Staying Involved Through Spring Term Abroad and on campus, W&L alumni donated their time and shared their knowledge and experiences to enhance several Spring Term courses.

By Jessica Luck and Laura Lemon
June 24, 2026

In the span of four weeks, students in the Exploring European Policy, Business and Culture class traveled to France, Belgium and the United Kingdom — and even with roughly 4,000 miles between them and Lexington, Virginia, the W&L network wove itself into each location. Linda Hooks, professor of economics, and Kristina Roney, assistant professor of French, created the traveling classroom so that students could immerse themselves in the heart of Europe to better understand the European Union and how culture affects the interconnected economic web.

One of the themes Hooks and Roney wanted to tackle was tying real people and businesses with macroeconomic and cultural ideas. And to get the “real,” the professors tapped into the W&L alumni network.

The class started in Paris, where they spent the first two weeks of Spring Term. They met with Ben Atnipp ’15, CEO of French start-up Vianova, and also met with Michelin CEO Yves Chapot and Fabienne Goyeneche, global vice president of public affairs, which was arranged by alumni. Additionally, the class visited Goldman Sachs’ office and participated in a Zoom roundtable with several alumni in the company’s international organization, including L. Fernando Bravo ’96, managing director for Goldman Sachs.

In Brussels, Maciej Golubiewski ’99, a senior official at the European Commission, helped students witness the heart of the EU, allowing them to see firsthand the European Commission and arranging a visit to the European Parliament. Golubiewski discussed his path since graduation and helped students understand the implementation and realties of a working multinational system. Golubiewski enjoyed the students’ inquisitiveness and was impressed by their varied backgrounds.

“I am really excited about all the W&L academic initiatives exposing students to world affairs and hope that these students will engage in international context, building the network and the reputation of W&L abroad,” he said.

“I strongly believe that with its reputation and quality, W&L deserves to be more widely known and recognized outside the U.S. So, for me, this connection is natural as I see this happening in big European and world capitals with other schools and their alumni.”

To wrap up their Spring Term abroad, the students traveled to London, where they first met with Allison Bruneau Edwards ’01, managing director of global leveraged finance credit at Bank of America, who walked students through a real-world case study. They visited the U.S. Embassy to the Court of St. James, where Warren Stephens ’79, P’12, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, dove into the responsibilities of public service and the vitalness of international relationships, especially in a complicated world. Stephens also reflected on the values he experienced and sees in the liberal arts education and the lifelong impact of the Honor System.

The alumni connection helped ground the class’s concepts, which resonated with Kayla Richardson ’27, a politics major from Mechanicsville, Virginia.

“Visiting places like Brussels, Paris and London, and hearing directly from policymakers, business leaders and alumni, made ideas about economics, politics and culture feel much more real and personal,” she said. “It was a really unique opportunity to connect what we learn at W&L to the world around us.”

To Hooks, some of the class’s most valuable experiences transpired because of the alumni network.

“Our alumni inspired us,” she said. “Those opportunities would not have happened if alumni had not offered their time and expertise. So many alumni stepped up to help us in so many ways, and that tells me that our alumni care about W&L long after graduation and that they want to connect with current students.

“Many of the alumni who helped us are also former students of mine, and there are few things more satisfying to me personally than to see my former students out in the world doing good things. I’m deeply grateful to them and to all the alumni for their support.”

Roney echoed that sentiment. The alumni, she said, made the course so distinctive.

“While we organize Spring Term study abroad programs through third-party providers who have the capacity to arrange for visits, tours and meetings with commercial organizations, nothing compares to the experiences we are able to generate through our dedicated alumni network,” she said. “They enrich our classroom learning not only through the experiences they provide to our students but, more importantly, through their personal connection to the university and their demonstration of the power and impact of their education as well as of the alumni network itself. It inspires students not only in what they can do and where their W&L education might take them but also in the importance of remaining involved in the alumni network upon graduating and in continuing to give back to the university. They witness first-hand how alumni involvement enriches the W&L experience.”

On campus, Paul Davey ’86, CEO of the Houston-based Balcara Group, which focuses on the development of single-family luxury for-rent neighborhoods, returned to W&L to teach his second Spring Term course, Real Estate Investments, Theory and Reality. The first was in 2014, and when Crawford Family Dean of the Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics Rob Straughan contacted him again this year to teach, he jumped at the chance. Teaching provides Davey not only with a chance to see W&L up close, including all the advancements the university has made since his last visit, but he thoroughly enjoys interacting with the students.

“It has been a great experience; I definitely have learned more than I taught,” Davey said. “The students remain enthusiastic and eager to learn.”

In the class, students learned the underlying fundamentals of real estate investments from both operational and financial perspectives to assess the likely success or failure of investments. Return and risk factors were analyzed to evaluate and compare prospective investments, and they reviewed the capital stack, incentives, alignment of interest and related topics using real-world examples. Davey, who also worked in real estate lending in Florida and Houston, built homes in North Carolina and worked in various real estate businesses of Lehman Brothers for 10 years in the U.S. and Europe, spoke about his experiences and how theory applied in real circumstances.

He also brought in some fellow alumni guest lecturers including Wes Boatwright ’86, P’26, principal with Avison Young, who spoke about real estate capital markets; Hayes Saer ’15, vice president at Balcara Group, who delivered a case study on “selling to the herd”; and Kirk Adamson ’08, partner at KSL, who talked about his broad global experience and current focus on diverse real estate asset classes. Saer’s guest lecture was a full-circle moment: He was a student in Davey’s first Spring Term class.

“Taking a class taught by a Washington and Lee alumnus added another unique dimension to the experience,” said Trian Kechagias ’27, an accounting major from Marousi, Greece. “Alumni bring not only deep industry expertise but also an understanding of how W&L students think, learn and engage with ideas. And hearing from alumni guest speakers made the course even more compelling. Their perspectives on the industry, personal career growth and views on the current market provided valuable insight and demonstrated the strength of the W&L alumni network in the professional world.”

Davey, who majored in economics, says W&L provided a springboard to adulthood, both personally and professionally.

“My experience at W&L was amazing,” he said. “The academic environment was rigorous, and the faculty was deeply committed to inspiring each student to live W&L’s core values of honors, integrity, civility and excellence.

“It has been an honor to stay involved at W&L, be it through the Williams School Advisory Board, heading our 20th and 25th reunions, starting a sophomore summer internship program or teaching two Spring Terms. I get far more out of these experiences than I give, as I see the impact that involved alumni make on students.”

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