Students Propose Plans for Abbot and Andover 50-Year Merger Celebration

This weekend, an event was held to collect student ideas and input for the “Abbot and Andover at 50: Then, Now, Next” celebration, which will be held on the weekend of May 4 down in Abbot campus. 

Chloe Song ’26, Co-Founder of LeadHer, explained the specifics behind the event’s structure. The event, which was originally supposed to be an in-person meeting in Kemper Auditorium, was moved to Zoom due to the snowstorm. 

“We split it up into four different focuses: there were food offerings, panels and workshops, activities and entertainment, and publicity. We covered all four topics. We were able to center these four things on the main themes of the event, which would be celebrating and honoring Abbot alumn[ae], how students now are honoring their legacies, and how their legacies are affecting students now,” said Song.

Within these four categories, student input was key. The meeting was designed to obtain information on how to make the formal celebration in May enticing for students, according to Marc Harrison, Director of Affinity-Based Engagement and Office of Alumni Member. 

“It was great to see over a dozen student faces on the call taking time out of their weekend schedule for such an important initiative. The Working Group [met Tuesday] to review the dozens of recommendations that came forward and to prioritize next steps,” wrote Harrison in an email to The Phillipian.

The formal celebration would aim to honor Abbot’s legacy through its activities and workshops. Several plans have been proposed, including a Griffins and Gargoyles athletics competition to replicate Abbot tradition, a keynote speaker from Abbot, a bazaar-type marketplace featuring Abbot alumnae, and a time capsule made by the whole school. Song proposed another that would engage the members of various female empowerment clubs on campus.

“I brought up the idea of having research presentations, almost like Brace Center or CaMD Scholars, which were like student presentations that incorporate a niche idea that isn’t covered in the Andover curriculum, with facilitated research, and the final product is like a

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, or some people have 20 pages of writing. There’s a bunch of ways to put [it] together. But the idea was research presentations done by students to kind of embody the next spirit in the spring, and these presentations would be done on Abbot alumn[ae],” said Song.

Not only would the celebration honor Abbot’s legacy, but it would also allow students to connect with alumnae from Abbot. According to Dianne Domenech-Burgos, the Chief of Staff and Assistant Head of School for Strategic Planning, the Abbot alumnae would serve as mentors to the students, sharing their experiences while providing advice for the future. 

“I want to make sure that people understand our history because history often repeats itself… I want people to understand the stories of the women who went through this merger. I would also love when thinking about the next, some of those ideas that the students came up with about the careers, and actually having women who are in those careers now to be able to come back and talk to students about their experience and how they got into that field… I feel like that’s what makes a difference when you have those connections. When you’re able to interact with someone else who’s been there and walked those steps and who can give you advice for the future,” said Domenech-Burgos.

Students and the planning committee were also excited about using food to commemorate Abbot at the celebration, according to Julia Carmona ’24.

“Going back to the Abbot [All-School Meeting], I remember in [Paresky] Commons that day, they had that dessert, Heavenly Goo. And not necessarily bringing that back, but I think [it] would be really good…[to have] access to things that Andover kids don’t usually have access to. But, also, just having Abbot recipes makes that a little more cool and exciting,” said Carmona.