Closing Distances in Boston

Nearly 200 alums gathered at the Boston Public Library on March 26 for Connect with Smith: Boston, the college’s first in-person all-alum event of 2026 before the president’s trip to Asia. Circulating among three distinctive rooms in the landmark building, attendees caught up with classmates, made new acquaintances, and compared notes on their college experience with Smithies from different eras.

The evening’s program opened with a welcome by Boston Smith Club President Madeleine Duchene ’16 and an introduction by Lara Marcon ’91, president of the Alumnae Association board of directors. President Sarah Willie-LeBreton then shared updates from campus and highlights from Compass 2035, Smith’s recently approved strategic plan.

After her prepared remarks, President Willie-LeBreton sat down for an informal Q&A with Amanda Rivera López, AVP for Alumnae Relations and executive director for the Alumnae Association.

Across these presentations—and apparent in the lively conversations struck up throughout the cocktail hour and lasting well after the event’s official end—the theme of closing distances emerged.

The alum traveling the greatest distance to Boston was likely Alejandra (“Alej”) Ruiz ’17, of Tucson, AZ, who added the event onto an existing work trip. Ruiz is currently a Reunion committee member and treasurer for the class of 2017 as well as a member of the Alumnae Association board of directors. Thinking back to her days as a college applicant, Ruiz recalled, “Learning how active the Alumnae Association was really influenced my choice to attend Smith. I knew I was going to be an alum for longer than I was going to be a student.”

Ruiz was at the event to spend time with the board and other Smithies, but she also wanted to learn more about how different regional clubs go about their community-building. She was intrigued by the prospect of meeting in public spaces like the library as well as in individual homes.

Not every public space would be like Boston’s historic library, of course. The event’s central space was the Guastavino Room, named for the Spanish architect who designed the library’s signature vaulted ceilings using interlocking ceramic tiles. The room’s “whispering gallery” acoustics provided a unique backdrop for both the informal socializing and the on-stage presentations.

In her address, Marcon expressed a conviction that technology can help close gaps in access, noting that services like the Alum Career Program’s Network platform deliver professional resources and opportunities to connect no matter where alums are located. Co-president of her class Megan Russell ’01, whose 20th reunion had been moved online due to COVID, also acknowledged the value of digital platforms. “Our class definitely had the most fun you could have on Zoom,” she recounted.

Seated together in the library’s Courtyard Tea Room, Sophia Botrán, Rose Callanan, and Antonia von Litschgi—all synchronized swimmers from the class of 2022—shared another instance of online connection, this one intergenerational. “I remember when we posted archival footage from the 1940s to Smith’s Instagram account,” said Botrán, “and we got so many comments from synchro swimmers of all classes!”

While Botrán, Callanan, and von Litschgi came to the event together, alums like Beth Carroll-Horrocks ’78 attended solo. Carroll-Horrocks hadn’t known who might be coming to the event, she said. But taking the Green Line train from Park Street, she had identified a fellow passenger as a possible Smithie—then ended up running into that very woman at the check-in desk.

Another alum had recently moved back to Boston and was looking for ways to meet other alums when she saw this invitation to Connect With Smith. “Smith feels like home, and I miss that connection whenever I’ve been away from it for too long,” explained Megan Mountcastle ’03. Haja Fofana ’11 said that the event offered the perfect chance to hear the president, reconnect with classmates who she hadn’t seen since graduation, and meet new people. Elsa Schenck ’21 agreed, saying she was “always looking to connect with Smithies in different class years and in beautiful venues.”

One trio had found just such a connection: Enjoying plates of Mediterranean fare, Eleanor Evans ’88, Dakota Law ’24, and Xiaoman Xu ’25 discussed points of similarity and departure in their experiences of Smith’s houses. “Eleanor shared how dining was all contained within the houses when she was at Smith, and then we talked about how all three of us moved houses our senior year,” said Law. “We all agree that the house system really helps people find their place in the community,” said Evans, “but by the end of my junior year it got to the point where I wanted to broaden my perspective.”

In her Q&A, President Willie-LeBreton explained how expanding one’s perspective is essential for closing the distance between viewpoints. Responding to the alum question “How are you ensuring that students learn to disagree respectfully rather than canceling views they don't agree with?”, the president said that modeling equanimity was one strategy. She also highlighted the college’s ongoing commitment to dialogue across difference, linking this commitment to specific initiatives in the Compass 2035 plan.

Her comments were appreciated by Vera Backman ’25. As Backman posted on LinkedIn, “Yesterday I experienced the Smith community for the first time as an alumna and found it a network just as powerful, if not more, than it was as a student.” In particular, Backman praised “the steps [the president] is taking at Smith to encourage a stronger practice of respectful debate and free thinking among students and faculty.”

Reflecting on the event, López observed that Connect with Smith gatherings are like magnets, drawing alums from all over the region. “They end up sparking all of these other events as well,” she noted, mentioning a pre-event tea for local club leaders hosted by Dana Olivo, assistant director of cohort regional engagement, and Daisy Pereira-Tosado, director of alumnae cohort engagement.

In tightening existing bonds and sparking new connections, the night proved that the Smith community isn't bound by class years, constrained by geography, or limited to one type of worldview. It’s a vibrant, dynamic home that expands to accommodate the people within it.