The Hun School of Princeton’s Annual Alumni Weekend festivities may have been postponed because of COVID-19, but that did not stop the Class of 1970 from connecting—at least virtually. It had been fifty years since some of the twenty-one classmates and three faculty members had seen each other, but the conversation flowed as if it were yesterday.

David Diamond, M.D. ’70 was set to receive the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year award, but instead of celebrating in person, he was cheered on by twenty of his classmates through Zoom. He shared news of what he has been doing the last five decades, both professionally and personally. In turn, each of the twenty-one alumni shared highlights of their post-Hun life—lives shaped by careers in medicine, business, banking, and other professions, as well as marriages, divorces, children, and grandchildren.

“This has been a rewarding day to see all my classmates,” says Mike Maguire ’70, who also served as a member of the Reunion Committee. “For some, it has been fifty years since I’ve seen them, and some not, but it’s wonderful to see everyone. I never know how much you all meant to me until years later. You were all instrumental in making me the man I am today.”

As Reunion banter often does, the conversation soon turned to fond memories spent in the classroom and on the athletic field. Michael Rossi ’70 pointed out that Spider (Mike Maguire) “made everybody play better. We had a great run.” Stephen Peters ’70 joked that Jack Bader ’70 has been one of his best friends since the summer of 1966 when both had to attend summer school. There have been plenty of small world connections between this class too. Al Berger ’70 attended dental school at Georgetown University and ran into Don Marazzo ‘70, who was studying at the Georgetown Medical School.

Plenty of good-natured ribbing also took place. Barry Group ’70 thanked former faculty member Sandy Bing and former Headmaster Jim Byer ’62 for “letting him stay.” Sam Gidding ’70, now a pediatric cardiologist, had three questions for the former faculty attending the call. The shaggy-haired Dr. Gidding asked Mr. Bing if he needed a hair cut; he asked former Headmaster Jim Byer if he would get thrown out for drinking wine on the Zoom call; and told former faculty member Dave Leete that he was scarred for life by getting cut from the basketball team his senior year. Plenty of laughter ensued but perhaps the biggest reveal came from Ed Haas ’70, who finally came clean that he was indeed the one who glued all of the doors shut in Carter Hall.

For this group at the Hun School, fifty years went by in a flash but they are all marking their calendar for next year, when they will meet at Michael Rossi’s Rossi’s Bar & Grill on Thursday night before Alumni Weekend and see each other again, this time in person.

About The Hun School:
The Hun School of Princeton is a co-educational, private day and boarding school in Princeton, New Jersey. Individual attention and strong student-faculty relationships are the hallmarks of the School. On the 48-acre campus between Philadelphia and New York City, student-centered, hands-on learning prepares students for the global community in which they will live and work. The Hun School is comprised of 650 students in its Middle School, Upper School, and Postgraduate Program. Our campus is home to students from twenty-seven countries and eighteen states.