Fall Colors

It's time for another fall update here on the beautiful campus of Mount Holyoke. The colors are spectacular. I love fall in New England. You wake up one day to sunny, blue skies and vibrant colors of leaves. Breath taking! I went up Mt. Norwottuck the other day with the outing club. It was a short hike up through the yellow trees. At the top was this view of autumn colors that stretched on for miles. It was a carpet of reds, yellow, orange, greens and browns.
I'm so glad I chose a room with a view of the lake. It makes all the difference.

Inauguration Weekend: Women Leadership and Social Justice and Lynn Pasquerella

It's been a busy and exciting inauguration weekend at Mount Holyoke College. As it is coming to a close I thought it would be nice to reflect and share some experiences of a couple events. The Inauguration for me began on Thursday night where I attended a panel discussion between the eloquent intellectuals: Princeton University Professor of Philosopht  Kwame Anthony Appiah, University of Michigan Professor of law Catherine MacKinnon (Smith alum 1969), and Joia Mukherjee medical director of Partners in Health. The panel was moderated by MHC very own Kavita Ramdas '85, a senior advisor and former president/CEO (until last week to be precise) of the Global Fund for Women. It was an amazing and inspiring to listen to the banter between these academics and social activists from various fields of study discussing women's leadership and social justice. Those types of discussions always inspire me to go out and challenge myself academically. They were all passionate, brilliant, engaging and very funny speakers who were being excellently provoked and guided by Kavita. I would absolutely love to be in a classroom or to work with people of that caliber.

The next day the inauguration took place. Lots of speeches about Lynn Pasquerella; her character, personality, strengths and engagement in the community both local and global. She really is a fantastic person--accessible, active, attentive and interested in student input. You can already feel her presence on campus just with the fact that I see her every morning when I go to the gym :) The inauguration included lots of processions, amusing anecdotes (especially David Perrault from Facilities Management), music and words of welcome for MHC's 18th President! I didn't know this but the colors on faculty robes indicate their fields of learning for example: Pink=Music, Lilac= Dentistry, Dark Blue= Philosophy, Scarlet= Theology, and Golden Yellow= Science. I think I'm going to decide my major and field of study solely on the colors.

Later on in the evening there were fireworks over Lower Lake which was lovely. I adore fireworks. I think its so nice to sit outside and watch colors in the sky explode. There was a gala going on in Chapin afterwards, so there were all these adults in black suits, ties, long (often sparkly) evening gowns. My friend and I decided to people watch so we creeped around commenting guests attire.


Finally there was the student reception this afternoon, which was not greatly attended. There were  speeches made by two students of the college and an alum who really were inspiring in their words about bringing about change in the world and being confident in yourself. The alum made the excellent point, that my mother had just told me  a couple weeks ago, to think big. Envision the life you want to live, be ready to make sacrifices, but do not be limited by stereotypes and boxes. Challenge those stereotypes and become in affect the change you want to see.


So that was the weekend and its not over. I have a pile of homework, but thankfully Mountain Day will we next week some lovely morning and I will be able to take a walk up a mountain, see the Pioneer Vally from above and hopefully tackle some of my work. Posts for another day: Film Studies and Mountain Day.

Sophomore Year of College

I thought I would give a little update of life as a sophomore at Mount Holyoke College. It's been a busy past two weeks going through training for Residential Life, welcoming first-years, getting to know people on my floor, going to classes, deciding not to do crew this season, organizing a club and finding time for myself in this hectic world.
I've just come from a very fun tap class. This is the first time I've taken a tap class since middle school. What makes this class extra special, apart from a very entertaining and energetic instructor, is the piano player. I have live music in my tap class! How cool is that? Extra cool since I'm taking Jazz piano lessons this year and am currently contemplating joining the Jazz Big Band Ensemble as one of their pianists!

My classes for this semester are Music Theory II, Intermediate Italian through Film, Introduction to Film Studies, Astronomy, Tap I and Beginning T'ai Chi.

It's been great to be back on campus and get to know friends better and meet new people as well. As a sophomore I feel I have more perspective and I'm not floating in a bubble. I have a better sense of my surroundings, which is very gratifying and assuring.

August

You look on Wikipedia and August is the month of independence days for a couple of countries. August is a busy month since fall is looming ahead with the anticipation of harvest, first days of school and the preparation for those long winter months. On Bainbridge, August is the month of the blackberries. yummy!

Economics of Education

I took this first year seminar last fall and now I'm trying to sell back some of my books to incoming first year students. One girl responded and sent me the book list for the class.  Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities by Martha C. Nussbaum and A Woman's Education by Jill Ker Conway were new additions to the class.  Not For Profit seems like an excellent choice for a Humanities major to read because as Nussbaum states "we increasingly treat education as though its primary goal were to teach students to be economically productive rather than to think critically and become knowledgeable and empathetic citizens." I'm struggling with deciding what major to choose, whether or not to continue with language or subjects that seem less heavily "intellectual" in the sense that they don't directly translate into a career path. Fortunately, I go to Mount Holyoke which is all about studying your passions and then finding employment that is tailored to your interests. 

To Be and Belong, by Mark Nepo

 Let go your want for greatness

and feel the tool that’s in your hand.

Let go your fear of emptiness
and receive the wave still reaching
from the beginning.

It only wants to enliven you
the way a candle fills an entire room.

Let the web of living things
entangle you.

Only stars are free
and they are so lonely.

Curse what you will
but give thanks

that everything alive
wants something from you.

Roberta

It's been a long time since I've watched Roberta, a musical film starring Irene Dunne, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire and Randolph Scott. I loved noticing that in the last model scene, a young Lucille Ball makes an appearance illuminating the screen. The music by Jerome Kern includes a big variety allowing Fred to dance solo or with Ginger, Irene to sing and Ginger to do a bit of everything. Roberta is the couturier's house in Paris, which is where everybody meets. This was Ginger and Fred's third film together, made in 1935 and they were put back to being second leads. The charm of Roberta is Ginger and Fred's interaction on the dance floor. This is one picture where they truly seem to enjoy themselves. If you haven't checked out the website Reel Classics, it covers very well Classic American cinema.