VASSAR CLUB of Washington DC

IVY SINGLES SOCIALS

For the latest information go to: http://www.ivysinglesdc.com

Ivy Singles Social Events

The Ivy Singles Social Club (ISSC) is a coalition of Ivy League, Seven Sister and other prestigious schools' regional alumni associations that sponsors social activities.
Our events are open to all single alumni of member schools.
The majority of our attendees are in their 30s, 40s or 50s.

ABOUT IVY LEAGUE SINGLES by Sarah Mark '80

    Coed liberal arts colleges aren't only great places to learn. They are also effective mixers - where else can you meet so many single people of similar educational experience to date? However, once you've earned that BA and/or MBA, MFA, PHD, MD etc. and you're still single -  you may feel BDD (Bewildered Day to Day) about building a social life.
    After college, in a world where most of your associates are married, it can be tough - not just to find potential dates, but also to find single buddies to hang out with. One way to reconnect with your school heritage and to socialize at the same time is to attend the monthly Ivy Singles Social Club cocktail parties. The group is for single people, ages 30 and older, who have earned degrees from the seven-sister colleges, the Ivy League institutions or a smattering of others - such as Stanford and the University of Chicago.
    The parties, organized by alumni from different schools, are usually held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. one Friday per month at a variety of venues - ranging from the exotic Havana Breeze restaurant, the hip Felix eatery and the chic Washington Club to the staid and elegant Capitol Hill Club, the intriguing Frederick Douglass Museum and the lush U.S. Botanic Garden. Admission is usually $20 in advance, $25 at the door, which includes h'ors d'oevres.
    Suzanne Duvall, Vassar '90, came to the May event, sponsored by the Vassar Club, at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington. "I'm glad just to meet other people from the area. Washington is so transient," she said.
    "It's better than meeting people in bars," says Eric Randall, who earned a masters degree from MIT in 1998. Randall recently attended an event sponsored by the Cornell and MIT alumni clubs at the West End Grill in Bethesda, which had live acoustic music and candlelit tables. The social club, Randall said, provides an opportunity to meet people outside the career-driven atmosphere of Washington.
    One of the strengths of the Ivy Singles group is the variety (and sometimes quirkiness of the venues). Somehow the social scene seems less overwhelming when you have exotic plants to examine at the Botanic Garden or Victorian antiques to admire at the historic Douglass home. Even the Democrats attending the May Ivy Singles event at the Capitol Hill Club chuckled when they found out that it is a Republican club.
    The atmosphere of the parties is pretty relaxed, agrees Andy Dessler, who earned a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1994 from Harvard. "I don't feel pressure to talk to a lot of people."
    Gail Krovitz, Vassar '93, went to the Capitol Hill Club event just after turning 30 years old and becoming eligible (age-wise) for the group. "I'm just really excited to (meet) other Vassar people here," she said, after chatting in a clutch of fellow alumni.
    Sue Ann MacBride, Wellesley '91, met a group of people at a recent event at the Washington Club in Dupont Circle, and they went out to dinner together afterward. "We wanted to keep talking, and now we're friends," MacBride said.
    At the social club events, "you tend to run into very intelligent, articulate, thoughtful people. I don't meet people through my work socially," said Lisa Herrick, Swarthmore '79, at the West End Grill.
    It's not too late to give the group a try. Information about upcoming events appears right on this very page!