Khadija Aleem
Each year, during the week leading up to April 11th, I can feel the energy shift on campus. The impending anticipation for one of arguably the most important days on Spelman College’s campus is palpable. Soon, Alumnae will return to campus, First Years and Seniors will come together in Sister’s Chapel, and the entire campus community will congregate on the Oval to celebrate the founding of our beloved institution.
To me, Founders Day is all about connection. I view it as the embodiment of Spelman’s unique sisterhood, allowing current students to connect with each other, with Alumnae, and above all else, our history.
In my first year, I had a professor who was also a Spelman Alumna. I saw her after the Founders Day Convocation as I walked to Manley Hall, and I will always remember the excitement and joy that we shared when we wished each other a happy Founders Day. That is one of the tangible points when I knew that the journey that I was embarking on would be a highly unique and valuable one.
Last year, I decided not to attend the Founders Day Convocation physically; instead I held a watch party with two of my friends in the BT Daniel Suites. We ordered Krispy Kreme Donuts and watched as Spelman Alumna and 2024 Honorary Degree recipient Dr. Ruha Benjamin so eloquently and powerfully spoke to the participants in Sisters Chapel. Despite not being with the larger collective, our little party still reflected the essence of all that Founders Day is: the celebration of highly intelligent, educated and accomplished Black women and of the cultivation of strong and pure friendships.
On this day, I feel at peace. I feel joy. I feel hope. I feel strongly connected to my campus, my friends, and those who came before me.
To explore the unique opportunity that Founder’s Day provides us and connects us to our school, I talked with my mother, Dr. Michelle Townsend Bruce, class of 1989, and cousin, Khadjia Aleem, class of 2012, to learn more about their Spelman and Founder’s Day experience and what it means to them as Alumnae.
My relationship with Founder’s Day and Spelman is heavily influenced by my family history at Spelman. Many women in my family attended this institution, and each year, as I come closer and closer to graduating, I feel our relationship as Spelman sisters grow. For my mom, her relationship with Spelman changed once she became an alumna and the mother of a Spelman student. Now, she says, “it’s about giving back in both monetary ways and sharing stories of my experience while at Spelman.” I do not think I recognized the value of this particular aspect of my relationship with my mother and cousin until recently. Over the holiday breaks, while looking over old photographs of my mom at Spelman and sharing our respective experiences, I realized how, even though we span across three generations, our Spelman experiences are akin.
This is a testament to the strong traditions that shape the character of our institution, Founders Day being among one of the most influential.
Through these conversations, I’ve learned that our understanding of Founder’s Day is similar; it is all about remembrance and connection. For my mother, Founder’s Day is “one of the building blocks of creating a sisterhood” at Spelman; it is our history and tradition that unites us together as Spelmanites. And for her, these friendships and relationships have lasted over thirty-five years.
For Khadjia, Founder’s Day is also about history, coming together, and “legacies and legacies of Black educated women.” She sees that Founder’s Day enhances the Spelman experience by cultivating strong bonds by living in traditions. She believes that “keeping that history and remembering where we came from, like our roots, and still doing that to this day and still living in that tradition, that’s very powerful, and that speaks volumes.”
The connection I feel with my mom and my cousin goes beyond the fact that we’re related; we share similar experiences that span across three generations. Our collective Spelman experience bonds us in a way that transcends familial ties. I have found this to be applicable to non-family members as well. When I am back home in Nashville, Tennessee, I often attend Spelman College Alumnae Association events for our city chapter. Some of those women I have never met before, but through the simple fact that we all attended Spelman College I feel connected to them.
I feel immensely grateful to be able to share this experience with the women in my life and know that now and after I graduate, I will still be connected to them, my classmates, and other graduates because of the simple fact that we matriculated through Spelman College.