The Senior Admissions Fellows Blog

About this time in the semester, I start getting really, really excited about dogs. More specifically, about the Therapy Dogs of Vermont who will be visiting Coltrane Lounge this next Wednesday December 12.  Why are is there a herd of animals making rounds at Middlebury College? The answer is: it is a gift to the students from Counseling Services, in order to lessen our stress during finals week. After all, what better way to lower your level of anxiety than to stroke a Labrador puppy, or to cuddle with a Golden Retriever?

These are just a few ways in which the college helps us poor, besieged students out during the last push. Others ways are by opening the library for 24 hours, bringing in yoga and meditation instructors, and setting up massage sessions. And boy, do we need all of those things.

This last week has been a blur of final classes, research papers, self-scheduled exams, and hours spent with friends bent over books in Wilson Café. But it’s not all bad—the more flexible work schedule means that you generally have a few of your last classes canceled and can arrange your own time, and get sunk into final papers about topics of your own choosing (I am currently in the middle of one on Brazil’s newest welfare system, which is fascinating). And the best thing of all—around you Christmas songs are beginning to be played on the radio, commons are hosting cookie decorating sessions, and there is (usually) a solid half-foot of snow to frolic in.

As a senior, this is a time that I am starting to count my ‘lasts’. Today at 12:05 I walked out of my last Fall semester course ever. Two days ago I turned in my last paper for  400-level course. Today I will be packing my last suitcase before leaving for Winter Break. This all sounds melodramatic, but it is exciting as well, knowing that this time next year I will be out in the world on my own preparing to head home after my first few months of being in the workforce. That goal, as well as the puppies I plan to spend an hour with next Wednesday, are what is getting me though this year’s finals period.

The final few weeks of the semester after coming back to Middlebury from Thanksgiving break can be, well, somewhat stressful. It is “crunch time” for everyone. Final papers, lab reports, presentations and tests dot our calendars in the coming days and weeks. The library, with its cubicles, tables and notorious “comfy chairs” already packed, will soon be open 24/7 for exam week. Do not quote me on this, but I’m sure if the dining halls and cafes on campus were to calculate the amount of coffee consumed during these next three weeks, they would find a massive increase of caffeine intake among students.

I’m no coffee drinker, but I generally struggle with the stress of these final weeks like my peers. In years past, I remember asking myself “how will it all get done? Is it even possible that I will be relaxing at home in less than a month?”

This year, though, my mindset has changed slightly from my underclassman worries. Not only do I now know (based on experience) that yes, inevitably it all does get done, but I’ve learned how to keep things in perspective and, more importantly, how to enjoy these final weeks of the semester. The truth is, a lot goes on here even as things wind down! There are final shows, concerts and performances that you don’t want to miss out on; winter sports are officially in full swing, and people flock to the squash courts and hockey rink to catch a match or game. I have gotten emails and invitations from professors and students  in classes in a range of departments – from Political Science to Dance to Film and Media Studies – who have been working all semester long on various projects that they will be presenting. Friends make announcements at the end of class inviting their peers to view their thesis work, a play they happen to have written and directed.

Thus, in the midst of all this academic work, the final push of the semester includes so many activities that are worth making time for. Even carving an hour out of your day to go into town for a meal with friends, hit the gym or go to a lecture you want to hear can make all the difference. And, as I just found out, all month long the town of Middlebury will be organizing “Very Merry Middlebury” events, which include sleigh rides, Santa visits, free gift wrapping and 25 cent hot chocolate!  Who says “crunch time” can’t be fun?

           By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, I couldn’t care less about pilgrims. I wouldn’t mind if the break were to celebrate the opening of the nation’s biggest teddy bear factory, or if the foods eaten were broccoli and sprouts, I am just so ready for a pause.

            I love Middlebury, no question about that (in fact, some would say my being a Senior Fellow, tutor, President and Treasurer of a Student organization and on the Equestrian Team all in the semester nudges ‘love’ toward ‘obsession’).  But I also love the snatches of freedom we get in between intensive work periods, like that of Thanksgiving break. They are so necessary for myriad reasons—getting out of Midd makes you realize how much you miss it, how much you love being surrounded by friends, how odd when you haven’t had at least one serious theoretical conversation with a professor, and how you’re ready to dive back into that research project that you were happy to forget for a few leisurely days.

            I also love Thanksgiving in particular because I find it incredibly quirky. Not having grown up with in the United States, I find a holiday based around odd pairings of food (cranberries and turkey? where else?) and the settling of obscure coastal towns incredibly quaint. I will this year be having my first ‘official’ Thanksgiving feast at a friend’s house in Massachusetts. I have requested of her the real experience, and she assures me that there will be stuffing and American football galore. No matter whether I enjoy the food or not, and I don’t see what can go wrong with pumpkin and spices within a pie crust, the gathering of family around a table will be lovely for someone who gets to see their own parents only a few times a year.

            So to everyone off to their separate homes to sit on the coach, plate of food in hand, and talk and relax for the entirety of this long weekend—enjoy. I will be right there with you.

It has arrived. That extra chill in the air. That moment when you realize you have to pull your real winter coat out of the closet. That morning when you check the temperature before leaving for class and realize it starts with a “3,” when you were anticipating a “4,” hoping for a “5” and fantasizing about the possibility of a “6.” Winter at Middlebury!

Despite the horror stories I was told before entering  my freshman year about kids having to snowshoe to class with ski goggles on, I have to say that after experiencing a few Vermont winters for myself, I remain committed to the belief that the months between November and March are some of the finest of the year.

Rule number one Midd Kids learn to follow? LAYER. LAYER. LAYER. Sometimes, even experienced seniors need to be reminded of this crucial skill; shivering in a single sweatshirt on the sidelines of the field hockey game this weekend, I quickly remembered the importance of my beloved layers.

Once students have mastered this technique, smartly bundling themselves in long sleeved shirts, fleeces, coats and scarves, the sky is the limit. As I learned my first J-Term, Middlebury students do not run from the cold, they embrace it. They catch the shuttle bus to Middlebury’s own ski mountain, the Snow Bowl, on a daily basis; they build snowmen on the quad behind the freshmen dorm Battell (affectionately known as Battell Beach); they slip and slide down hills on anything they can find that may pass as a sled.

The snow may not be here quite yet (though my economics professor did point out the flurries whirling around outside during class today), but even now, students are embracing the fall in all its chilliness. Walking to the dining hall the other day, I noticed a group of Midd Kids shouting with joy as they launched themselves into an impressively large pile of leaves. Even as we sadly set aside t shirts and flip-flops, my friends and I are secretly excited to welcome a new fall wardrobe, as it makes daily raids of each other’s closets that much more exciting (living with six girls multiplies your clothing options substantially). Chilly temperatures also make trips to the Tea House in town that much more frequent.

In the end, Middlebury students enthusiastically greet the onset of winter in the same way they embrace most other changes – with open arms (and a cup of hot chocolate).

You’ll never guess who I saw this past Saturday night at Middlebury. Don Draper! Looking spiffy in a black suit and hat, Don was out and about, but his fellow “Mad Men” were nowhere to be found. Instead, Don was interacting with a new crew, and a rather curious crew at that. With him was a group of serious birdwatchers, some black cats, a pair of fly fishermen, biker chicks and even the Flinstones! No, this was not a dream I had, this was Halloween at Middlebury.

Though there may be more costumes seen around campus this Wednesday on October 31st, for the most part Midd Kids rang in Halloween a bit early this year. Throughout the semester, though, students constantly dress up for various occasions. Whether it’s for a specific team or club on campus that has organized an event, or just a group of friends wanting to spice up their wardrobes, it’s not uncommon to see students dress up a bit funny on a Saturday night here. Over the course of three years at Middlebury, I have managed to accumulate a unique assortment of quirky clothing options reserved for these occasions. Together with my friends, a communal box has emerged, filled with boas, crazy hats, neon t-shirts, animal print fabric and more. You never quite know what you’ll walk away with after diving into our shared stash, but after a wardrobe choice has been made (and been edited, and re-edited, by friends) you will want to take a quick picture that you can show your grandchildren some day — proof that before your legs became creaky and your hearing started to go, you dressed up like a goofball and had a good night out.

Given all the dressing up that goes on at Middlebury, I shouldn’t have been surprised that students went “all out” on Halloween. Part of me anticipated this, but part of me was caught off-guard too. While trick-or-treating may be a thing of the past for most of us here, as my weekend showed me, Halloween is still very much alive. A slew of intricately-carved pumpkins, all of which had been created by students, sat outside my friends’ porch on Friday night. When I stopped by that evening to say hi, I found a tray of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds and a steaming pot of mulled apple cider. That festive spirit continued as Don Draper and the rest of the gang emerged the following day.

I realized that midway through a fall semester consumed in part by job-searching, my quasi-adult mindset may have gripped me a little too tightly. As we run between interviews and information sessions, pretending to know what we want to do after graduation, we have to remember that at the end of the day, we are still college kids. For a minute, don’t be a student, don’t be a young adult: be a kid. Dress up funny, carve some pumpkins, sip apple cider and have fun. After all, it is Halloween.

Studying abroad is a rite of passage at Middlebury. After slogging through grammar classes when you really want to be trekking the mountains of Peru, after sitting at language tables when you want to be sitting cross-legged at an Indian dinner, after screening German films about Berlin nightlife for class and getting sucked into them—finally you can experience it all in person!

Of course all of the lead-ups are necessary to reach a sufficient level of the target language, and all of our language immersion models are mini-abroad experiences, but nothing compares to the real thing.

I have dreamed of studying abroad in Spain since I lived there. To clarify—I lived in the south of Spain as a little girl but always watched wistfully as my Spanish friends went off to their classes while I went to international school. I always knew that I wanted to be one of those bespectacled  long-haired, important-looking college students that I saw every time we drove into Seville, and that I too wanted to have that beautiful language passing from my lips.

Finally after two years of college I got that chance, opting for a Middlebury program in Madrid. Knowing that the Spanish university system is not as rigorous as I am used to at Middlebury, I made this tough decision because I knew that all of the teachers hired by the Middlebury program would be challenging, leaders in their academic field, and vetted by the school. And they were. It is difficult trade-off for many students, who want to meet host students, but who want a serious semester abroad with easily transferable credits. I chose to go through a program that I knew was going to be equivalent to my political science track at Middlebury, and figure out a way to join the community in another way.

I did manage that, by volunteering for a one of the madrileño gay rights organizations, and I spent a good chunk of my free time organizing a queer film festival, doing everything from handing out flyers in the gay-friendly district of Chueca to deciding between indie short films to taking tickets at the door. This is my number one recommendation to all prospective and current students who are thinking of studying outside of the United States—find something niche, something that you’re passionate about and find a similar organization to join which abroad (could be a rugby team, a cooking club, or a theatre troop), just anything to get you a secure spot in the community.

To condense a semester abroad into a single blog post is impossible. I traveled all over the country, seeing everything from Goya’s paintings in the Prado museum of Madrid to the beaches of San Sebastian to a flamenco performance in Seville to Gaudi’s extravaganzas in Barcelona. I missed my friends and my Midd community and there were some uncomforts of settling into a brand-new apartment and new transportation system, but I found my groove after not too long and had both a satisfying academic and personal experience. I can’t emphasize enough how much prospective students should already be making plans for their dream semester or year abroad—you have the whole world open to you!

Every senior at Middlebury is required to complete some kind of senior work, in the form of an independent project, production, or thesis. There are a couple of guiding principles here: First is the idea of challenge by choice. Students have the option of choosing an independent study or an honors project depending on the level of commitment they choose. Second is the concept of student choice. Students choose a project appropriate to their departmental focus: a music major might write a piece of music; a theater major might direct a production; a science major might conduct laboratory experiments; and a political science major will write a thesis.

How do you choose a thesis topic? After all, this is a project you’ll be working on for at least a semester, if not a year. Of course, you hope that the topic that is both interesting to you personally, and also one that has some academic value and is worth your time. Often students will find inspiration from a paper or project during sophomore or junior year. Others will find inspiration from their time abroad, summer experiences like internships or volunteer work, or some long-held interest. Still, many students will come into their senior with little idea of a topic that inspires them—this is why we have advisors!

I’m a political science major, and for me it was clear I wanted to write about some element of my time in China. Since a political science honors thesis is a three semester/yearlong project, I knew I had to find a topic that could keep me engaged for a full year. My internship this summer at the US Department of Commerce gave me the opportunity to learn about the importance of the Internet in various contexts. And having lived in China and learned about the uniqueness of the Internet censorship that exists there, I knew that this would be an interesting topic for me. My advisor helped me to narrow the topic to something focused, academic, and worthwhile.

So now it’s research time! The first stages of the thesis involve reading as much as you can about the topic of your choice. It is an exciting, humbling, and terrifying stage of the project. And by the end of J-term, amazingly, the bulk of my project will (hopefully!) be written.

People say that writing a thesis is simultaneously the best and worst thing they do at Midd, and the easiest and hardest, too. You have the opportunity to explore a single topic in depth, to become a real expert in an area, and to hone your research, writing, project management, and analytical skills. At the same time, a thesis requires self-discipline and a long-term commitment. Overall, though, it is a project that, after eight months, you can look back on with some pride.

I’ll have some more reflections on what the process is like come spring, but for now I’m excited to learn as much as I can about my topic and to begin outlining my work for the rest of the year.

When I first heard about the DiscoMidd program I was psyched, but for all of the wrong reasons. In Portugal we call clubs discotecas or discos so I immediately conjured up an image of all us Senior Fellows getting dressed in our slinky best and hitting the Vermont nightlife scene.

Lost in translation, apparently.

What DiscoMidd, or Discover Middlebury is actually a program that Middlebury hosts every year which we call a “multicultural open house”—it is open to prospective student who come from under-represented groups at Middlebury: African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, and American Indian students; students (regardless of ethnicity) with demonstrated financial hardship; and students who are first in their families to pursue a four-year college education.

The idea is that Middlebury provides transportation, food, and housing to this group of 75 students, and shows them what Middlebury is really like, pairing them up with a student host, letting them sit in on classes, attend talks and club meetings, and generally get the feeling for the school.

Upon realizing the real meaning of the program, I became instantly even more excited than when I’d imagined it to be a night on the town, because I knew that I wanted to dive in headfirst to the project. Getting a chance to work on this sort of initiative is precisely the reason that I applied to be a Senior Fellow.

Let me explain a little bit about why this initiative is near and dear to my heart: I grew up shuffling between countries—Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Japan—and never staying in one long enough to learn everything about their school systems. So when I finally decided that I wanted to apply to a college in the United States, I was at a loss for where to start. While my parents were both educated and supportive, they expected me to be independent in my application process and there was no hand-holding or proof-reading of essays. I did not grow up visiting U.S. colleges , did not know which ones were the best or what activities gave me the best shot at getting admitted, and did not have a college guidance counselor to steer my choices. Instead, I spent hours poring over college websites, bought myself a big, fat book of American colleges, and painstakingly pieced together the way to go about filling out forms.

It is not entirely due to  luck that I am at Middlebury; I was always a good student and hard worker, but my path was not as smooth as other from an East Coast high school. I firmly believe that no student should have to go through the process alone, like I did, but should have in place a network of support—family, teachers, counselors, siblings, friends, bosses—that can help them decided where they want to go and help them tackled the logistical mountains to getting there. But for those who do not have this safety net, we, Middlebury should pick up the slack and serve a bigger role.

Because of Middlebury’s commitment to giving students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to the chance to see our school, I will be taking a shuttle up from the Admissions Office to the Burlington airport at 8.45 on a Homecoming Sunday, I will be greeting students as they come in from their trips, I will be shuttling back down with the last trip at 4.00pm, I will be matching them with hosts, and then I will be leading a student question panel from 7.00-9.00pm. And I will be loving every second of it.