Today we packed up from LA and headed to Palm Springs en route to Joshua Tree National Park. Despite the rain, we were able to get in a 3.75 mile hike on a mountain in Palm Springs. The skies cleared up just in time to give us some beautiful views!
Bright and early the group made our way to Boston University for an information session and tour. The sessions were packed, with large tour groups making their way around campus in some pretty intense winds! After marveling at the lovely buildings in the BU area, and enjoying our tour, it was time for lunch!
We headed to Newbury Street for a relaxing lunch before spending some time walking around to stretch our legs before a little bit before visiting Northeastern University! This was our first (outdoor) self-guided tour of the trip, and the campus was packed! Current students were making their way all across the sprawling campus, but we were able to get a feeling for life at Northeastern by visiting the major campus sites and even checking out a few buildings where classes and research happens.
The wind got the better of us in some moments, and we happily piled back into our trusty Emma van to drive to Tufts University: there, we ran into the elephant, and explored a bit of campus using their self-guided tour points. The view from the hill at Tufts had everyone thinking of our own Mount Ida, but everyone was a fan of the general vibe and architecture of the campus.
Tired and a little wind-blown, we stopped at Fenway to decompress with some bowling before heading back to our AirBnB and settling in for the night. Ordering dinner in and hunkering down, students hung out on their own (time to relax) or filled the living room with laughter before everyone tucked in for a solid night’s rest thinking about tomorrow: a late start to get us packed up and on the road to Amherst College!
Those are the words on a prominent sign as you exit the National Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC. We can’t think of a more powerful way to explore human rights than to take a deep and extremely emotional dive into one of the most horrific human rights violations in humanity. Prior to visiting, our group had a thoughtful discussion about the psychology of “groupthink” and how simple it can be for societies, governments, and individuals to turn a blind eye to pain and suffering of others l— especially when that pain and suffering is reported on a massive scale. This experience enriched our ability to explore human rights through a historical lens while also thinking about the part we play as individuals today.
Unanimously, our group decided that The National Holocaust Memorial Museum is an essential experience for anyone looking to examine human rights, past and present.
We may have escaped the heavy, wet snow blanketing Mount Ida, but we haven’t escaped entirely unscathed: a little soggy, we made our way through the rain to Wellesley College!
Under the branches of dripping pines our group made the decision to keep our self-guided tour to the van, and drive around the campus to get our full of the picturesque buildings and gorgeous natural scenery with an impromptu informational tour from one of the chaperones who is familiar with the campus.
With the rain turning to snow, we made the decision to move our look at Northeastern (also a self-guided outdoor tour) to Wednesday and take refuge inside the New England Aquarium:
(Thank you to Flavia A. ’24 for these aquarium photos!)
After that we did brave some weather with a quick walk over to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market for lunch and some wandering before piling back into the van and making our home-away-from-home in an AirBnB. After settling in, the group met up to decide our course of action for dinner and plans for the free time through the rest of our visit.
This evening, we spent some time in Harvard Bookstore–keep an eye out for a haul of what we ended up picking out–and eating burgers and fries (with a stop for snacks and forgotten toiletries) before heading back to the house under some snowy skies.
Tomorrow: BU, Northeastern, and Tufts!
Day one of the New England college tour is off! Heading out from Mount Ida early this morning, we made it to Mount Holyoke college for a tour with two best-friend-tour-guides! Though the day was grey, the historic campus reminded us of Emma Willard School with its circa 1830s architecture, impressive towering library, expansive greens (or, they would be, come spring) and endless traditions.
After an information session chock-full of the student and alum experience, where students had time to ask questions ranging from the wellness resources available to continuing crew. Our guides then picked us up for a quick lunch in the dining hall before piling back into the van to make our way to Clark University.
Once there, we were greeted with information packets and snacks, before another information session featuring a current student to detail the experience. Our two tour guides led us throughout the campus, including athletic facilities and Clark University’s first building.
The first two visits crossed off the list, we headed over to the Natick Mall for some window shopping, actual shopping, dinner, and ice cream before resting for the day tomorrow: Wellesley College and Northeastern University!
A World Awaits You! 