#TellUsTigers x #PrincetonReunions: “Exactly 30 years ago, I embarked on one of the most challenging yet transformative experiences of my young life when I became a first-gen college student at Princeton University. I made my decision without ever visiting campus, just knowing that I was meant to be there. I never could have imagined that 30 years later I would open up the University homepage one morning and see my firstborn daughter’s photograph at the top of the lead story. Talk about a full-circle moment! The story was about Princeton’s new Humanities Initiative. The homepage photo showed my Mackynzi, a first year at Princeton, talking with her professor Esther ‘Starry’ Schor and walking on a path near McCosh Hall with several of her classmates from the team-taught Humanities Sequence. It was a déjà vu moment, as I remembered walking that same path. At the time, I didn’t know then that I would marry a fellow Tiger, Michael Adams ’99, and give birth to one. Over this past year, my heart beamed with pride, nostalgia and hope as I watched Mackynzi ponder the questions and have the discussions that define the Princeton experience. Given Mackynzi’s love of history, literature, classics, philosophy and language, the Humanities Sequence seemed tailor-made for her. I fell in love with history and literature at Princeton, so it has been exciting for me to have lively conversations with Mackynzi about some of her favorite readings, including Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy,’ Dostoevsky’s ‘Notes from the Underground,’ Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses,’ Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’ and many more, and to hear her recount professors’ lectures, trips to New York to visit the Met Museum and forays into Princeton University Library’s Special Collections. It has been such a pleasure to watch Mackynzi immerse herself in this work because it’s just so important. Princeton’s intentional commitment to rigorous humanities study, big ideas and critical thought has affirmed for us that Mackynzi is exactly where she belongs. As parents and Princeton Alumni, we couldn’t be prouder of our daughter and of our alma mater!” — Alicia Adams ’00; portraits by David Kelly Crow 🧡🖤 (fb)

Getting ready for Reunions? Here's what you need to know. (fb)