The below message was sent to faculty, staff, and students on December 12, 2025.
Dear Bryn Mawr Community,
I can think of no better way to celebrate and support our academic community than last night's gathering at the rekindled tradition of Midnight Breakfast. Dozens of faculty and staff members – many of us up well past our usual bedtimes! – came together to serve pancakes, waffles, eggs, tater tots, and bacon to more than 400 students, a record turnout. With a photo booth, a s'mores stand, and craft activities, our community's capacity for joy, play and camaraderie abounded. Thank you to all who served and all who joined. I look forward to doing this again!
Even as we celebrate and support one another, I've been moved by the ways students, staff, and faculty are serving our greater community. I was proud to see so many of you step forward recently to help our local Neighbors Helping Neighbors address food insecurity, quickly filling the volunteer slots to capacity. I appreciate the student tour guides who spent time on a recent Sunday welcoming and hosting members of a local church who wanted to experience our "Don't Forget to Remember (Me)" monument in the Cloisters. And I'm gratified that so many of you are filling the new Helpsy donation bin, located outside of the Schwartz Fitness Center (facing Ward), from which items are sent to thrift shops or recycled. I know there are many more such examples of service, individual and collective.
Pancakes and tater tots might seem modest in the big picture, but the spirit of Midnight Breakfast – coming together in joyful service – is a resonant, shining light.
I wish everyone a successful close to the semester and a restful and restorative winter break.
Warmly,
Wendy Cadge
President and Professor of Sociology
Bryn Mawr College
101 N. Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Pronouns: she/her
brynmawr.edu
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