While 364 days of the year we may ignore our rivals up north, we decided to join forces with Harvard alumni for The Game.  On November 22nd, we hosted over 120 alumni at The Mount Washington Tavern and found ourselves cheering and heckling, riveted to the screen during a truly nail-biting game.  While the Yale team lost its momentum in the last quarter, the afternoon was certainly one to remember.  Boola boola!

We kicked off the fall with a happy hour at Brewer’s Art, a Mount Vernon favorite of Baltimore beer-lovers.  We packed the place with Yalies of all ages, sipping the signature Ozzie beer before its name change.  In a wonderful twist, we even met some Yalies who unintentionally crashed our happy hour.  It’s always wonderful to see new faces at these events!

One of the best parts about the Yale Alumni Association of Maryland is the wealth of graduate alumni in the area. Executive Director Julia Marciari-Alexander and Curator Joaneath Spicer, Yale Art alumnae, were generous enough to lead us through the beautiful Walters Art Museum in Mount Vernon.  Following a reception in the Walter family townhouse, Joaneath led a parade of Yalies to the Chamber of Wonders, three rooms that evoke the collection of curiosities that a 17th-century nobleman might have once possessed.  Unlike the modern day, when a simple Google search can bring up an image of any species or wonder, this room captured a snapshot of curiosities and art from around the world, bringing the exotic to one’s own living room. For those of us who wrote our theses after the advent of the Internet, it was a shocking reminder of how inaccessible knowledge once was.  Thanks to Joaneath and Julia for welcoming us to the Walters!

What better way to enjoy a summer afternoon than with a back yard barbecue?  Alumni from the last 10 years gathered to send off Maryland students headed for their first semester at Yale.  We rounded up half a dozen incoming freshmen (and one Yale ISM student!) from the Baltimore area and over the course of the afternoon answered their questions, told our stories, and shared some good food.  Good luck, Class of 2018!