Friends Advancement Monthly Updates

February 2026 Edition

Alumni: The Mission Realized and the Future Sustained

Over the past several months, I have had the privilege of meeting with alumni across regions, listening to stories, learning about professional journeys, and reflecting together on what Friends Seminary has meant in your lives. These conversations reinforce something essential to our work in Advancement: our alumni community represents the mission realized.

As our mission states, “we prepare students to engage in the world that is and to help bring about a world that ought to be.” Through our interaction with alumni we see alumni living that commitment. You are leading organizations, advancing justice, innovating in business and healthcare, mentoring others, and strengthening communities.

But alumni are not only the outcome of the mission. You are also essential to sustaining it.

Legacy and Access: The Power of Philanthropy

Recently, it was especially meaningful to connect with Karen and Allison, Henry Lee’s children, to reflect on Stefanos and his journey as a Henry Lee Scholar. The Henry Lee Scholarship is a powerful example of philanthropy in action, expanding access to a Friends education and shaping lives in ways that ripple forward for decades.

Scholarships like this do more than open doors; they signal who we are as a community. They reflect a shared commitment to ensuring that financial circumstances never determine whether a student can belong here.

Philanthropy makes that possible. Alumni participation strengthens that commitment.

We Love Friends — Participation Matters

This winter, the We Love Friends Challenge provided a joyful and energizing way to rally support for the Fund for Friends. Alumni participation was a critical part of that momentum. Our 11th and 12th grade students helped with a phone–a-thon to connect with alumni near and far resulting in an increase in alumni support and participation. Every gift, at every level, contributes to classroom innovation, financial aid, faculty development, and student programming.

Participation matters not only because of dollars raised, but because it reflects collective belief in Friends. When alumni give, it signals confidence in the direction of the school and investment in the students who are here now.

Early and consistent alumni support also allows school leadership to plan responsibly and boldly, ensuring that today’s students experience the same rigor, care, and opportunity that shaped your own journey.

Connection as a Form of Stewardship

Our regional gatherings are not simply social events. They are an important part of strengthening the philanthropic ecosystem of Friends Seminary. When alumni reconnect, with classmates, with faculty, with the school’s future, it deepens our community. 

We look forward to meeting even more of you in the months ahead. If you live in an area where you would like to see a future gathering, or if you would be willing to help host one, we would love to hear from you. Alumni leadership in this work makes all the difference.

As we move into the spring, we remain deeply grateful for the ways you represent Friends in the world, and for the ways you continue to invest in its future.

You are the mission realized. And through your partnership, you ensure that the mission endures.

In gratitude,

Marjorie P. Jean-Paul

Director of Institutional Advancement