I consider you my friends, and I would like to share some happy memories.

Last weekend, I drove to Massachusetts, for my 55th college reunion at Wellesley College. I always drive to reunion with three dear friends who were classmates.

We stayed in one of the dorms. I had forgotten how beautiful the campus is. I still remember arriving on campus in the fall of 1956. I was a very bright but entirely unsophisticated, innocent, naive kid from the Houston public schools. I never visited the campus before I attended. I applied because my rabbi’s wife went there, and she encouraged me. I went to a Seven Sisters reception, applied, and was accepted.

I recall my first September, standing in awe as I looked at the trees ablaze in bright hues of vivid yellow, orange, and red. We never saw that in Houston.

I loved Wellesley. I loved that it was a women’s college, and I could speak up without risking being “too smart” for a girl. Boys didn’t like that. There were many classmates smarter than I, so I could enjoy the stimulation of engaging in discussions about the world without having to act like a lady.

The high point of reunion at Wellesley is the alumnae parade. Everyone is lined up with the members of their class. At the very end is the oldest class, which this year was the class of 1940. They graduated 75 years ago! All of them rode in beautiful, open cars from the 1920s and 1930s. They wave, and as they pass, we cheer loudly for them. Then comes the class of 1945; some are walking, some are in the antique convertibles or golf carts. Then the class of 1950, then 1955. More cheering, more applauding (we shout our class cheer).

Then it is our time to fall in behind the class of 1955, and it is our turn to be cheered by the younger classes. We march past 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and finally 2010. As we advance, the cheering grows louder. And I can’t help but notice that as the classes grow younger, they are more diverse. More women of color. By the time we reach the class of 2010, the cheering and applause are thunderous, amplified by a brass and banjo band playing old-time music.

I love the parade because it is not only fun and colorful, but it reminds you about the cycle of life. You realize that with each reunion, you get closer to the end of the procession. The oldest class surviving is only 20 years older than us!

I did something special this year. I endowed the Education Department with funding for an annual lecture series and for student internships and grants for student research. I also am leaving a bequest to fund a full professorship in the Education Department. No one has ever given them money for internships, research, or an endowed chair. This is my way of thanking Wellesley for changing my life. I will write more about this later.

I will inaugurate the lecture series on October 22, 2015. If you live anywhere in the area, please mark it in your calendar.