Summer
at Smith
 Every
May, as more than 2,000 Smith students pack their bags to
head home or to off-season jobs, about 150 of them prepare
for a different summer home -- right here on campus.
And while Smith
College during the summer is decidedly less lively than during
the academic year, some of Smith’s summer student residents
like the change.
“I would
recommend living at Smith during the summer,” says Nastassia
Shields ’09, who is residing in Talbot House and helping
coordinate summer programs in the Office of College Relations.
“It is so different and it’s so nice to be able
to relax in a place as nice as this.”
The summer student
contingent includes those with campus jobs, internships, research
assistantships or extenuating circumstances. Some stay the
entire summer, others for only a few weeks. Most students
move to a different residence from their academic year home.
This summer, they live in Haven, Parsons, Talbot houses, and
Parsons Annex.
Elan McCollum
’08, a psychology major, is spending the summer in Parsons
House as she conducts research through a fellowship with Byron
Zamboanga, assistant professor of psychology.
“Smith is
a lot different during the summer,” says McCollum. “With
fewer people around, the houses are quieter, and most everyone
works some kind of 9 to 5 job on campus.”
 While
the number of undergraduates on campus is sparse during the
summer, the campus remains active with 40 summer programs,
as well as the School for Social Work, which is session during
summer.
Now, as the college’s
summer residents finish up their jobs and prepare to return
to their regular residences, they offer mixed emotions about
the impending arrival of autumn.
“Smith is
much more beautiful in June and July than during the dreaded
Massachusetts winters,” says McCollum, who is from Washington,
D.C. “But even with all of the wonderful things about
staying at Smith for the summer, I still prefer it during
the academic year. All of my friends are on campus then, and
there is a lot more to do, both work and play. Though the
summer has been a refreshing change, it does get boring sometimes.”
Shenquia Archer
’08, a government major from the Bronx, New York, agrees.
“The summer at Smith is less fast-paced compared to
life during the academic year,” she says. “I prefer
being at Smith during the semester because I don’t have
to worry about finding things to do in my spare time.”
But for Shields,
summer is the best time to be at Smith. “I have met
so many great people here—both faculty and students—that
I otherwise would not have gotten the opportunity to meet,”
she says.
Then there’s
the climate, a factor that possibly only someone like Shields,
who is from Stony Hill, near Kingston, Jamaica, can appreciate.
“It sure gets hot here during the summer,” she
notes. “The weather is great, although I suppose some
would argue. I love the heat!”
-Eric Sean
Weld
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