Greetings from campus!
The campus is bustling with energy as we head into the heart of winter. Mother Nature hasn’t given us a deep-enough freeze for pond hockey yet, but the colder temps have brought fresh heat to winter sports competitions, new theater and arts productions, and afternoon and weekend activities. Seniors are in the midst of making final decisions about what lies ahead, while admissions begins the process of admitting the next batch of Wildcats.
Since my return, I am consistently amazed at the level of perpetual activity on this campus. It is something to behold. It's a reminder of what we valued about our experience here; always moving forward, always progressing.
Steve Hoyt '95, P'25, '25 Director of Alumni Engagement
Notes from Campus
On Friday, January 6 Williston Northampton School’s Cum Laude Society inducted 12 new members to its ranks during Friday’s assembly in the Phillips Stevens Chapel. The latest members of the Society were addressed by Samantha Healy Vardaman ’89. Read more about the ceremony and the inductees here. You can also watch Samantha's full speech here.
The Williston Math Team continues to have success in the New England Math League. 27 students sat for the fourth round and earned a VERY strong score of 26 on a VERY tough round! Go Wildcats! Results can be found here! Good luck in the next round!
Production of Spongebob: The Musical has begun. Lauren Yee ’23 wrote a fantastic piece about it in the Willistonian, including little-known trivia, like the fact that Patrick Star and Gary the Snail are first cousins. Also, Theater Arts had a special guest this week when Broadway makeup artist Joe Dulude II visited and spoke with the cast and crew. Mr. Dulude designed makeup for the original Broadway production of SpongeBob along with Wicked, Beetlejuice and many others. Check out these photos from his visit.
The Girls Hockey team had a very busy holiday break winning two tournaments! The Wildcats participated in the Harrington Tournament and went 4-0 to take home the title for the second time in program history. Williston last won the Harrington Tournament in 2015. To start 2023 the team traveled to the Winchendon School Invitational Hockey Tournament and beat the host team to go undefeated and win the tournament. Keep up to date with all our sports news!
Spotlight on: Ann Dowd ’74
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Follow your heart. Acknowledge the gifts you’ve been given and respect them. Stay humble, grateful. Commit with everything you’ve got. The rest will take care of itself.
Spotlight on: Lena Gandevia '15
What advice would you give to a girl graduating from Williston today?
There’s so much you don’t know about yourself. The past 18 years may feel like they define you, but they don’t. As you embark on the next chapter, be it college or some other adventure, be open to change and challenges. You will discover so many new, amazing qualities about yourself. You will grow and transform in ways that might surprise you. Whoever you think you are today—that’s only one of the many identities you’ll have over the course of your life.
Spotlight on: Lisa Freed ’72
What advice would you give to a girl graduating from Williston today?
"Take every opportunity that is offered. You never know where it will lead."
"I have taken jobs that seemed far from what I really wanted to do – but turned into amazing experiences. I didn’t have a burning desire to write live segments for morning television, but I learned a new set of skills and it led to producing videotape pieces about a vast range of subjects. It was work that I loved and would continue to do in one form or another for the rest of my career."
Alumni Events
In case you missed the last newsletter, we had a great time with you at our holiday events! If you missed us, check out the photo galleries for the Western Mass, Boston and NYC parties. Watch for upcoming events in California, Florida, D.C., Boston and maybe even a few surprise cities near you! The latest news about in-person and virtual events is always on the Alumni Events page.
Reunion is right around the corner, June 9-11. This year we celebrate the 3's and 8's class years and are also hosting our first cluster reunion for 2016, 2017 & 2018! Registration opens soon! Check our events page for details.
Join us for the Williston Alumni Hockey Weekend! Friday, January 27 & Saturday, January 28. Arrive early to watch the Boys Varsity Hockey team take on Wilbraham & Monson Friday at 6 p.m. The Alumni Hockey game will be Saturday, January 28 at noon followed by the Girls Varsity annual Pink in the Rink game at 2:30 p.m. Click here to RSVP.
Migdalia Gonzalez '85 kicks off our virtual workshop series on Wednesday, January 25 at noon with Can We Talk? Learning Effective Communication Skills. Attendees will enhance their communication skills and learn how to adapt in order to reach their goals. Migdalia will discuss common communication barriers, what it means to listen, and how body language and tone impact a message. Sign up today!
Let's Ball! The long awaited return of the Alumni Basketball Game is here! Join us Saturday, February 18 at 2 p.m. Stretch out those hammys and get that jumper on lock, it's go time! Join us following the game for a reception as we prep for the Boy's Varsity game against rival Suffield at 6:30 p.m. RSVP Here
As always, keep up to date with upcoming alumni events here.
Send us notes or photos for the next issue of the Bulletin! Click here to Submit!
SAVE THE DATE Founders Day is Wednesday, February 15!
Which class will top the leaderboard? Will girls teams be victorious over the boys? We can’t wait to find out!
Founders Day is just only a few weeks away! It’s always a great day to be a Wildcat, but Founders Day (our annual day of giving) is one of our favorite days to see all the Willy love and pride for the Green and Blue!
Do you really love Williston? Be a Founders Day ambassador! Email eballard@williston.com to volunteer to help spread the love!
Your gift to the Williston Northampton Fund is a gift to Williston Builds: The Campaign for Our Community. Thank you!
Wondering how the Williston Northampton professional network works? Search our alumni LinkedIn or join WillistonConnects to find alumni who share your professional and personal interests. On WillistonConnects, members of the community are ready and willing to offer advice and perspective no matter where you are in your career journey. And with nearly 1000 members and growing, the Williston Alumni and Alumni of Color LinkedIn Groups are your go-to resources for professional contacts. Tap into the power of your Wildcat Networks!