With acceptance letters out and Prospective Students’ Weekend right around the corner, let’s take a minute to consider a few of the must know things about being a student at Mount Holyoke College.
1. Traditions
Mount Holyoke is huge on traditions. Most popular is probably Mountain Day, which takes place in the fall when the president spontaneously cancels classes so the whole school can hike up a nearby mountain. It’s been a tradition since 1838! There’s also Milk and Cookies (M & Cs), where we have cookies in all the dining halls every night from Monday to Thursday. Every Sunday night there is a special community M&Cs that takes place in Blanchard Campus Center where all students can get together. Another one of my favorite traditions is Dis-Orientation, where the seniors surprise the first years knocking on all their doors at night, and we all run to the President’s house together! There’s lots of shouting, singing, and excitement!
2. Centralized Dining
Mount Holyoke currently has several dining halls, but the many construction sites and dirt mounds on campus should give you a hint that something is in the works. We are currently expanding Blanchard Campus Center to accommodate a centralized dining system. While SuperBlanch will mean the closing of some of our favorite dining halls, it will also bring together the community, increase sustainability, and provide more food options.
3. Professors
The professors at Mount Holyoke are truly amazing! They genuinely care about your education, as well as your well-being, and are always happy to speak to you. It’s great to be in a place where professors are not only truly passionate about what you do, but also truly passionate about the students that they teach! Your success is their priority!
4. Passion
Speaking of passion, Mount Holyoke students are some of the most passionate people I have ever met! While students have a variety of interests, its really cool to be able to meet people who are all passionate about their own thing. Mount Holyoke students are committed to bringing about change, whether it’s campaigning for a politician or collecting pads and tampons for homeless and low-income women. Being around people that are so committed to making the world a better place is super empowering.
5. Historically Women’s College
While Mount Holyoke was founded as a women’s college back in 1837, its identity has changed quite a bit since then! One of the biggest ways that it has evolved is that not all students who go to Mount Holyoke identify as women. Plenty of students instead identify as trans or nonbinary. Referring to Mount Holyoke as a historically women’s college acknowledges our proud past as a pioneer for women’s education, while respecting that not everybody at our school is a woman!
6. Community
By far my favorite thing about Mount Holyoke is the community! Everybody at this school is super cool, nice, and interesting. Being around people everyday that inspire and empower me is an incredible feeling. Everybody is accepting of each other, despite our differences, and actively work towards lifting each other up, not tearing each other down.
Mount Holyoke isn’t perfect, but it is pretty darn amazing! Hopefully these glimpses into my favorite parts of the school give a glimpse of what’s so special about Mount Holyoke.
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