An alumnus recently emailed the entire faculty, "I'm writing this e-mail to just pass on my thanks once again to all... you who had a profound affect on me. Proctor was the best experience I've ever had..." Expressions of gratitude from alumni can be quite meaningful to faculty, because in our everyday work, we can't know that a given student will someday flourish and make the connection to our work together. Tim Norris, who started at Proctor more than 35 years ago, just received an email from one of his former ski jumpers. It reads, in part, "Hey there old friend, it's Ian. You may remember me as one of your advisees, a difficult kid with dyslexia....I enjoy skiing here in the San Juan Mountains north of Durango, where I live and teach at small private boarding school. Great stuff!" He attached some photos:

Ian goes on to say, " I'll spare you all the gory details, but suffice to say, life is outstanding and full of constant inspiration and fulfillment. I have to thank Proctor for getting me off to the right start!" Then, in a postscript, Ian adds, "I just returned from a successful expedition to Patagonia funded through a grant from Teva Neuroscience (a pharmaceutical that makes a medication I take for Multiple Sclerosis)." Ian had become a rock climber at Proctor before graduating in 1991. Here he is:

At a school that keeps as many "balls in the air" as Proctor--offering so many unique programs (rock climbing and ski jumping are just two) you never know whose life is being transformed in a classroom or activity. For some, like Ian, it might be Proctor Mountaineering. Here's group at the summit of Lafayette:

Or it might be a Project Period (which comes up next month!) Brooks Bicknell '77 takes a team of back-country skiers into the Whites:

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