April Ivy League matches, Eliot Formal, and NCAAs in Florida

May 18, 2012 in Shaun's Blog by Shaun | No comments

April normally marks the start of league play in Division 1 tennis. The winner from each league will get an automatic-bid to the NCAA national tournament in May.  This year had proven to be a banner year, but an ivy league title would solidify our great season and give our hard working seniors their first Ivy title of their career. We started off the ivy title quest with two matches at Cornell and Columbia. We were able to overcome Cornell 7-0 on the first day and headed to the heart of New York City with a lot of confidence. Our match was scheduled to play at 2 pm at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center. Playing in front of a very rowdy and raucous home crowd. the Columbia Lions were able to overcome us by a 5-2 margin. The Columbia Lions played a great match, and we headed back to Cambridge, still determined to win the Ivy title. The next weekend, we played Penn and Princeton at home, and turned in two wins, 6-1  and 5-2 respectively.

Harvard vs. Princeton match

The following weekend we played our Harvard- Yale rivalry match and took on the Brown Bears in Providence Rhode Island. A lot of Harvard and Yale alumni were present at the match, and competed in the Alumni Grudge Cup. After a strong doubles display and four wins in singles we beat Yale 5-2, and headed to Rhode Island where we edged Brown 4-3. This put us in first place in the ivy standings with one match left against Dartmouth.

A win against Dartmouth would mean that we would secure our first ivy title in four years, and get an automatic bid to NCAA. We started the Dartmouth match slow as we lost the doubles point. In singles we were able to win at No. 1, 4 and 5 to tie the score 3-3 heading to the last match., the No.2 singles match. In the No. 2 singles match, Denis Nguyen, was entrenched in a three-set battle. In the final point of the match, he hit a volley that forced an error from his opponent to help us clinch the Ivy title!

Men's tennis with the ivy league trophy after the match.

After winning the Ivy title, we found ourselves in Reading Period. Reading Period is the week before finals where there are no classes, to give you time to study. During this week, the upperclassmen houses hosted several activities that were open to rising sophomores to welcome them into the houses.

While I wasn’t able to make it to any of Winthrop events (my house for next year), I was invited to attend Elliot House’s formal. Eliot House’s formal was an extremely extravagant event with great food, lots of dancing, and a chance to meet the tutors and the House Master of Elliot. I was invited by Sam who is a senior on the Women’s Tennis Team, and we had a great time.
 

Sam and me next to an ice sculpture of the mascot and emblem of Eliot House.

After Eliot Formal, we had exams, which went pretty smoothly. While most students head home after exams, I had the opportunity to travel to Florida. The Men’s Tennis Team qualified for NCAAs, and our first two rounds were held at the University of Florida. In our first match we played Virginia Tech, which was a rematch of a match we played in February in Cambridge. We were able to repeat the result as we won four singles in a 4-2 win. In the next round we had the privilege of playing No.12 ranked Florida in front of a home crowd. There were plenty of gator fans in the crowd, and despite putting up a good fight, we fell to Florida 4-0. That officially ended our season, standing with a 23-3 record. Here is a link to the gocrimson recap video: Men’s Tennis Recap

Men's Team at the first practice on the University of Florida courts

 

Final match of the season against University of Florida

As I’m writing this on my flight back to California, I can’t believe the school year is already over. I have met so many wonderful people and have experienced so many things that I will never forget. I will go into more detail in my next blog! Stay tuned, my next blog will contain a reflection of the year.

Moving In N Out

May 16, 2012 in Jeanie's Blog by Jeanie Nguyen | No comments

If you’re coming in to Harvard College as a math/science kid, there’s one prominent aspect that sucks and I’m going to warn you now so you can mentally prepare. Your finals will always be last. Most likely you’ll be the one on campus studying until your brain almost overheats as you bid your non-math/science friends farewell during Reading Period (the week before Final Exam Week when classes end officially) and as seniors celebrate their last week of avoiding real life.

It’s only fair if I weigh the benefits of late exams too. Non-math/science students basically don’t receive their earned Reading Period because it’s more of a Writing Period for them. They’re forced to crank out ridiculous amounts of pages revolving around their profound, revolutionary theories that will change life as we know it – all meanwhile the math/science concentrators hibernate their brains, enjoy the abundant spring formals, and naturally pity their peer writers.

There are definitely some hefty pros and cons to both sides. You may find peace of mind in the fact that every student has their academically rough times eventually. One struggle that unites us all simultaneously, however, is moving.

Most students will remember Move In day as the glorious day they met their freshman year roommates, settled into their first dorm room ever, and even perhaps had their first appeteaser of genuine independence. All students will try to forget the anti-glories concomitant to Move Out days.

Unlike most other universities, Harvard is awesome about providing (free!) storage for students during the summer. All upperclassmen Houses (dorms) have their own storage areas (i.e. squash courts in their basements, music rooms not used during the summer, etc.) for everything from clothes, bikes to furniture. Generally, the biggest move you’ll make as an undergraduate follows your freshman year as you move your belongings from the Freshman Yard to your respective upperclassman House. Students get 12 stickers that are mandatory to tag your belongings so storage is limited in a sense. Storage is also first come, first served, depending on space availability, but I’ve never heard of this being a problem. If you live within a certain mile radius, however, you don’t get these convenient storage privileges. Also, the hours of access to storage are pretty limited. Rooms with supervisors are open for business about 6 hours a day around Final Exam week and no one gets access to these rooms until a few days before the fall semester begins. The storage system isn’t flawless – I’ve heard of basements flooding during the summer or students losing their items – but life definitely would be way worse if it didn’t exist!

This past Saturday, I had my last final exam during the 2nd to last possible final exam slot. Although I spent the week optimistically thinking “at least it’s not the last final,” I also (over)optimistically bought a flight home 3 hours after my last final. After a few days in the Gutman library (where there was free coffee and tea compliments of the Dean!!!!), I decided I would study in my room and take study breaks to pack. Initially, this system worked pretty well because my hate for packing would accumulate rapidly and I would actually want to study more. I clearly studied too much since my packing was (maybe) half way done as I was walking into my last final.

I ran home after my physics final to finish packing so I could catch my flight in 3 hours. I really, really hate to say it, but it was an impossible feat. I nearly threw everything in boxes while trying to strategically pack for my European/Latin American summer, frantically struggled to tape them shut, and struggled even harder to fight the nearing mental break down I felt creeping up as the countdown to my flight’s take-off ticked louder and louder! Most stressful situation of my life. Thank goodness I’ve met some of the greatest people of my life during my 2 years as an undergraduate. Some of the best and most altruistic friends literally came to my rescue as they fought the packing tape out of my hands and ushered me out the door to catch my flight home. They reassured me that my things will be packed, stored, and ready for me come September. I can never thank them enough!!!!!! Seriously though, if any of you need an organ, hit me up!!

My motivation for writing this blog post was to use my venting as a mechanism of informing future/prospective students of some non-academic tasks that are intrinsic to Harvard. But I’m extra glad I can hit two birds with one blog because for everyone out there who devoutly believes Harvard is a strictly selfish and cut-throat environment, you’re wrong. While moving my belongings, my friends got all nasty sweaty as their biceps and lower backs screeched in pain when they know they’re not really benefitting from helping me out – besides from all the baked goods I will deliver to them weekly from now on. Helping me out isn’t a resume booster, it’s not going to help them land their next internship – in fact, this unidentified shout out may even be their best reciprocation – yet, they still helped me not only because I really needed it, but because they wanted to! Awww, my friends are truly the best and the people I’ve met at Harvard have definitely defined my happiest experiences.

Although I categorize my friends back home as my “high school friends,” I’ve known most of them since middle school and our friendships have most definitely solidified throughout the decade we’ve spent together. It’s crazy to acknowledge that my friendships in college are just as great when it’s only been ~2 years or less, but living with your friends is probably the most efficient catalyst.

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From Books to Brooms

May 10, 2012 in Reid's Blog by Reid | 4 comments

Hello!

Now that I’ve finished my school year, I am on to my next endeavor: Dorm Crew. I’ll be working on campus in a different way than what I’ve been doing these past two semesters, sweeping rooms instead of brushing up on my education. (In all fairness, I’m going to continue studying French throughout the summer, so I’ll never really stop my traditional learning.) These past few days I’ve been working as a storage monitor in Lowell House, one of the prettiest houses on campus. However, the basement storage rooms lack that same aesthetic appeal, and spending three hours a day in a cold basement before the big storage rush is 100% the most boring job I have ever had in my life. But it is also the easiest job I have ever had, and I am making a ridiculous chunk of money from monitoring an empty room.

 

Next week, the real work begins. I’ll start working Dorm Crew, cleaning out the rooms (in preparation for summer term students/reunions) that I cleaned way  back in August (in preparation for the academic year), and I’ll continue that job until June 1st, when I’ll be free and with a full wallet. I’ve completely emptied my room, hiking up to the Quad with my boxes and the help of my generous friend Parul, packing the rest of it into my dad’s car on Wednesday afternoon, and leaving a bag and my linens to hold me over during the month I’ll be living on campus. I get my temporary housing assignment on Saturday night, and have to evacuate my room by noon on Sunday; according to the Reunion jobs (for whom I’m working the second week), I will most likely live in the Quad, and according to Dorm Crew, I’ll most likely be in the River housing, so we’ll see where I end up. Setting up house for a little bit will be nice, especially if I live in a dorm that I’ve not yet inhabited. (Hopefully not Canaday or Currier!)

 

In preparation for my difficult 3 weeks ahead, I’ve been sleeping a whole lot and hanging out with my friends around campus. Last week, I helped a friend with their final project for a Civil War class, so we held a Gettysburg reenactment in Cambridge Common. Before, I took a nice shot of the Common, showing how green everything’s become these past few weeks, due to the rain and random days of sunshine.

 

Cambridge Common

 

A Resident of Cambridge Common

 

Also, before my tough work, I’m having a little vacation. I’m with my dad in NYC today! We’re about to go to B&H, my favorite electronic store, and are going to snoop around looking for cameras. I really want a video capable camera, and am thinking about getting a Nikon 7000, if I can afford it! (Is this my motivation to do Dorm Crew? Hm…only time will tell.)

 

PEACE! Happy end of my school year!

 

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Exposé

May 9, 2012 in Jeanie's Blog by Jeanie Nguyen | 2 comments

On any given day of the year, I would take any pset (problem set, notorious in science classes) over any written assignments. Although I dread deriving equations that other, more brilliant scientists have already derived, I feel much more accomplished doing this compared to spending 10 minutes mentally drafting each meticulous sentence to eloquently express my semi-insightful ideas. However, if I swallow some of my scientific pride, I can definitely appreciate the beauty of the written word. No other class has catalyzed and reaffirmed this appreciation more than the Expository Writing 20 class I took last spring semester (2011).

The summer before your first semester at Harvard College, you take Placement Exams – I remember taking one for math, science (biology or something like that), a language one (if you’re interested in that), and a mandatory writing one. Although actual placement isn’t strictly forced (it’s just highly recommended by faculty, me and my peers!), the latter exam is suppose to determine your entrance into one of two essential Expository Writing classes.

Expository Writing 20 (colloquially termed Expos) is a mandatory class for all freshman and is definitely frequently spoken about. I’m truly being honest when I say most of my conversations about Expos are more like obsession-confessions since the classes are small and led my talented preceptors, but keep in mind that there will always be a handful of people that dislike Expos. The class serves to help transition students into writing in the college environment. There are many, MANY types of Expos 20 classes and this hefty selection not only makes it appealing to the normal student, but more so to students who aren’t inclined to writing (guilty). Students rank these Expos classes by interest and some fancy type of randomizing algorithm places students. Some classes may have multiple sections which increases your chances in the lottery process.

Last spring semester, one of my favorite things to boast about was my Expos 20 class. I was enrolled in Tales of Murder (my first choice was actually Darwinian Dating, but I’ve never been more happy to lose a lottery) and after announcing the title of my class, everyone becomes so intrigued!

The class was divided by three papers and each paper was devoted to a specific unit – this is a typical Expos 20 structure. Our first unit was murder ballads – the preceptor (Emily Shelton) provided a CD of old murder ballads with accompanying lyrics to analyze. The second unit (my absolute favorite unit in which I produced the best six pages I’ve ever (and will ever?) write!) was termed the “lens” unit because we read a variety of stories by Edgar Allan Poe along with literary critiques. We then had to synthesize these two sources to extract a theme about murder. My paper in the second unit argued that anyone who was literate was also capable of committing murder and getting away with it…a creepy thought considering my environment. Unit three was a film unit. I know this sounds like every student’s fantasy but I checked out one of the films from Lamont and since it was only loaned to me for ~5 hours, I returned it immediately after watching it. This means I walked ~1000 yards at like 4am in the dark right after a movie revolving around murder. Scariest thing ever! I had HUPD (Harvard University Police Department) pre-dialed on my phone just in case. Speaking of safety, there’s an escort service HUPD provides so you never have to walk alone if you feel even slightly uncomfortable. It’s always important to remember that Harvard is located in an urban environment; therefore, knowing both your surroundings and resources is crucial. Okay, the preaching is over.

Basically, Expos 20: Tales of Murder completely revamped my writing style. I remember in high school, for the most part, writing felt extremely formulaic. Your first sentence is a general statement, then you narrow your focus into your thesis which had to be the last sentence of your introductory paragraph or else it wasn’t really a thesis. Each body paragraph started with a supporting thesis, followed by a lead in to your quote/concrete evidence. I always felt so constrained and only started feeling like I was actually persuading my readers during my junior year of high school in Advanced Placement English Language (APEL) where my supporting theses didn’t have to be the first sentence of every body paragraph. My writing world really started rocking senior year of high school when a lot of the papers we wrote were promptless – my Advanced Placement English Literature (AP Lit) teacher would provide leading questions and ideas, but it was really up to us to extract an insightful message from the author. I guess you just have to earn freedom in your academic progression. This freedom was really epitomized in my Expos 20 class. When my preceptor told me that introductory paragraphs should really be introductory pages – this wasn’t just the best thing ever, but it just seemed too good to be real!!!!!

There were just so many revolutionary ideas about writing in Expos 20 that I still can’t hardly handle it. We talked about explaining motives which entails proving to readers why both the author and you as an author have a rhyme and reason to write. We talked about “standard readings” and although obvious, it’s important to include. More importantly, however, are the shocking twists and turns to these standard readings which drive the paper into its thesis.

The concepts I learned in Expos 20 still reverberate to this day. During Reading Period (when official classes stop for a week before Final Exams begin), I looked back through my Expos notes in preparation for my 12 page marathon paper for my Ethical Reasoning 24: Bioethics course. I know there are plenty of you out there that can crank out many more quality pages in a leisurely afternoon while dog-sitting, but I would literally rather run a marathon…twice.

That being said, Expos 20 was truly the arsenal of knowledge (and caffeine!) that got me through my final paper. I was so thankful that I even emailed my former preceptor to inform her of my boundless appreciation. I’m still stunned by her immediate (and of course eloquent) response where she basically summarized all three of my papers! Ah! She’s SO COOL! Is she still fair game to invite to my faculty dinners? TBD

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California Trip/ April Schedule

May 8, 2012 in Shaun's Blog by Shaun | 8 comments

This spring break, the Harvard Men’s Tennis Team left the chilly Boston weather and heading to the sunny beaches of San Diego to compete in the Hilton Mission Valley Spring Classic. This was an 8-team tournament that spanned three days. The tournament didn’t start until the Thursday of spring break, so we had five days to adjust to the outdoor conditions.  At Harvard, we had been playing, predominately indoors since October, so it was nice to play outdoors again.

After the weekend of practice, we took Monday off and had the unique opportunity to visit the Coronado Naval Base. This was an interesting experience, as we were given a tour of the facility and an overview of the different equipment they use.  They also showed us different carriers and helicopters they had.  At the end of the trip, we had the opportunity to take part in a flight simulation. The flight simulation mimicked flying a real helicopter. While I ruled out any hope of being a pilot when I crashed my plane in the first five seconds, this was a great experience.

 

 

The Harvard Men's Tennis Team at the Naval Base in San Diego

 

 

Teammates and me inside the flight simulator


After Monday, for the next three days, we prepared and trained for the tournament.  In our first match of the tournament, we played UC Irvine. After a very suspenseful doubles point that went our way, we headed into the singles matches. While the team support is always great, I was really happy I had some family support during my singles match.  My parents and sister were able to make it down from the Bay Area to watch us play!  It was great to have my family and teammates there cheering me on. Our team secured five of the six singles sets to win the match 6-1.

Due to bad weather, the coaches changed the schedule for the end of the tournament. The semifinals and finals of the tournament were moved to the same day, and the format was altered. With four courts, we played the singles sets first and determined that the doubles would only be played if the match had not been decided. In the semifinals, we played San Diego State.  We were able to pull out wins at the no. 2, 4, and 6 positions to tie the match at 3-3.  Since the match was tied after the singles, we played the doubles point.  After some intense and very close doubles matches, we were able to pull away for a 4-3 win.

In the championship match, we played the #16 nationally-ranked home team, University of San Diego. Playing at night underneath the lights, the singles matches went first.  I played at the no 4 position, and the crowd was right on the edge of my court. My match consisted of many long rallies, and after an hour and a half, I was able to close out a straight set win.  Fellow teammates, Christo Schultz, Henry Steer, and Alex Steinroeder also pulled out singles victories to help the Crimson earn a 4-2 victory and clinch the championship!

 

In the championship match against University of San Diego


While it was hard to leave the wonderful weather and sunny beaches, it was great to return to college life in Cambridge.  Over the past few weeks, there have been many interesting events at Harvard. One of the events I attended was Holi.  Holi is a Hindu religious holiday and is also known as the Festival of Colors.  People celebrate by throwing scented colored powder at each other to mark the end of the winter season and the start of the spring season. On campus, the Harvard South Asian Association hosted a lunch where we played traditional Indian games and enjoyed a wide array of Indian food.  After the lunch we headed to the Winthrop House courtyard, where we were supplied with colored powder, and we proceeded to engage in a very chaotic battle, filled with color, shouting, and many great new memories.

 

Holi celebrations outside Winthrop House


After coming back from spring break, the weeks flew by even faster than normal.  My schedule has been pretty busy with school work and tennis, and now with final exams.  I honestly can’t believe this year is almost over.  Thanks for reading this blog!

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Done…..!

May 3, 2012 in Reid's Blog by Reid | 5 comments

Friday: Final French presentation, gig in Winchester, slept afterwards.

Saturday: Played with my band in the Yard, worked profusely on my expos essay. Went to bed around 2.

Sunday: Woke up at 11, hammered out my Expos essay, played another gig, studied for Italian, prepared extra credit for French. Went to bed at 11.

Monday: Woke up at 8, ate breakfast (3rd time this year), had Italian oral exam which was surprisingly fun/hilarious, bought food for French feast, played a song for French class, sent off my expos essay with a prayer, and exulted. DONE WITH FINALS!

Monday night at 10:20pm: What am I to do…I cannot pack, for I’ll be chillin’ around campus for another two weeks. Took stuff off my walls. Called my dad. He was watching Rangers game. Sat around. Browsed credit cards that have no international transaction fee for this summer in Paris, researched the exact definition of credit. What is credit, anyways? Pondered. Snooped around Hulu, looking for another show to start. Watched “The Lincoln Lawyer” instead, which was an excellent idea. It is a great movie. Went to bed at 1.

Tuesday: Woke up at 11, went to lunch, ate yummeh food, went to the Center of European Studies (the most beautiful building on campus), had orientation for Paris part II, went to the Coop, browsed Paris travel guides, went back to room and signed up to work as a Storage monitor next week (mad money), returned to Coop and took notes on Paris travel. Ate Sushi with Cynthia and Buffalo, my two friends. Yum. Returned home, started another blog!

And what else have I done…? NOTHING! I have finished the semester successfully, and have only to look forward upon:

  •  Summer Storage next week (monitoring and putting my stuff away)
  •  Dorm crew
  •  Reunion jobs
  • Commencement
  • NYC
  • HOME
  • …
  • PARIS!

 

A Penny for my Scattered (Summer) Thoughts

May 2, 2012 in Jeanie's Blog by Jeanie Nguyen | 6 comments

This week’s post is going to be a sampling of a little bit of everything which is representative of my scattered brain as the semester nears to a frightening end and I’m trying to gather up all my loose ends now so that I’ll be able to look back at a skillfully tied bow when I board my plane home back to San Diego in a few weeks (this run on sentence probably represents my zipping mind as well!).

Reading Period (a week without classes right before Final Exam week) officially ends Thursday night (May 3), which means the first official day of Final Exams is May 4, AHHHH! Now this definition of Reading Period, which you’ve probably seen all over this blog, is kind of a misnomer because there are still tons of classes and responsibilities in the form of review sessions, optional (but not really) sections, and the like. For many students (non science kids usually), Reading Period is a time to crank out tons of Final Papers and many classes have Final Presentations and Projects due as well. Language classes also tend to take place during Reading Period but also typically end before the start of Final Exam week.

Although most look forward to Reading Period, it’s still a crazy busy time – but can definitely be well balanced as the weather tends to get better and there are tons of social events like House Spring Formals, and last Sunday DAPA (Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisers) and CEB (College Events Board) held a joint Garden Party where there was free cotton candy, snow cones, and a MOONBOUNCE! One of my absolute favorite facets of Harvard is definitely this beautiful and delicate balance of work and play! The tremendous support also keeps me sane during these potentially stressful times. For example, the Resident Dean of Mather (my upperclassman House/dorm) sent out an email that offered her adorable dogs for stress therapy petting sessions!! If someone had told the high school me that Harvard College would offer such a 360 degree service, I honestly wouldn’t have believed you for a second. In fact, I’m still taking in the fact that there are so many opportunities here for me; most of the time, it just feels unreal that my life has been so blessed and has come to such a good place.

Tangent: After I was accepted into Harvard College and basically committed the next day, I was obsessed with the idea of not dying before college. I remember consciously taking less risks – such as driving safer and not eating unidentified food – because I didn’t feel like it would be a good time to die since I hadn’t experienced my Harvard dream yet. After a few days of screaming “I can’t die before college!” it was bluntly pointed out to me that I shouldn’t want to die…ever. It didn’t seem obvious to me at the time, but I’m glad I had loving company to help me realize I shouldn’t let Harvard wholly define me. Sure, I worked my butt off to get accepted and continue working other body parts off in my endeavors to exploit my undergraduate opportunities, but it really is important to me that I let Harvard verify my diligence and supplement my identity rather than completely define it.

Anyways, you can probably tell that in the midst of Final Exam shenanigans, I’m so freaking happy. This enthusiastic euphoria stems from my summer plans. It’s literally going to be the best summer of my life and I’m still questioning whether I deserve it. Half of my plans are set in stone – I just need to book the other half of my flights! I’ll be going home for 2 weeks, traveling Europe (Paris, Venice, and Barcelona) with two of my sorority sisters for 2 weeks, interning in a clinic in Peru through DRCLAS (David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies) for 8-9 weeks, working with Refresh Bolivia for 3 weeks, and then flying right back to a (hopefully) welcoming Cambridge to move into my new room with my best friends and kick off JUNIOR YEAR.

NOOOOOOOO!!! I’m (just about) half way done with college. Don’t ever tell me or let me realize this again. Although I only look forward to what comes my way in the future, I really hate moments where I can no longer deny the passage of time!

I’ll check back in again next Wednesday (when I’ll be done with 3/4 of my classes!) Wish me luck because oh boy, am I going to need that partnered with caffeine.

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Visitas Weekend 2012

April 29, 2012 in Jesse's Blog by Jesse Sanchez | Comments closed

The excitement of the weekend’s activities was only matched by the enthusiasm of the pre-frosh. After speaking with many of them and being asked about my experiences at Harvard, hearing them talk about how grateful they were for being able to go to college reminded me of how important it is to stay strong with the semester’s finish line in sight.

Times like these really help me realize just how incredible Harvard is. After talking through the endless opportunities available here, I can’t help but feel immense gratitude for the friends I’ve made and the growth I’ve experienced because of Harvard.

To hear a few words about how Visitas Weekend went, check out the latest Video below. My Special Guest and one of my Pre-Frosh, Wil, was able to share a few words about his experience so check out the video!

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Shakin’ my groove thang

April 28, 2012 in Caroline's Blog by Caroline Burke | 6 comments

As is always the case, reading period and finals have once again snuck up on me this semester – and per usual, the week has been jam packed with all sorts of events, meetings, and assignments. While reading period is meant to be a “break,” a time when students can catch up on end-of-the-semester assignments and start studying for exams, it always ends up turning into a really crazy time of year, both because of all of the fun, social events going on and because of the immense amounts of work we’re all expected to do. Over the next week, I’ll be finishing a 25 page term paper, plus another 10 page paper, plus two take home finals, plus a problem set, plus an application for thesis approval… You get the picture. On the upside, though, I’ve gotten to break up the week with various events and wanted to take this blog post to highlight just one – the Dunster formal.

Each of the 12 Houses has a formal each semester, and Dunster’s spring formal happens in a tent in our courtyard. We call it “Beltane,” after a Gaelic spring festival celebrated in Ireland. The hallmark of the event is the IMMENSE amounts of flowers that decorate the inside of the tent, which really makes the whole thing feel like a spring festival. This year, I spent a few hours in the morning making the flower arrangements that got hung around the room and constructing a flower arch to go above the door. My roommate is HoCo (House Committee) Chair and therefore was in charge of planning the entire event, so it was fun to be able to help her out for a bit and gain some appreciation for how much work goes into preparing events like this (read: it’s a LOT).

My roommate decorating the tent!

Putting up the lights and lanterns

The night started out with a reception in the Dunster Junior Common Room, and then everyone moved outside for dancing and some food. We had a swing band for the first hour, but then music switched over to a DJ – both were super good! While some people will bring official dates to House formals, students for the most part tend to go with roommates or groups of friends, which makes for a really fun vibe on the dance floor. Also, while the majority of people at each formal are from whatever House is hosting it, we can all go to each other’s formal, which means there’s a nice mix of people there. The House formals are definitely one of my favorite things that go on around campus – such a fun reminder of how excited I am about Dunster and what a great community of people live here. I remember going as a freshman, right after I’d gotten into the House, and starting to get so excited about moving up to an upperclassman House – glad to see that Dunster’s lived up to expectations!

Beltane!

And just for fun: pre-Beltane, freshman year – with my blocking group! (well, 6/8)

Now, back to the paper writing! Wish me luck!

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Kirkland Formal: “Oh Kirkland, Oh Kirkland, You are good to me!”

April 27, 2012 in Natalie's Blog by npadilla | Comments closed

Sleepy penguins 

Cute animals have always been an obsession of mine. I’m a cat lover at heart, but something about aquatic, flightless birds planking mini-rock formations is just so adorable.  When I found out that the Kirkland House spring formal dance would be at the New England Aquarium in Boston, I couldn’t say no. The formal attire seemed to fit in perfectly with the tuxedo-adorning penguins.

 

This was the first formal where I ditched the boyfriend and went with all girlfriends: a reunion for the group of us that had known each other since year one at Harvard. As tribute to the coming end of four incredible years, my freshman roommate Anita wore the same dress as she had to our freshman formal.

My freshman roomate, Anita, & I

The troupe of all eight of us arrived together and we were immediately enamored by a loan seal attempting to get our attention. I wondered whether the fishes would be kept awake by the loud music at the formal, but saw as we wandered inside that the dance floor was held outside on the deck, providing a beautiful view of Boston waterfront all to the sounds of a student DJ spinning out tunes.

All the group ready to head to the aquarium 

The penguins slept soundly inside and fishes of all sizes and colors whirled around us in the main lobby, providing a glowing show among the silence. Even as my last undergraduate formal, it was one of the most memorable.

 Love-Bird Penguins 

~Natalie

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