When Cipora Klionsky ’07 looks back on her time at Franklin & Marshall, what stands out to her are the friendships and connections she formed as a student that have remained with her throughout her life and career. It’s a desire to sustain that community for future students that drives her engagement with the College as an alumna. 

This past summer, Klionsky and her husband, Jonathan Slemrod, hosted a welcome party for incoming first-year and transfer students to gather with other members of the F&M community in the D.C. area. 

Ten new students — eight first-years and two transfers — were among the more than 50 guests in attendance. The event gave them an opportunity to hear from current students about life on campus and connect with alumni from across the decades. 

“We talk about the F&M community and the strong alumni network, and how F&M connections will last your entire life. This was a good way of seeing it in practice,” Klionsky said.

"We talk about the F&M community and the strong alumni network, and how F&M connections will last your entire life. This was a good way of seeing it in practice."

Cipora Klionsky ’07

The welcome party gave new students a chance to feel welcomed into that community before they even arrived on campus. “Some were saying they were a little nervous, and having the ability to meet current students made them so much more excited to go to campus,” Klionsky said. 

It also gave Klionsky a chance to reconnect with her fellow alumni and reengage with F&M. 

“Life kind of takes over sometimes, and I had stepped back a little bit from F&M,” said Klionsky,  who previously served as a member of F&M’s Leadership Council, is an active member on the Klehr Center for Jewish Life Advisory Council, and, with her family, created the Klionsky Endowment for Jewish Life.

The chance to renew her involvement came when Klionsky reached out to Kristen Krista, director of major gifts at F&M.

“Kristen was very helpful, helping my family with an endowment for F&M Hillel and figuring out how we were going to do that philanthropic gift to the school. She and I developed this great relationship,” Klionsky said. “I reached out to her to catch up, and she asked if I would be willing to get involved and what I would want to do.” The idea for Klionsky to host the welcome party developed from that conversation.

For Klionsky, the strength of the F&M community is what makes being a Diplomat so exceptional — and alumni who prioritize staying engaged and giving back can sustain that community for current and future students.

She’s also seen the impact that those engaged alumni can have for the College: Following her welcome party, an alum and parent in attendance decided to sign up for the Franklin & Marshall Admissions Network. An incoming transfer student from South Carolina decided to make the journey to see what the F&Mily was all about. And, she realized that an alum from the Class of 1979 was also a neighbor, living on the same street and just a few houses away.

“The F&M experience has had such a profound and lasting impression, and has been such a foundation of my adult life,” Klionsky said. “I just want to make sure current students have that same feeling and experience that I did.”