which was great for our lunch event because anyone who worked downtown could easily attend.  Sarah and Cameron arranged for lunch and Sarah baked some of her famous chocolate chip cookies for folks who attended, and a special batch for those of us in the van!  Sarah and Jason had exchanged numerous e-mails throughout the year as she worked on planning WCAM events, so it was really exciting to meet her!

WCAM

Allison Prevatt ‘09 drove in from Annapolis and we commisserated about funemployemnt, and Quinn Sievers ‘09 attended as well.  Quinn is going to med school this fall.

Jen, Quinn, and Allison. Allison is a four-time national champion member of the women's crew team. Go Ephs!

We also saw Matt Hoffman ‘04.  Matt is a mathematician (he did have Professor Burger) and has a postdoc at Johns Hopkins.  Matt and I took one look at each other and both immediately recognized each other.  After a brief discussion, we discovered that we had met once because his frosh from Morgan West when he was  a JA was my JA in Morgan East my freshman year.  I’m Matt’s grandfrosh and we were brought together by my fabulous JA and friend, Mary Catherin Blanton ‘06.  Thanks, MC!

Ed Burger inspring his audience with MATH!

The cake Sarah got for the prefrosh. Is she a good regional head or what?

After a delightful lunch, Ed spoke, and then we had the inevitable 45 minutes of chatting after the talk was over.  One thing that’s amazing about these Williams event is how they invariably run long.  I guess we just like talking to one another too much.  Anyway, we thanked Sarah and Cameron profusely for such a great event, and took a quick walk down to the harbour.  After a gander by the USS Constellation, we hit the road for Philadelphia.  I-95, here we are  again.

The team holding the cake, moments before we cut it. Sarah Baird is in the center with Professor Burger.

Our last three stops on the Expedition – DC, Baltimore, and Philly – were the only cities which I had been to prior to the trip. We arrived in DC in late afternoon and jen and I dropped Ko and Emily off where they were staying in Georgetown, and then drove over to Tenleytown where we were staying with our classmate and class VP, Liz Hirschhorn. Liz is a Bethesda native originally, and she went back to DC after graduating to work in a Psych lab at the NIH. She’s also a fantastic Rugby player and jen and I spent a lot of time trying to convince her to try out for the national team. Liz is one of our directed friends and classmates who makes jen and me feel even more directionless than usual.

We were eventless that first night in DC, so Liz invited over Ben Bullitt and Jeremy Doernberger, a few of the Williams ‘08 crew residing in DC. Jeremy is in law school and is planning his wedding in a year and a half with Liz Upton, another one of our classmates. Congrats you two!

The next day we took the Metro into the mall to meet up with Emily and Ko as well as Aroop Mukharji ‘09. We stayed with Aroop’s parents in Kansas City while he was in India, so it was great to see him again in DC. He just moved there to start work at a DC think tank. The five of us walked around the mall and stopped by the Washington Monument, the new World War II memorial, the Lincoln memorial, and the Vietnam Veteran’s memorial. After that walking tour it was round about lunch time, and so we met up with Becky Staiger ‘09. Becky works at the Fed and, after a series of background checks, was able to get us in to have lunch in the Fed dining room. What with her checkered past, I’m amazed jen was able to get in. That was definitely very cool, although we didn’t see Ben Bernanke while we were there.

After walking around in the oppressive humidity all afternoon, we returned to our respective chateaus to shower and put our faces on for the event. (My shoes were locked in the van and I didn’t have the keys, so I ended up wearing crocs to the event – not the height of fashion) Then we made our way over to the hotel for professor Burger’s talk.

Rob Swann ‘90, the director of off-campus programs in the Alumni Relations office, was born and raised in DC, so he came down to the capital to see his family and also to greet us at the hotel with a smile and a Williams college banner. Also greeting guests as they arrived was Drew Newman ‘04. Drew is a lawyer and the new president of the DC regional association. He just recently chaired his class’ fifth reunion and broke the all-time reunion attendance record, so now Drew is expected to break the regional event record this coming year. No pressure, Drew.

Professor Burger gave a great two-part talk to the regional group. For the first half he spoke about the beauty and virtue of mathematical thinking, using the classic “Monkeys with typewriters writing Hamlet” problem in an attempt to convince the whole audience to think like a Mathematician. Then, Ed discussed a curricular idea he’s exploring as the current Williams Gaudino Scholar and requested feedback from the audience. In an attempt to encourage students to take classes they’re interested in outside their major field, Ed wants to give students an option to take the class with the “Gaudino option” which translates into no grade on the transcript. It’s a little more complicated than that, but his talk managed generate some spirited dialogue among the 50 or so people in attendance, including the poor pre-frosh who Ed consistently called on during his talk. If you’re interested, definitely e-mail Ed and ask him about the “Gaudino Option.” I’m sure he’d love to chat about it and get some feedback.

That’s all for now. Pictures to come soon (when I get back onto the team computer) as well as Baltimore, Philly, and some closing thoughts!

When we finally made it to Raleigh around 5 (around 6 hours past due), we were grateful to Susie ‘80 and Roger Camp P’10, who still graciously agreed to host us for the night.  They also took us out for North Carolina BBQ at The Pit, where we proceeded to overeat for the 21st day in a row.  For readers that have never eaten NC BBQ: you’re missing out.  This kind of BBQ is very different from “traditional” Kansas City style BBQ ribs; Carolina BBQ is chopped or shredded pork covered in a light, vinegary sauce.  At the beginning of the trip, Jason was adamant about reviewing regional foods across the country.  This plan never materialized (except for a scribbled down list of food rating categories”such as “messiness” “distinctiveness” “healthiness” and “taste”), but if it had, Carolina BBQ would rate near the top of my list.  It’s not nearly as messy as other BBQ, and the vinegary sauce is completely addictive.  YUM.  (I think the other expeditioners liked it, too.)  Dinner was even more enjoyable because we were joined by  Kate Nolfi and Eugene Korsunisky, both ‘08.  I was good friends with both Kate and Eugene at Williams but haven’t seen them all year, so it was wonderful to catch up with them.  Kate is entering her second year as a PhD candidate in Philosophy at UNC Chapel Hill, and Eugene preparing to apply for graduate programs in Industrial Design.

Our next stop was Richmond, VA, where Steve Carter-Lovejoy ‘74 and his wife Janice hosted us.  Steve entertained with a great tour of Richmond, and also by sharing stories about his own life experiences.  Steve is a librarian, and used to work at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he considered himself primarily an academic librarian.  However, as time has progressed, Steve says that he is no longer as concerned with reputation and is now much more interested in helping people and giving back to the community.  (Despite these altruistic intentions, Steve says that he still fields a lot of questions on where to find the bathroom!)

Our evening event was hosted by Steve ‘64 and Beth Gillispie P’04.  This event was especially exciting, because the once active Richmond association hasn’t hosted an event in more than 2 years!  Jason enjoyed chatting with Peter McChesney ‘75 about their shared interest in the environment.  Peter currently works for a water company, and at Williams he was one of the first Envi concentrators at Williams.  It was also great to see younger alums in attendance, such at Broderick Dunn ‘04 and Anna MacIntosh ‘02.  Broderick is working as a lawyer, and Anna is working in advertising.

Chatting around the pool

More alums!

Two alums with a great story are Sonya Waddell ‘01 (Ravindranath at Williams) and Bill Waddell ‘62.  Bill hadn’t been to a Williams event since he graduated 47 years ago, but he was interested in the idea of the Expedition, so came out to meet us and other Virginian Ephs.  When we asked him what interested him about the Expedition, he made some vague comment about seeing a photo on our website of “people doing things in the back of the van.”  We weren’t really sure what Bill meant by this comment, but after some prodding, we realized that he was talking about the lovely picture of me and Jason pumping iron (in the form of water bottles) in the back of the van.  To refresh your memory, here’s the picture:

Wow.

And, Bill was such a good sport that he agreed to participate in our water bottle calisthenics! (our second workout of the 24 day trip!)

Nice form, Bill! We might need to work on your intensity though...

We hope Bill and Sonya make it to more Williams events in the future!

Finally, we can’t mention Richmond without mentioning the Camps, a longstanding Williams/Richmond family.  Lee Camp, honorary  alum ‘63, graduated from Smith in 1962 and lived in Williamstown for the following year while her husband finished up at Williams.  They lived in married student housing in Vogt House, the current home of the Development Office, and Lee worked as an Admissions Officer for the year.  Her daughter, Elizabeth Camp Hanson ‘88, also lives in Richmond, where she teaches at the Virginia Military Institute.

We had a wonderful time in Richmond.  Thanks to all our hosts and guests; you guys are a great group!

Until next time,

Jen

But, thanks to Christy, we have some notes about the event.

We had great weather for the cook-out gathering at Martha (Pritchard, ‘77) and Jim Bick’s house in Chapel Hill… plenty of sun and Carolina blue skies. With its small pool, shady lawn, and multi-level patio, the house was the perfect setting for an afternoon of catching up, chowing down, and watching kids splash and swim. Folks brought wonderful salads, watermelon, a homemade peach tart, popsicles, and two (count ‘em, two!) batches of brownies to complement the hot dogs and burgers. Alumni attendees included Eugene Korsunskiy and Kate Nolfi (both ‘08), Lindsey Wu (’07) and dad Larry Wu (’78), Peter Vinick (’98), Christy Johnson (’92), Valerie Gallagher (’90), Anne Kenyon (’86), Susie Camp (’80), Sally Fri (’78) and Kathryn Saterson (’77). We missed seeing the Expeditioners, but enjoyed the gathering nonetheless….

The Triangle Team!

The enticing swimming pool that we missed.

Another lovely Triangle photo.

Greenville, SC.
After the big houses and fancy downtown of Atlanta, we didn’t know what to expect of Greenville, a small ‘ville’ that most of us have never heard of. Except, Greenville exceeded all of our expectations tremendously. Pretty awesome.

We met up with our hostess, Allison Mertens ‘85, her husband Kevin and their 5 year-old son, Mac, for a Single A baseball game at downtown Greenville. This minor league team is a feeder team for the Boston Red Sox, and, amazingly enough, the stadium is a mini version of Boston’s very own Fenway Park! I felt right at home (*although I am from Taiwan, I am a MAJOR Red Sox fan.) There was a family green for people to bring blankets to relax on while watching the game. There was a replica of the Pesky Pole, but here it doesn’t block anyone’s view. And there was a mini green monster wall. The concession stand even sold the Fenway Franks, Dice-K rice bowl, and helmet ice-cream.

Pesky Pole!

Since the theme of the evening game was ‘reverse night’, Sweet Carolina was sung at the end of the 3rd inning, players’ photos and stats were upside down on the large screen, and they made little kids run the bases between innings backwards. We totally got a good sense of some small town fun. Nothing is taken too seriously, and baseball is a full family entertainment. There was even a playground for the kids at the ballpark!

'Reverse Night!'

Al, our hostess, was wonderful. She booked the whole regional alumni association a suite, so we could have an air-conditioned room plus our own outdoor seating area. The only unfortunate thing was…since  so many of  the Greenville alumni were away for summer vacations, we had a showing of ONE alumna, Al. Regardless, we had a fabulous time. Al got us two Amherst alumni, Lou Greer (Amherst ‘63) and another alumna.  She even got us a MIT alum! Haha. The evening was great. Jen chatted with Lou about Amherst days and the Williams and Amherst rivalry. Al shared with us her Williams stories and being a part of the rugby team.  And the Single A home team, Drive, took the game easily.

The hodgepod team!

After the game, Al took us downtown and gave us a great introduction to the city. After being a textile mill town for most of its recent history, Greenville transformed itself super successfully over the past years. The town tore down a street to open up space for a beautiful park and a pedestrian bridge over the natural scenery in the middle of the city. Downtown was filled with cool, independent shops and quirky coffee shops, and there were even outdoor amphitheaters. Above all, Greenville locals truly exemplified Southern friendliness. Everywhere we went, people talked to us. Walking down the street, strangers wave to each other. Even when we were jaywalking, Al hollered at the drivers, “Hey, how’s it going!”

Pedi-Cab with Corey, our sweaty, phenomenal driver

This is in the middle of downtown Greenville

We had a great time in Greenville, enjoying the Single A baseball game, talking to Al, who was super friendly, confident and funny, exploring the downtown, and sleeping at Al’s house that is next to a zoo! We were serenaded by monkeys and flamingos! I can’t express my enthusiasm for Greenville in words.

The Mertens! Thank you!

The next morning was just… unfortunate. We woke up and checked to see when we need to get to Raleigh, NC. for our next event, expecting for a 5:30/6pm event as usual. Except, we found out that the event in Raleigh was a pool party at 11:30AM. OH GOSH. Not only were we late, Greenville was a 4 hours drive away from Raleigh. We missed the event completely. We were so disappointed in ourselves and our negligence. To any Raleigh readers out there: We are SO SO SORRY, and hope that you will forgive us in time, and to meet you someday.

-ko

Inside the Georgia Aquarium, with the Tofu sharks

We drove into Atlanta, Georgia from New Orleans on the 27th. The MacDonald household was our venue, (the parents of Worth MacDonald ‘11 our gracious hosts) and our hostess was Jane Kell ‘76, the regional president. The Atlanta event was one of the largest events of the trip, topping off with over fifty people. There was much conversation, mingling, and advice-giving to soon-to-be students, like Tarun Narasimhan ‘13. Tarun is heading to Williams this year, and Ko and I spoke to him for awhile, giving sage advice that would ease the transition from the real world (high school) into the purple bubble. These were special, life-changing lessons: things about frosh dorms (he’s living in Willy B where Ko was a JA), just when to hit up the vegan line in Whitman’s in Paresky Student Center (5pm- the geriatric special- is always a good decision), which classes to take (my recommendation was the introduction to creative class with Professor Karen Shepard since he had just come back from a creative writing seminar in the midwest), and other priceless gems (enjoy mountain day while you can, take as many liberal arts classes as you can, try not to worry about grades too much, etc.  It makes us feel like we’ve earned our diplomas to impart this info upon 2013-ers as wise and wordly alums.)

I got a chance early on in the party to ask Jane Kell what it was like to be at Williams so soon after the admission of women. She said that women from other colleges were bussed into Williamstown for parties and events as, in her words, you couldn’t throw a good party with only one hundred and fifty women on campus. (I don’t know about that- those odds seem pretty good to me.) I’ve been fascinated by this question, as there are many alums along trip – and I’m guessing across the country (you know who you are) – who have interesting opinions about the decision to include women. These comments usually lead to a talk about the abolition of fraternities  at Williams, and the ramifications of that move. Hearing all the different sides, old alum and young alike, is really enlightening, as it is incredibly hard to imagine a women-less Williams College. Or even single-sex JA’s! (Shout out to Godfrey, Helena, and Mo’ Mideast if you’re reading this!) Fun fact: if you ever happen to find yourself at a loss for a conversation starter with a Williams College alum, the topics of Williams before women, fraternities, and most recently neighborhood cluster housing lead to really wonderful chats.

Charlie Safford ‘75 was one of the first guests there, and the last time I saw him (save a parent’s weekend event in the Paresky Student Center) was with the Habitat for Humanity spring break service trip during my junior year, when our group of 15 Williams students and his son, Zach ‘09 had to crash at his house due to a snow storm delay and flight complications. Williams connections really do come through in a clutch! Zach left for Vietnam a few weeks ago, where he  studied during his junior abroad. He’s teaching theater and already got hired as a Director of an organization there, which is incredible.

Mingling at the MacDonald's House

Rachel Ko caught up with English Cook ‘12, a friend who had just come back from Tanzania and work on her nonprofit: the East African Children’s Education Fund. It gives disadvantaged children with academic gifts educational opportunities in East Africa. Jamie McKay ‘01 regaled Jason, Ko and I over dinner with stories from Japan and when he did the Japan Exchange & Teaching Programme, or JET. He’s traveling back there in a few weeks as he works in Japanese tractors at the moment, and it’s cool to hear that there are a ton of alums, both young and old, who get to travel as a part of their job. (For the expedition team, who are currently seeking employment, that is a very attractive feature. ) We missed seeing a fellow Accidental member, Taylor Stevens ‘11, who left last week for her study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but we did get to meet her parents. The Stevens graciously housed Ko and Jen, and thanks to our quirky GPS, we all got a scenic view of the midtown area as we attempted to traverse the streets of Atlanta to get there. Our GPS has provided many a bonding moment on the trip, uniting us in our collective animosity towards inanimate objects. Those of you with GPS’s will understand.

There was a tour de force of young alums at the MacDonald’s house, who also happened to close up the party by talking late into the night in the front room before the Expedition team had to concede that we were, actually, exhausted, even though it hadn’t hit midnight yet. We got made fun of a little bit, but these 20 some-odd days on the road have made us all appreciate comfortable beds and the perks of going to bed early. Jen and Jason had a mini ‘08 reunion with Denise McCulloch and Tosin Adeyanju, both medical students at Emory and fresh into their second year. Denise was Ko’s WOOLF leader, and also my friend from Habitat Humanity on campus. Tosin and Denise both looked surprisingly happy and collected, which is a good omen for the rest of their second year of med school. (GOOD LUCK!)

A group of young alums in Atlanta: Tosin Adeyanju '08, Emily Flynn '09 (me), Jason Kohn '08, Kara Brothers '07, Denise McCulloch '08, Jen Bees '08, Rachel Ko '09 and Courtney Bartlett '06

We were in Atlanta for only twenty hours, but the friendly people we met with and the sites made it feel much, much fuller. A favorite question of the Expeditioners that we pose to our hosts is, “What is one thing you would do in <insert city here> if you only had a few hours?” I like this question because it serves our trip- we really do only have a few hours of free time in each city we’ve seen. But it also allows us to glimpse what makes a city tick, because usually the events or places that people suggest at those things that embody the spirit of the city (if you will). By asking this question, we’ve seen Niagra Falls in upstate New York, the Bean in Chicago, the St. Louis Arch in Missouri, and the Miller Brewing Factory in Milwaukee (you laugh, but this was the most suggested place in Wisconsin), and the French Quarter in New Orleans, among other really amazing, distinctive places. I think we are all in awe of how many places and people we’ve seen.

Sufjan Stevens\’ Chicago