It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in August. Plenty of sun, blue skies and moderate temperatures at the beautifully stylish and spacious home of Dr. Bernadette Wheeler '82 and her husband Dr. Lawrence Wells. This was the backdrop for the Welcome to Brown BBQ for the Class of 2011, which was the 2nd official Alumni event of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Inman Page Council. The purpose of the event was to welcome the Philadelphia-area African American entering freshmen to the Brown Community. Of the six area students matriculating, five attended with their families. In all, roughly 40 alumni, family and friends attended.
Please welcome from the Class of 2011:
David Smith from Conestoga HS, (son of Judy (Samson) Smith ’82 and her husband Jeff Smith ’84)
Justin Coles from Penn Wood Senior High School
Georgiana Drain from Baldwin School
Bruktaweit Addis from Country Day School Sacred Heart
Michael Sampson from Trenton Central High in New Jersey; and
Paris Waterman from Sanford School located in Hockessin, Delaware
Kudos must be given to Bernadette, Larry, their children and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Inman Page Council for a memorable and inspiring event. Bernadette and Larry went all out to ensure everyone had a blast. The food was delectable and plentiful, music progressive, spades card games spirited, swimming pool warm and inviting, and the myriad conversations animated and enlightening. Among the many highlights of the festivities were the innovative party favors and decorations. Each of the entering students received a ‘Brown’ Goodie Bag with custom-made Brown University insignia T-shirts, supplied by Troy Wilson '83. Bernadette and Larry's oldest daughter Nicole, 13, exhibited her computer graphics skills by designing a wrapper for Hershey Chocolate Bars complete with pictures of Inman Page, Brown University’s Crest, University Hall, Manning Chapel, the Brown Bear and some pertinent Brown University facts. In another display of creativity, Bernadette and family designed a baked pretzel display spelling out 'BROWN UNIVERSITY'. We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the valuable contributions provided by Nicole’s siblings, Eric, 15, and Taylor, 6, whose impeccable hosting skills made all guests feel at home.
The families of the students were invited to make the students feel more comfortable and to expose younger school age siblings to the importance of higher education and pursuing dreams. The families’ interaction with the Brown Alumni gave them an appreciation of who we are and what we do. It also showed that we are not ‘Ivory Tower Professionals’, but a real community, the “Brown Family.” We are approachable, involved and enthusiastic about giving back to our community and culture.
Evidence of our success was confirmed from sentiments expressed by the father of one of the new frosh. He was so pleased he and his son were actually meeting successful African American graduates of Brown and said it was an important message and experience for his son to receive.
The Welcoming BBQ was a resounding success. It exemplified an important step by the Philadelphia and New York City Chapters of the Inman Page Council to mentor middle and high school age students and to open lines of communication between Brown students and Brown Alumni. Through the Inman Page Council, Brown Alumni are able to utilize individual and collective strengths, sharing personal and professional resources and experiences.
The Philadelphia Chapter of the Inman Page Council is planning future functions to promote mentoring and networking. These events will include school visits, BASC interviewing, Talent Quest participation and other event to provide support and promote mentoring. We welcome those in the area interested in assisting.
Based on the success of our first two functions, future opportunities to positively impact the Brown Community and the community at-large looks bright indeed.
Welcome to the Boldly Black page. These are challenging times for our people and wherever possible, we'd like Brown University to be a resource to and a beneficiary of our individual and collective efforts in the strengthening and empowering of our community.