Traveling through time and space
Grads go the distance to make new memories and support Kellogg at Reunion 2005

By Kari Richardson

Eighteen-hour flights, tasteless airline food and lost luggage - all were minor inconveniences borne readily by globe-trotting Kellogg School graduates for a chance to commune with former classmates at Reunion 2005.

In all, more than 1,200 people converged on the Evanston campus for Reunion, held April 29-May 1. Traveling from near and far, all arrived ready to "reunite, reconnect and rekindle" the Kellogg spirit, the theme for the weekend. Participants in this year's event included members of the Classes of 1955, 1965, 1975, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2004 and the Executive MBA Program.

	Reunion 2005 treated Kellogg alumni to an assortment of social and educational opportunities, including a keynote address from Diageo's North American President and CEO Ivan Menezes '85 (below), and a performance by Special K, the school's annual music and sketch comedy revue.

Reunion offered many highlights. Participants benefited intellectually by choosing among seven MBA Update sessions, featuring popular Kellogg School professors, and two career management workshops where Kellogg career coaches lent attendees insight on professional opportunities. In addition, attendees heard guest speaker Ivan Menezes '85, CEO of Diageo's North American operations, share his views on the regulatory and social challenges facing his company and industry. And, as is tradition, alums also enjoyed a memorable Friday TG and Saturday afternoon barbecue.

The most important priority for the weekend, though, was simply catching up with former classmates and their families.

After missing his 15th reunion, Sanjay Shroff '85 vowed he would go to great lengths to mark the 20th anniversary of his graduation. So he boarded a plane to brave the 18-hour journey from Bangalore, India, to Evanston - a trip he said was "well worth it."

"I wanted to relive my happy days at Kellogg," said Shroff, who remains active in Kellogg alumni events in India. "I also wanted to see what was happening at Kellogg and how much the school had changed. I will almost certainly be back for the silver jubilee as well."

Like many others, Shroff said his most enjoyable Kellogg School experiences revolved around friendships and camaraderie with others who worked on group projects. The teachings from on- and off-campus scholastic pursuits have proven invaluable to his career as managing director of Bangalore Paints Ltd., he said.

Shroff was one of more than 60 members of the Class of 1985 who attended, raising $320,229 for its Class Gift campaign in the process. The Class of 1980, attending its 25th reunion, also produced a notable campaign, raising a record $333,458 with a 29 percent participation rate. In all, Reunion classes raised $2,029,474 for the Kellogg Annual Fund, an increase of more than 400 percent from the amount raised last year. These funds will help support current initiatives at the school.

Among this year's attendees was Teresa Concepcion-Guerrero '55, one of the first female students to earn her MBA at the university. Concepcion-Guerrero, who traveled from California to attend Reunion, recalls applying to the school after observing that Northwestern University professors had written most of her undergraduate college textbooks. At the time, Concepcion-Guerrero was the lone woman in a group of only 40 or so students, compared with the 650 students and hundreds of women who compose one of today's full-time MBA classes.

"We always had to be prepared for class because you could not escape being called upon by the professor as there were only about 20 or fewer in a class," she remembered.

Concepcion-Guerrero also recalled that her male classmates were housed on the third floor of Abbott Hall (which was a dormitory at the time). Her room was on the 17th floor with graduate students from several other disciplines.

During an impressive - and expansive - career, Concepcion-Guerrero has worked as an accounting professor and CFO and vice president of Franklin Bank, and she helped establish EDPTS, an early computer school. Today she and her husband, Miguel L. Guerrero '55, manage a bus charter and shuttle company called San Francisco Minibus.

Next year's Reunion, scheduled for May 5 to 7, welcomes back to campus the Class of 2005 and those classes whose years end in '01 and '06. Mark your calendars now to reconnect with Kellogg and your peers to create even more great memories.