The greatest challenge of a student representative of the College to Middlebury’s alumni is to capture in writing what makes Middlebury such a special place, finding the right words to evoke simultaneously both the alumni’s memories of the past and a current student’s impressions of the present. Although our Middlebury experiences are separated in time and, especially because Midd alumni are spread all over the globe, our day-to-day lives are now separated by great space, the common Middlebury experiences we all share are no less substantial. Middlebury enjoys change, in its students, teachers, and building, but the longer that I am here, the more I appreciate that there is nonetheless a constant to Middlebury that is truly special.
That I even think of myself right now “here” at Middlebury underscores how Middlebury is more than just a beautiful campus and cozy dorm room looking out at the Green Mountains in Vermont or even a discrete time period of a time. At this moment, I am in Hangzhou, China, spending my winter and spring terms at the C.V. Starr-Middlebury School in China. Though thousands of miles from Middlebury, Vermont, I feel no less a part of the Middlebury campus, and no less close to my friends spread over the globe, much the same way Midd alums are. No doubt being away from Vermont makes me especially appreciative of how for alumni the Middlebury experience can stay with you long after graduation.