Creating Community

Dining with Dawgs

Local Huskies host students for conversation and camaraderie

For Myron and Nora MacDonald, ’71, M.A. ’86, opening their home to a group of students for dinner and conversation may not have felt that out of the blue. Nora, a longtime UWAA member, spent her career teaching world languages to students at Roosevelt High School. Now retired, she recently headed back to class at UW as part of Washington’s ACCESS program.

“I love school, I love the U, and I love young people,” she says.

So on a February night, a group of students — strangers to each other — arrived at the MacDonalds’ home as part of UWAA’s Dinners with the Pack program. Around the same time, 27 similar dinner parties took place across the city, connecting alumni and friends with students looking to build their own community.

At the MacDonald home, conversation focused on UW experiences and how to choose a major.

“A few mentioned they were studying what their parents wanted them to study,” Nora recalls, a reminder of her time as a student.

After she and Myron met at a HUB dance, they both left school. Myron entered the Army and Nora traveled the world as a flight attendant.

“When I returned to UW, I was more focused, and I realized Latin was my first love. My mother tried everything to get me to major in business. She thought I’d never have a job, but I was a teacher for 40 years, doing what I adored. So I gently told them: it’s so much more important to choose something they are passionate about. There is a way.”

For some, the notion of hosting strangers might sound daunting. “Just do it,” says Nora. “The students just want to feel welcome. It was so much fun.”

Dinners with the Pack will take place again in February. For more information, visit UWalum.com.