The Mount Holyoke Club of Northern California (“the Club”) fosters connections between alums, students, and the broader Mount Holyoke community (friends, families, faculty, and more) based in the vast geographic area from California’s northern border all the way south to Modesto and east to Lake Tahoe. Every year, the Club hosts a mix of tradition-inspired, board-led events (like our Pangy Day Admitted Students Reception and Mountain Day Ice Cream Socials) and ad hoc, member-led events (like trivia nights and hikes). We hope to engage as many alums as possible and always want to hear your event proposals or other comments.
Like the College, the Club is committed to “take on the work of becoming anti-racist collectively”, as well as to uphold “the shared values of our inclusive, respectful, agile and collaborative community” in line with the Alum Association’s strategic pillars. As alums of a gender-diverse women’s college, we are keenly aware of the importance of creating a welcoming and inclusive space. The Board encourages Club members to share their thoughts and feedback about how we can best support our community and make our values clear in our policies and practices.
A history of the Club appeared in the Centenary Edition of the Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly. This article has been digitized and can be accessed online, thanks to Archives and Special Collections at Mount Holyoke College.
The Mount Holyoke Club of Northern California had its beginnings in a meeting called in 1872 by Mrs. Susan Lincoln Mills ’45 [co-founder of Mills Seminary in Oakland], and the Misses Ellen Bushnell ’61, Emily Wilson ’61, Lizzie King ’65, and Mary Post ’65 of Oxford Seminary.
Elizabeth Kenyon Owen, Class of 1896, “Mount Holyoke Club Of Northern California”, Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly, 1 May 1937, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA.