Smith Medalists, Then and Now

This year’s Rally Day celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Smith College Medal, which has been presented to more than 200 outstanding alumnae.

This year’s Smith Medalists gave presentations related to their career fields. Learn more about the medalists as they were when they attended Smith. Click here to watch video interviews with this year’s Medalists.

Susan Hiller ’61

Major: I changed several times, but ended as an American studies major in the wonderful program invented by Daniel Aaron.
House: Comstock
Favorite Smith tradition: Mountain Day
Favorite snack: Ritz cheese-filled crackers
Fondest Smith memories: Friendships

Susan Molineaux ’75, Biotechnology entrepreneur

Major: Biology (with an almost minor in music)
House: Tyler House, all four years
Favorite Smith tradition: Mountain Day
Fondest Smith memories: Sitting in the hall talking to friends and taking great classes with great teachers (and learning how much I loved biology).

Amy Nutt ’77, Journalist and author

Double major: English and philosophy
House: Haven House, all four years
Fondest Smith memories: My fondest memories are the small moments sitting in the hallway late at night talking to the upperclassmen. I also remember the silence of walking home in the dead of winter from Neilson Library, my feet crunching softly in the fresh-packed snow. I remember sitting in the crook of the tall old weeping willow that used to stand behind Wright Hall, waiting for my roommate to return from theater rehearsal, the fragrance of lilacs and magnolia and hyacinth in the spring. The cherry trees that ringed Chapin House. The earthy, damp. pungent smell of autumn leaves as I walked around Paradise Pond. There are a thousand such moments, when I remember breathing deeply, drinking in the world and feeling the wonder of being alive.

Farah Pandith ’90, Diplomat

Double major: Government and psychology
House: Gillett and Wilson
Favorite Smith traditions: Mountain Day and Illumination Night
Favorite snack as a Smithie: Toast
Fondest Smith memories: Talking with friends in the wee hours of the morning and inevitably ordering pizza and sitting in the hall and eating it, using toilet paper for napkins.