During a recent visit to Anna Maria Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida, we did what we do there: take walks, collect shells, engage with strangers and read books on the beach.

While such vacations feed our souls, we’re even more energized by maintaining close ties with young people. While on Anna Maria, we also connected with several of the current and former Bowdoin students we have come to know through our involvement in the Bowdoin Host Family Program. I’ve written about several of them in earlier articles. Here’s a recap.

We congratulated Alicia Lima on becoming an official U.S. citizen. Alicia has compiled an amazing record since coming to the United States on her own from Cape Verde when she was only 15 years old. Today she is working on her doctorate in mathematics at the University of Chicago. She inspires us with her brilliance, perseverance and charm.

We learned about Rai Miller’s experience in the counseling office at John’s Hopkins University. A first-generation college student, Rai spent time in Indonesia as a Fulbright Scholar after Bowdoin before earning her doctorate in counseling psychology at Oklahoma State University. She commented upon the stress felt by hard-driving Johns Hopkins students, especially during the pandemic.

We heard from Erica Berry, an extraordinary writer who will be coming east during the summer to move along her book project. She was awarded a major advance for her superb book of essays revolving around fear entitled, “Cry Wolf.” One reviewer described the book as, “A powerful meditation on fear through a kaleidoscopic inquiry into the relationship between humans and wolves, anchored in the dual stories of wolves as vital environmental force and the author’s coming of age in a gendered landscape as predator and prey.”

Anneka Williams, the young woman with whom I co-authored “A Flash Fiction Exchange between Methuselah and the Maiden: Sixty Stories to While Away the Hours,” sent an article to me for my commentary. Entitled

“Invisible Network,” the article features a honey fungus found in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, which spans 3.7 acres and weighs 35,000 tons. It appears in the current edition of “Vermont Sports.”

We received photos from Mamadou Diaw highlighting his whirlwind trip to Europe. An up-and-coming leader at Fidelity Investments, Mamadou spent 18 months living with us during the pandemic. He and several of his friends will be spending time at our house at Mere Point in August. We also heard from his sister Awa, who currently serves on the Bowdoin Alumni Council.

Juan Magalhaes, who also spent time at our house during the pandemic, kept up with his usual texts sending weird photos or interesting political commentary. A go-getter from Brazil, Juan currently works for a tech start-up in Boston.

Terry Zhang, our host student from Beijing, texted to ask if he could spend a few days with us in late May before returning to China. The answer, of course, was yes.

Brianna Cunliff, our host student from Wilmington, North Carolina, texted to ask for the name of a good mechanic in Brunswick. We supplied her with a name.

In addition to enjoying these rich relationships, we are thrilled to have two granddaughters now at Bowdoin. While in Florida, we had a good phone call with Karis Treadwell, a junior, who’s spending her spring semester in Amsterdam. And Emma Barker, a first-year student, picked us up at the bus station in Portland at the end of our return trip, and drove us back to Brunswick.

During these chaotic and challenging times, I am hopeful that young people such as these will lead us to a brighter future.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future Just a Little Old columns. dtreadwe575@aol.com