2020 Reunion FAQs

The Alumnae Association has created a dedicated Access Fund to assist alums with the cost of Wellesley Reunion fees. Financial aid requests should be made before registering for Reunion online. If you would like to request financial assistance, please email reunionquestions@wellesley.edu or call 781-283-2331. All requests will be kept confidential; class organizers will not be informed of who has received aid.

You may register as many guests for the commencement ceremony and reception as you wish. However, for the ceremony portion of events, each alum is limited to two guest seats inside Alumnae Hall. Any additional guests will be in overflow seating nearby, where the ceremony will be streamed. Classmates will be seated together during the ceremony, with guests seated separately.

No. Guests will need to find their own accommodations off-campus, so we may reserve as many beds as possible for members of the class of 2020. Information on area hotels is available here.

Please dress in whatever makes you feel most celebratory and proud. Optionally, you are welcome to bring and wear (or not wear) your own Commencement regalia. If you have received any regalia from post-graduate degrees, we welcome those, too!

You may check in for Reunion as early as 12 p.m on Friday. If you arrive before 2 p.m. on Friday or after the Commencement Ceremony, head to the quad near Beebe / Shafer to check-in for Reunion. If you arrive after 2 p.m. on Friday and are planning to attend the Commencement Ceremony, head directly to Alumnae Hall to check-in for the ceremony and be seated.

Please plan to eat lunch before arriving to campus. The Emporium in the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center will be open for snacks and limited grab-and-go options, but Bae Pao Lu Chow is used for summer students and will not be available during Reunion except for breakfast for those staying overnight on campus. 

If driving, we recommend parking in the Davis Parking Garage or the Distribution Center parking lots for closest access to the Commencement area. During Reunion, parking is expanded to accommodate the number of cars on campus, and the garage is expected to fill up quickly. If Alumnae Hall parking is full, look for parking attendants who can direct you to the closest parking area, which may be Munger Meadow, Science Meadow, Founders Parking Lot, the College Club, or other weekend parking locations. Please DO NOT PARK in the Hazard Quad (Beebe/Shafer/Cazenove/Pomeroy) loop or the loop entry drive; we have campus shuttles that must have access to this one-way narrow roadway and any cars parked there will be towed.

First, make a plan for where you will meet your guests after the ceremony! We strongly recommend somewhere outside of the building. Have your guests find seats in Alumnae Hall and head to a check-in table located in the Alumnae Hall foyer (at the back of the theatre). You will receive a notecard with the phonetic spelling of your name listed. If this spelling is not correct, you will be directed to another table to make the change. If everything is correct, then you will head into Alumnae Hall and sit close to the stage with your classmates.

Yes! There will be a section reserved for members of the Class of 2020, and you and your 2020 friends may sit together within that section. Families and guests will be seated separately.

We will run through very brief instructions at the beginning of the ceremony.

Make sure you do not lose this card! You will bring this with you as you walk to the stage and then hand the card to the person who will announce your name as you walk across the stage.

Head to your Reunion check-in located in the quad near Beebe / Shafer. The student workers in your class dorm will offer check-in on Friday until 10:00 p.m. E.T. and on Saturday until 6:00 p.m. E.T. If you plan to arrive after check-in hours, you should:

Arrange for an already checked-in classmate to collect your materials at check-in and meet you at your residence hall upon your arrival;
or
Contact Campus Police at their Non-Emergency number: 781-283-2121 to gain access to the residence hall. Please be aware there could be a wait for them to assist.

Rooming assignments will be placed out at your hall’s check-in desk, and you may show yourself to your room. The desk will reopen at 9:00 a.m. E.T., and you may pick up your registration materials any time after that. 

All alums staying in on-campus housing will receive a basic set of sheets, a pillow, towel, washcloth, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. We recommend bringing shower shoes.

Traditionally, alums wear all-white outfits and class insignia (a class color accessory received at Reunion). Normally, our eldest classes lead the parade and the 5th class, as the youngest, is the last to march. This year, in special recognition of your class’s Commencement, the Class of 2020 will have a special opportunity to lead the parade, marching through the decades of alumnae from the 1950s through the 2010s as they cheer you on! The parade will start at the Chapel and end at Alumnae Hall.

Insignia is a class-colored accessory that is worn during the Reunion parade. Your class will receive their insignia as a gift from the College during the Commencement ceremony, and the item is a surprise to be revealed at a later date! Classmates not joining for the ceremony will be able to receive their insignia on Saturday or Sunday at check-in.

Reunion is a choose-your-own adventure event. Aside from enjoying campus in its summer beauty, Reunion will be jam-packed with over 100 programs for you to choose from including: 

• Faculty lectures
• Campus Tours:
  • Our award-winning Global Flora greenhouse 
  • The new Science Center facilities
  • The 22-acre H.H. Hunnewell Arboretum and Alexandra Botanic Garden
• Open Houses:
  • Academic Departments Open House
  • Societies (TBA) 
  • CE/DS
  • Shared Identity Groups (WAAD, W3A, WLAN, WAPA, WJA, and WMA)
  • Book Arts lab
  • Special Collections/Archives
  • Whitin Observatory
  • Galen Stone Tower Carillon
• Exhibits at The Davis Museum
• Departmental Programs
  • Admissions
  • Career Education
  • The Wellesley Students' Aid Society
• Recreational opportunities at the Keohane Sports Center, including outdoor tennis courts 
• The Davis Museum
• All-alum programs
  • Stepsinging
  • Dance Your Class Off Party
  • The Alumnae Parade
  • College Update from President Paula A. Johnson & Awards Ceremony

Check out the full Reunion FAQ here, email reunionquestions@wellesley.edu, or call 781-283-2331.