#5 colleges

[youthbookreview]

Got a tour of the new Makerspace at Mount Holyoke College today and had to stop to take a photo of the lakeview. Mount Holyoke students made that bench swing, by the way!

[Image description: View of a lake surrounded by trees, a couple of Adirondack chairs, and a wooden bench swing]

[newyorksmithie]

Countdown to Smith: Things I’ll Miss

As Smith rapidly approaches (15 days before I go!!), I’ve started to think about some things I’ll miss. There’s the obvious (my family, my friends, my cat), and the not so obvious (nyc bagels and pizza). I’ve been home alone for the past week while my Mom and sister are visiting family (I could only go up for a weekend due to my work and internship schedule), which means that I’ve been spending some more one-on-one time with my cat, Iceman. He’s very sociable, and has gotten into the habit of snuggling next to me at 5am, and hopping on me when my alarm goes off each morning. While I sadly can’t bring my cat with me to Smith (my phone alarm will have to suffice in the mornings), he’ll be one of the things I’ll be most excited to see at Thanksgiving!

[westernmassposting]

fall break at the 5 colleges was a glorified long weekend. iirc maybe we got Tuesday in addition to Monday, but otherwise it was just Indigenous People's Day

📝✍️

[serendipitous-smithie]

Independent Study

Last spring I did an independent study in the Umass Archaeological Services Laboratory. This is a bit different than some independent study credits can look, as I’m working in an established lab in a professional setting. The projects for this semester were based around designing museum exhibits for local exhibits based off of artifacts that the lab has already analyzed about pre-contact indigenous populations.

Most of what I did is working with the team of 4 other students (3 are from UMass and one is from Mount Holyoke) and our project advisor to come up with the themes we want to communicate with our exhibits and what artifacts would best suit our exhibit. 

A really cool aspect of our work was working with local tribe councils to make sure everything we were doing is okayed by them, and that we aren’t misrepresenting any history, and often the tribal historians were able to add insight that we wouldn’t have had. 

Our exhibit will be at a local museum on Cape Cod as part of the Mayflower 400 year anniversary trail of museums, to represent a piece of history that is often forgotten when talking about the early US colonies and the Mayflower. 

(Image ID: 5 people standing in front of an old wooden building, smiling. end ID)

It was a great opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary project, and to meet and work with people in the Five Colleges

[newyorksmithie]

Smith @ Pride

Last weekend I went to NYC pride with four other members of the Smith Class of 2022 that I met in our groupchat! It was a ton of fun going to pridefest and watching the parade with them. I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve already been able to connect with so many awesome people in my class before I’ve even gotten to Smith!

[newyorksmithie]

Summer Plans

Hi all! Today I graduated high school, and while that was emotional, I’m so excited for next year! This summer I’ll be hostessing and possibly interning with an events planning company! I’m also planning on doing some hiking if I can, like one I did last weekend with some friends (in Smith merch of course), and meeting up with lots of nearby Smithies!

[rennyrosie]

help help help

I’m an Amherst College student on leave for the semester and I really really need a place to live for the next few months but I’m really tight on budget and housing options in the amherst/northampton area are tight

I can’t drive so I can’t go very far out from amherst/noho and I’m really hoping to get back on campus for the spring semester. I’m from Korea and I came back to the States as soon as I graduated from high school to get away from my abusive rapist father but my parents want me back in Korea and are offering me minimal help. Mother has offered to help me with move-in costs but that’s about it and that comes from her savings so I want to pay her back whenever I can but housing is really urgent and any paychecks would be coming after lease is up.

Please help me please please please if you know of any sublets in the area or anywhere with rent that’s $600 or below per month PLEASE point me in the landlord/renter’s direction please please please

[smithbysmithies]

Would the Five College consortium allow me to do research in a professors lab even if it was on a different campus? I have a pretty particular subject I'm interested in and I think it would be more likely that a prof at a bigger school like umass would be researching my interest!

Hi! Thanks for asking!

Yes, you are allowed to do research in another campus in the Five College Consortium! It also goes both ways, I’ve heard of students from the Five Colleges participating in Smith research labs too. My amazing friend Julia (also a sophomore) is currently part of a research lab in UMass. Julia works in the Sela Lab, studying bacteria found in the infant gut. She takes the PVTA bus, which is free for the Five Colleges, there every week to participate in lab meetings and conduct the experiments, so transportation isn’t a huge factor.

Also, I would still encourage you to look at the variety of ongoing research labs in Smith! It is a smaller number than maybe a larger institution like UMass, but there’s a ton of cool research happening here too! Another option is conducting a “Special Studies” (which you can also do for any research lab you choose in the Five Colleges). It’s basically discussing your research interest with a professor who might be in a similar field here in Smith, and asking them to be your supervisor as you conduct your own research. In return, you can get 1-4 credits depending on your research project. Julia is getting 2 credits for hers.

I hope this helps!

~Naomi ’19