I recently had an experience with an alumnus whose generosity stands as an example of how we all should hope to be as members of the Princeton alumni community.

I was traveling to Paris to visit my sister who was going to school there, and was scheduled to depart after one week. However, as I got to the airport, I discovered that all flights were closed due to a volcano in Iceland. After many hours of standing in lines and waiting on hold, I finally rescheduled a ticket to get back home to Washington, D.C., fully a week after my original departure date. For some of this time, I was able to stay with a friend, but on my final night in Paris, I had no place to stay. When it seemed that I would be sleeping in the airport for the night, I came across an e-mail from a ­Princeton Career Networking online discussion group I was on, to which a ’98 alumnus, Gregoire Landel, had written the following ­message:

“Dear list, If there are alumni, particularly anybody traveling with small children, who are stuck in Paris because of the ash-cloud, we have an extra bed in our Paris apartment and all of the equipment for small kids.   Gregoire ’98”

I called him up, and he graciously hosted me for the night, even cooking me a delicious dinner. His wife and 2-year-old daughter were very friendly, and I was extremely well treated, even though they were complete strangers.  

Having graduated only recently, I have a rather limited experience with the alumni community. However, I can say that Gregoire is a perfect example of how alumni should be involved as part of a community, and I for one hope to follow his lead in the future.

Clint Montague ’09