A Message Across Time: The Class of 2025 Buries a Time Capsule

On Tuesday, May 27, the Class of 2025 gathered outside the new Academic & Performing Arts Center (APAC) to bury a time capsule, intended to be opened at their 50th reunion in 2075. The event echoed the legacy of a 1925 time capsule, recently unearthed after a century, that had been buried outside Baldwin Hall. 

This new capsule, organized by members of the Student Council and the Hopkins Communications Team, captured memories, hopes, and artifacts from 2025 for future generations to explore and enjoy.

Opening remarks were delivered by Head of School Matt Glendinning, school archivist Thom Peters, and school president Alex Skula ’25. Skula's speech was more than a ceremonial note—it was a thoughtful letter to his future classmates, a message meant to be rediscovered five decades from now.

"Hello, us," Skula wrote in his letter, penned from the vantage point of a graduating senior. "As you gather to open this time capsule at what must be your 50th reunion, we hope this letter finds you well, hopefully still mobile, and definitely wiser than we are now." In the letter, only to be read in full by the class of 2025 on the occasion of their 50th reunion, reflected on the changes sure to come—both at Hopkins and in the world—and on the moments that felt so urgent in 2025: college decisions, spring sports, and AP exams.

The capsule itself includes an eclectic mix of items that capture the spirit of the time: a campus map, theater programs from the last performance at Lovell Hall (Mamma Mia) and the first performance at APAC (Cabaret) a Hopkins goat plushie, the Hopkins 2025 Yearbook, and a signed commemorative t-shirt from Glendinning and Skula. There are also grocery store receipts, a list of Billboard’s Top 25 Songs of 2024, a single AirPod, and a “fit check” using AI tools to depict student fashion. In addition, the capsule contains a series of predictions and questions posed by the Class of 2025—ranging from “Did democracy survive?” to “Do polar bears still exist?” to “Did the Arizona Cardinals ever win a Super Bowl?”

More than a collection of objects, the capsule represents a snapshot of a community’s shared experience and aspirations. 

Click below to watch the full video of the event.