Dear Colgate Students,

If you are reading this, well done!  If you are not reading this, well done! What I mean is that either way, you are a Colgate student doing something on campus – from reading this article, having a cup of coffee with friends, studying in the library or playing Beirut in a basement. No one activity is better or worse than the other; each activity makes you who you are today and helps you become who you want to be tomorrow. Last year, I wrote that Colgate students have this secret “Colgate sauce,” and I truly mean it. I graduated in 2007, and since then I continue to connect with Colgate formally and informally. It is through these connections, this secret sauce, that I grow.

After graduation, I traveled around the world. During Colgate’s fall Homecoming weekend, I was with a Colgate friend eating at a café in the heart of Bangkok. Turns out several other Colgate alums were there too, and as they walked down the street, I screamed “COLGATE!”  They heard me and sat down for a drink. In honor of Homecoming weekend, we all met for dinner and celebrated our alma mater. Very few, if any, other schools create this connection; it is a connection that you may not understand today, and that’s okay, but in years to come, I hope you experience it.

This sense of Colgate pride is unique and an honor – make sure to connect with Colgate. Your college experience is special, and it’s essential that it stays with you as you grow and explore on campus and beyond. This bond was the best class that Colgate offered. There were no professors, grades, schedules or syllabuses. There were friendships, experiences, trips and growth. This bond with the school, with acquaintances and with friends is what will differentiate you from a non-Colgate graduate. 

This bond gets many students internships, dream jobs, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, families and friends. This bond is crucial to your success. Remember that this is not for credit, not to enhance your GPA; rather, this is to help you grow and succeed. Your Colgate experience is up to you, so make the most of it and get out there and own it.