Whether you are a transfer student or have spent the entirety of your collegiate life at St. Michael’s, the quad has played some part in your experience here. The late night barbecues, Frisbee games and (for some) life-changing moments that happened in the quad are staples of SMC student life. As the construction continues and the new building starts to take form, we here at Her Campus both recall our fondest memories of the quad and look forward to the new times to be had by future Knights.
I’ll miss a place that really belongs to the first years. As a freshman, the whole campus seems to belong to upperclassmen because they know campus so well. In the fall and spring, the quad felt like a little haven from the business of campus. – Alex Brenock, Class of 2015
The quad was one of the things that sold me on going to Saint Mike’s because I thought it was a unique way to bring together the first years and the SMC community. It was convenient that all of the first years were in the same area and honestly I’m going to miss unexpectedly running between Ryan, Joyce and Lyons to hang out with people. It’s going to be strange not seeing people laying out in the quad or blasting music out of the quad windows. – Lauren Mazzoleni, Class of 2015
I’m going to miss the wide open space in the middle of the quad where we could sit at picnic tables and work on homework, meet up with friends, or lie down in the grass. The quad is the perfect place to get together after class, both on a warm sunny day or to go puddle-jumping in the rain. The quad was definitely an awesome community among my class, but hopefully the new building will also create a cool vibe and the next groups of first-year students in coming years will have a new experience of their own. – Lauren Kopchik, Class of 2015
My fondest memory of the quad was sophomore year, walking back in the pouring rain from an intramural soccer game with a couple of my best friends and getting into an epic mud fight followed by a game of football with a group of freshmen we had literally just met. That’s the thing about the quad I’ll miss the most – bringing people together and making the most mundane of weekdays into memories I’ll take with me after graduation. – Lauren Herlihy, Class of 2013
My favorite memories of the quad would have to be those times in the warm weather; meeting up with friends, laying out on the grass and listening to some music. The quad was somewhere that was “home” for us as freshmen; it was our own little oasis in the middle of our beautiful campus, away from the stress of classes and work. – Juliana Summers, Class of 2015
The quad is the place where we all grew up… until now. For the upperclassman, that is where we made our first college mistakes and had our first triumphs. There was a great sense of community starting from day one of running between buildings. I’ve already made my freshman quad memories, so I’ll miss what the quad symbolized instead of what it was. I am excited to see what new traditions form during the change and what memories future classes make. – Gabbi Hall, Class of 2013
So while the quad will be given a new look, there will be no change to the essence of the quad that we hold onto in our memories and in our hearts. It is still a place that we can all come home to.