The Mean Girls

 As any teacher will tell you, one of the great joys of our profession is when graduating students go out of their way to reach out to you as they head out the door. I think this is especially true for us in the Core division because we don't have majors, which means that we don't spend time with students on a daily basis over four years. So, when they reach out to us it really means something. Recently four of my graduating seniors, known lovingly as the Mean Girls, emailed me about getting together for coffee a couple of days before the ceremony. They are all veterans of the latest Zanzibar trip, which is, amazingly, over two years ago now. I suggested Klinger's, which I always liked, but definitely became my go-to meeting spot during the pandemic: great coffee and treats tied to tables outside. I was able to sit down with Whitney, Emily (I was actually her first professor, 8:00 in the morning on a Monday, four years ago), River, and Tori for two and a half hours as we gabbed specifically about the Zanzibar trip and also more generally about college. It was a wonderful time.

Whitney, Emily, River and Tori. Oddly, they don't look that mean in the picture, which I suspect what makes them so dangerous.