The rewards of a career in education are not always obvious. Our day-to-day interactions with teenagers take us through the full range of human emotions: joy, frustration, anxiety....

An encounter with a former student...years after that frenzied relationship at school is past...can be powerful and rewarding indeed for the teacher. So it was a pleasure to hop in the school's hybrid car yesterday with Alumni Association Grand Duchess For Life Alex Estin, take a left...and five hours (and about a half a tank of gas) later attend an alumni reception at the Living Room Lounge at Times Square.

More than thirty alumns joined us at this trendy spot on the seventh floor of the W Hotel. People I once knew as shy youths are now confident, engaging young adults. Kids who struggled with algebra are finishing MBA programs. Students I interviewed for admission to Proctor in the '80s are managing international businesses...traveling the world...starting families. Below, looking like tryouts for Blue Man Group: Rachel Golden, Leo Waterston, Rana Abodeely.

It's hard to know--when caught up in the immediacy of relationships with adolescents--that soon...very soon...everything will be OK; they will speak of their time here as their most cherished moments; that they will say "thank you." Below, Keith Barrett '80, Will Loring '96, Jay Goulart.