The Traveling Flag
One day late last summer, I was working alone in our Institutional Advancement office when I heard a knock at our front door. So, I answered it. At the door were a few alumnae with an unexpected delivery, or more like a “give back.” They were returning V’19’s class flag to our Alumni Affairs department after borrowing it as a photo prop for several classmates’ weddings over the course of a year.
The flag and its travels — see page 43 for the itinerary — exemplify for me the exuberant spirit of Penn Vet. Here, people become lifelong friends and a close community of colleagues. It is this familiarity that we wanted to capture in the Spring | Summer 2023 Bellwether.
From a new curriculum to student life to one alumna’s journey and more, the issue tells the all-encompassing story of what it means to be part of the Penn Vet community. It captures why alumni proudly travel and parade their class flag years after graduating from the School. I love this notion of “waving” the class flag at life’s major milestones. That front door encounter made me smile; it still makes me smile. I am excited for our readers to get a glimpse into how Penn Vet, the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, is shaping veterinary medicine and lifelong friendships.
Enjoy the issue.
Martin J. Hackett, Editor
mhackett@vet.upenn.edu