Reflections for the Mount Holyoke Class of 1977
As we began thinking about our 50th Reunion, some classmates have suggested using the Griffin as a unifying symbol for our gathering.
What Is a Griffin?
The Griffin is a mythological creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.
In ancient Greek, Persian, and Near Eastern mythology, the Griffin was known as:
- A guardian of treasure
- A symbol of strength and courage
- A creature of vision and watchfulness
- A being that united earth and sky
Lion: strength, leadership, grounded presence
Eagle: vision, perspective, intelligence, the ability to soar
The Griffin is both powerful and perceptive — rooted and far-seeing.
As we reflect on the past fifty years, this symbol invites us to think about the ways our own lives have required both strength and vision.
Why the Griffin Matters to the Class of ’77
We entered Mount Holyoke in the early 1970s — a moment of social change, expanding opportunity, and shifting expectations for women.
Over the past five decades, we have:
- Built careers in emerging fields
- Entered professions once closed to women
- Raised families and mentored generations
- Navigated loss and reinvention
- Taken risks
- Guarded what matters
Like the Griffin, we have been:
- Strong when strength was required
- Visionary when the path wasn’t clear
- Protective of people, ideas, and values
- Grounded in community while reaching outward
The Griffin does not choose between lion and eagle.
It embodies both.
As we do too.
Why Myth Still Matters
Mythologist Joseph Campbell often wrote about the role of myth in helping people understand the deeper patterns of a life.
In The Power of Myth, Campbell suggests that what people seek most deeply is not simply a tidy explanation of life, but a felt experience of being fully alive. Mythic stories endure because they reflect the journeys human beings take — leaving the familiar, facing uncertainty, discovering courage, and returning changed.
Looking back across five decades, many of us can recognize moments when we stepped into the unknown:
beginning careers, raising families, taking risks, changing directions, caring for others, or rediscovering parts of ourselves we had set aside
These are the kinds of journeys myth has always helped illuminate.
The Strength Within
In Women Who Run With the Wolves, author and analyst Clarissa Pinkola Estés explores the deep instincts and resilience carried within women’s lives.
She suggests that beneath the expectations and pressures of the world lies an enduring inner strength — a wild and intuitive wisdom that cannot truly be lost. Even when it lies dormant for a time, it can be rediscovered and reclaimed.
Many women find that later chapters of life offer new opportunities to reconnect with this deeper sense of self — to trust their instincts, speak with greater clarity, and live more fully aligned with what matters most.
Reflection Questions
As we look toward our 50th Reunion, we invite you to consider:
- What have you guarded or protected in your life?
- When did you need the lion’s strength?
- When did you rely on the eagle’s vision?
- What “treasure” have you helped preserve or pass on?
- What mountain (literal or metaphorical) have you climbed?
