On St. Patrick’s Day, some 35 Yale alumni and family members gathered just off the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to tour the National Cryptologic Museum, the National Security Agency’s (NSA) tribute to code-breaking and signals intelligence. We learned about the interception and decoding of Germany’s Zimmerman Telegram, which sought to bring Mexico into World War One against the United States; World War II’s famous German Enigma cipher machine and the three young Polish cryptanalysts who deciphered it; how the U.S. military broke the Japanese naval codes and used the resulting knowledge to win the critical battle of Midway; and the role that eavesdropping and high-level surveillance played during the Cold War. We saw a working Enigma code machine from World War II, a microphone the Soviets secretly installed in a wooden Great Seal in the U.S. mission at the U.N., and a fragment of the U-2 spy plane flown by Francis Gary Powers that was shot down in 1960 (part of the background to the movie Bridge of Spies). A huge thanks to the National Cryptologic Museum for the warm welcome and for sharing their knowledge!

What better way to brighten the dark days of February than with the time-honored Yale tradition of Feb Club? This year, we gathered at the Heavy Seas Brewery for a brewery tour, great conversation, and another round of Yale trivia. It was wonderful to see new friends be made as multiple generations of alumni mingled. See you next year!

This year’s holiday event was held at Cosima, a relative newcomer to Baltimore’s restaurant scene. The festive setting made for a cozy gathering of Yalies and other Ivy league alumni. What better way to recap the YAAM year than over delicious appetizers and drinks? The passing of Vincent Scully was another point of our discussions. Most but not all had taken his popular course, and we all held up a glass in remembrance and gratitude for the mark he left on countless students. Wishing everyone Happy
Holidays and a spectacular New Year! Boola Boola.

Maryland Yalies, friends, and family, joined peers from Harvard on Saturday, November 18th to celebrate a decisive 24-3 victory over the Crimson. The Bulldogs clinched the outright Ivy League championship for the first time in 37 years with the win, going 9-1 for the season. The Bulldogs’ incredible defense prevented any effective comeback by the Crimson after the decisive Yale lead in the first quarter. Those of us watching from afar at Lebanese Taverna were swept up in the joy of the win and the pride of our first winning streak in far too long.

The movie Shakespeare in Love brought to life Shakespeare’s England, making its romance, rivalries, and restrictions come to life. On October 21st, YAAM got to see Shakespeare in Love come to life at Center Stage, Maryland’s state theater. Shakespeare in Love  was the second Center Stage performance for YAAM members in the beautiful renovated theater and our third event partnering with Resident Dramaturg (and Yalie!) Gavin Witt. During a pre-show talk, Gavin explained how it took nearly 20 years to craft this show after the movie became such a huge hit, as well as some of the historical (in)accuracy of the film and show. He also hinted at some new twists that had been added. The staged performance of Shakespeare in Love did not disappoint, offering up classic moments from the film as well as new laughs.

A huge thank you to Gavin for sharing his knowledge with us, and to the amazing cast (including multiple Yalies!) for a night we are all sure to remember.

Between last-minute summer vacations and a day of drizzle, we weren’t sure what kind of turn out to expect at tonight’s all-Ivy happy hour, but the evening ended up being one to remember. Over 50 all-Ivy alumni came for the tacos, sangria, and some dangerously delicious guacamole and stayed for the great company. A huge thank you to everyone who came out for the fascinating conversation and for being so inspirational. It’s not every night that you can say you talked to new faculty at a local university, established lawyers, national security experts who play in bands in the evenings, programmers who volunteer at animal rescue organizations, public defenders, engineers working on cutting-edge designs, and students from many fields. Thank you to this rich community that makes a Tuesday evening into a night to remember.