Undergraduate college years are powerful. Colgate University shaped my life and influences who I am at work. At each company, I've tried to find the other 'gaters. It makes for a sense of family beyond the days life seemed so much simpler and our loyalty to each other was unshakeable.
When we played other schools in sports, we were all cheering for the same team. We had our internal rivalries, fraternities/sororities, special interest houses, race, class...a microcosm of society, and yet we worked hard and we played hard together and it's almost impossible to ignore someone else in New York City wearing Colgate gear. You almost have to say hello.
It was wonderful spending a few days up there, connecting with the administration and the students. There is as the new president emphasizes, a sense of place there. It grounds us as we forge ahead in our varying careers. It serves as a shaping of thought and ideal center: the place we discovered our individual values: a combination of our family of origin stream, our intellectual stream and our adult development. 18-21 are magical years: our transformation from child to adult. It's remarkable being there for the seniors poised to do great things in the world and to explore with them what that means.
And it is almost overwhelming to sit with the decisions and choices they make in their personal, physical health (especially around alcohol), sexuality, studies, career, affinity...how we ever made it through this odyssey astounds me.
My cohort, the class of 1991, gets to celebrate 20 years post-graduation in May. I hope we'll all find a way to give back to Colgate. Help us push past our 400 million dollar campaign Passion for the Climb, help us demonstrate the passion we have about this place, and celebrate what we had together then, and is always ours if we visit.
Live well.
When we played other schools in sports, we were all cheering for the same team. We had our internal rivalries, fraternities/sororities, special interest houses, race, class...a microcosm of society, and yet we worked hard and we played hard together and it's almost impossible to ignore someone else in New York City wearing Colgate gear. You almost have to say hello.
It was wonderful spending a few days up there, connecting with the administration and the students. There is as the new president emphasizes, a sense of place there. It grounds us as we forge ahead in our varying careers. It serves as a shaping of thought and ideal center: the place we discovered our individual values: a combination of our family of origin stream, our intellectual stream and our adult development. 18-21 are magical years: our transformation from child to adult. It's remarkable being there for the seniors poised to do great things in the world and to explore with them what that means.
And it is almost overwhelming to sit with the decisions and choices they make in their personal, physical health (especially around alcohol), sexuality, studies, career, affinity...how we ever made it through this odyssey astounds me.
My cohort, the class of 1991, gets to celebrate 20 years post-graduation in May. I hope we'll all find a way to give back to Colgate. Help us push past our 400 million dollar campaign Passion for the Climb, help us demonstrate the passion we have about this place, and celebrate what we had together then, and is always ours if we visit.
Live well.
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