Fit for a New Year’s Resolution

Three of the top five most popular New Year’s resolutions relate to diet and exercise, according to the U.S. government. Eat healthy food, get fit, lose weight are all on the list.

While at Smith, students have countless ways to stay fit—from signing up for athletics classes and joining sports teams to working out at the gym. Throughout the college’s history, some of the options have gone away while new ones took their place. Early on, Smith had a bowling alley, yet Zumba and yoga classes were not offered. When we recently asked Smith students and alumnae about how they stayed fit on campus, many responded. Their wise and witty answers:

“Jazz III with Donna Mejia!” – Kristin Wilson ’09

“Ballet!” – Glendean Hamilton ’13

“Climbed stairs to my room on the 4th floor of Lawrence, to class on the 3rd floor of Seelye, walked everywhere I needed to go…who needs the gym?!” – Kristine Mueller Kidder ’95

“Afro-Caribbean dance. I finally got in my last semester of senior year, due to such high demand. I’ll never forget bundling up to trudge across the snowy campus, undoing all my layers once I arrived and then sweating it out on the wooden floors. So much fun!” – Jennifer Kramer ’03

“Lots of jazz dance and yoga!” – Judith Cain ’93

“Bicycle, lap swim, ultimate Frisbee.” – Connie Bayersdorfer Lisé ’87

“Rugby!” – Melissa Day ’98

“Walked everywhere – all over town. I was in the best shape of my life by graduation.” – Amy Wirt ’94

“Does walking to Herrell’s for ice cream count?” – Karen Glickstein ’84

“I fenced, lifted weights…and taught aerobics!” – Jackie Houston ’86

“Ice Hockey! Back when it was still a club sport.” – Kate O’Donnell ’05

“Walking from the quad to class, back for lunch, back for class, back for dinner, back for the library, back for sleep.” – Anne Beauchamp ’01

“The Lifeguards! Synchronized swimming at Smith was the best!” – Kara Callah ’88

“Competitive procrastination.” – Sheana Dire Cto ’06

“Winter-term skiing, intramural soccer, walking!!!” – Anne Detweiler ’87

“Ultimate Frisbee team!” – Suzanne Derby-Wright ’06

“Never having taken ballet as a child, I was thrilled to take a couple of classes at Smith! Then there was squash, intramural field hockey and the wonderful paddle tennis court behind Northrop and Gillette as well as walking up to the 5th floor in Northrop. Friends choreographed aerobics classes which we participated in just about everywhere on campus and I walked and biked everywhere too.” – Alison Bjorklund Collins ‘82

“Never having been much of a sports person, I loved the free walk-in yoga classes. I still do yoga almost every night using what I learned there.” – Hanna McGaughey ’05

“African Dance in the boathouse! Amazing.” – Norell Hall Liddell ’02

“Golf, 8 a.m. aerobics, pilates, swimming, Kung Fu! Loved every single class, even the 8 a.m. one!” – Azizah Mathly ’04

“Tap dance class was the best!” – Sarah Kasowitz Phanos ’94

“Synchro!” – Beth Skubis ’96

“Rock climbing FTW.” – Aurora Fields ’08

“Indoor soccer with philosophy profs, jogged around N’ton, danced at parties!” – Robin Lloyd ‘84

“While at Smith, I learned to cross country ski and to ride horseback—it was great to have the opportunity to try something out.” – Maggie Dufresne ’78

“Utlimate Frisbee. Club sports for the win!” – Lexi Helming ’08