Aluminaries

Learn about some of the unsung alumni heroes. Many have dedicated untold hours to volunteering for Princeton while others have followed unusual career paths, frequently in the non-profit sector.

Featured Volunteer in the Winter 2009 Take Note:
Jean S. Hendry *80, APGA Reunion Chair

Jean Hendry *80 came to Princeton more than 30 years ago from Hunter College, where as an undergraduate she had been a student in the interdisciplinary honors program and also declared a major in Psychology. She came to immerse herself in the study of Psychology, with a concentration in Animal Learning, knowing that "you can't go wrong with an education at Princeton." Her graduate student experience was similar to that of many others at the time: exhaustive and concentrated: An intense time of course work, teaching, and research. When she said "good-bye" on receiving her degree, having accepted a post-doctoral fellowship in Pharmacology at the Medical College of Virginia, she did not expect to be back.

Something did bring her back though: Reunions. She wanted her young son to experience the phenomenon of Princeton Reunions, get to know the campus and get a feeling for the excitement that the Princeton faculty bring to the table by attending some of the many wonderful lectures available during Reunions. She notes that the reason for returning could actually have been anything: a conference, a meeting, an invitation from a colleague. No matter what, the moment she stepped back on to campus, she “could feel the intellectual energy. It’s palpable. And once you're back, you’re back!”

She started returning regularly. In 2004, she got the call from another graduate alumni "Aluminary," Carol Barash *89. "Would you help with Annual Giving?" Hendry said "yes," and there began her career of service to Princeton. Involvement at one level led to involvement at another, and in two years she was a member of the board of the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA). After one year on the APGA’s Reunion Committee, she was asked to take the helm of that committee. And so she found herself, ten years after returning for that first taste of Reunions, leading graduate alumni in the P-Rade. She will do so again this year, when graduate alumni will celebrate with the theme "Galileo's Galactic Magic."

Hendry's work for Princeton goes beyond her connection to APGA and Annual Giving. She is also active with her regional association, the Carolina Triangle Princeton Club in Raleigh, NC. She is the graduate alumni co-chair for the club and she is also a member of the Alumni Schools Committee.

"I feel privileged to be engaged in Princeton activities, to be part of the community," notes Hendry with enthusiasm. "Princeton shaped my entire thought process and has impacted upon every aspect of my life. To have the opportunity to be around so many intellectually gifted people is exciting  and exhilarating—I feel as though I am always growing. And because Princeton gave me so much, I think it's important to give something back.  It is why I do what I do."

When Hendry is not "working" for Princeton, she serves as Executive Director of a newly formed non-profit foundation with a mission to provide services, including dogs, transportation and social interaction, for the visually impaired.

It’s all about giving back…

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