Wow. I’m still in awe of the connected feeling from our 30th reunion; it’s been two weeks, but it still has a hold on me. What a great time, and to experience it through my 13-year-old’s eyes was even better. She loved the Hop and all its music rooms. Baker Tower again did not disappoint—and the small discussions we had throughout Dartmouth Hall were powerful and seemed almost to be jumping-off points where we need to find a place to continue those discussions and not wait another five years. I loved that we were able to celebrate the lives of all 16 classmates who are no longer with us in a truly memorable experience; for those who want to read the words spoken on the Bema for each person, they are in the “In Memory” section of our 1989.dartmouth.org website. I know that it took a literal village of volunteers from our class to pull this off across multiple areas, but I have to thank our three reunion chairs for having the vision for our 30th and then recruiting people and in the end pulling it all together. Ken Horton, Shannon Reid, and Meg Wade, thank you so much for your commitment, determination, and enthusiasm, which made the 30th so memorable for so many of us.

And thanks to everyone who showed up—some for their first or second reunion and some lucky ones who have been to all six reunions. Here are just a few ’89s summing up our reunion in one word: Andy Camp, “Silent-Disco”; Zach Levine, “Happy”; Ed Barker, “Short”; Alex Simpson, “Inclusive”; Tressa Munoz, “Reconnection”; Antonia Rutigliano Nedder, “Warm”; Everett McCassey, “Caring”; Millie Bahn, “Unexpected”; Lenora Brown, Jen Lois, “Rejuvenating”; Catherine Baggia Duwan, “Heartfelt”; Michael Ballard, “Friendship”; Russell Wolff, “Enduring”; Anne Boardman Pohnert, “Meaningful”; Paul Mahoney, “Vibrant”; Linda Kelly, “Nostalgic”; Shannon Gorrell Reid, “Glowing”; Beth Robischon, “Delightful”; Mike Conroy, “Crepe-tastic”; Tim Brody, “Surprising”; Evan Betzer, “Thrilling”; Jennifer Block Cromheecke, “Restorative”; and Martha Boss Bennett, “Verbose.” Mine would be “Connection.”

Since this issue is coming out in the fall, I, along with 17 other ’89s, have incoming freshmen who will have already done their first-year trips, eaten green eggs and ham, and will be partway through their first term of classes. I’m super dad proud of my daughter for getting in and can’t wait to see what her Dartmouth experience is, as I know it will be different from ours, though there will be some things that are the same. I’m looking forward to having those talks with her, as I’m sure many of you are with your children regardless of where they go—it’s not just what are they doing, but how are they doing. It will be a big adjustment, both for our kids and for some of us as well.

At reunion I promised that when I was traveling, I’d reach out to ’89s in that area and try to connect. True to my word, I’m in Minneapolis this week for meetings and reached out to fellow ’89s Joe McCrae, Betsy Aldrich, Bridget Hust, Libby Carrier Doran, Kara Benson Barrow, Bill Dean, and Rob Albright—even though I’d seen many of them in Hanover!

Such is the bond of our class. I hope that as you travel this summer, either for fun or work, that you do the same to reach out to classmates—whether you know them well or not. Really, we all share the Dartmouth experience.

—Ned Ward, 2104 Graham Ave., #B, Redondo Beach, CA 90278; ned@nedorama.com