Best of luck to the newest class of Blue Lions! Photo by Adrianne Wu ’21 from Fog-to-Foliage Committed Students Send-Off.
Happy September, NorCal Alums! If you haven’t already, please take our member survey (<5 minutes) so we can learn more about what you’re interested in seeing from the Club.
Get ready for Mountain Day by keeping an eye out for posts to our Facebook and Instagram pages with more details once the date is announced! (We’ll also be sending out an email.) The NorCal Club is planning to meet up for ice cream and other sweet treats at 18:37 (6:37 PM) in SF, Oakland, and Alameda; the Peninsula Club is hosting meet-ups in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and Santa Cruz. Additionally, Susan Tom ’98 and May Chen ’21 will be hosting a Mountain Day Hike + Yoga on October 6th from 9:45 AM to 1:00 PM. RSVP here for more details!
Do you live outside of the Bay Area and want to connect with alums in your area? Then you may be interested in our new Regional Representative position! This is a lower-commitment way to get more involved with the club and connect with the MHC community near you. Responsibilities include identifying and retaining ad hoc event leads and committee members, hosting at least one event per year (with club support!), and reaching out to welcome new members in your region. You would not be required to attend the monthly board Zoom meetings, though you are welcome to join. If you’re interested in representing your region, please email us at mountholyoke@gmail.com, and we can set up a time to chat and review what this role will entail.
Upcoming Club Events
MHC NorCal Book Club: How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Join your fellow alums in reading, discussing, and learning about books by authors of color over Zoom. Check out what the book club’s previously read here, and email Hannah with any suggestions!
Virtual book club meetings occur on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm Pacific Time, and all alums are welcome. You may be able to use your library card to check out this month’s pick with the Libby app.
When: Sep 25, 2024 7:00 PM PDT
Where: Register on Zoom
Contact: Hannah Fairbanks ’03
MHC @ SF Opera: The Handmaid’s Tale
Get ready to be captivated! We invite you to join fellow Mount Holyoke alums for The Handmaid’s Tale at the San Francisco Opera. Based on the landmark novel by Margaret Atwood, this intense operatic drama brings Atwood’s dystopian vision to life with stunning music and powerful staging and offers a thought-provoking exploration of autonomy, resistance, and resilience—themes that align beautifully with the Mount Holyoke spirit.
When: Sep 29, 2024 2:00 PM PDT
Where: San Francisco Opera
Contact: May Chen ’21
Mountain Day Hike + Yoga
Fall is the air! “Mountain Day” first whispered then reverberated across a crisp pre-dawn morning. Join us on a traditional fall hike beloved by the MHC community. Susan and May will host a hike up one of the most recognized landmarks in SF Bay: San Bruno Mountain. Summit Loop promises unforgettable panoramic views of the bay, ocean, downtown, and surrounds. The loop is 3.6 miles in length with anticipated completion in 2 hours.
On the morning of October 6th, meet up at 9:45 AM, San Bruno Mountain State & County Park (555 Guadalupe Canyon Pkwy, Brisbane, CA 94005), $6 parking fee. Carpooling is highly recommended and can be coordinated by organizers. Free street parking is available at Crocker Gate Trailhead (Old Guadalupe Trail, Daly City, CA 94014), which will add about a mile to the meet up spot inside the park.
Option: Bring a yoga mat for a bonus 30 minute vinyasa flow lead by Susan at trail’s end. Mats stay in the car and will be retrieved after the hike to participate.
Additional information: no dogs allowed, even on leash. Bring water and a hat, as most of the trail is open with little shade.
RSVP here for more details!
When: Oct 6, 2024 9:45 AM PDT
Where: San Bruno Mountain State & County Park
Contact: Susan Tom ’98 and May Chen ’21
Upcoming College Events
The Power of Women’s Colleges
Courtney Minden, Mount Holyoke College’s Interim Dean of Admission, cordially invites you to attend “The Power of Women’s Colleges”, an upcoming Sister’s event in San Mateo. Mount Holyoke, along with Wellesley, Barnard, Smith, and Bryn Mawr, welcomes local high school counselors and prospective students to learn of all that we embody: strength of our academics, communities, outcomes, and you- our devoted and highly engaged alum community. Please join us in sharing with your area’s students why joining Mount Holyoke’s boundless community was the right decision!
San Mateo Sister’s Event Information:
Sunday, September 22 at 4:00-5:30pm
Location: The Nueva School, 131 E 28th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403
The more, the merrier! Please extend this invitation to all alums in your club and/or region. Following the panel, alums are also invited to stay and join Dean Minden at a short college fair featuring Mount Holyoke College and the other women’s colleges.
RSVP by emailing Adrianne before Wednesday, September 18th!
When: Sep 22, 2024 4:00 PM PDT
Where: The Nueva School | San Mateo
Contact: Adrianne Wu ’21
Save the Date
“Will the Court Come to Order?” with Barbara Creed
When: Oct 17, 2024 7:00 PM PDT
Where: Register on Zoom
Contact: Katie Wynen ’05
Founder’s Day Prospective Students Ice Cream Social
When: Nov 2, 2024 3:00 PM PDT (new date!)
Where: Palo Alto (RSVP coming soon)
Contact: Adrianne Wu ’21
Club Updates
 | Interested in getting more involved with the Club? Check out this document for board position descriptions, then reach out to us by email. We’re always looking for fresh perspectives and new ideas, and we look forward to hearing from you!Image by Johanna Strodt, CC-BY-SA-4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
 | Are you able to host an event at your home, office, or condo/apartment complex community area? Fill out this Google Form, and we’ll reach out if we have an event that could utilize your space!Image by Maicon Fonseca Zanco, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Stay Connected
- Join our Facebook page (public) and Facebook Group (alums only)
- Follow us on Instagram (public), and tag us in your photos from our events
- Connect with our growing professional network on LinkedIn (alums only)
- Bookmark our website
- Check out our upcoming events
- Learn about the Board and peruse the position descriptions if you’re interested in joining
- Fill out the Member Event form if you’d like to lead an ad hoc event
- Fill out the Available Space form if you’re able to offer a space for the Club to hold an event
- Email us if you’d like to volunteer with the Club or share feedback
- Make sure your Alum Directory information is accurate, and update as needed by following these instructions
The Club does not control the newsletter email list, so if you’d like to unsubscribe, you’ll need to update your email preferences in the Alum Directory. For your convenience, we have compiled step-by-step instructions.