Irena Choi Stern ’80

There are many ways to test one’s mettle after college: scaling the corporate ladder, raising teenagers, or trying to use the Wellesley Alumnae Directory website. But nothing compares to boarding a plane with 23 fellow alums, two indefatigable Peruvian guides, and Spanish professor Koichi Hagimoto for nine days in the Andes.

Treasures of Peru promised an exploration of Lima, Cuzco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca. What it delivered was so much more: laughter, friendship, a deeper appreciation for Incan ingenuity—and a new respect for oxygen.

Between meals, markets, and magnificent sunrises and sunsets, we discovered what every Wellesley woman already knows: the true treasure lies in the company we keep.

More than a trip, it was a joyful, oxygen-deprived celebration of curiosity, camaraderie, and the enduring Wellesley spirit. As we like to say: Non Ministrari sed Altitudini—“Not to be ministered unto, but to climb, however breathlessly.”