Billed as “An Evening of Conversation and Celebration,” the College hosted a gathering for LGBTIQA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning and allied) alumni in New York City.

The event, which drew 60 people, was born of a meeting of the Alumni Council’s Diversity Committee about how best to engage Bowdoin’s greater LGBTIQA community, to allow people to connect, share stories and learn about LGBTIQA life at Bowdoin today.

It also provided an opportunity for alumni to learn about the College’s Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity, and the impact it’s programs and initiatives have had on current students.

“Alumni spanning five or six decades, most of us never having met, came together to share a Bowdoin experience, which for a lot of us, went unspoken for many, many years,” said Matt Roberts ’93.

Hosted by Roberts and Trustee Greg Kerr ’79, Linda Nelson ’83, Sasha Ballen ’96, Dee Spagnuolo ’96, Julia Loonin ’07 and George Lincoln Skolfield Jr. Professor of German Emeritus Steven Cerf, the event included the informal discussion, “Then & Now,” moderated by Kate Stern, Bowdoin’s Director of the Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity.

“We came together to remember, reflect, share, support and most importantly, to celebrate who we are as one Bowdoin,” said Spagnulo.

“The college’s inclusivity of the LGBT community — both on campus and among its alumni — is yet another reason I am so very grateful to have Bowdoin as a part of my past, present and future.”