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December 11, 2023

Guilford 'Conversations' Gets a Makeover


Guilford's popular Conversations with Friends series announces its 2024 tour dates and adds fun activities for alumni to connect over. 

"Obviously we love it when our alumni come back to campus for homecoming or other events but this is one more way for old friends to connect.”

Danny Gatling II
Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations

In years past, Guilford’s Conversations with the President allowed for students and alumni to learn more about President Kyle Farmbry. The 2024 Conversations is getting a makeover starting with a new name.

Conversations with Friends allows Guilford students and alumni to come together, reconnect and learn about what’s going on at the College. The 2024 tour, which kicks off Jan. 17 in Tampa will offer even more.

Plans include a special outing for each of the seven events. Guilfordians got a sneak preview earlier this month when Conversations with Friends met at Topgolf in Charlotte. More than two dozen alumni, friends and prospective students gathered for a night of conversations and golf. Provost Maria Rosales offered a College update.

Danny Gatling, Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations at Guilford, says the new Conversations with Friends meetings will be “a great opportunity for alumni to see each other again where they live. Obviously we love it when our alumni come back to campus for homecoming or other events but this is one more way for old friends to connect.”

New friends, too. Four high school seniors recently accepted to Guilford showed up at Topgolf to learn a little more about the College and chat with alumni. Jayce LeFlore, a senior at Palisades High School in Charlotte, came to learn more about Guilford. “I’ve been happy with everything I’ve heard and seen about Guilford and tonight was just another part of that,” says Jayce, who wants to major in Computing Technology and Information Systems.

Jayce also wants to play baseball for the Quakers. “It’s pretty cool having folks come up to me and talk to me about Guilford,” he says. “You can tell it’s special to them.”

Danny says the goal for the 2024 Conversations is to get away from the stodgy banquet room environment and out into the community. His staff is working on the details for each event in 2024. Here’s a look at the dates for the 2024 Conversations with Friends tour:

January 17 in Tampa
February 6 in Raleigh
February 23 in Greensboro
March 3 in Savannah, Ga.
April 4 in Boston
April 23 in Chicago
June 26 in New York
October 17 in Washington, D.C.