On my first solo trip to Homewood campus after high school, I stepped out of BWI airport and tried to play it cool as I anxiously awaited my prearranged ride. I noticed someone around my age standing nearby who looked about as nervous and lost as me. I asked him where he was headed and found out we were both waiting for the same ride to attend the same program. We boarded the van, got to know each other, and became fast friends. Patrick Pierre, A&S '96, and I stayed close throughout our undergraduate years and medical school and reconnected at weddings and conferences. Thirty-one years later, the conversation (and friendship) is still going strong. —Robert Bernales, A&S '96
It was my first day of the Master of Public Health Program in June 2011. I was a new resident of Baltimore and scared witless about going back to school after a significant amount of time away from the classroom—not to mention I didn't know a soul. I convinced myself to take a few laps around the perimeter of the room at the welcome breakfast. I sidled up to a friendly looking redhead and gave a wide-eyed smile. Thankfully, she smiled back. Not only was Marce Abare, BSPH '12 (MPH), my first friend in the program, she later became a bridesmaid in my wedding and is coming to visit soon with another Hopkins alum, Rachel Joseph, BSPH '12 (MPH), for a bestie reunion weekend. I'm grateful for many things that Hopkins gave me, but at the very top are the incredible friendships that have continued to buoy me to this day. —Kelly Baker Wiese, BSPH '12 (MPH)
Craig Snyder, A&S '77, my freshman dorm roomie, came to Hopkins from high school in Japan. Craig and I pledged the same fraternity and lived in the frat house sophomore year. We split after that—him to Belvedere Road and me to E. 33rd Street, but we have stayed in touch throughout the years, whether through Orioles baseball, Hopkins lacrosse, or reunions. —Alan Peterson, A&S '77
I was overwhelmed and felt out of my league starting the MBA-MPH program at Johns Hopkins. Jiahe Liang, BSPH '20 (MPH), Bus '20 (MBA), in my cohort asked if anyone wanted to take a break and get tacos, and I immediately said yes. We spent the next two years studying and eating together, and I am so thankful for her friendship. —Nora Duffy, BSPH '20 (MPH), Bus '20 (MBA)
As a commuting Baltimore local on the cross-town bus, my first friend at Johns Hopkins in the fall of 1959 was John C. Love, A&S '62, from Michigan. We met as I pledged Tau Epsilon Phi. He was a sophomore pre-med student, as was I. Although we came from quite different backgrounds and upbringings, differences in our initial outlooks did not preclude us from developing a deep and lasting friendship. Our ties have survived these many years, despite my leaving Baltimore in 1966 for work in public health and internal medicine and John's practicing in Baltimore as an attorney until retiring. I am most grateful for having had the good fortune of our continuing friendship, a gift of our time at Hopkins. —Marshall C. Goldberg, A&S '62
NEXT UP: What are you excited to leave behind in 2023? Send responses to gjr@jhu.edu
