What Does It Mean to be an Overlake Alum?
The past is never dead. It isn’t even past.
-William Faulkner
What does it mean to be an Overlake Alum?
In this era of Marie Kondo, does the past matter? Isn’t the past just cluttering up your house, your garage, and your mind with memories of questionable utility? With all due respect to Ms. Kondo (who is helping to solve one of the great problems of our collective affluenza, i.e. the accumulation of stuff), I’m here to say the past doesmatter.
Our past, our shared history, gives us experience and context which informs the meaningin our lives right now. I’m all in favor of being present and in the moment, of not regretting the past or dreading the future. But as a serious student of history I appreciate and treasure my memories, my enduring friendships, and my accumulated life experience.
I am the unofficial archivist of my family, the keeper of the old photos, documents, book drafts, and other ephemera. I scan the photos and label them, often with my parents’ help, in an effort to provide future generations with some insight into their past. Given that we are all standing on the shoulders of countless generations of direct ancestors we have never known, and can never know, we must assume that being able to pass such information forward will be of some tangible value: Who are you? Where do you come from? Even knowing a little might be worth a lot someday.
When I held my first-born child in my arms, I understood something in a flash about why I am here, and what my job really is. I felt conscious of the shoulders I am standing on, and the presence of my ancestors unknown, whose sacrifices and struggles brought me here.
A school like Overlake exists because there is a community of parents, faculty and staff, students, and alumni who give their time, their experience, and their money to support the school’s mission and values. Similarly, when I returned to Overlake in 2014, I felt a connection to this place, and my classmates and fellow alums, who have contributed to the building and preservation of this school among the tall firs.
While all of us who had the benefit of an Overlake education know our experience as a student, it is our time afterOverlake that bears out the value of that education, its impact on our lives and the lives of so many others. As Overlake Alums, we are the “product,” the result of how Overlake has evolved since its founding. Our worldview, our ability to think critically and communicate clearly, were greatly shaped by our time on this campus.
Overlake is thriving over fifty years since its founding precisely because of support from all the constituent members of this community – parents, faculty, staff, students, and especially the alumni.
How do alumni make a difference? By volunteering our service: in the classroom, at gatherings of students, in the board room, at athletic and arts events, at fundraisers, serving as mentors, employers, coaches, partners, and being “keepers of the flame.”
Successful schools like Overlake, which are highly respected and often emulated by peer institutions, succeed because their alumni are engaged, show up, offer their support, and cheer the school on to keep growing and improving itself. As an Overlake Alum, you are an essential life-long member of this community.
If you have the good fortune to have experienced Overlake, you know the impact Overlake had on your life. Consider how you might give back, now, and in the future.
For more information about ways to get involved, contact:
Christian Fulghum ’77, Director of Alumni Engagement alumni@overlake.org