Lunch with Six Supporters Celebrates Opportunity

Those who have supported financial aid at Bowdoin were invited to Barry Mills Hall on May 2, 2025, to celebrate the impact they have had and to connect with current students who benefit.

“Bowdoin’s commitment to access is one of the things that first drew me to the College,” President Safa Zaki said in her welcoming remarks. “As I complete my second year, I am so proud to be part of a college that is one of just ten colleges and universities in the United States to support need-blind admission and no-loan financial and that meet the full demonstrated need of each admitted student."

Expanding on the strength and stability of Bowdoin’s commitment to financial aid, President Zaki noted that the College now has more of its financial aid supported by financial aid endowment than any college or university in the US, except Princeton, calling it “an amazing accomplishment” reflecting the generosity of Bowdoin’s donors and the wisdom and success of its Investment Committee.

“To the alumni, families, and friends here this afternoon, I offer my most sincere thanks,” Zaki. said. “Your support for our students is an inspiring expression of your confidence, and your generosity has a powerful impact that I am fortunate to see every day.”

Zaki wished students luck as they concluded their academic year and highlighted that the guests with whom they were having lunch provided a glimpse of what alumni involvement means to the College.

It was a natural transition to the introduction of the luncheon’s featured alumni speaker, Mariette Aborn ’17, a networker in her own right as someone who has participated in CXD panels and Sophomore Bootcamp. An economics and Francophone studies double major at Bowdoin, Aborn received support from both the Harold D. Talbot Jr. ’40 Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Fertig Family Scholarship Fund.

“I would not be who or where I am today without Bowdoin,” Aborn said. “And I am so grateful to the College and its many supporters for making my education possible for me.” 

After graduation and a two-year stint working in admissions, Aborn worked as a research and policy analyst at the Washington, DC-based Bipartisan Policy Center, with a focus on higher education and workforce development. After earning a master’s in public policy at Duke University, Aborn returned to Maine to work for the Department of Health and Human Services as special projects manager for child and family well-being.

“I hope to reassure the students here in this room with something that I remember an alum telling me when I was a student,” Aborn said. “That the throughline of my experiences is only easy to draw in retrospect. I can see now that it was an unwavering commitment to the common good and a belief that good policy can meaningfully improve people’s lives.”

Aborn spoke of leaning on her Bowdoin network—professors, mentors, and other alumni, as well as friends who served as sounding boards, cheerleaders, and confidants. 

“Bowdoin has never stopped supporting me, and I am also one of its supporters,” she said, adding that she enjoys connecting with prospective students as an alumni interviewer and Sophomore Bootcamp networking contact.

“And I’m so proud to be one of many in this room who give to the Alumni Fund in support of comprehensive aid. Bowdoin’s need-blind, no-loan, and full-need policies benefit every single Bowdoin student, whether or not they receive student aid. Because they are what allows for this community to come together. They are a powerful commitment maintained through the ongoing generosity of alumni, families, and other friends of the college. I give because I am accountable to the next generation of students and am honored to have had the opportunity to share some of my story that was made possible by those who came before me.”