Hello!
I hope each of you had a lovely holiday season and were able to spend time with family and friends.
January weather in Winchester is always a little unpredictable, as I am sure many of you remember! We experienced our first snowfall which resulted in two snow days for area school students, followed by above average temperatures which, naturally, melted all the snow. If you can, check-out the beautiful pictures of our snow-covered campus on social media.
The new year seems to bring with it the opportunity for new beginnings. Shenandoah students and faculty will soon be returning to campus to begin a new semester with new challenges and opportunities. They reconnect with friends and faculty and look ahead to forging new connections with professors and classmates.
I was recently reminded of the power of connection. Last week, a group of my Shenandoah classmates got together for dinner at the home of one of our favorite professors. This group is small, and our connection is very strong. Many of us live close by, and one of our group members lives in Chicago. Whenever he visits family in the area, we try to get together. During our dinner, we laughed and told many college stories, none of which I will repeat! We caught up with each other, much like we did when we were college students coming back to campus from breaks. We share a special bond with our host, Dr. Steven Cooksey, as we were the first group of students he taught when he arrived at Shenandoah many decades ago.
What is your connection to Shenandoah? Are you in touch with classmates? As we enter this new year and new decade, I challenge you to renew those connections. If you are passing through the area, try to visit campus and attend an event. Reach out to classmates and faculty. Consider how you can connect with current students who will be graduating this coming May. How can you connect them with professionals in their career fields? Students will appreciate your help more than you can imagine.
Happy New Year!
Susan Wyatt Helsley ’76, ’85
President, SU Alumni Association