The grad-student experience

I loved my three years in the grad school, and because a couple of my friends in the department were resident advisers in undergrad dorms, I felt very connected to the rest of the campus — I attended parties, dances, and dinners at some of the clubs and got to know many of the undergrads, one of whom is still a friend after 40 years.

One of the problems with connecting with grad alums is that many of us hold academic positions and are not exactly rolling in cash, compared to those in sciences, engineering, and business with a Princeton bachelor’s degree. If the goal in reconnecting is to increase substantially Princeton’s endow­ment, I don’t think this is a good way to go about it. We have wonderful memories and degrees to be proud of, but most of us in the humanities won’t be leaving any endowed chairs in our wake.