Spring Reunion is around the corner! From May 31 to June 4, 2023, generations of Trinity alumni will come together in what one describes as “a network of joy.”
Do you know what JCR stands for? The correct answer will earn you one point in a trivia competition—and you’ll know where to find members of the class of 1983 after the Trinity College Garden Party on Saturday, June 3. Spring Reunion 2023 is fast approaching, and this year’s honoured classes (those ending in 3 or 8) are busy making plans.
Celebrating milestones in person
For the first time since 2019, this year’s Reunion will see a full return to in-person events, plus virtual lectures offered by the Graham Library and the Trinity Archives. Young alumni will take over the Ontario Science Centre and the Provost’s Lodge on two evenings, 2SLGBTQ+ alumni and allies will kick off Pride Week at the Spring Soiree at Eataly Toronto, and honoured years will connect in multiple ways at multiple venues (some via Zoom). All alumni will be welcomed back to campus for tours of Trinity’s growing spaces, a guided ROMwalk, Evensong and Eucharist in the Trinity Chapel, and of course, the famous Garden Party in the Quad on Saturday evening.
The class of 1983: “Show up and have fun”
“People shouldn’t have to arrive at Reunion feeling they have to do anything except to enjoy socializing with people of a similar age with a shared experience,” says Frank Herbert. He, along with fellow year reps Patrick Gaskin, Ross Geddes, and Sharon Geraghty, who is also Chair of the Trinity College Board of Trustees, are getting a kick out of planning their class’ 40th reunion.
There’s a casual pub night at the Duke of York on Friday night (where the class of 1988 will also be catching up), and a Post-Garden Party Social in the Junior Common Room on Saturday. Classmates can look forward wine, cheese, and some trivia-inspired reminiscing about their College years and what was going on in the world back then. They may even have the opportunity to check out artifacts like class photos and personal snapshots (taken on film cameras!); a bank passbook, circa September 1979 (thanks to Herbert); or Gaskin’s cheque book register from first year, itemizing his $250 deposit for Trinity residence and his $99.70 payment to the U of T bookstore for the term’s textbooks.
Says Geraghty, “The people at Trinity have all gone on to do incredibly interesting things. I love hearing about their lives and just remembering how much fun it is to be with them. Having these connections with people who knew you when you were young sort of anchors you. We’re all getting to that stage where we’re losing the generation ahead of us. For me, this is a network of pure joy.”
“I was formed by my time at Trinity,” says Herbert. “And I don’t think everyone gets the same opportunity. It makes me think how incredibly fortunate I was to be dropped into that environment.”
Here’s a bonus trivia question for those from the class of 1983 who want to impress their classmates at the JCR Post-Garden Party Social: What was the name of the lowest skilled men’s intramural hockey team? (The answer: Skol Gores).
The class of 1958: “Reaching for the stars”
For the class of 1958, the impetus to celebrate is more intense than ever, says Nancy Graham, who has been one of the year reps for her class, along with William B. Hanna, for the past 60 years. As they mark their 65th reunion in 2023, “Each of us is thanking our lucky stars that we’re still here,” says Graham. “The fact that some of us are still able to plan a reunion is extraordinary. That’s why we’re reaching for the stars and planning a beautiful dinner on Friday night.”
There are more special celebrations planned as well: Members of 5T8 along with alumni celebrating their 55th, 60th, 70th, 75th and 80th anniversaries will be honoured at a special Chancellor’s Breakfast on Thursday, June 1, and Graham and her husband will be hosting a backyard picnic at their home on Sunday afternoon, which she describes as a relaxed affair.
“If it rains, we’ll crowd in the house the way we used to as students, sitting on the stairs or perched wherever we can,” she says. “For me, it’s about the joy of seeing faces that have been familiar for years, and hearing the next chapter in their stories. I think we’re more appreciative than ever of the psychological energy we get from one another.”
Supporting future generations
The year reps of 1983 are encouraging their classmates to support the Trinity Fund or the Living Trinity Campaign if they are able. “Our time at Trinity was unique and formative. We weren’t just attending university—we were joining a community of people,” says Geraghty. “We socialized together, ate meals together, and in many cases effectively shared a home for four years. I felt that it really changed and enriched me. And the connections that I formed during those four years have lasted, now going on 40 years.
“I cannot overstate the importance of ‘place’ in making that happen. It came from spending time in the Quad, the dining halls, the Rigby Room, the JCR, the Buttery and even the TV rooms, working in the library, and being in classes in the College buildings with fellow College members. That is what draws me back to the College and that’s why I joined Corporation and the Board. And it is why I encourage our 8T3 class to contribute to Living Trinity. We are terribly short of residence space and academic and social spaces where our students can gather. Building the Lawson Centre for Sustainability will address that, so future students can have the type of experience at Trinity that we did and hopefully feel the same way another 40 years, 50 years and more from now.”
Members of the class of 1958, meanwhile, continue to support the 5T8 academic scholarship they established upon their graduation 65 years ago. To commemorate their 50th anniversary in 2008, they donated $50,000 toward the creation of a “green roof” garden at St. Hilda’s, which has since become a sanctuary for students and pollinators alike, and a symbol of Trinity’s growing sustainability ethos. This year, Graham encourages all who are able to consider contributing to the Living Trinity Campaign to support the College’s exciting next chapter.
In the meantime, she’ll be looking forward to reconnecting with fellow alumni in a few weeks to share their memories of a special time in their lives, she says. “Reunion is really quite magical.”
By Jennifer Matthews
Don’t miss Spring Reunion 2023! Visit the Reunion Events page for updates and to register.
Have questions about Reunion? Contact Trinity College’s Office of Development & Alumni Affairs at alumni@trinity.utoronto.ca
As published in the April 2023 Living Trinity Newsletter.