Ainsley Chrystal ’23
Hometown: Ames, IA
What other clubs, sports, other activities are you normally involved in?
House Council, Anthropology Club, and Spectral Society. House Council has definitely been the constant in my extracurricular activities, especially in the last year when it was hard to stay in contact with other clubs. HoCo has really kept me in touch with so many wonderful people, and my years would not be the same without it.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Convivial, passionate, goofy.
If you had to pick a kind of animal to represent you and fellow Smithies, what would it be and why?
It is kind of cheesy, but I think the owl is a great one because it represents wisdom, intuition, and seeing through deceptions.
Describe your daily routine?
Finally! The on-campus routine! I have had the luck of often having a morning class, which does help me to organize my days much better. I always try to eat breakfast before class, and having a dining hall in my house now is so helpful. Then class! Learning! Enrichment! Scholarship! Somehow that one class works up an appetite and it's off to lunch. If the day has already been long, sometimes I treat myself to a coffee from the Campus Cafe, and if it's been longer than that, the order is a mudslide. I get lunch with some friends, and then head to my second and sometimes third classes of the day. Follow that up with some studying, projects and dinner and that's my whole afternoon. I usually try to reserve after evenings for being in the house and doing any house events that evening. Wash, rinse, and repeat, save for some day-to-day changes, and that's my day! I think I have the perfect balance of routine and events to keep the days interesting, but very manageable.
What’s your favorite place on campus?
Okay, okay, is it cheating to put the revamped Neilson Library? Maybe. But I am going to anyway because the space is AMAZING. Seriously, it is the chicest library I ever did see. It is so light and airy, and yet cozy and warm, so it really makes studying feel possible and cool—even when you are catching up on a hundred pages of reading. The combination of modern architecture with the old brick of the original Neilson really unites modernity with tradition—very much like Smith College itself. It is such a focal point in the Smith Community and I am so happy it's open!
What’s one thing you wish prospective students knew about Smith?
The Smith community is unbelievably strong and supportive and I have never felt an outpouring of “we’re all in this together” like this before. It’s come from faculty, staff, alumna, and fellow students. So the thing I wish prospective Smithies knew was that they will be in good hands!
Is there any other message you’d like to include to the wider Smith community?
I cannot wait to see all of you in the fall!!
Smithie Snapshots is a new profile series highlighting members of the Smith community, located all over the world.