Class of 1997 Newsletter

May 2022

Kati LeTourneau, on behalf of the Program Committee

When the program committee kicked off planning in 2021, the idea of a social justice theme for CarlTalks was floated and quickly endorsed. We have asked a selection of our classmates to share stories about their activism, advocacy, and justice work.

Rather than formal talks, these classmates will be taking part in a conversation, sharing real-life examples of how they and their communities find and build happiness, solidarity, and connection while improving lives. Participants include Carrie Zwiebel Bloss, Cynthia Marshall, Heather Stimmler, John Fiege, Josh Abrams, Matt Varilek, Piper Stege Nelson, and Richard Yuen, plus our host/moderator Kati LeTourneau.

Join your classmates to learn how they find joy in their justice work in the Chapel on Friday, June 17 at 11:00 a.m. CT! And if you can’t be there in person (sigh) you can Join us via Zoom.

Alex (Elliott) Thevenin

Does anyone else cringe when you look back at your Carleton experience, maybe even more specifically when you think about what people must think of you now about who you were then? Anyone? Well, I do.

My Carleton experience was more about the social aspects than the academic rigor. I came from divorced parents, did a lot of bouncing around between them, and lived my high school academic career in a sort of desperate frenzy of trying to perform — maybe if my grades were high enough, my activities numerous enough, my speech and debate performances winning enough, then people (mostly my family) would make the time to see me. My senior year I spent abroad — sound fun? It was actually abusive and hard, and it further added to my deep desire to be liked.

I carried all of that into my Carleton experience. But, at Carleton, I couldn’t be the smartest one, the one with the best performance, or the most engaging one. So I worked pretty hard to be the most fun.

I spent a lot of my time smoking cigarettes and playing bridge in Sayles, kissing most anyone who would kiss me back, using my fake i.d. down at the Reub, and generally making other dubious decisions (skinny dipping in Bolio Fountain, anyone?). I’m not going to lie: it was a lot of fun. And I have some shame looking back at it now.

I share this not to garner sympathy, but because I don’t think I’m alone. As a Carleton friend recently said, we were a lot younger, and we were making a lot more shitty decisions.

There was, however, an unanticipated upside to all the mischief: I was often making questionable calls in community with other mischief-makers — and dragging along some others who could be talked out of using their frontal lobes for a few hours — and together we created lifelong relationships. I learned to lean on people in a totally different way. I crafted the kind of connections I still value in new friendships today.

Before Carleton, I was the one who picked up all the pieces for everyone else and held it all together. During Carleton, I started to allow my people to hold some of my pieces and to see a lot of my underbelly. I began to understand how one can choose community and family, and how being vulnerable, messy, and real together can be such a tender gift.

Over the last year of hanging out in Zooms with the reunion committee, I’ve been doing some nail-biting around my Carleton behavior. But I’ve come to realize they don’t care about my exploits then, and they’re all welcoming now.

So I extend the invitation to you: come to Reunion. I’m interested in your questionable decisions then, I’m interested in you now, and I’m not going to hold either against you.

Carrie Zwiebel Bloss

Maize and Blue Daize just wrapped up and our class showed up! During this campaign, we managed to raise an impressive $54,931 — enough to support one average needs-based grant next year. There were 59 alumni donors, including 36 who gave for the first time this year:).

Since July, our class has raised $328,055 for Carleton — every dollar of which goes to support students, staff, and faculty at Carleton right here, right now. It is used for what the school needs most today. That’s truly amazing and the money that we raised during Maize and Blue Daize went a long way to making that possible!

But we are not done! We are committed to raising $500K, which would be enough to cover the cost of 10 average needs-based grants for current students. If you haven’t given, or if you already have but can stretch a bit more, please consider making your gift before Reunion. Make your gift today!

We are also trying to get 75% of you to be counted among the donors. Right now we are at 45.05%. We know there are those of you out there who keep meaning to give, but just haven’t gotten around to it. It’s time. Today is the day.

Perhaps, you think that what you give doesn’t mean much, but it does. High school students and their parents look at numerous statistics when they are considering schools. One of the most important numbers is alumni giving participation rates. It shows alumni engagement and is a proxy for how alums value their education. In short, it is an important factor in their decision-making process and very important to Carleton in attracting top-quality students from all walks of life.

Please help us show prospective students just how much we value our Carleton experience!

Malia Ireland, on behalf of the Program Committee

We might all be a bit rusty on how to pack for travel, so here’s a handy list of items you might want to bring to Reunion!

• Your favorite maize and blue Carleton gear for the Parade of Classes (or there’s always more in the bookstore)
• An umbrella or poncho, to guarantee sunshine all weekend
• Well-loved dorm room posters to give the lounges an authentic feel (Really! Bring any you have, or send us an image file and Carleton will print them out!)
• Copies of old photos to tack up and prompt nostalgia
• ’90s era movies on VHS for the movie lounge (If you don’t, we will just have to play the official commencement video on a loop.)
• Board/card games, crafts, or other activities for our lounges and tents
• Water bottle, sunscreen, ibuprofen, and comfortable walking shoes

In addition, the Program Committee is setting up memorial boards for Class of ’97 members who’ve passed away. This includes Lisa Elbert, Mary Guest, Ryan Hunt, Mike Steel, and Maria Tototzintle. If you have any messages or materials to add to these boards, please bring them with you or send them to Angela Johnson, yachatsorbust@yahoo.com.

We are excited to be able to offer two opportunities for those who can’t make it to Northfield in June to join us virtually!

On Friday, June 17th at 11:00 am CT, join as classmates share stories and real-life examples about their activism, advocacy, and justice work and how they and their communities find and build happiness, solidarity, and connection while improving lives. Register and let us know you plan to join us.

Even more fun happens on Friday night with the return of the Big Quiz Thing trivia event with Noah Tarnow featuring a rematch of ’97 vs. ’02 at 8:00 pm CT! If you cannot join us in Northfield, you can still play on Zoom. Click here to learn more.

In addition, the Program Committee is setting up memorial boards for Class of ’97 members who’ve passed away. This includes Lisa Elbert, Mary Guest, Ryan Hunt, Mike Steel, and Maria Tototzintle. If you have any messages or materials to add to these boards, please send them to Angela Johnson, at yachatsorbust@yahoo.com.

In this month’s Carletonian selection, we learn how the seniors in the spring of ’97 (that’s us) were preparing to enter the real world. How did that work out? Come to campus in June and find out.