October 7, 2025

We packed in a lot this weekend, and that would not be possible without the incredible staff across the College: Buildings and Grounds, Dining, IT, Student Life, Admissions, Communications, the Provost’s office, faculty, and my colleagues in Institutional Advancement. To that last group, I couldn’t bake enough cookies to thank you for all of your guidance and support these past months and this past weekend. While I had plenty on my plate, in the end I was also able to enjoy my own milestone reunion: 35!

From checking in our 24 Hour Play talent on Thursday night to my Alumni Coffee Hour on Sunday morning, I was in constant motion but also just soaking in everyone’s energy and efforts. I especially want to thank the alumni presenters, panelists, and volunteers who organized and led their sessions for the benefit of everyone. 

A highlight for me was the Speed Networking session on Saturday. The Commons Atrium was packed and buzzing with dozens of students and alumni for five, five-minute rounds of career questions and advice. We had alumni from 1958 to 2024 connecting with students, and I saw some of those conversations continue after the event.

Throughout Reunion, I met with alumni to advocate for relaunching an official Alumni Association, which was disbanded by the College in 1997. This association will be critical to keeping connections going in between these All-Class Reunions every three years. If you didn’t make it to Reunion but would like to be part of a follow-up conversation on the current plans, goals, and objectives–fill out this form or simply email me. We had a phenomenal discussion on Sunday morning in Tishman, where I was joined by two past presidents of the original alumni association—Jeannie Cross '72 and Wendy Liff '77—and two current alumni trustees—Sekka Scher '91 and Ciaran Cooper '87 MFA '04.

In addition, we announced pilot projects that will put alumni in the classroom! The first—Bennington Networks—will launch in Spring 2026 and pair alumni mentors with seniors for a full term to help them prepare for a post-Bennington life. You can fill out an information form if you’re interested. 

The second pilot course is titled: Life After Bennington: A Curated Exposition of Bennington Alumni and How They Transitioned from College to Career, which will feature 8 to 10 alumni over the course of the Spring term. This course will feature presentations and conversations with Bennington alumni with the purpose of providing guidance to current students about how to leverage their own experience in designing their education to the next step in their growth: designing a career. If you’d like more information or to be considered as one of alumni visiting speakers, email me.

At the Alumni Coffee Hour on Sunday, I mentioned Bennington Connects—a closed community for alumni and students to network and find mentoring, FWT, and job opportunities. You can find alumni by region, profession and class year, too. Join here.

I’ll be in touch soon, too, with more ways for alumni to connect with students. We are in the process of launching a pilot to have alumni be part of the admissions process and interview prospective students by video. I hope to have more details next month!

I couldn’t be more excited to find more ways to open up our campus to alumni and to leverage your talents, brilliance, and insights for today’s students. Who are: Just. Like. Us.

Onward,

Shay Totten ’91
Director of Alumni and Constituent Engagement