Kath Davey White ’73 recalls much about her college days, including sharing a bathroom with two girls, having an overprotective dorm mother and taking on phone duties for her hall.
But most of all, she treasures the memories of the friendships she made at Mary Washington.
“I’m here with four women I met in 1969,” said White as she celebrated her class’s 50th reunion last week. “To meet someone when you are 17 and still have that friendship more than 50 years later is remarkable.”
Nearly 850 graduates and guests returned to the University of Mary Washington for 2023’s Reunion Weekend, held June 1-4. The highly anticipated celebration featured parties and picnics, faculty lectures, student-led campus tours, arts and cultural events, family activities, class photos, a Fredericksburg Nationals baseball game and trolley tours downtown and to Carl’s for ice cream.
Attendees explored their former residence halls – including Marshall and Russell, slated to come down to make way for the new home of UMW’s Department of Theatre and Dance – as well as classrooms, study spots and favorite haunts. They listened as their fellow grads earned Alumni Awards for their service and got their first glimpse of the newly installed Alumni of Distinction gallery in George Washington Hall. And they reminisced about the meaningful moments that made up their Mary Washington experience.
Susan Bliss and Nancy Jo McDaniel Krueger, both 1978 graduates, shared memories of sledding on Seacobeck trays in winter, getting packages at the post office and attending college at a time when there were few male students at Mary Washington, which officially went co-ed in 1970.
Kevin White ’88 and Christina Sipe White ’88 reflected on seeing blues legend B.B. King perform in Dodd Auditorium and having classes taught by late history professor James L. Farmer Jr. “It was fascinating to hear his firsthand accounts of the civil rights movement,” she said.
Receiving a scholarship meant so much to Burdelle Boyd Mance ’73, who was happy that the Class of 1973 endowed a scholarship to help current students attend college. Her class had the highest participation rate for Reunion Giving this year, with 30 percent making a donation.
Patrick Murphy ’98 remembered the words his father said when dropping him off at college: “Congratulations on being an adult.” As it turned out, “Mary Washington was the perfect environment for me to grow up,” Murphy said.
Alumni were also excited to rekindle relationships with those they had not seen since before the pandemic. “We came back for our last reunion, and it rocked our world,” said Whitney Hall ’93, who looked forward to catching up with classmates she usually only sees on social media. “I made such enduring friendships at Mary Washington. We’re still in each other’s lives today.”
Two dozen 1968 grads donned tiaras, a nod to the former Mary Washington tradition of crowning a May Queen. Many members of their class had attended every reunion since graduation, said Meg Livingston Asensio ’68. “It’s been such a joy to be back and renew these friendships.”
For many, Reunion Weekend was also a chance to bid farewell to Marshall and Russell halls at the final Grill on the Hill, based on the student-led barbecue that ran from the mid-1980s to 2015.
In between downing burgers, brats and beverages in commemorative mugs and listening to Sean Michael Dargan ’90 perform on the Marshall steps, alumni shared snippets of life from their corner of campus. Many former Marshall and Russell residents said that few other students dared to venture down the hill, so those who lived there became even closer.
“Living in Marshall built character,” said Matt Kapuscinski ’04, who met now wife Tricia Piccinino Kapuscinski ’04 when both lived there. “We even had a ‘mini-moon’ in Marshall after we got married,” she said.
When Alexis Kochanski ’22 trudged down the hill after exhausting days, seeing the light on in Marshall’s parlor always made her pick up her pace, she said. “That was our 9 p.m. hang-out spot.”
Brendan Severo ’97 recalled playing video games with his friends while living in Russell Hall during his sophomore year. “And I always loved walking down Sunken Road, especially in the evening,” he said.
Still, alumni also understood the need for a new building at the site to house the new theatre, which is anticipated to breathe new life into the east end of campus.
Trish Lauck Cerulli ’08, a former resident of Russell Hall who served as class president for four years at Mary Washington, said: “It’s all part of change, necessity and growth.”
A dancer when she attended Mary Washington, Kellie Shanahan Bird ’03 said that the new theatre would provide a much-needed connection to the Fredericksburg community. “I hope it’s ready by my 25th reunion!”
Photos from Reunion Weekend 2023 will be added to UMW Alumni SmugMug in the coming weeks. Learn about upcoming Alumni Engagement events. Read about the Alumni Awards and the Alumni of Distinction display.
