by Melinda Kan-Dapaah '20
When Melinda Kan-Dapaah came to Williamstown in the summer of 2016, she was “excited and nervous” to begin her Williams journey. Four years later, as she began to look ahead to her final Spring semester and all that came packed into those final months, she found herself propped in front of a computer for her virtual classes and setting up Zoom hangouts with her Williams friends instead of being immersed in the classrooms and dormitories in Williamstown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
That semester will go down in history at Williams, and though the Class of 2020 were not able to finish their time at Williams together in the Purple Valley, they found ways to stay connected with each other. Melinda wrote this letter for a class-wide newsletter on June 17, after the class was officially welcomed to the Society of Alumni.
Hi Class of 2020,
It’s official! We are now Williams alumni and I can’t help but smile at how far we’ve come.
Almost four years ago, I stood in front of the Hopkins gate to take this picture. It was the Williams send-off for incoming freshmen from the Berkshire area and I had just ended the Summer Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) program. I remember being excited and nervous to start my Williams journey. Little did I know that I’d become obsessed with NBC-KOFA shows, eating a bagel supreme with Odwalla at Lee’s or heading to Goodrich to hang with friends and grab a plain bagel with Matcha.
The memories we’ll have of our time at Williams will all be different but one of our shared memories is that we’ve begun our “lifetime journeys” as Ephs. As one of the class associate agents, I’m looking forward to our next steps as Ephs and finding ways that we can continue to contribute to the Williams legacy. I’m also looking forward to when we can come together to celebrate our graduation. In the meantime, I hope you build amazing memories while staying safe and healthy wherever you are!
