Remarks by the AAVC President and Trustee

Sunday, May 19, 2024
by Monica Vachher ’77, AAVC President and AAVC Trustee

Thank you, President Bradley, and greetings to all of you on the hill—proud family and friends, to our distinguished faculty, to my wonderful colleagues on the Board of Trustees, and above all, greetings and congratulations to the extraordinary, the legendary, Class of 2024!

We are so very proud of you, for your values and your accomplishments, and thrilled to share this in-person ceremony with you. You’ve had a momentous four or five years at Vassar, and you’re now embarking upon life in the great beyond. And all of you, at this moment, are separated—not by six degrees but by literally just one degree—from entering this new zone of existence.

So, yes, you will be leaving your classmates, your schoolmates, all of whom have thus far defined your Vassar community. But as Tony said, as of today, you are now an essential part of a dazzling community of over 42,000 alums. We are astrophysicists, and artists, and mathematicians, and actors, and judges, and musicians, and financiers. We’re in every field, and we’re making a difference in whatever we choose to pursue, as you will. So many of our alums are noted and recognized around the world. And others are notable because of what they do, day in and day out, without any fanfare.

Just one example of this is an alum from the class of 1991 named Russell Baker, who actually was the recipient of an AAVC Spirit of Vassar Award a few years ago. Russell, a noted ballet dancer, chose to join and now leads the National Dance Institute of New Mexico. The institute uses dance as a vehicle to reach, educate, and transform the lives of children in elementary school and beyond from extremely challenging socioeconomic circumstances—and the results that they achieve are simply breathtaking. Over the past three decades that Russel has been involved with this group, they have touched the lives—and undoubtedly changed the lives—of 150,000 students. And Russell is just one of countless alums who are changing lives through learning and with the tools that they first acquired at Vassar.

So, just know that we are everywhere, across the country, around the world, and we are here to support you in any way that you might need in the coming years. And we so warmly welcome you to the AAVC, the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College!

You will of course carry your own alum posse of Vassar friends wherever you go, but you may also encounter us randomly in graduate school, in your workplace, during your fellowship, while traveling…. Or you may seek out alums, as I hope you will, through your local clubs—there’s a big one in New York, Olivia—or programs on campus, or on LinkedIn. And perhaps, hopefully, you will join the many other alums who are career mentors, who are involved with their classes, or the multitude of other ways in which alums continue to be engaged with Vassar—with time, passion, and resources.

Vassar has been my special place since I first entered Main Gate. Four years after I arrived, I was sitting right where you are, and my parents, along with my grandmother and great aunt, who had come from India, were in the audience. They were bursting with pride. And while I was ecstatic and overwhelmed, I was mixed. I was wistful about leaving this place that had come to be home. I hope that Vassar will be your special place. And what I’ve come to realize over the intervening years is that Vassar is not just a place—although it’s a glorious place. Rather, it’s almost a state of mind. There’s something about Vassar that imbues our psyches; that becomes a part of our very beings; and that helps define us and connects us.

Each of you is a remarkable, talented, beautiful individual. You have special skills and gifts that you express in myriad ways. And every member of the alum community possesses similarly unique traits. None of us is alike, and yet, when you will undoubtedly encounter a Vassar alum and you learn that they went to Vassar, it’s an “of course you went to Vassar!” Because they have that ineffable Vassar quality. All of you and all of us alums grew up at Vassar. We are all inextricably connected.

So, as you depart to make your distinct and distinctive impressions upon your world, I hope you will always find a time to connect with Vassar, and that you will cherish the special bond that ties us all together, forever more.

Congratulations!! And welcome to the AAVC!!