From the NAA President

Dear Fellow Alums,

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina — an anniversary that calls us to remember, to reflect and to honor the strength and resilience of our Newcomb community. 

Over the past several months, I’ve spent time listening to alums who lived through those harrowing days in August 2005. Many have shared stories of evacuation and uncertainty, of
loss and rebuilding, of returning to a changed New Orleans. What I’ve heard most often is not just sorrow, but strength. Again and again, Newcomb alums rose to the moment — caring for loved ones, organizing mutual aid, rebuilding homes and institutions and speaking up for a better, more equitable city.

Katrina was a defining moment. It marked the end of Newcomb College as a coordinate college of Tulane, a loss that still stirs deep feelings for many. And yet, it also marked the beginning of something new: the founding of Newcomb Institute. Created to honor and carry forward the values at the heart of the Newcomb experience — leadership, service, feminist learning, and community — Newcomb Institute has, over the past 19 years, supported thousands of students in their personal and academic growth. It is not a replacement for what was lost but a legacy in motion.

I am one of those students. Newcomb Institute invested in me, challenged me and helped me find my voice as a leader. It gave me the confidence to step into public service and pursue a career in policy. Through Newcomb Institute, I found community, mentorship and purpose — and I feel deeply connected to the spirit of Newcomb and the generations
of women who came before me.

At the same time, we recognize that legacy and loss can coexist. For many alums, Newcomb College was not just a school but an identity. While the Newcomb Institute continues its important work, we know there is still yearning for deeper connection to the history, rituals and sense of belonging that Newcomb College once provided. Your memories, your stories and your continued involvement help us honor that past while shaping the future.

Today, we continue to grow and evolve as a community. Whether through book clubs, Newcomb Networking Night, city-based meetups, our beloved Under the Oaks ceremony or other initiatives, we are finding ways to gather, to reflect and to support one another.

As we reflect on the 20 years since the storm, I invite you to share your stories — of hardship, of healing and of how Newcomb shaped the way you moved through that time. We want to honor your experience, learn from it and carry it forward. It’s through this intergenerational community — one rooted in compassion, strength, and shared purpose
— that I’ve come to better understand what it means to be a Newcomb alum.

Whatever your path since graduation, the Newcomb Alumnae Association is your home. A space of memory and momentum. A space where your story matters.

Warmly,

Maggie Herman (PHTM ’15)

President,

Newcomb Alumnae Association