Reunions bring together people who share one thing: a period of time at this school. They're very different people, spanning decades in age, yet--once apon a time--they attended Proctor.
From year to year, the people they knew as the human incarnation of Proctor were different, yet they all share something, whether from 1964 or 2009.
The classes of 2004 and 2009 spent much of the afternoon at the Elbow Pond swim dock.
Alumni separated by five years meet and share experiences remarkable in their similarity.
It's tempting to say that they share or shared the "Proctor Experience," as if that experience endures with sameness over years and decades. Below, Mike Rosenthal '64 connects with Greg Samaha '72.
So, the question is "To what extent is the Proctor Experience the same over time?" Doug Houston and Tyler Stevens '89.
On one hand, each student has a unique experience while here. Some build boats, ski race, double up on science electives and rock climb on Mountain Classroom. Others master studio recording, throw pots, become poets and sail a ship to the Caribbean.
D.J. Hanlon '94 photographs Winnett (Cunnigham) Orday '94 and Abby (Landry) Chau '94.
And it is true that alumni from the 1960s and prior attended Proctor at a time when much of the current ethos and emphasis on experietial modes of learning had not yet evolved. (Physical plant is not a factor in this discussion; our buildings, facilities and grounds have been transformed radically since I arrived without changing the essential nature of the school.)
In his remarks to alumni from classes spanning forty-five years at Saturday evening's dinner, Mike Henriques alluded to the healthy tension between change and permanence, observing, "We will always evolve, adapt and improve, yet the soul of Proctor endures over time."