#smithbysmithies

[theesmithie]

my spring 2021 schedule

Hello everyone!

Since the semester has already started and I have now completed more than a week of the semester, I decided to mix how my first week went and my course schedule together into one post.

Here is my schedule for the semester!

This semester I am taking 5 courses, with a total of 18 credits.

The courses are:

-  CHINESE II (INTENSIVE) / CHI 221 (5 credits)

-  CLQ: POLITICS US MEX BORDER / GOV 237 (4 credits)

- COMPUTER GRAPHICS / CSC 240 (4 credits)

-  CLQ:WOMEN& NARRATION/MOD KOREA / EAL 273 (4 credits)

-  DRAWING SOCIAL JUSTICE / ARS 153 (1 credit)

For my computer science major, I decided to only take one course this semester since the other course I wanted to take clashed with my Chinese class. I have been taking Chinese since my first semester at Smith and I have really been enjoying learning a new language, therefore I decided to continue learning it this semester. Since I was no longer taking another comp sci course this semester, I decided to take courses in other interests that I have. I took a course last semester called Latin American Political Systems, and since I really liked the professor and the content, I decided to take another one of her classes, which is the Politics of the US Mexico Border. And finally I decided to take a course on Women and Narration in Korea because I really like films and it is a subject matter that I’ve never learned about. 

I really like Smith’s open curriculum because it allows me to explore subjects that I’ve never been exposed to. I’ve taken a wide range of courses and subject matters already despite the fact that this is only my 4th semester here.

My first week kind of felt unexpected. Usually my first week of classes at Smith are more chill and professors give students time to “shop” for courses (which just means the period of time students attend courses and decide whether or not they want to stay in the class or sign up for a different class). The first week is also relaxed in order to give students enough time to buy any required material for the course. This week however started off rather quickly, which I will attribute it to the fact that, due to the pandemic, this semester is an accelerated semester. I’m sure professors just want to start early so that they can cover as much material as possible in a shorter time frame. 

I am fortunate to only have needed to buy two textbooks, which were both for my Chinese course. My professors for my other courses are super generous and have supplied free pdfs of whatever readings they want us to do. As a low income student, this is super helpful for me, especially during a pandemic! I can say super lucky because I know how expensive it can be to buy all required material.

After completing a week of courses, I feel like I won’t be changing my schedule. The courses I’m taking this semester genuinely interest me and I’m excited to learn more about each subject matter! :)

#smithbysmithies #smith college #computer science #chinese #spring 2021

[smithbysmithies]

How are Smith houses different from regular college dormitories?

Hi! Smith houses are different from regular college dorms in a few ways. The first is the architecture! A lot of the houses are converted buildings (some used to be schools!), so they all have their own unique features. All of the houses have living rooms and a study space, many of the houses have basements that provide another study/hangout space, and every house (except one) has a kitchen and/or dining room. The rooms are also bigger than a lot of other colleges because of the unique architecture!

The other way Smith houses are different is that house community is really big. Every house has their own traditions, self-governing house councils, and a mix of people from all class years. While people do move around for a variety of reasons (I’ve lived in two different houses), it’s not uncommon for people to live in the same house all four years.

Lastly, housing is guaranteed all four years, and most students live on-campus (~98% I believe).

I hope this helps!

-Miranda ‘23J

#smithbysmithies #dorms #housing #Anonymous

[texan-smithie]

Huge congrats to everyone accepted to the newest class of Smith College!

Since the college is currently closed to in-person visits, I compiled some resources to get to know Smith-no matter where you are:

1.) Chats with current Smithies!

I highly recommend coming to a chat, which is our replacement for student-led campus tours! These informal chats with current Smith students happen almost everyday of the week and are a great way to get an unfiltered look at Smith College from students’ perspectives! You can find the sign up information here under “Smith From a Distance: Connect with a Current Smithie”. Currently, they are only for admitted students, but they will return to being for prospective students as soon as college decisions are done! Feel free to bring any questions about Smith to these chats.

2.) Information sessions!

There are also virtual information sessions lead by Smith’s admissions officers. These are great for learning the nitty-gritty details about Smith (statistics & facts)!

3.) Virtual Campus Tours

Although I’d recommend a current student chat to learn about Smith, the virtual campus tour options here are a great way to see what Smith looks like in person!

4.) Follow Smith College on ZeeMee and join Smith College Class of 2025 Social Media groups on Facebook and Instagram!

ZeeMee is an free app that you can download and follow Smith College for videos and more information about Smith! Class social media pages are created by future Smithies to connect with other admitted students!

5.) Attend a Smith class!

Admitted students are currently able to attend Smith classes to get a feel for a classroom at Smith! You can register for class visits through your Admitted Student portal under the Academics tab.

6.) Other various admission events for admitted students!

The Admissions office is hosting events spread out over the next month for students admitted to Smith! More information also available in your admitted students portal! I know there’s currently an activism series happening that looks cool.

#smithbysmithies #smithcollege #college #smithies #student blogger

[serendipitous-smithie]

Spring 2021

I’m finally back on campus and taking classes again, and I’m so excited. Most of my classes are primarily remote still, but I’m happy to at least live on campus.

My classes this spring are:

BIO 366 Biogeography - This class fulfills requirements for my biology major as well as for my 5 College Coastal and Marine Sciences certificate, and its a class I’ve been wanting to take since my first year. It is about the distribution of species on Earth, both terrestrial and marine, and how humans are impacting those habitats. 

BIO 390 Coral Reef Seminar - This seminar I’ve also been waiting to take, and I’m so excited to finally be in it. It also fills the same requirements as my biogeography class, so I’m almost done with my major and certificate (ahhhh!) As the name suggests we study coral reefs with an emphasis on reading and presenting relevant scientific papers. 

REL 206 Afterlife in World Religions - I’m taking full advantage of Smith’s open curriculum and taking a class way out of my field about religion! I’ve never taken anything in the religion department before, but so far I’m really engaged with the readings and the professors are making it very accessible. I was not raised with any sort of religion so I’m excited to learn more.

CLS - Bronze Age Archaeology in the Mediterranean - I officially finished my archaeology minor last spring, but I really liked the professor who taught Hellenistic Art and Archaeology so when I saw she was teaching an even more archaeology focused class I had to take it. We’re studying the civilizations of Sumer, Ancient Egypt and more up to the Bronze Age collapse. 

#smithbysmithies #smith college #my post #spring 2021 #classes #biology #archaeology #marine biology

[sam-wil]

Smith’s fall plans

Today, Smith released plans for the fall 2020 school year. If you want to read over their entire COVID-19 Response Plan you can click this link which will take you to the plan. Here are a few main points that I summarized from the first three categories. 

Health & Safety

Everyone has to wear a face mask

Everyone must stay at least 6ft away from eachother other 

No off-campus guests/visitors are allowed on campus

Students may not travel more than 10 miles away from campus

Hand sanitizer and masks will be provided

There will be a daily symptoms checklist that each student will fill out 

Houses will be disinfected 2x a day, classrooms with be disinfected 5x a week 

Academic Planning

Teachers will decide if classes are in person or online

Most classes are going to offer both options

You can still take classes at any of the other five colleges as long as you do it online

All interterm classes will be online

First-years & Sophomores will be on campus from September 1-November 20, Juniors & Seniors will be on campus for the Spring Semester (unless a senior is graduating in January, they will arrive in the fall period)

You can apply to live on campus for the entire year if you have extraordinary circumstances 

Student Life

All students are going to have singles

We will arrive in mid to late August

Fall sports are being put on a hold

We will order all food through an app, with a maximum of three orders a day

All meals are takeout only

Housing will come out in early August

You can not be in anyone else’s room overnight, but you can visit friends in their room as long as you are 6ft away from each other 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with the plan. I wish we could stay the entire school year (which we may be able to do if a vaccine comes out) but I’m now excited to know that I can spend more time with my family, friends, and boyfriend. I applied for a single so I’m super thrilled to start planning for dorm decorations now that I know I got a single. I’m not too enthusiastic about the online classes. I tend to get distracted easily during remote learning but we’ll see how things go!

#smithcollege #smith college #college #smith by smithies #sam-wil #fallplans #smith #smithbysmithies #singleroom #covidplan

[thesmithadventure]

(Photos: my friends and I in our graduation robes -- making memories, taking part in traditions, and saying goodbye in style).

Impromptu Senior Celebrations!

The moments after we found out that we had to leave Smith were heartbreaking, scary, and full of unknowns. But one thing was certain: Senior Week had begun.

Senior Week is the week between the end of classes and graduation when only the graduating class is left on campus, enjoying their last remaining days as a Smith student. From what I hear (considering I’ll never have a traditional senior week...), seniors take part in official funded events, or just hang out with their friends and families.

For the class of 2020, confronted with the impending cancellation our end-of-year celebrations, things were evidently going to be different. Within hours of the announcement, there was talk of an ad-hoc Senior Ball on the Quad, a graduation ceremony, senior banquets for houses and orgs, and an Ivy Day parade -- social distancing was not yet the norm, so we wanted to fit in some celebrations while we still felt like we could. While I won’t get into the details of the alleged kegger on the lawn of some Quad houses (a first for my time at Smith), I absolutely want to document the things I did to celebrate my four years of college.

Organized by the Senior Class Cabinet of the Student Government Association, my in-person graduation ceremony took place two days after Smith announced it’s move to online delivery. Hundreds of us gathered in front of the Wilson steps, robes on and Corona beers in hand (for the irony, of course), to watch each other walk the stage. Members of the SGA gave speeches lamenting the time we lost but congratulating us all for getting this far, and a student dressed as Nancy Pelosi (our would-be Commencement speaker) ripped up the email that informed us of the changes, to cheers from the seniors and their friends. Then, we lined up by house, announced our names into a microphone, and walked the stage.

After “graduation” was Chapin House’s “Senior Banquet.” Our Junior class representatives and non-senior Social Event Coordinators did an incredible job putting the event together, ordering every senior’s favorite food and organizing speeches and prophecies. Getting to “will” some gifts to underclassmen was a really moving way to say goodbye and express my appreciation for my house. We also had a Senior Banquet for Celebrations Dance Company later that week, which was an equally lovely way to round up a semester of hard work.

(Photo: Celebrations Dance Company’s seniors at our Senior Banquet, and the sweetest Instagram caption from our Publicity Team).

Finally, some time with the friends I made and kept over my four years at Smith. Inbetween movie nights, walks in the woods, and communal naps, we made an effort to take the photos we would have taken at an actual graduation ceremony. My friend Jemara - unofficial group photographer and light of my life - organized a photoshoot for an extended group to take photos around campus. We played music, hyped each other up, and left satisfied that the world would see us in our robes.

I am impressed, moved, and so grateful for the Smith community’s ability to come together and celebrate each other in times of sadness and uncertainty. Even in our heartbreak at losing precious time at Smith, students supported each other and attempted to find some kind of closure. The days before I left campus were scary and devastating, but these moments with my class and my friends will be some of my favorite college memories.

Plus, I crossed a big item off my Smith bucket list: I conquered the owl statue. Don’t tell the class of 1955...

#smith college #smithbysmithies #class of 2020 #covid19 #graduation #zoom #Smith traditions

[fromitalytosmith-blog]

Northampton Survival Guide

Hi All, 

Moving to college is overwhelming and for some of you, moving to a new city might be as well. Northampton is one of the smallest cities I have ever lived in but has by far the best charm. I thought I would share with you some of the tips I’ve learned from exploring Smith’s backyard this last year. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: In this post I will often be mentioning PVTA buses. These buses are free for 5 College Students if they present their OneCard (which you will receive at orientation on the first day) to the bus driver. Click here for the link to bus schedules. 

1. Nearest mall

Hampshire Mall - 367 Russel St. Hadley

Whether you’re first moving into Smith and need more hangers or you want to go see a movie or buy storage bins at the end of your first year, you’re going to want to head to the Hampshire Mall. The mall has a bunch of stores like Target, Trader Joe’s and Bed Bath and Beyond which will most definitely give you what you need. Click here for the Mall’s directory! To get there from Smith you can take the PVTA Bus B43 which will take you there in 30 minutes top. It might sound like a lot of time to be sitting on the bus, but I promise you, after you’ve done the ride as many times as I have, it really doesn’t feel like that long! If you want to get there quicker, Zipcar, Uber, Lyft and a friend’s car are always another option!

2. Nearest CVS

90 Main St. Northampton

CVS has been a vital part of my Northampton life, I go there at least once every three weeks to pick up my meds, grab snacks and things like toothpaste/shampoo etc if I’m running out. From Duckett House CVS is a 10 minute walk MAX and if you are just too tired to make that walk, the PVTA B43 bus has a stop one block up from CVS so you can cut your walk time in half. 

3. Help! My phone broke! Where do I go? 

AT&T - 140 Main St. Northampton

Verizon - 180 Main St. Northampton 

Apple Store - 50 Holyoke St. Holyoke

First of all, DON’T PANIC. Like every city, Northampton has all the resources to help you fix your phone. If it’s a technical difficulty like your service provider isn’t working right, Northampton has two providers who have stores downtown - Verizon and AT&T. So, if you’re lucky enough to have one of them as your provider you can stop by their store which is only a couple minutes away from Smith. If the problem is an Apple related problem, the town of Holyoke (where Mount Holyoke College is located) has an Apple store which you can use to fix the problem. Getting there is a little more of a hike, it takes at least an hour by bus (R43) but Zipcar, Uber and Lyft are available if you don’t want to take the bus. Or, you could ask a friend to drive you there if you know someone with a car! 

4. Nearest train / bus station

Northampton Train Station - 170 Pleasant St. Northampton 

Peter Pan Bus Terminal - 1 Roundhouse Plaza, Northampton

If you plan to go to a big city for the weekend, like Boston or NYC, chances are you will be leaving out of one of these two places. Northampton has a train that takes you directly into NYC Penn Station in about 4h30min. Depending on when you’re planning to take this adventure, it could cost you $40-80 round trip. The cost is why most Smithies choose Peter Pan Bus Lines as their preferred mode of transport. The bus will take you to NYC Port Authority in 4h and to Boston (South Station, Copley Sq, Park Sq or State House) in an average of 2h30min. Peter Pan Bus prices are pretty unpredictable, depending on if you’re traveling at a peak time (like October Break) the cost could be between $40-60 round trip. I have gotten tickets for Peter Pan for $40 round trip though, so I would say: plan ahead to make sure you get the best price. 

5. Best coffee shops

Woodstar Cafe - 60 Masonic St. Northampton 

Haymarket Cafe - 185 Main St. Northampton

Shelburne Falls Coffee Rosters - 273 Main St. Northampton 

If there’s one thing that you won’t miss while being in Northampton is coffee shops. You can find plenty of Smithies at any one of these three coffee shops which are an average of a 5/10 minute walk from the center of campus. Each of these three cafe’s have such different vibes and so it’s up to you to find your favorite one. My personal favorite is Woodstar because it’s filled with natural light and yummy desserts to snack on while studying. Remember, there are so many coffee shops in Northampton that these three are not the only options! I just picked the three I know that most people tend to go to. 

I hope that helps,

-- Giulia ‘22 

#smithbysmithies #smithcollege #collegelife #northamptonma #gettingaround #pvta #newcity #survivalguide #googlemaps #tips and tricks

[dearsmithie-blog]

some kind words for this upcoming application season...

Speaking as someone who wasn’t really raised with college culture, I’ve realized (in hindsight) how much I was unaware of what other students went through during the application season. But no matter where you’re at in the process, whatever environment you’ve grown up in, your exposure (or even lack thereof) to certain resources - the stress of this period is hard for everyone. You’re valid in your worry. So if you need to hear it from anybody, even a stranger like me: I believe in you. And trust me when I say, it’ll all be okay. 

Entering my senior year here at Smith, where you’re at feels a bit more distant to me now. But working in Admissions this summer, I hear how the pressure of this period hasn’t necessarily gotten any easier for students today. So, for those of you feeling the weight of this period on your shoulders right now - I hope these words can help in any way, no matter how small:

- i know it’s hard to really listen to any comforting words from those around you right now about everything going on in your head about applications/admissions. so feel free to ignore this, even though it’s true that… you’ve got this. 

- try your best to start early, like the summer is a great period to try to possibly lighten your load senior year. but, don’t forget that it’s summer! take breaks. be with friends & family! enjoy your time.

- you’ve done a lot of the hard work already. no one should ever underestimate junior year (or high school in general, tbh). so, don’t forget to give yourself some praise. you DID THAT. you’ve got one more year of high school left! HELLO SENIOR.

- make sure to communicate all your worries about the application process (housing, aid, etc.) with the resources offered to you. for example, if you’re concerned about aid at Smith - ask here on the Smith by Smithies blog or reach out to one of our amazing bloggers here!

- stop underestimating yourself. imposter syndrome is real. try to not let it overwhelm your application process if you can.

- you’ll apply, you’ll wait, you’ll get your answers. whatever anxieties or stresses you feel during this time are VALID. doing this is scary. putting yourself out there is scary. let’s not undermine our feelings or emotions! kick that poor self-care & bad self-love outta here folks.

Classes of 2020, you got this - happy summer & happy senior year! 

x Jemara

#smithbysmithies #mysmith #classof2020 #smithcollege

[whatisemmaupto-blog]

Recently, as a part of my work as a UIF fellow, I got to attend the Silicon Valley meetup in Palo Alto with two other current fellows from Smith (we missed you Beth!!). The University Innovation Fellows program is a program of the Stanford d. school -one of the cofounders is a Smithie, and is co-sponsored by the design thinking initiative and the Conway Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Smith. We were inducted in the past summer, went through six weeks of intense online training under the help and guidance of our amazing UIGuide, and have continued to work on our project which aims to “foster an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus.” We have made enough progress in the fall semester that all four of us were invited to the Silicon Valley meetup! We listened to talks at Google and Stanford d. School, engaged in group activities and workshops on design thinking, innovation and machine learning, and of course, met some pretty awesome people. Our project will debut on April 13th. It will be a busy next few weeks but I am really excited to see how it turns out!

#smithbysmithies #smith college #senior year #paloalto #stanford university #designthinking #uifellows #universityinnovationfellows

[rhysatsmith]

Green Mode! And Other Tales.

Hi everyone!

Smith went into green mode today (explanation of operation modes here), and this is exciting because while we still don’t have access to the Campus Cafe or Neilson Library quite yet, those are coming in the near future! Not only that, but we can now use common spaces in houses! Living rooms, kitchens - we can even have up to two guests in our rooms!

This sounds like my life is very sad and, well, while that’s accurate to an extent (look at me go, a whole comedian), the bar has been set pretty low by COVID-19; for good reason! But since humans are social animals, we’ve all taken a bit of a hit because of social distancing, and getting crumbs of our lives back feels like an incredible achievement. It wasn’t even as unusual as starting to see people back on campus! I think I already had that ‘culture shock’ a few weeks ago, and my brain got used to it enough to miss genuine interactions with both Smith College, the people, and Smith College, the place.

[I would just like to present a brief intermission of how the paragraph above perfectly illustrates how ADHD works in my brain. Moving on-]

As a short Day In My Life Now That Everything’s Excited Because We’re In Green Mode, I woke up (didn’t oversleep! was very proud), did a little bit of bullet journaling (which I haven't gotten round to in ages and was missing dearly!), got dinner, went to an amazing Presidential Colloquium about Black Futures, did some work and am currently studying into the night in my little corner of Wilder House.

Oh! And I started the hundred days of productivity 'challenge' today - it was a good day. I really hope I can get a repeat of the good vibes. See ya later!

Rhys xx

#studyblr #studyspo #wilder house #green mode #smith college #smith by smithies #smithbysmithies #rhysatsmith #adhd #black futures #college #student #100 days of productivity #100dop #day 1 #new england #dark academia #dark acadamia aesthetic #aesthetic #collegiate #university #photography #rhys.exe

[theesmithie]

declaring my major!

If I'm being honest with you all, I've been saying I'm a Computer Science major probably since my first semester at Smith despite me not actually officially declaring. I was pretty sure of what I wanted to major in before actually coming to Smith, but I wanted to give myself the space to explore some classes before really committing.

It took me until literally the last minute to actually officially declare... not a good idea! Please don't do this!! I definitely don't recommend it. I do, however, recommend not declaring right away. Many people have some idea of what they want to major in and declare right away, and some unfortunate people realize too late that their major is actually not what they actually want to study.

No fear! You can always change your major during your first two years of college, but I think giving your space to explore is also very valuable. Especially with Smith's open curriculum, some may find it rather easy to just take classes that are in their realm of study. However, despite being a STEM major, I actually took a lot of humanities courses alongside my major requirement courses. I've really enjoyed them! I think having a balance between the two has made my semesters not too busy but also very interesting.

But alas, after 1 and a half year, I decided that I do indeed want to major in cs and I finally did just that! It isn't hard at all. For computer science specifically, when you go on the cs page on the Smith website, there is a form you can take to pick an advisor for the major. Before declaring, everyone gets a liberal arts advisor. They may not necessarily be in the field you plan on majoring in, they're really just there to help you get started! Mine was a Spanish professor, which is obviously very different from CS.

Every time we have registration, we have to meet with our advisors prior to discuss what courses we plan to take for the following semester. Your advisor is there to help you! Sometimes they might recommend a course that you wouldn't have previously considered, or they might warn you that your workload might be too heavy for you to handle. Previously we did registration on a website called BannerWeb which required a code to be given by our advisors, but we recently switched to do registration on another website. Now, you have to meet with your advisor still, but they just have to take off a hold on your registration account.

Once you declare, you get an advisor that is in your major. You just have to get your new advisor to sign the declaration form, and also get your previous liberal arts advisor to sign, and then you turn it in to the Registrar's Office so that it can process. It's really simple!

I think CS is unique with having the advisor form, but no worries! If you take some classes from your major before declaring, you might find that you really like the professor that you took a certain class with. You can even personally ask them to be your advisor. Even if they say no, I'm sure they'd be happy to advise you on who else in the major you can ask.

Usually you will find smithies take pictures in front of the front gate at Smith with their declaration form, but I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to do that because of the pandemic. However, Smith has released plans of having us all be in person for next fall, so maybe I'll get the photoshoot I've been wanting!

Here is a photo proving that I am a CS major anyway :P :

#declaring #declare major #smithbysmithies #computer science

[smithbysmithies]

hello! I have just committed to smith and I will need to buy a laptop over the summer since the one I have now belongs to my high school.

would you recommend using the smith computer store? do they give discounts or repairs for students? or is it better to just buy one on my own through a local store? I am probably going to buy a mac

Hi! Congratulations on committing to Smith! I do recommend going through the Smith Computer store because they often have deals for students (for example I got my laptop with free headphones) and if you go on tax free day (usually sometime in August, but you can call them to confirm) you will get a huge discount. They also help you install free Microsoft Office and certain other programs you might need. Good luck!

-Emilia ‘23

#smithbysmithies #smith college #computer store #Anonymous

[lifeofasmithie]

A Complete List of Every Class I've Taken at Smith College

I've really taken advantage of the open curriculum at Smith, and it turns out that in my four years I've taken 41 Courses from 17 different departments! 

Here is a complete list of every course I've taken at Smith (not including my summer abroad at Ewha Women's University.)

ARHJYA READING THE CITY OF PARIS  BIOJYA SCIENCES IN PARIS  BIOJYA SEMINAR:SCIENCES IN PARIS  CLT150 ART OF TRANSLATION  CSC102 HOW THE INTERNET WORKS  CSC111 INTRO COMP SCI TH PROGRAMMING  CSC212 PROGRAM WITH DATA STRUCTURES  CSC220 ADVANCED PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUE  CSC250 THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS CSCJYA ALGORITHMS  CSC231 MICROPROCESSOR & ASSEMBLY LANG CSC251 NETWORK SECURITY CSC252 ALGORITHMS CSC390 SEM: AI- NATURAL LANG UNDERSTA  DAN223 BALLET IV  ECO153 INTRODUCTORY MACROECONOMICS EGR100 TOPC FOR EVERYONE-ENVIRONMENT  ESS945 PHYSICAL CON: PILATES MAT I  FRN220 HIGH INTERMEDIATE FRENCH  FRN230 COLQ: PARIS  FRN235 SPEAKING (LIKE THE) FRENCH  FRN252 FRENCH CINEMA: URBAN SPACES  FRN270 LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY  FRNJYA FRANCE AND ITS CONTEXTS  FRNJYA ADVANCED LANGUAGE I  FRNJYA ANALYZING CONTEMPORARY FRN THEATRE  FRN359A MAGIC WORDS FRN392 SEM: TPCS/ CULTURE-STEREOTYPES  FYS142 REACTING TO THE PAST  GOV202 AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW  HSTJYA CONTEMPORARY HISTORY  HSTJYA SECULARISM IN FRENCH SOCIETY  KOR101 KOREAN I  KOR102 KOREAN I  KOR201 KOREAN II KOR202 KOREAN II  MTH112 CALCULUS II  MTH153 INTRO DISCRETE MATHEMATICS  PHI213A LOGIC  SDS192 INTRO TO DATA SCIENCES SWG222 GENDER, LAW AND POLICY 

#smith #smithie #smithcollege #womenscollege #college #college classes #smithbysmithies

[texan-smithie]

My Fall Picker Internship

My internship experience this fall through the Picker Semester in DC is my favorite work experience to date. I work in what is essentially a public defense clinic in Georgetown Law for fellows and law professors, meaning we take court appointed cases of only indigent clients. Each of the attorneys I work for has about 50 cases at once, which I work on as a defense investigator. Basically, the prosecution has the police, and I’m the defense equivalent in terms of collecting evidence and putting together case facts and theories. I spend most of my time visiting clients at the DC Jail, tracking wittnesses down to interview and take statements from, serving subpoenas, and much more. My first day on the job, my work partner and I drove six hours across Virginia to collect records for a court date the next day. Often, because of the huge power imbalance in the court system between the prosecution and the defense, I am given initials for someone and have to track down their address, occupation, phone number, and more from just that meagar amount of information. The best part of the job is seeing the real life impact of my work in our court proceedings. I’ve never had a job as challenging, varied and tangible as this one, and I hope to spend the rest of my life working in public defense.

#smithbysmithies #smithcollege #student blogger #washington dc #internship #picker

[serendipitous-smithie]

Interterm at Smith

Every year during winter break Smith offers interterm classes, also called j-term that usually begin the first week of January, and end the week before the spring semester starts. Its a great opportunity to take classes that are outside of your major, spend some extra time on campus, or just take something fun! The classes offered are usually 1-2 credits, but some more intensive classes are the regular 4 credits. For years that aren’t in the middle of a global pandemic all students are allowed to return to campus at any point during interterm regardless of whether they are taking a class or not.

For Interterm 2020 (last year) I took a week-long, 1 credit class on New England ecology and outdoor education called Interpreting New England Landscapes. I got to combine my interests of the outdoors and teaching, and the class culminated in our organizing a lesson plan and teaching the sixth graders from the Smith campus school what we had learned over the week. Pictured below is some of the stuff we collected for them (and us!) to look at under the microscope in the MacLeish Field Station classroom. This included leaves, needles, fungi, different types of scat, and bark from various trees. 

My favorite part of this class was getting to traipse around the woods all day with 10 other smithies and our professors and call it a class. We got to learn so much about animal tracks, plant identification, connecting to nature more, and even saw a porcupine! 

While it was a bit chilly (averaging about 15 degrees), we had so much fun learning about the woods around us, and how to effectively communicate all that we learned to others. Plus, once this class ended I had a week before my spring classes started so I could just hang out on campus with friends, and relax before the spring semester kicked in.

#smith college #interterm #jterm #my post #macleish #smithbysmithies #smith

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Summer Flowers

Smith Campus is so beautiful during the summer there are so many flowers that are blooming right now!

#smithbysmithies #summer #flowers