Keeping in Touch

By this time next week, Harvard will be out of sight for many members of the Class of 2004. However, two seniors have committed to the lifetime responsibility of making sure that for the rest of their classmates, Harvard will never be out of mind.

In December, Kate T. Richard ’04 Abhishek Gupta ’04 were selected as the ninth and tenth members of the Senior Class Committee. They will serve the Class of 2004 as class secretary and class treasurer, respectively.

Richard and Gupta, who were selected by the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) and the Class Marshals after an application and interview process, will primarily be responsible for organizing class reunions every five years, and making sure that the senior class stays in touch.

Richard, who is charged with compiling quarterly Class Notes to run in Harvard Magazine, will be for at least the near future juggling correspondence long-distance. She says she plans to return to work in Africa, where she spent last summer working with the United Nations.

Richard said a class website—www.harvard04.com—will facilitate efforts to keep in touch. The site, which will be operational by mid-summer, will feature a facebook, birthday reminders, updates on students’ whereabouts and accomplishments, and full contact information.

Gupta’s main duties will be to organize and oversee fundraisers for the class and to invest the money that has been raised so far through senior class events this spring.

While HAA will sponsor the 25th, 35th and 50th reunions, all other reunions must be financed using the class’ accounts. Richard says that first reunions typically draw between 500 and 1000 students, and she hopes to see at least this many in attendance in 2009.

The organization of these reunions will draw in other interested members of the class, as Richard and Gupta will be looking for class members to serve as reunion chairs.

Correspondence should be sent to Richard at Katherine.Richard@post.harvard.edu.