Mount Holyoke College
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- Multicultural learning. The McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives is awesome for international internships and study abroad opportunities. Also, every Mount Holyoke student has to complete four credits of multicultural perspectives. I don't want you to go to another a country and make a fool out of yourself.
- Resources. From the Speaking, Arguing, and Writing Center, to the Career Development Center, my students have access to all they need to succeed. After graduation, my alumnae network offers a helping hand pretty much any place, any time.
- Food. Have allergies? Don't worry; I can accommodate just about every dietary restriction.
- Pictures. I know beauty's only skin deep, but I'm photo-ready at all times and on practically every list of most beautiful campuses that exists.
- Clubs. I might be small, but I have an extracurricular activity for pretty much everyone.
- Success. My students excel in the sciences, but they are also writers, activists, politicians, academics, athletes, artists, businesswomen, and more. Whoever said a liberal arts education doesn't provide job security must not have met my girls.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- Discipline. Trust me, I will expect a lot out of you—and playing catch up isn't fun.
- Opinions. In high school you may have been able to sail by without ever having to speak in class, but in my intimate classrooms, you'll be expected to have an opinion—and share it.
- Outdoor apparel. With such a beautiful campus and no hustle and bustle of big city life here, there's lots of time to explore outdoors. Oh, and there's winter, too—like, the kind with snow. So come prepared.
- Driver's license. Speaking of my rural setting, you might want to get a driver's license if you don't have one already. It's good to get out sometimes.
- A hobby. All work and no play is no good. Either bring your existing hobbies with you or find one by joining one of my many student organizations.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- In Dirty Dancing, Frances "Baby" Houseman is planning to attend Mount Holyoke College in the fall.
- Wendy Wasserstein's 1977 play, Uncommon Women and Others is based on Wasserstein's experience at Mount Holyoke College.
- The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan Lori Parks wasn't just the first African-American woman to be awarded the honor, she's also a Mount Holyoke alumna.
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
Hopefully I'm not studying...though if I have to, I might take a book over to the Thirsty Mind at the Village Commons.
There are plenty of parties on campus, but sometimes one of the other schools in the area has a party that's more compelling (if just for a change of scenery). Northampton is where all the cool kids hang out. It must be all the live music, art walks, and awesome people watching that draws such a crowd.
Quirks:
- South Hadley is kind of in the middle of nowhere, and there isn't exactly a whole lot going on here.
- The buses stop running fairly early, don't come very often, and seem to take forever to get to where they're going. Keep your eye out for the expresses.
- I'm all girls, which I think is awesome but some people find quirky. Trans women and agender students are one hundred percent welcome as well, FYI.
Famous Alumni:
- Frances Perkins, U.S. Secretary of Labor 1933-1945
- Emily Dickinson, poet
- Suzan Lori Parks, playwright
- Wendy Wasserstein, playwright
- Elizabeth Holloway Marston, involved in the creation of Wonder Woman
- Nancy Kissinger, philanthropist; wife of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger