The Wellesley 100

The Wellesley 100

THE FIRST 100 MARVELOUS THINGS ABOUT WELLESLEY

Start anywher go anywher How to use this book

There’s also an index in the back.

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Special note: This isn’t everything about Wellesley.

If you want to know everything (or at least more than 100 things), you’d have to visit (#40). We’d like that.

Onward into the unknown! Courage!

No. 01

The faculty.

They come to Wellesley because 1) they love teaching undergraduates, and 2) they’re smart and accomplished, and they’re attracted to the Boston/Cambridge nexus of smartness and accomplishment.

There are eight students for every one of them, so students: 1) know them as real people, and 2) could beat them handily in dodgeball.

No. 02 The Campus.

Five hundred acres, a lake, an arboretum, a botanic garden, architecture that looks like architecture.

Capable of taking your breath away, even after four years. Even after 40 years.

No. 03

Paula Johnson.

As Wellesley’s 14th president, and the first African-American to hold this role, President Paula Johnson is deeply committed to assuring that all women have the opportunity to thrive. A pioneering leader in women’s health, she was a professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she led research to meet the unique and unrecognized health needs of women. This same visionary spirit now infuses her work at Wellesley, as we prepare the next generation of women to make a difference in the world.

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No. 04

The real-ness of diversity and inclusion.

Wellesley students come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. They hail from 87 countries of citizenship and 59 countries of residence. Fifty percent of our most recent incoming class identified as students of color. Eighteen percent of the class are first generation college students.

Nearly 60% of our students receive financial aid. We offer dozens of cultural clubs and 13 religious organizations; houses or spaces for students of African descent, international students, Latinx students, Asian students, and LGBTQ+ students; and resources like the Community Action Network and the First Generation Network.

In short: Our commitment to a diverse, inclusive community is very real.

No. 05

The Scoop.

The student-run Sustainability Co-op. They make all of their decisions as a group, they rotate chores, they source and cook their own food. And if you want a hot dinner and good conversation, you know it’ll be there.

No. 06 Campus-wide brain parties!

Otherwise known as the Tanner and Ruhlman conferences. Twice a year, everyone stops what they’re doing and gathers to listen to students talk about their work. At the Ruhlman, they present their research and scholarship. At the Tanner, they report on their experience outside the classroom—internships, service learning, international study. Pretty much the essence of Wellesley.

No. 07 The liberal arts & sciences.

A charge to be curious about everything, find connections everywhere, stay open to new possibilities, re-examine all you’ve been told, dismiss what insults your soul (hat tip to Walt Whitman for those last two). In other words: Be more human. And use your humanity to be more.

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No. 08

Culture shows.

Our students run more than 40 multicultural organizations (examples: Mezcla, Wellesley Arab Women Association, Korean Students Association). Many of them produce a show, sometimes in conjunction with groups from nearby colleges. The shows are universally understood to be fantastic.

No. 09 Malika Jeffries-EL, doing the hard work.

She was born in Brooklyn. She was “always curious about why things happened.”

Her philosophy is: “Don’t shy away from hard work.” She toured Wellesley, saw the students, and thought: “I want their lives.” Became the first member of her immediate family to go to college. Found a lifelong community of friends at Ethos; found lifelong mentors in the chemistry department. “My professors said, ‘Chemistry needs you. Students need to see you. You can teach, train, and inspire.’”

Currently a professor of chemistry at Boston University, where she conducts research on organic semiconductors and solar energy conversion. Class of 1996.

No. 10 “Little Drummer Boy.” One of more than 600 works composed by Katherine K. Davis, Class of 1914, who felt that there weren’t enough songs for girls’ choruses. (She also wrote seven operas.) She left the royalties and proceeds from her compositions to Wellesley’s Music Department. Blazed a trail, gave back.

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No. 11

The neuroscience major.

It’s increasingly popular, it’s interdisciplinary— meaning it draws on the expertise and experience of faculty in a number of fields—and it gives students exceptional research opportunities, lifelong mentorship, and experience at the cutting edge of science.

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No. 12

Majors.

More than 50, including more than 20 that are interdepartmental.

(You can also design your own.)

AFRICANA STUDIES AMERICAN STUDIES ANTHROPOLOGY ARCHITECTURE ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES (MINOR) ASTRONOMY ASTROPHYSICS BIOCHEMISTRY BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES CHEMICAL PHYSICS CHEMISTRY CINEMA AND MEDIA STUDIES CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION CLASSICAL STUDIES COGNITIVE AND LINGUISTIC SCIENCES COMPARATIVE

LITERARY STUDIES COMPARATIVE RACE & ETHNICITY (MINOR) COMPUTER SCIENCE DATA SCIENCE EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES (CHINESE, JAPANESE & KOREAN) ECONOMICS EDUCATION STUDIES ENGLISH AND CREATIVE WRITING ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES FRENCH FRENCH CULTURAL STUDIES GEOSCIENCES GERMAN STUDIES GLOBAL PORTUGUESE

STUDIES (MINOR) HISTORY HISTORY OF ART INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ITALIAN STUDIES JEWISH STUDIES LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES MATHEMATICS MEDIA ARTS AND SCIENCES MEDIEVAL/ RENAISSANCE STUDIES MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES MUSIC NEUROSCIENCE PEACE AND JUSTICE STUDIES

PHILOSOPHY PHYSICS POLITICAL SCIENCE PRELAW PREMEDICAL PROFESSIONS PSYCHOLOGY RELIGION RUSSIAN RUSSIAN AREA STUDIES SOCIOLOGY SOUTH ASIA STUDIES SPANISH STUDIO ART THEATRE STUDIES WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES UNDECIDED

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No. 13

The First-Year Seminar.

A professor and 15 students (or fewer) go head-to-head with topics like the physics of music, apocalyptic thinking, robotic design, and radical individualism and the common good.

The paradigmatic Wellesley classroom experience, right away.

No.14 Kristina Bracero and Kellen Kartub.

When they were first-year roommates in Tower, their goal was to eat at every food station in Faneuil Hall. When they were seniors, their goal was to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra play the Brahms Symphony #4. In between, Kellen planned the Wellesley choir’s spring tour, worked in a research lab developing an anticancerous compound, and became a Pilates instructor in our recreation program.

Kristina was an intern at the Davis Museum, joined the Wellesley in Washington program, spent two semesters in Greece, and became the house president of Tower.

Kristina now works at Rollins College in Admission; Kellen is now a Postdoctoral Chemist at Behr Paint Company. They’re both Class of 2014. This is how great friendships—and great alumnae networks—are born.

No. 15 Wellesley Career Education.

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An award-winning model for thinking about (and blazing) your own trail. It’s a network of networks: teams of staff and alumnae who help students imagine, explore, and attain a range of opportunities: funded internships (#49), fellowships and scholarships, civic engagement, and, yes, jobs. Resources include Career Communities in six broad fields of interest, pop-up advising sessions around campus, an online portal called Handshake, a suit loan program (!), and the indescribably empowering digital community known as The Wellesley Hive (#74).

NO. 16 HARAMBEE HOUSE.

NO. 17 THE HONOR CODE.

Harambee House.

The Honor Code.

Harambee House is home to the six organizations dedicated to students of African descent. Fittingly, Harambee is Swahili for “working together.” Here you’ll find a living room, a library, a full kitchen, an office, and a den. It’s a place for students to come together, plan together, and, of course, celebrate together.

It is: “As a Wellesley College student, I will act with honesty, integrity, and respect. In making this commitment, I am accountable to the community and dedicate myself to a life of honor.” Every student signs her name to it in our ancient Honor Code book. Students administer justice if the code is broken. It’s real.

NO. 18 TRADITIONS.

Traditions.

The rolling of hoops, the singing of class songs really loudly, the giving of flowers from one generation to the next, and more. Benefits: pride, revelry, bonding, hoops!

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No. 19 The Whiptails.

Wellesley’s Ultimate Frisbee team.

They have nicknames (Scratch, Toaster, Nala), they sometimes practice in costume (sample: ball gown with sparkly tiara), they lay out in a serious way.

Which is a technical term.

No. 20

Mariana and Alberta in Cuba.

Our faculty offer a handful of Wintersession courses— short-term study abroad experiences in January, open to Wellesley and MIT students. Mariana Hernandez and Alberta Born-Weiss (there they are, in the pic at left!) recently took Memories of Cuba: Intersections Between History and Culture on the Island. Mariana: “My maternal grandparents met while fighting for the Cuban revolution and moved to Puerto Rico a couple of years after Castro rose to power. I was able to connect things that I have learned in the classroom and from my childhood to get a much deeper understanding of Cuba.” Alberta: “As a low-income, first generation student, I hadn’t traveled much before Wintersession.” She’s since completed two internships in Havana. “Cambió la trayectoria de mi vida.

It changed the trajectory of my life.”

Winter Hijinks NO. 21 TRAYING!

Traying!

Known more formally as “sledding on Severance Green, using a plastic tray from the dining hall as a sled.” Winter hijinks, we love you.

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Featured at campus-wide events like our spring concert, or Fall Frenzy, a week of music, powder puff football, and other simple pleasures.

Go outside!

No. 22 Loud noises!

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No. 23

The Presidential Scholars program.

At Wellesley, service is leadership. The Presidential Scholars program is an opportunity for Wellesley students to focus intensively on civic engagement.

Through a reflective co-curricular model that brings together academics and community engagement, Presidential Scholars will actively engage with communities beyond our campus through internships and volunteer opportunities to develop a civic lens, forming authentic relationships within their cohort and community in the process. Systemic social change is the work of a lifetime and requires long term commitment to dismantling systems of oppression. The Scholars program is designed as an entry point to that long term change work for every student.

No. 24 Frankly: the endowment.

We’re fortunate to have one of the country’s most dedicated (you could say fiercely dedicated) alumnae populations. So we’re able to keep improving, keep innovating, keep advancing.

One specific result: We allocate about $74 million every year exclusively for need-based financial aid.

No. 25 Impressive-sounding (and -acting!) scientific equipment.

Electron microscopes, spectrometers (NMR, UV, IR), a gas chromatograph, lasers, x-ray diffractometers, an ultrahigh vacuum chamber, argon and dye lasers, confocal laser microscopes, and more. In the Science Center.

Exclusively for you.

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No. 26 The limitlessness of educational options.

Including cross-registration with Babson, Brandeis, MIT, and Olin College of Engineering, a dual degree program with MIT, a certificate program in engineering studies at Olin, and a sustainability certificate program with Olin and Babson.

No. 27 The Multifaith Center.

A place for searching, questioning, questing, expanding—like Wellesley. Home to our nationally recognized Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, which sponsors a series of ongoing public dialogues; and sacred spaces for Wellesley’s religious, spiritual, and secular communities, which include, but are not even close to limited to, Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian (of many sects), Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Native American, and Sikh. The center is located in the Houghton Memorial Chapel and Multifaith Center.

No. 28 Michelle Caruso-Cabrera.

Former CNBC chief international correspondent and current network contributor. Named one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the country. Majored in economics. Class of 1991.

No. 29

The English and Creative Writing Department.

A humble juggernaut. Sponsor of twelve student writing prizes, a major reading series, and bookishly eccentric events. Home to faculty who have won the Pulitzer Prize and the Essence Literary Award for Fiction; who serve as poetry critic for The New Yorker and editor of the Oxford Handbook of the Victorian Novel; who are single-handedly capable of teaching classes on the Asian American experience and Austen and Marie Edgeworth.

Producer of graduates who are now (for example) a reporter at The Washington Post, a strategic partner manager at Google, the director of publicity at Riverhead Books, and a physician at Yale New Haven Hospital.

No. 30 Adam Van Arsdale’s forensic anthropology class.

In which teams of students search a simulated crime scene. “I plant a ton of stuff.

My dog’s old bones, bottle caps, photo negatives. But half the stuff the students find isn’t stuff I planted. Every little thing is potential information. Then we critically examine what it means to categorize and share what we’ve found. How does that old bone become a scientific fact, or legal evidence, or public knowledge?”

Adam Van Arsdale is a professor of anthropology. He started the Dmanisi Paleoanthropology Field School, an intensive summer research experience at the oldest human fossil site outside of Africa, in the Republic of Georgia. Wellesley students recently uncovered a 1.8 million-year-old human heel bone.

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Clubs.

No. 31

More than 160 student-run organizations, including Wellesley African Students Association, Mock Trial, Phocus Photography Club, ascenDance, and Shakespeare Society.

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No. 32 El Table.

A student-run cooperative café shoehorned into a space seemingly between floors in Founders. Tea and coffee, soups and sandwiches, small tables and student-made murals.

No. 33

The residential experience, so like a fuzzy sweater.

Starting with our residence halls: The Gothic majesty of Tower! The worn hardwood charm of Beebe! Casa Cervantes, where only Spanish is spoken! French House, where only French is spoken! The Japanese corridor, where only Japanese is spoken!

A hall named for Katharine Lee Bates, Class of 1880, composer of “America the Beautiful”! Every hall has a cheer and a house council! Cookies! Cookouts! Close community! Kickboxing! And our director of residence life and housing, Helen Wang, teaches yoga, calls her family a “wolf pack,” and is an advocate of lip balm and fuzzy sweaters, “because clothing should hug you back.” Her goal: finding ways to be “extraordinary together.” (Possible translation: a residential experience that hugs you back.)

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NO. 34 24-HOUR SHAKES.

NO. 35 ACORNS.

Hour Shakes.

Acorns.

In which the members of Wellesley’s Shakespeare Society read the complete works of Shakespeare out loud, in public, at various sites on campus, over the span of 24 hours.

Audacious, no? (Fun side note: The Shakespeare Society’s headquarters is a replica of Shakespeare’s birthplace.)

A beautifully renovated modernist house overlooking Lake Waban. A safe, welcoming space for students of Asian descent, Latina students, and their allies and advisors! A place to gather, study, cook, throw parties, and generally feel the power of community.

No. 36 Boston and Cambridge.

The Green Monster! Inscrutable dialects! Entire city blocks where people talk freely of Habermas and nanostructures! Buskers! Nightclubs! Food from many lands! Well-curated used-clothing shops! Foreign-language bookstores! 250,000 students! The past! The future! And all of it is but 12 miles (about 35 minutes) away.

No. 37

Nancy Drew.

A pathbreaking character in American fiction: an intrepid, resourceful, fearless girl detective.

Brought to life by Harriet Adams (Carolyn Keene), Class of 1914.

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No. 38

Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A pathbreaking figure in American politics. Intrepid, resourceful, fearless. Class of 1969.

No. 39 Liz Ogbu.

Founder of Studio O, a pathbreaking (!) design firm that works at the intersection of racial and spatial justice. Majored in Architecture, got her M.Arch at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, won a Watson fellowship, conducted research in Sub-Saharan Africa. Class of 1998.

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Visiting.

No. 40

Generally speaking, it’s a transformative experience. Take a tour, sample a class, make new friends. Can’t visit us in person? Fret not!

We have virtual tours, classes, and sessions galore. Directions and details: www.wellesley.edu/admission/visit/.

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No. 41 The humane, thoughtful admission process.

No. 42 The surprisingly painless (and free!) process of applying.

Admission to Wellesley is based on your whole self, not just a set of test scores. The Office of Admission reads every application, start to finish. If you’re admitted to Wellesley, we meet 100% of your calculated financial need. So: We admit great women, and then we give them the support they need to come here.

Check our application deadlines. And please use our contact information at the back of the book. We’re here to help.

EARLY DECISION I NOVEMBER 1

REGULAR DECISION JANUARY 8

EARLY DECISION II JANUARY 1

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Brighter 20

No. 43

WHACK. It stands for Wellesley Hacks. It’s an overnight hackathon sponsored by our computer science club (and supported in part by modest ventures like Amazon, Google, and Dropbox). It involves long hours, short naps, close mentorship from professionals (including alumnae!), and projects designed to benefit national nonprofits and Wellesley’s Office of Disability Services. It’s not just about innovation—it’s about collaboration, celebration, and pragmatic brilliance. It attracts hundreds of students from more than 50 colleges and universities, the majority of whom are women. So it’s different than standard hackathons.

And, you know, more awesome.

No. 44 Kavindya Thennakoon, building a brighter world.

She came to Wellesley from Sri Lanka, where she founded Without Borders, a nonprofit that turns unused rural spaces into IdeaLabs— community hubs offering education, employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities. At Wellesley, she took an internship at Ogilvy & Mather, spent her junior year at the University of Oxford, and served as a civic entertainment researcher at MIT’s Media Lab. Kavi is now a user experience researcher at Coursera. The kicker is that she applied to Wellesley after meeting an alumna at the UN Youth Advisory Panel.

Class of 2019.

No. 45 Rocío Ortega, doing heroic things.

No. 46 The Camellia Student Leadership Awards.

When she was in high school in East Los Angeles, she started a chapter of Girl Up, sponsored by the UN Foundation, supporting girls in developing regions. Which led to working with members of Congress, which led to awards—and award ceremonies, like, say, for the TeenNick HALO (Helping and Leading Others) award, where she said: “Everyone has leadership potential. It’s just a matter of finding your passions, and learning to act upon them. Knowing there are millions of women and girls in this world, waiting to untap their potential, motivates me to empower them.” Currently a graduate student in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. Class of 2016.

An annual slate of awards that celebrate leadership that might not always look like leadership. As our associate dean of students says: It’s not about adding a line to your resume. It’s about “honoring the ways in which challenges were overcome, dialogues were fostered, partnerships were created, understanding was developed, and goals were accomplished.” The emphasis here isn’t on individual heroics; it’s on collaborative achievement. Named in honor of a resilient tree given to Wellesley by its founders.

No. 47

Study abroad.

More than 100 approved programs, plus a Wellesley program in Aixen-Provence, France; programs jointly administered by Wellesley and other colleges in Berlin, Germany; Bologna, Italy; and Cordoba, Spain; Wintersession classes with research abroad. More than half of our students study abroad, an ex­perience that often includes research, service, or an internship—and that often leads to a presentation at one of our campus-wide brain parties (#6).

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No. 48 The Calderwood Seminars in Public Writing.

Optional—but highly desirable—capstone courses for juniors and seniors, designed to develop your written voice for a broad audience. Highly collaborative, spanning the full range of disciplines (Biology in the News, Music in Public, Economic Journalism), and capable of changing the way you think about language, communication, your major, and your future. Students who’ve taken the course tend to say things like “I loved everything about it,” “the most beneficial class I’ve taken,” and “the professor allowed me to build a bridge between my life as a student and my new career.”

No. 49

Internships (Funded!).

Ninety percent of our students complete at least one internship during their time at Wellesley. Hundreds are funded, which means Wellesley pays you to gain experience in the field of your choice. Many are international; most put you in the middle of serious, meaningful work on behalf of real people (the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, the Emory Center for Neurogenerative Disease, the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris). See Career Education (#15).

No. 50 Ophelia Dahl, addressing the problem.

Co-founder of Partners in Health, one of the world’s most pragmatic, progressive nonprofits dedicated to health and human rights. She came to Wellesley at 23, as a Davis Scholar. “I thought I was going to be pre-med. But my eyes and heart were opened to the liberal arts: critical thinking, effective communication, examining the world from different perspectives. And I thought I was going simply to study a subject, but I was taught something more: how to work in teams, how to transform theory into practice, how to combine confidence, understanding, and expertise. The world needs women who can address any problem.

Those women are here.” Class of 1994.

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No. 51

Pendleton West.

Nearly 60,000 square feet of state-of-theart spaces for making music and (yes) art: studios, classrooms, an acoustically tuned rehearsal hall, a salon. Plus a foundry, a print-making space, a digital fabrication room, and a darkroom. Built for crossdisciplinary exploration, communal experience, and disciplined practice.

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No. 52

The Libraries.

More like research centers.

The Clapp Library, plus separate libraries for art, music, science, and astronomy. You will be alarmed (and then deeply comforted) by how often you call on the expert (and friendly!) staff for help with projects, presentations, and the increasingly elusive “search” part of research.

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No. 53

Lake Day.

We have been sworn to secrecy. All we can say is that it involves a lake and a day in the fall. And the lake is our lake, Lake Waban. And there is much laughter and merriment—but no! We must say no more!

No. 54 Asha Ayub’s summer vacation.

Which was not a vacation at all, but rather an internship at the Department of Heath and Human Services through the Wellesley in Washington program. “This wasn’t a making-coffee internship.

I was a member of several working groups, I was in meetings with senior administrators, I pitched my ideas and had them taken seriously. But maybe the biggest lesson I learned was about Wellesley.

I met so many alumnae who offered advice, opportunities, friendship.

When you’re Wellesley, you’re always Wellesley.” Currently pursuing an MD at Tufts University School of Medicine. Class of 2014.

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NO. 55 MINISTRARE COUNCIL.

NO. 56 FINANCIAL AID.

Ministrare Council.

Financial aid.

A group of 30 students who run our civic engagement programs. They develop partnerships with local and national organizations, cultivate interest on campus, and bring Wellesley more fully into the world. The name comes from our motto, Non Ministrari sed Ministrare. Translation: Not to be ministered unto, but to minister. Alternative translation: You’re here to make a difference.

Nearly 60% of our students receive financial aid.

Our average annual scholarship award—which does not need to be repaid—is over $52,000. One result: We’re more accessible, more diverse in all kinds of ways, and therefore more capable of enlightening each other and doing innovative, productive things together. Another result: Our students graduate with an average debt load far below the national average—a liberating feeling.

For more: www.wellesley.edu/SFS.

NO. 57 WELLESLEY, THE TOWN.

NO. 58 THE CURRICULUM.

The Town.

The Curriculum.

Also known as The Vil. It’s not in Boston, but of Boston. The necessities—books, clothes, sushi, coffee, organic produce, inorganic personal supplies—are accessible; and the downtown is tidy, safe, and sweet. There are no discotheques in Wellesley. Yet there is a quality that the town’s founders tried to capture when they first named it: contentment.

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Thoughtfully conceived (core distribution requirements across a range of fields), highly adaptable (you always choose courses that work for you), and just sort of amazing (more than 1,000 courses). Designed for people who are not interested in limits.

No. 59

What happens after Wellesley.

In short: All sorts of astonishing things, many of which will grow out of or be inspired by your experience at Wellesley. A few numbers from one of our recent graduating classes:

96% of graduates

were employed, accepted to graduate school, or participating in a service or volunteer program within six months of graduation.

$62,500 Average salary:

$10,500 Average bonus:

TOP EMPLOYERS INCLUDE: ACCENTURE BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CAPITAL ONE CITIGROUP GOLDMAN SACHS GOOGLE HARVARD UNIVERSITY MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL MICROSOFT MIT WAYFAIR

TOP EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES: CONSULTING, BUSINESS, FINANCE EDUCATION HEALTHCARE, LIFE SCIENCES INTERNET, SOFTWARE, TECHNOLOGY ARTS, COMMUNICATIONS, MEDIA GOVERNMENT NONPROFIT, NGO LEGAL

TOP GRADUATE SCHOOLS INCLUDE: BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CORNELL UNIVERSITY GEORGIA TECH GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY HARVARD UNIVERSITY JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY MIT NYU STANFORD UNIVERSITY TUFTS UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

FELLOWSHIP WINNERS INCLUDE: BARRY M. GOLDWATER SCHOLARSHIP FULBRIGHT US STUDENT PROGRAM THOMAS J. WATSON FELLOWSHIP TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP YENCHING ACADEMY SCHOLARSHIP

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No. 60

The Whitin Observatory.

Recently renovated and enlarged; home to spectacular instrumentation, major research projects, and some of the nicest people you can imagine. Side note: On Halloween, the student astronomy club (ASTRO) turns the observatory into a giant pumpkin.

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No. 61 The Pamela Daniels Fellowship.

In which two students every year receive $3,500 to build their dream project. Pamela Daniels is a Wellesley alumna (Class of 1959) and was, among other things, a longtime class dean. If you’re clever enough to locate her commencement speech from 2000 online, it will probably make you cry.

No. 62 Angela Carpenter’s invented language class.

In which students survey a range of invented languages—and then invent their own.

“Linguistics examines how we know what we know about language. We learn so much of our language when we’re young, when we’re not thinking about it. We only analyze it later, when we’re older. So a lot of my research and teaching is about trying to discover our built-in knowledge. Isn’t that cool?” Angela Carpenter is a professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences; she’s also a former Davis Scholar (Class of 1999) and one of the coordinators of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, which supports students applying for graduate study. Because Wellesley is a circle like that.

No. 63 Couch to 5K. One of the many, many programs (mindfulness, African dance, archery, etc.) offered by our Physical Education, Recreation, and Athletics department. You begin on a couch. You join a supportive ground of friends to train for a 5K. You end in victory.

No. 64

The Botanistas!

A student group associated with the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens; responsible for such marvels as Tree Mobs, Smoothie Night, and Tranquilitea. Part of a larger plant-based movement on campus, including Regeneration Farm, a student group that grows vegetables and herbs in a nearby plot; and our Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden, which is exactly what it sounds like.

No. 65 The Pinanski Teaching Prize.

Annual teaching awards in the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Recent winners include a music professor who spends long hours helping students bridge the gap between music and technology; a political science professor who highlights the role of women in political history and inspires students to build a better political future; and an astronomy professor who gives students high-level engineering challenges—and the skills, the confidence, and the collaborative spirit to meet them.

No. 66 Laila Alawa, pretty much dominating.

At Wellesley, she conducted research on women in the sciences that was published in the Psychology of Women Quarterly. Later, she founded The Tempest, on online platform for new voices and new audiences around the world. And hosted a podcast.

And was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

And gave a TEDx talk called “The Secret Behind World Domination.” Which is no longer a secret.

Class of 2012.

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Thirteen Division III teams, many of which make regular appearances in conference and even national championship tournaments, plus a popular recreation program, including sport clubs (ice hockey, rugby, skiing, water polo, more), activity clubs (archery, badminton, belly dancing, table tennis, more) and intramurals. Let us pause for a moment to scream: GO BLUE! Thank you.

Athletics No. 67

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No. 68 Arielle Mitropoulos, feeling confident.

No. 69 The playing fields.

She interned at CNN New York, Good Morning America, and WCVBTV Channel 5 Boston. She runs the Boston Marathon every year as a fundraiser for nonprofits. She’s “riveted” by the discussions in her humanities classes. In her first year at Wellesley, she joined the field hockey team as a walk-on; in her senior year her teammates voted her to be captain. “Before I came to Wellesley, I was always concerned about failing, worried about all the things I was not good at or could not do.

More than anything, Wellesley has taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to.” Class of 2019.

A natural grass field for soccer, a turf field surrounded by an eightlane track, eight lighted tennis courts, and a softball diamond that recently hosted the NCAA Regional Tournament. One of the best sets of fields in New England (and beyond!).

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No. 70

Science Hill.

Our Science Center is built into a hill, at the top of which you’ll find Whitin Observatory and Global Flora Greenhouses.

We’re updating all of those facilities to create the gold standard of undergraduate STEM education (and a neat extended metaphor): a Village of Sciences on Science Hill.

Updates include a new observatory telescope, sustainable teaching and research greenhouses, studio teaching and lab spaces, a makerspace, and a horticulture and ecology lab. It takes a village to raise the next generation of paradigm-shifting women.

NO. 71 THE KNAPP MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER.

NO. 72 THE WELLESLEY-BRANDEIS ORCHESTRA.

A resource for developing multimedia projects and presentations. Includes video and audio production facilities, video editing rooms, media-equipped project rooms, and updated software. In the heart of Clapp Library—which makes a statement, no? A gift from new media pioneer Betsy Wood Knapp, Class of 1964.

A colossus. Willing to take on Mahler’s Second Symphony (in collaboration with the orchestra of Tufts University and the combined choirs of Brandeis, Tufts, and MIT), Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Orff’s Carmina Burana.

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No. 73

Paws for Wellness.

Dogs make themselves available for snuggling; we instantly feel de-stressed. Sponsored by the Stone Center Counseling Service; part of a campus-wide commitment to living a balanced life.

No. 74

The Hive.

Wellesley’s astonishing online community. Post a question—and get instant answers (and support, and practical help) from thousands of highly connected, deeply engaged women. The vibe (an actual tech term!) is generous and action-oriented. I’m new to Silicon Valley; would someone be available for an informational interview?

(Yes!) I’m preparing for my first salary negotiation; any advice?

(Plenty!) I’m looking for opportunities in cultural development in the Southwest; any leads? (Sure thing!) Living proof that technology can be a force for good.

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#TeamThesis

No. 75 Everything that is named.

Many, many things at Wellesley—buildings, scholarships, rooms, centers, labs, professorial positions—are named for the alumnae who gave money to support them. This is important. Many, many things in this world have been named for men; indeed you could be forgiven for believing that men basically named (or built) the world. You don’t have to believe that anymore.

No. 76 Dominique Hazzard, getting it done.

A thousand times more interesting than this tiny box of text can convey. Spent five years working for food justice. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in history at Johns Hopkins, building on research she did for her senior thesis at Wellesley. Speaking of which: “You know that feeling when you’ve been staring at your computer for so long that your own writing starts to look like gibberish? That was me, at the end of senior year, with my thesis. It was due in two days, and nothing seemed to be coming together. I had a sudden realization that I would never be able to finish in time on my own. Panicked, I put out a bat signal to several campus listervs asking for help. Within hours a team of ten people had assembled—one proofreader and one citation editor for each of my five chapters—and by the next day everything was done. A few members of #TeamThesis were my close friends, but most were not. I barely knew some of them. That moment stays with me. It represents the spirit of the Wellesley community. I saw that spirit in action over and over again as a student, and now as an alumna.” Class of 2012.

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No. 77

The Boston Marathon.

The halfway point is our campus, which is known as The Scream Tunnel, because we line up along Central Street and offer our support for the runners, loudly. (In the image above, Lilly Armstrong and a bunch of friends are cheering Lilly’s dad, who came from Sydney, Australia to run the marathon.)

This is but one of the ways (including the Head of the Charles and the Boston Pops) in which we join with the residents of Boston and Cambridge, including 250,000 other college students, in a communal, share-the-love sort of way.

NO. 78 LGBTQ+ PROGRAMS & SERVICES.

At Wellesley, you will find safe spaces and ready support for LGBTQ+ students and their allies. From discussion groups offered by Wellesley’s counseling services, to social events like the reinterpreted blacktie event, Pride Promenade, hosted by the Office of LGBTQ+ Programs & Services, LGBTQ+ students are embraced. Want to check out this awesomeness in person? Visit the epicenter of LGBTQ+ Programs and Services in Billings Hall, Fourth Floor (nicknamed The Penthouse).

NO. 79 VIVIAN PINN.

Former director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. When she attended the University of Virginia Medical School, she was the only woman and the only African American in her class. Class of 1963.

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No. 80

More nearby cultural attractions than you can see in a year.

Like the smashing Institute of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the dynamic theatre scene, the long list of clubs and concert halls, the Freedom Trail, the New England Aquarium, the Museum of Science.

It’s all a bit much.

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No. 81 The Davis Museum and Cultural Center.

Ambitious programming, world-class art, a cinema, a café, a strong internship program, and brainy, glamorous public events. Used by courses across the disciplines; there’s even a gallery reserved for professors to show art from the collection that’s relevant to a course. A source of social, creative, intellectual, and professional inspiration.

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No. 82 Required writing courses—wait! stay with us!—that everyone loves.

Because you can choose a topic that’s meaningful to you (globalization, neuroscience, postcolonial North Africa, science fiction and fantasy, etc.). Because professors are teaching about topics that are meaningful to them.

Because you’ll do things (think critically, write clearly, search for and synthesize information from a range of sources, love learning) that are practical, pleasurable, and invaluable on the open market.

No. 83 Serenity Hughes, finding a family.

At Wellesley she received a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship to conduct research on the Drill music scene in Chicago.

She’s currently working at Google as a diversity, equity, and inclusion program manager. What shaped her time at Wellesley was working at Harambee House— a space for students of African descent— with Dr. Tracey Cameron. “Dr. Cameron was probably one of the most important people in my life at Wellesley. Having a mentor who was there for me, producing events with other students, being surrounded by so much love—that made my experience 2,423,423,423,423 times better. I had a family at Wellesley.” Class of 2018.

No. 84 The Wellesley Centers for Women.

The largest social science organization in the U.S. dedicated to gender research.

More than 30 ongoing research projects, dozens of renowned scholars, 10 student employees, and five student interns.

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No. 85

The Wellesley Debates.

High-spirited intellectual jousting matches.

Students, faculty, and outside experts speak for and against topical motions (American hegemony is a good thing, institutional multi­culturalism is detrimental to a liberal arts education, profiling practices strengthen national security). The audience votes; laurels are bequeathed; minds are opened.

No. 86 The micro-MRI accessory.

For our nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. Possibly the only such accessory in an undergraduate institution. Allows for cross-disciplinary breakthroughs that can only be hinted at here (neural activity in crayfish!).

No. 87 Lulu!

Its actual name is the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center. It has many of the things you’d expect from a campus center: cheap food, low couches, mailboxes, messy bulletin boards, big windows with great views, comfortable spaces in which one might nap or dance or argue in a friendly way. But it’s also—and this is important— open around the clock. Which says something about who we are: people for whom time means nothing and trust means everything. Lulu Chow Wang, by the way, is Class of 1966, and we are so grateful to her.

24/7

No. 88

The Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative.

A wide-ranging program that invites students to use Wellesley’s campus as a living laboratory. Recent projects include building birdhouses from recycled pallets, building benches from fallen trees, conducting interdisciplinary research on Wellesley’s water resources, and leading a winter birdwatching walk. Part of a campus-wide effort to create a more sustainable community (and world!).

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No. 89

Highly personalized (and therefore effective) letters of recommendation.

For graduate school or employment. Written by faculty who have worked closely with you in class, served as an advisor, worked with you on a research project or an independent study. One of the many tangible ways in which our faculty serve as your advocate.

No. 90 Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall.

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A dazzling space for major public events, the permanent home of our Theatre Studies Department, and an excellent backdrop for selfies (see above). Recently received a major renovation headed by awardwinning architect Ann Beha, who is, yes, an alumna (Class of 1972).

Diana Chapman Walsh, meanwhile, is an alumna (Class of 1966) and former president of Wellesley.

No. 91

Research.

The search for new knowledge. So deep, so complex, it is often done in pairs or groups. Could involve travel or stillness, obsessive planning or reckless experimentation, broad sampling or microscopic examination, disciplined analysis or far-flung theorizing. Our students do it (like, say, working with a Bruker NMR Spectrometer to develop new applications of MRI), share it (in publications and at conferences on and off campus), and use it as a springboard to graduate or professional work. See also the campus-wide brain parties (#6) and the micro-MRI accessory (#86).

No. 92 WZLY, 91.5 FM.

No. 93 The Schiff Fellows.

Electric ladyland. Listen (or join!) and believe.

A program that gives about a dozen seniors at least $1,500 to support their thesis work. Recent topics: fiscal administration in Song China and Western Europe, health policy in Africa, Internet piracy in France, a nanovehicle for cancer therapy.

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NO. 94 YANVALOU.

Yanvalou.

One of our many performance ensembles.

Performs the folkloric music and dance of Africa as it exists today in Haiti and Brazil, using authentic instruments.

No. 96 The HCI Lab.

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NO. 95 BLUE CREW.

Blue Crew.

Nine straight top-five national finishes; eight NEWMAC championships; ten straight Seven Sisters titles. Competing on Boston’s iconic Charles River. GO BLUE!

It stands for Human Computer Interaction. One wall is glass, three walls are writable surfaces, and everything inside it is state-of-the-art equipment (3-D holographic displays, gesture-based user interfaces) designed to explore the frontier of science, technology, and art. An inspiring space for research, teaching, collaboration, pioneering. Funded by Amy Batchelor (Class of 1988) and her husband, both of whom are highly active in entrepreneurship and technology.

No. 97 The Albright Institute.

In which several dozen students from a range of fields study with leading experts, work in teams to address critical global issues, and present their findings to Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of State (Class of 1959!). And then go on a funded international internship with an organization related to the work they’ve just done.

No. 98

Abby Harrison, doing the (almost) impossible.

She’s into dance, music, diving, acting, rugby, long distance running, and 3D printing. She’s studied Russian and Chinese. She did fieldwork in Wellesley’s Lake Baikal program in Siberia. Oh, and she started the Mars Generation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that gets young students engaged with space and STEAM. “Landing humans on Mars is the next stepping stone for humanity in space exploration. It’s just hard enough to make it nearly impossible, but still doable.

It will push our boundaries, challenge the things we believed to be true about our universe, and allow us to make life on Earth better. But in order to make this possible, we need to ensure that the generation growing up today is inspired and supported in pursuing STEAM education.” Class of 2019.

No. 99 Our alumnae.

Sort of intimidating at first, but then just inspiring. The co-founder of Zipcar.

A NASA Space Shuttle pilot and commander. Korea’s first female ambassador. A former COO of Colgate-Palmolive. Two secretaries of state. Several Pulitzer Prizewinning journalists. The co-founder of City Year. The director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. The executive director of Partners in Health. And so on. There are thousands more, doing less headline-y things; you will meet them, you will rely on them for guidance and sustenance and actual shelter. Here’s the important part: They were once exactly where you are.

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No. 100

The pluralistic, polyphonic, unclassifiable mass of humanity that is our student body.

Our 2,375 students come from 50 states and 83 countries of birth and they speak more than 30 languages. They are Hindu and Muslim, libertarian and socialist, bohemian and business-savvy! They love Beyoncé and Lacan, they have climbed Everest and worked in orphanages, they will cook unfamiliar foods that you will love! Behold them! Befriend them!

They’re just some of the most interesting women in the world, is all.

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The Wellesley 100 Listed by item number A

C

H

Abby Harrison, doing the (almost) impossible 98 Acorns 35 Adam Van Arsdale’s forensic anthropology class 30 Admission 41 Albright Institute 97 Alumnae 09, 10, 14, 15, 28, 29, 33, 37, 38, 39, 43, 45, 50, 54, 59, 61, 62, 66, 74, 75, 76, 79, 83, 87, 90, 96, 97, 99 (in other words: pretty much everywhere) Angela Carpenter’s invented language class 62 Applying 42 Arielle Mitropoulos, feeling confident 68 Arts ascenDance 31 Culture shows 08 Davis Museum and Cultural Center 81 Fall Frenzy 22 Home of Theatre Studies Department 90 Phocus Photography Club 31 Pendleton West 51 Remarkable story of Katherine K. Davis 10 Shakespeare Society’s 24-Hour Shakes 34 Wellesley-Brandeis Orchestra 72 Wellesley Choir spring tour 14 Asha Ayub’s summer vacation 54 Athletics 67 Blue Crew 95 Couch to 5K 63 Multi-talented field hockey captain 68 Pilates 14 The playing fields 69 Awwwwww! 73

Calderwood Seminars in Public Writing 48 Camellia Student Leadership Awards 46 Campus 02 Campus-wide brain parties! 06 Career Education 15 Clubs 31 Couch to 5K 63 Cultural clubs 04, 08 Culture shows 08 Curriculum 58

Harambee House 16, 83 HCI Lab 96 Highly personal (and therefore effective) letters of recommendation 89 Hillary Rodham Clinton 38 The Hive 74 Honor Code 17 Hoop rolling 18

B Blue Crew 95 Boston and Cambridge 36, 80 Boston Marathon 77 Botanistas! 64 46

D Davis Museum and Cultural Center 81 Davis Scholars 50, 62 Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall 90 Diversity and inclusion 04, 08, 16, 27, 35, 78, 83, 100 Dmanisi Paleoanthropology Field School 30 Dodgeball, students crushing faculty at 01 Dominique Hazzard, getting it done 76

E Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden 64 El Table 32 Frankly: the endowment 24 English and Creative Writing Department 29 Ethos 09, 16 Everything that is named 75

F Faculty 01, 11, 29, 30, 48, 62, 65, 89 Financial aid 24, 56 First Generation Network 04 First-Year Seminar 13

G Global Flora Greenhouses 70 GO BLUE! (Thank you.) 67

I Impressive-sounding (and -acting) scientific equipment 25 Internships (Funded!) 06, 15, 49, 54

J Jobs 59, plus the many, many entries under Alumnae Just wondering if anyone’s really reading the index. Hi!

K Kavindya Thennakoon, building a brighter world 44 Knapp Media and Technology Center 71 Kristina Bracero and Kellen Kartub 14

L Laila Alawa, pretty much dominating 66 Lake Baikal program 98 Lake Day 53 Lasers! 25 LGBTQ+ Programs & Services 78 Liberal arts & sciences 07 Libraries 52, 71 Limitlessness of educational options 26 “Little Drummer Boy” 10 Liz Ogbu 39 Loud noises! 22 Lulu! 87

M Majors 12 Malika Jeffries-EL, doing the hard work 09 Mariana and Alberta in Cuba 20 Mars, sending humans to 98 Michelle Caruso-Cabrera 28 Micro-MRI accessory 86 Ministrare Council 55 More nearby cultural attractions than you can see in a year 80 Multifaith Center 27

N Nancy Drew 37 The Neuroscience Major 11

O Ophelia Dahl, addressing the problem 50 Organic semiconductors 09

P Pamela Daniels Fellowship 61 Paula Johnson, president (among other things) 03 Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative 88 Paws for Wellness 73 Pendleton West 51 Pinanski Teaching Prize 65 The playing fields 69 Pluralistic, polyphonic, unclassifiable mass of humanity that is our student body 100 The Presidential Scholars program 23 Pulitzer Prize-winning faculty 29

R Real-ness of diversity and inclusion 04 Regeneration Farm 64 Religious organizations on campus 04, 27 Required writing courses that everyone loves 82 Research 06, 11, 14, 25, 30, 52, 60, 66, 70, 91, 93

The residential experience, so like a fuzzy sweater 33 Rocío Ortega, doing heroic things 45 Ruhlman Conference 06

S

Schiff Fellows 93 Science HCI Lab 96 Impressive equipment 25 Kellen Kartub doing cancer research 14 Malika Jeffries-EL, needed by chemistry 09 Micro-MRI accessory 86 Neuroscience 11 Paula Johnson’s pathbreaking life in 03 Research, so much research 91 Research presented at Ruhlman Conference 06 Science Hill 70 STEM, gold standard in undergraduate education 70 WHACK 43 Whitin Observatory 60 Science Hill 70 Serenity Hughes, finding a family 83 Service 06, 23, 55 The Scoop (Sustainability Co-op) 05 Study abroad 47

T 24-Hour Shakes 34 Tanner Conference 06 #TeamThesis 76 Traditions 18 Traying 21

V The Vil 57 Visiting 40 Vivian Pinn 79

W Wellesley-Brandeis Orchestra 72 Wellesley Career Education 15 Wellesley Centers for Women 84

Wellesley Debates 85 Wellesley, the town 57 WHACK 43 What happens after Wellesley 59 The Whiptails 19 Whitin Observatory 60, 70 Whitman, Walt 07 Wintersession 20 WZLY, 91.5 FM 92

Y Yanvalou 94

This book was produced by: Wellesley College and Generation Branding & Communication Project Directors: Deanna Doughty Principal photography: Yoon S. Byun Additional photography: Richard Howard, IDEO.org, The Mars Generation, and Julia Monaco ’19 Printing: Kirkwood Printing, Wilmington, MA