Reunite & Restore Brings Two Days of Well-Being and Connection to Campus

Vassar’s Jeh Vincent Johnson ALANA Cultural Center, in collaboration with Affinity Engagement, recently hosted Reunite & Restore, a two-day campus gathering focused on well-being and connection. In its first iteration, the event on April 10–11 encouraged alums, students, employees, and the larger Vassar community to take a moment to nourish their minds and bodies.

Sharon Parkinson, Vassar’s Director of Affinity Engagement, said Reunite & Restore grew out of feedback from alums who needed a space to recharge from the anxieties of daily life. “We could have chosen any theme for this gathering,” she said. “We chose well-being because this moment called for it. So many people are carrying stress, fatigue, grief, and daily pressures. This gathering was designed to offer something different—space to breathe, reconnect, and feel restored.”

Parkinson and the event team knew the ALANA community could offer that space. “This well-being gathering is our way of saying you can take a break, catch your breath, and rejuvenate in community. For those who’ve already experienced this side of the Vassar community, it’s a familiar return. For those who haven’t, it’s a wonderful discovery,” she said.

Attendees participated in restorative movement, learned sustainable productivity tools, and connected with alums across generations. Given the tense and overwhelming political climate, the two-day event was a chance to “shake it off and get together,” said participant Naimah Petigny ’14. By shedding stress and the weight of the world, participants could make space for new growth.

Overall, the gathering was a welcome reset. During and after sessions, participants continually marveled at the empowering effect the workshops could have on their day-to-day lives. “We’re all just stretched too thin, and so Reunite & Restore is a way of sustaining and nurturing our capacities and our well-being—and it’s so crucial at this time,” said Dara Lurie ’83.

Parkinson said the pacing was “spacious” by design: six activities spread over two days, with ample breaks in between. “We didn’t want the feeling of rushing from session to session, as you get with some events,” she said.

Friday’s activities included a trauma-informed yoga workshop led by Robin Shutinya of Vassar’s Counseling Service and a welcome reception at the ALANA Center, followed by a Slam Jam featuring alum and student performers, and a lively movement session facilitated by Julian Llanos, a former adjunct dance faculty member.

Saturday was a full day, starting with a sound bath meditation that eased the group into one of the event’s many themes–embodied connections. Following the sound bath session, attendees moved to a dance studio in Kenyon Hall for the featured workshop “Move. Think. Rest.” (MTR), and presentation by creative strategist Dr. Natalie Nixon ’91, who shared her human-centered productivity system.

The MTR workshop introduced a framework geared to our modern workforce. Nixon led the group through a series of activities designed to help participants redefine productivity. “What if it turns out we are at the precipice of our most spacious selves,” she prompted. For Nixon, if generative artificial intelligence can take over routine, monotonous tasks, workers will be left with the imaginative, storytelling, and innovative aspects of their jobs. This work requires deep focus, which can lead to exhaustion if attendees aren’t pacing themselves. Nixon argued that daily movement (walking, dancing, stretching), rigorous but imaginative problem solving, and routine rest are imperative to protect against burnout.

Another message: Sometimes, the body needs a dance break. To show her framework in action, Nixon prompted attendees to brainstorm two ways to apply the MTR system to solve the problems they had identified in their working lives. After 15 minutes, Nixon led a 10-minute dance break and taught participants basic bachata steps. Following the interlude, most found that dance unlocked new ways of thinking—they could more easily find accessible solutions to their selected issues.

The MTR workshop also gave alums, community members, employees, and students a chance to talk and share knowledge, another goal for the weekend. Parkinson said these connections “give everyone a chance to reflect, learn from one another, and see campus in new ways.”

Shyasia Arnold ’26 said she appreciated that the MTR workshop encouraged alums and students to interact during small-group activities. She learned that many alums also struggle to balance innovation and creativity with rigorous focus. “I’m not alone; this learning process is something everyone goes through,” she said.

After lunch, alums joined students at the ALANA Block Party, followed by a herbal infusions workshop, where participants learned about herbs and healing botanicals from herbalist Antonia Estela Pérez of Herban Cura. As a group of nearly 20 people passed bowls of herbs around a table, Pérez noted that spring signals refresh and renewal. Plants and trees bud, animals come out of hiding, and the days are sunnier. Thus, spring is a great time for a well-being check, and slowing down allows us to notice what the body may need to support this season.

The two-day event ended as it began—with meditative movement: Associate Professor of Music Justin Patch led the group on a guided walk through the Pratt House Labyrinth.

The Carolyn Grant ’36 Endowment for the Study of the Expressive Arts and the Human Imagination helped make it possible to bring in expert facilitators for the weekend’s workshops. Parkinson, who serves on the fund’s steering committee and leads the Circle of Well-Being employee community, sees Reunite & Restore as part of a broader effort to bring alums and students together with practitioners from Vassar and the wider community. “Together, these initiatives put well-being at the center and make rest, ease, and joy part of what it means to build a thriving Vassar community,” she said.

ALANA Center Director Nicole Beveridge said her hope was that the gathering would foster new relationships between alums and ALANA student leaders; offer opportunities for rest, reflection, and renewal; and inspire ongoing support for the center and the students it serves. Indeed, having learned about how the space is used now, many alums and community members opted to support its operations by donating to the ALANA Center’s Discretionary Fund, which supports social programming as well the academic pursuits of students (conference attendance, grad school applications, college visits, etc.).

Beveridge and Parkinson reported positive feedback from attendees, and they look forward to the gathering becoming a regular occurrence. This way, alums have more opportunities to check in with the center. Regardless of the future, they hope Reunite & Restore will help remind alums, as well as community members, students, and employees, that the center is a “welcoming hub” and resource for well-being.