AAMC NEWS & NOTES Dear Alumnae Community, It was so wonderful to welcome you back to Mills for Reunion
At this time, to many it feels like a death of a different kind,
after not being together for more than a year. Convocation is
mourning the many things that will no longer be alive in the
always a special time, with alumnae joining students in the pro-
new merger. While it is a time to mourn and bid goodbye to
cessional while carrying their class year
Mills, it can also be a time to rejoice
banners. This year was extra special
and remember. To remember how we
given that it was the last Convocation
have been nurtured by our cherished
for Mills College students before the
fostering mother, and to celebrate our treasured time as students. To remem-
merger with Northeastern. This was my sixth time as president
ber and thank the faculty who taught
of the AAMC to address students and
us with dedication and commitment,
share my thoughts and congratula-
to appreciate the staff and administra-
tory message with them. My theme was
tors who made our time here meaning-
about facing unexpected challenges
ful and memorable. These things will
in our lives and how to work through
never die; they live on in each one of us.
them. I shared about my debilitating
These past few months have tested
accident during my first year at Mills,
our commitment to each other and to
which caused me to take all incompletes
the leadership at Mills. I take heart in
for that semester. While I lay incapaci-
this quote from the late General Colin
tated in bed, days turned into months,
Powell: “The ties that bind us are stron-
and fearful thoughts about my future
ger than the occasional stresses that
began to fill my mind. But with prayers
separate us.” The current stress of the
and support from my Mills and church
merger has separated us alumnae, but
communities, those days became more
I believe and hope that our bond will help us overcome this unprecedented
bearable and also taught me many life lessons. While some things in my life would be altered forever,
time of change in the history of our beloved alma mater and
there was the hope of new possibilities. My dreams did not
unify us.
come to an end: I graduated and went on to earn my doctorate and find a calling to a vocation I did not expect. The third chapter of Ecclesiastes from the Old Testament is instructive of life with its beginnings and endings: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot. There have been many births and rebirths with Mills, beginning with the Young Ladies’ Seminary for Christian women in Benicia, to the secular Mills College for women—with men later being admitted to graduate programs—to Mills going on to welcome transgender students. Each of these changes must have felt drastic to make way for new plantings. Each change altered Mills and enriched it. Now that the Board of Trustees has voted to merge with
This winter, the Board of Governors and its committees are preparing to celebrate a holiday luncheon with students and to honor and celebrate our mid-year graduates at a special event on December 3. Future events for students at Mills will also change, but I am confident that we will find ways to support students and celebrate the accomplishments and milestones in their lives and the lives of those in our alumnae community. During this season of Thanksgiving, I want to express my gratitude to so many of you who have supported and worked alongside the AAMC these past several months. I want to leave you with this simple but profound quote from the Dalai Lama: “Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.” My hope is that even as Mills changes, we as alumnae can work towards ensuring that the mission and values we cherish will continue.
Northeastern, there is another change coming our way. The future seems uncertain to some, while to others it offers a way
Sincerely,
to preserve the campus as a degree-granting institution, albeit
Viji Nakka-Cammauf, MA ’82
under the Northeastern umbrella.
AAMC President
20
M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
