Regional Events Provide Opportunities for Alumni to Engage and Reconnect
Photo courtesy of Associate Director of Alumni Relations Laura Wills.
Alums recently toured The Walt Disney Family Museum as part of an alumni event
by Kandace Kohr
Before they venture outside of our limestone walls, we help point Dickinsonians in the right direction based on their passions and interests, but that support doesn’t end once they graduate. Once they become alumni, we continue to engage them with unique, interesting regional events.
From interactive webinars to educational workshops and lectures, alumni from around the country are invited to reconnect with their old classmates and meld with other members of Dickinson’s vast alumni network. Most importantly, these events provide Dickinsonians a chance to connect with other alums outside of their industries or fields, expanding the scope of how far a Dickinson education can take you.
Recently, alumni in the San Francisco area were treated to a private guided storytelling tour of The Walt Disney Family Museum in The Presidio, followed by an animation workshop led by Antonia Valdes Dapena-Tretter ’04. In the one-hour workshop, participants learned how Walt Disney’s 1937 innovation in animation—the multiplane camera—introduced depth of field into movies such as Snow White and Pinocchio. Using a miniature version of the multiplane camera, the group was able to bring paper cut-out characters and backgrounds to life through stop-motion animation.
“I enjoyed the fact that this event was family friendly," said Dapena-Tretter, who is the school and outreach manager at The Walt Disney Family Museum. "There were alumni from the class of 1983 as well as 2016. There were babies, toddlers and older children—future Dickinsonians—who were able to create their own animations alongside their parents.”
Richard Sielman '84 was in attendance with his family, who also had a wonderful time experiencing the magic of Disney firsthand. "It was nice to see a Dickinson education in a career field that people do not think of when they go to college," he said. See a few of the animated shorts below!
Dickinson alumni can check out these upcoming events and get involved in their area today!
- Nov. 1: Sign of the Times: The Great American Political Poster 1844-2012
- Nov. 3: Dickinson in Chicago at SNL: The Experience
- Nov. 11: King of the Yees at Baltimore Center Stage
- Nov. 16: Dickinson in Pittsburgh: An Evening at the Warhol
- Nov. 17: Dickinson in Atlanta: Heritage Movie Tour
- Nov. 29: New York City Holiday Party
- Dec. 13: Baltimore Holiday Celebration 2018
Learn More
Published October 30, 2018