{"id":55284,"date":"2012-06-07T12:47:53","date_gmt":"2012-06-07T16:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=55284"},"modified":"2024-07-01T16:36:29","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T20:36:29","slug":"alumni-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2012\/06\/07\/alumni-children\/","title":{"rendered":"For alumni children, graduation is a story with a new ending"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Asked why he chose to attend ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, Robert Long \u201979 remembers looking at schools that would \u201ckeep open a variety of paths.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_55286\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/web_100527_Commencement_2089.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55286\" class=\"size-large wp-image-55286\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/web_100527_Commencement_2089-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/web_100527_Commencement_2089-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/web_100527_Commencement_2089-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/web_100527_Commencement_2089.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-55286\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">On Commencement morning, Erica Long &#039;12 is flanked by parents Elizabeth Pohl &#039;80 and Robert Long &#039;79<\/p><\/div>\n<p>His daughter Erica, Class of 2012, unwittingly echoes her father as she describes her college search. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to go down one direct path yet,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to try out some new things, and the idea of a liberal arts school \u2014 I saw that as an opportunity to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The college&#8217;s alumni database counts 12 members of the Class of 2012 who have a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ alumni parent. That number rapidly grows when alumni grandparents, siblings and other ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ relatives are included, as evidenced by the big turnout in Perry Atrium for a photograph on the day before Commencement 2012.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li>Related story: ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ debuts the <a title=\"Alumni Legacy Program\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/legacy\"><strong>Alumni Admission Legacy Program<\/strong>, <\/a>June 10-11.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>For example, grad Richard Sullivan III &#8217;12 was joined by grandparents Edith Lysaght Sullivan &#8217;56 and Richard Sullivan Sr. &#8217;57, as well as his father Richard Sullivan Jr. &#8217;81. The four Sullivans are among 17 family members to attend ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.<\/p>\n<p>And Devon Bonney&#8217;s ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ family includes siblings Erin &#8217;09 and Garrett &#8217;15, grandfather Wes &#8217;50, aunt Melissa Bonney Kane &#8217;81, and parents Mike &#8217;80 and Alison Grott Bonney &#8217;80.<\/p>\n<p>With some prodding, Erica Long acknowledges other commonalities between her parents\u2019 experiences and hers.<\/p>\n<p>For example, she and her father are both English majors, and both worked at WRBC, the college radio station. In 2010, Robert spoke at the Parents &amp; Family Weekend interfaith service, while Erica has been active in the Multifaith Chaplaincy and addressed her peers at Baccalaureate during Commencement weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Erica and her mother, Betsy Pohl \u201980, share their respective stories of Hedge Hall, making a poignant connection across 30 years of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ history.<\/p>\n<p>However, Erica insists that her parents never pushed her to apply to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_55288\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/sullivans-hlb-a0080919.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55288\" class=\"size-large wp-image-55288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/sullivans-hlb-a0080919-600x428.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/sullivans-hlb-a0080919-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/sullivans-hlb-a0080919-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/sullivans-hlb-a0080919.jpg 1610w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-55288\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Richard Sullivan III &#039;12 is joined by grandparents Edith Lysaght Sullivan &#039;56 and Richard Sullivan Sr. &#039;57 and father Richard Sullivan Jr. &#039;81. They represent four of 17 family members to attend ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Likewise, Kristy Andrews \u201912 acknowledges that while her family history was influential \u2014 she and her brother, Mark Andrews \u201909, are fourth-generation ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ies \u2014 it was never the deciding factor.<\/p>\n<p>Her mother, Cindy Holmes Andrews \u201974, agrees that she never pressured but hoped her children \u201cwould just think about it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While parents and children both cite ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½\u2019 smallness, its academic rigor and the enduring value of the liberal arts education among the school\u2019s attractions, some things do look different today.<\/p>\n<p>The college has undergone considerable physical changes while the classroom experience continues to evolve thanks to emerging technologies that make knowledge more immediately accessible and shareable.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Chu \u201980, father of Christopher Chu \u201912, admires ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½\u2019 ability to keep faith with its founding principles while keeping \u201ccurrent with the world today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All parents agree that the food is vastly better now, too.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;A good, welcoming, regular-folks feel to it.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But it\u2019s ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½\u2019 palpable sense of community that, generation to generation, makes it stand out. For Robert and Betsy, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ was an elite school without being elitist; Betsy describes it fondly as \u201ca school with a conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just has a good, welcoming, regular-folks feel to it that I didn\u2019t get at any other place,\u201d says Robert.<\/p>\n<p>He borrows Erica\u2019s term \u201cÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ vibe\u201d to describe the openness and accessibility that persists today.<\/p>\n<p>That vibe has an even stronger resonance now.<\/p>\n<p>Robert recalls a college friend who came out after graduation. As was true in most of U.S. society at the time, \u201cthe environment at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at the time made it unthinkable for him to reveal his true self\u201d as a student, he says.<\/p>\n<p>Today, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is noted<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/athletics\/2012\/05\/01\/bates-named-a-top-lgbt-friendly-collegiate-athletic-program\/\"> nationally for supporting orientation equality<\/a><\/strong> on the campus and in the community. \u201cErica\u2019s gay friends can be their full and true selves on campus \u2014 and be celebrated for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both Erica and Kristy agree that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ was the best choice for them, and their experience has been filled with its share of opportunities and surprises.<\/p>\n<p>For Erica, the fact that her parents are alumni didn\u2019t shape her understanding of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ so much as ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ shaped her understanding of her parents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow I have this thing in common with my parents where at this same age in our lives we lived in this same place,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Crossing the stage at Commencement, she joined her parents in yet another role: ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ graduate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just stunning to me,\u201d Betsy says. \u201cI feel like I just took her there for her first day, and that four years just went by so amazingly fast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKind of like it did when I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_55285\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/2012-legacy-hlb-a0080892.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55285\" class=\"size-large wp-image-55285\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/2012-legacy-hlb-a0080892-600x428.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/2012-legacy-hlb-a0080892-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/2012-legacy-hlb-a0080892-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2012\/05\/2012-legacy-hlb-a0080892.jpg 1610w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-55285\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Front, from left: Sara Vigne &#039;12, Alison Cornforth &#039;12, Elizabeth Pohl &#039;80, Erica Long &#039;12, Caitlyn DeFiore &#039;12, Donna Avery &#039;82, Elizabeth Kalperis Chu &#039;80, CJ Chu &#039;12, Michael Chu &#039;80, Devon Bonney &#039;12; second row: Palo Peirce IV &#039;12, Meaghan Doyle &#039;12, Kristy Andrews &#039;12, Madeleine West &#039;04, Jeffrey Roy &#039;83, Alicia Roy &#039;12, Erin Bonney &#039;09, Alison Grott Bonney &#039;80; third row, Palo Peirce III &#039;82, Julie Gleason Doyle &#039;86, Cindy Holmes Andrews &#039;74, W. Jeffrey Helm &#039;76, Steven Imig &#039;02, Edith Lysaght Sullivan &#039;56, Sarah Cleary &#039;12, John Cleary &#039;80, Wes Bonney &#039;50, Mike Bonney &#039;80; fourth row: Andy Doyle &#039;86, Mark Andrews &#039;09, Kevin Helm &#039;12, Elliott West &#039;12, Richard Sullivan III &#039;12, Richard Sullivan Sr. &#039;57, Richard Sulllivan Jr. &#039;81, Garret Bonney &#039;15.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Commencement, alumni and their graduating children talk about the ever-stronger &#8220;ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ vibe.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":55286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"bates_author_byline_override":"Victoria Stanton","_estimated-read-time":"","_post-template":"","_header-color":"#000000","_photo-credit":"","_header-effect":"parallax","override_related_with_tag":"","_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,7,11009],"tags":[1444,2329,10831,165,6111],"class_list":["post-55284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-alumni","category-the-college","tag-bates-history","tag-class-of-2012","tag-commencement","tag-history","tag-multifaith-chaplaincy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55284"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55301,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55284\/revisions\/55301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}