Alumni Voices: Community Spotlight

The Los Angeles Area: The Southland and The Symposium

For alumni in the Los Angeles area, home to the densest population of Sagehens in the nation, opportunities to engage with alma mater are hardly scarce. The proximity to campus makes it easy to remain connected with former professors and current students and makes the campus itself the focus of most local get-togethers. Each year, the social gatherings of Alumni Weekend and the intellectual discussions at the annual Alumni Symposium attract flocks of local Sagehens, in addition to alumni returning for reunions from across the nation.

In fact, Southland Sagehen volunteers play a critical role in organizing some of these larger events, including the symposium, which is now in its 15th year. Symposium founder Rosemary Choate '63 of Pasadena describes the program this way: "It's a forum for alumni to bring something back to the College." With a new timely topic each year, the symposium allows alumni to participate in discussions, panels and lectures by alumni and faculty who have special insight on each issue. By involving alumni in a variety of fields and inviting alumni experts back to campus, the symposium enhances the College's awareness of outstanding Sagehens and provides an intellectually stimulating opportunity both for returning reunion classes and for members of the Southland alumni community.

Titled "The 'Aha!' Moment: Discovery, Breakthrough, Epiphany," this year's symposium, to be held April 30 through May 1 in conjunction with 2004 Alumni Weekend, focuses on instants of sudden insight into everything from art and science to business and education. "The 'Aha' Moment" will provide interactive experiences, including puzzles and experiments for all ages to explore the boundaries of discovery. The symposium invites all alumni to participate in this program and join reunion classes as they explore creative thinking and discovery.

Past symposia have covered the arts, sciences, history, ethical issues and politics. Some years offered a topic so timely that alumni clamored to participate. For instance, in 1990, just a few months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, alumni gathered on campus to discuss the curtain rising on Eastern Europe. And the nationally award winning "Focus on a Generation: Pomona College and the World War II Years" asked members of the Pomona community who either served or lived during WWII to share their stories and experiences.

For more information on the 2004 Alumni Symposium, please visit the Alumni Weekend schedule.