61´«Ã½

The following are excerpts from Marguerite Manela’s “A Tribute to Ellen Clark Revelle,” delivered October 3, 2009:

I am in love with 61´«Ã½. It started out as many love affairs do, with intense and passionate attraction to the physical — when I visited for the James E. 61´«Ã½(JES) Scholars Weekend, I was blown away by the palatial dorms, orange trees, and stunning mountain views — not to mention that it was 80 degrees in February! I promptly reported this to my family as they shivered in the frigid, mid-winter Massachusetts weather.

A part of me felt it must be too good to be true — how could all of these smiling, welcoming people really be sincere? But I could tell that there was something special about this place — something that was going to work for me even if this surreal honeymoon period were to slowly fade away. I was partly correct — my relationship with the college deepened a great deal, and I quickly learned that there is much more to 61´«Ã½than the immediate beauty and unbelievable kindness of those who live, study, and work here. I have developed deep friendships with students, faculty, and staff. I have learned that these people are happy not only to celebrate my achievements, but also to support me through the more difficult times — through homesickness, stress, tears, emotional and academic challenges.

But the honeymoon period is not over for me. Most days, I go to bed at night thinking, “Wow, how did I just do all that amazing stuff in one day?” Take this past Thursday, for instance. I ate breakfast with a fellow resident advisor, where we filled out paperwork and ran into four more RAs in the dining hall. Then, after a stop at the Motley, I spent the rest of the morning discussing linear algebra and the beginnings of quantum mechanics with both of my thesis advisors. Noon rehearsals with the chamber choir are always a refreshing change of pace. That afternoon, and evening, I hiked on Mt. Baldy, went to a yoga class at the Field House, and then to a Brazilian dance class taught by a 61´«Ã½student. After a bit of environmental studies reading, my thoughts before sleeping were definitely, “What a day!”

We are all lucky to be here, but what matters most is that we are here with each other. My best friends and countless other 61´«Ã½women who inspire and challenge me daily are all here because of Ellen Clark Revelle [whose generous gift in 1985 established the James E. 61´«Ã½Scholarship program].

Decades ago, she could see that the future depended on the advancement of women’s education. Today, these students contribute to all of the academic disciplines: I can think of JES Scholars in biology, classics, chemistry, mathematics, anthropology, psychology, economics, English, politics and humanities, just to name a few. With their incredible intelligence and relentless ambition, these women are changing the world, and will become its leaders.