My mom and I have always had a good relationship. She’s someone I’ve always known I can count on, for serious support and lighthearted fun. She’s a kind, loving, hardworking role model– and she’s also a Mount Holyoke Alum.
I can remember when I first started asking my mom about her experiences in college. I was a junior in high school, and had first started seriously considering Mount Holyoke as a choice for my educational career. My first foray into the Mount Holyoke of the late 80’s was her enthusiastic love for the Mandelles, scenically located behind Lower Lake and far from the bustling center of campus. She lived there for three of her four years at MHC, and as a senior became Hall President in her dorm (currently known as an SCA).
She remembers walking to Odyssey Bookshop, which was back then one of the only businesses in what we now know as The Village Commons. That didn’t bother her, though– she loved taking the bus to Northampton to explore, especially when the weather was (as it is now) beautiful and the ground was covered in autumn leaves.
She loved Mount Holyoke’s classes, extracurriculars, vegetarian food (even in the 80s, they had enough options for her to be vegetarian for all four years), and traditions. From Mountain Day, to Class Colors, to Pangy Day, she told me, the traditions are a special part of the Mount Holyoke experience. She didn’t forget to mention her favorite Mount Holyoke tradition– M&C’s– in her tales of college life, either.
When we first stepped on campus during my tour two years ago, my mother still knew the way. She could still point out landmarks on campus, despite all that has changed in the past three decades. She never made me feel as though I had to come to Mount Holyoke, or even seriously consider it– but once I got here for a tour, and later when I shadowed, I knew it was right for me, just as it was right for her.
Now that I’m here, when I call home, I have a new way of relating to my mom that I never had before. I call her and tell her what we had for M&C’s, or the places I’m finding to study and hang out on campus that are, or are similar to, those she spent time in. I told her about the fun I had at my convocation, and she replied with tales of her own.
Just recently, I opened my door to find doodles on my bulletin board and candy at my feet. I was elfed, and it made my day! Naturally, when I spoke to my mom that evening, I told her how happy I was that I had been elfed, and before I could explain it to her, she responded with excitement:
“I was wondering if they still elfed! I loved being one and I loved receiving it. I’m so glad they still do it– I didn’t want to ruin the surprise for you so I’m glad you told me.”
A connection was made, another one, one I didn’t even know we had. This, in fact, was the instance that prompted me to write this article in the first place. Mount Holyoke has helped me foster an even better, more special relationship with my mom, and it’s little things like this that exemplify that. Thanks, Mount Holyoke, for everything– but most of all, for giving my mom and I something so special to enjoy.
