As some of you might know, this Tuesday, April 22, was Earth Day! As the college with the oldest environmental studies major in the country, Middlebury loves a good planet-centered holiday. So much so, in fact, that two different organizations on campus have expanded it from a day to an entire week.

The Campus Sustainability Coordinators (CSC’s) and the Real Food Group are taking advantage of April 22nd to promote further environmental awareness on campus. Both are incorporating local food into the mix – Real Food had a dinner in Atwater dining hall on Monday and the CSC’s quickly followed suit with a delicious Atwater dinner on Tuesday (I’m still hoping for seconds of the roasted root vegetables. So good).

Both groups have also brought speakers to campus to talk about a variety of issues – tonight an executive at a large plastics company is coming to talk about inciting environmental change from inside a large, petro-chemical organization. As an enviro studies nerd I can’t wait!

And tomorrow is the grand finale… a spin bike challenge! Here on campus we have our own spin bike classroom where the bikes actually generate energy while you’re working out. Groups all across campus are making teams to compete on Friday to see who can generate the most energy. My friends and I are hoping to give the hockey team, last year’s winners, a run for their money.

So from all of us here in Vermont, Happy Earth Week!

Well, Accepted Students Weekend 2014 is behind us, and it was a rousing success. This was one of the biggest events of the year for the Admissions staff and senior fellows and all of them (us) did a great job launching a memorable weekend for the 2018ers. It was weird this year, for me, seeing all those excited and wide-eyed prospective students gawking at Middlebury and at its tales of liberal arts and cultural immersion and endless opportunity. That was me four years ago. It was four years ago that I made my first Middlebury friends at the reliably awkward Ice Cream Social. “Full circle” doesn’t even come close to describing how far it felt I’d come as I toured prospies around campus, helped organize events, and stood by to help lost families find Axinn 219 (not least of all because full circle would land me right back where I started). Events like Accepted Students Weekend are, on a small scale, a reminder of how important it is to pay-it-forward: in Middlebury, in life, everywhere. I remember the nerves and jitters and excitement of that uncertain time, and nothing made me feel more fulfilled than to share a story and witness a small circle of next-years shake with anticipation. The universe works in cycles, I’ve heard it said. This one is about to come around. It just makes me happy to know that, as we head forth, there is another group here to take our places; an eager, anxious, interesting, and interested assemblage of tomorrow’s Middlebury.

Friday, April 11th was probably the busiest Friday of my year.

At 8am, I was up having breakfast on Ross Terrace before heading to Bicentennial Hall to sign in for the Student Symposium. I was presenting my J-Term project on Mapping Trade areas of Grocery Stores and the day had finally arrived. I spent the morning walking between poster presentations and oral sessions and learnt about Alexander Hamilton, the psychology of comforting conversations, mergers in the Airline Industry, the evolution of EDM, and more! I went to lunch with other presenters and then returned to present my poster to professors, students, parents and other visitors to the symposium. The symposium finally came to a close with a large reception with delicious chocolate covered strawberries and a performance by the Middlebury Dance Company.

I ended up grabbing dinner to go and ran to the Ceramics House on campus. I was late to meet my friend who was going to teach me how to throw, use the pottery wheel, and hopefully make a bowl! I ended up breaking the bowl as I was using the wheel, but I had a great hour making a fool of myself and learning about clay.

After washing off, I watched the sunset on my walk over to Wright Theater to see the student -faculty play! It was A Clockwork Orange, one of my favorite books. I was excited to watch my book come to life. Alex and his Droogs,  Beethoven’s 9th, and this dystopian world were all brought to life by a cast of around two dozen Middlebury students. Professors and students worked together to design and make the set, costumes, and props, and a Middlebury Alum was the director! The show was a wonderful end to the symposium, where students in the theater department had the opportunity to showcase their work!

Finally, I had a relaxing end to my night, meeting up with some friends on the Middlebury College Activities Board for some snacks and games where the different committees (Marketing, Concerts, Social etc) went head to head!

Overall, a super eventful Friday!