Smith Quarterly

Smith Quarterly

One Heart, One Team

At the NHL, Nora Cothren ’12 works to make hockey more inclusive for the next generation of players.

  • Smith Quarterly
  • November 17, 2025
Smith Quarterly

The Gospel of Welcome

Sarah Buteux ’95 came to Smith as a fundamentalist evangelical—her experience reshaped her faith.

  • Smith Quarterly
  • November 17, 2025
Smith Quarterly

Art As Sanctuary

A poet, a hurricane, and a night alone in the woods.

  • Smith Quarterly
  • November 17, 2025
A wooden structure with windows on all sides stands in the middle of the woods.
Smith Quarterly

Old Age Set Sophy Burnham Free

Once reluctant to reveal her years, the bestselling author embraces the freedom that comes later.

  • Smith Quarterly
  • November 17, 2025
“When I started the book at age 85, I would never tell my age,” she says. “When I finished the book at nearly 87, writing it had changed me completely, and I was ready to accept it.”
From “Old Age Set Sophy Burnham Free”
Smith Quarterly

Lessons from the Job Market

New grads focus on short-term goals and unexpected opportunities.

  • Smith Quarterly
  • November 17, 2025

Scene

Never Break the Chain

Team spirit is palpable on the Smith field hockey pitch. From left, Lucia Kim ’27, Maya Zager ’29, Maeve Huit ’26, and Ada Hendrickson ’26 link up during a home game against Springfield College in October. A consistent leader in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), the Bears have reached the postseason six times since 2015 and won their first championship in 2018. Field hockey became an official Smith sport in 1971–72, though archival images show students playing as early as 1901. —Barbara Solow

Photograph by Jessica Scranton

Autumn Reflections

Whether it’s the crunch of leaves underfoot or the sight of brilliant colors lighting up the hillsides, fall is a welcome marker of change—and an invitation for the Smith community to get outside and enjoy the campus landscape. Perhaps nowhere is the foliage more striking than at the edges of Paradise Pond, where vivid hues reveal themselves above and below, reflected in the water. —Barbara Solow

Photograph by Jessica Scranton

Pick of the Day

Apple picking has been a favorite Mountain Day activity since the first surprise break from fall classes in 1877. Sonya Abdalla ’26 keeps the fresh-picked tradition alive at Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton, Massachusetts, sporting this year’s special T-shirt celebrating Smith’s 150th anniversary. The design highlights favorite campus haunts and Mountain Day pastimes—from tea to boat rides to, naturally, apples. —Barbara Solow

Photograph by Jessica Scranton

Right at Home

Asked to sum up her feelings about move-in day in a single word, Chicagoan Sanne Nordlund ’29, left, didn’t hesitate: “Exhilarating!” She and her roommate, Isadora Jane ’29, right, from Tucson, Arizona, have been in touch since last December. The pair moved into Gardiner House in late August, joining the largest and most diverse entering class in recent Smith history. —Barbara Solow

Photograph by Jessica Scranton

Favorites: Smithie Stuff We Love

For more Smithie stuff we love this fall, check out the full list.

Have you written a book? Made a movie? Created a fashion line? Or had a hand in another creative pursuit? Submit your project to be considered in a future Favorites column!

Art

An existential crisis prompted Phyllis Fewster Rosser ’56 to begin making wood sculptures in the 1960s. Having left Boston for the Jersey Shore, she began wandering the beaches there, collecting branches and contemplating this new chapter of her life. A few years later, while reeling from a fight with a neighbor, Rosser broke out her wood collection and started hammering away, pounding pieces together to form an irregular shape. She hung the finished product and it caught the eye of the late Nancy Azara, an artist who mentored her and encouraged her to keep creating. Rosser’s sculptures range from small, 12-inch works to 8-footers, with most pieces constructed using wood sourced from Bellows Falls, Vermont. “The wood comes in many colors, showcasing the beauty of the ravages of time,” Rosser says.

Explore wood sculptures and paintings

Data Point

<200

While the precise number of eastern rat snakes living in Massachusetts is a mystery, the state wildlife office estimates that fewer than 200 of these nonvenomous tree snakes currently call the Bay State home. Staff and students at Smith’s Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability are helping to protect and expand that endangered population with a new habitat restoration project supported by an $8,500 grant from the Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom and the National Wildlife Federation.

Smith is one of only eight colleges in the U.S. to be awarded a grant this year through the program, which supports “innovative, student-led projects that protect and restore threatened wildlife and habitats.” In the coming months, some 20 Smithies, led by Alex Blaszczyk ’27, will do research, remove invasive plants, and add native trees to create a restored snake habitat on three forested wetland acres at Smith’s MacLeish Field Station in Whately.

Why are eastern rat snakes endangered? Paul Wetzel, field station manager at MacLeish, says their low-key demeanor makes them an easy target for pet stores, and their preferred habitats are being swallowed up by housing developments and roads. While he’s not yet glimpsed one of the long (up to 20 feet!) black ophidians at MacLeish, Wetzel is confident they are there. “Maps can’t tell you everything that’s in a habitat,” he says with a smile. As part of the restoration project, students will design and create a hibernaculum, where snakes can comfortably spend the winter. If they build it…
—Barbara Solow

Archetypes: Exploring Smith College Special Collections

A vintage doll of Sophia Smith wearing a sash that says "Stand Up for Smith"

Stand by Smith Doll, 1919

In 1919, Smith launched its ambitious “Stand By Smith” campaign, aiming to raise $2 million. Alum volunteers got creative. They hosted bridge parties where guests paid to play at an alum’s home, with all winnings going straight to Smith. In New York City, another group bought 590 straw hats from the Philippines and sold them out of a Fifth Avenue storefront—later home to a Fendi boutique.

Dolls including the one pictured here were dreamed up by the Smith College Club of Cleveland. Hand-stitched to resemble college founder Sophia Smith, they were designed to be filled with coins until they could stand upright—at which point the money went to the college.

All that ingenuity paid off: By the following year, Smith had more than doubled its goal, raising over $4 million.
—Cheryl Dellecese

Professor Robert Dorit stands with several Smithies at a panel about Smith’s Paris program.

You Had to Be There

Biological sciences professor Robert Dorit stands with, from left, Danielle Julien Trice ’14, Emily Farrell ’99, Florence Gertner Fabricant ’58, and Ann Sanford ’75. They spoke on a panel at a June conference titled A Century of Smith in Paris: Bridging Worlds 1925–2025, held in honor of the 100th anniversary of Smith’s junior year abroad in Paris program.

Here we spotlight some of the most dynamic and engaging photos submitted by Smithies and give a short description of what was happening when the flash went off. All submissions will be considered, with one image selected each quarter. Submit a class note or email classnotes@smith.edu to participate.

Read All Class Notes

Don’t Call Them Dorms

Issue Archive

Scroll down and click on the cover of your choice, and click again to open the flipbook. For additional instructions, refer to the How to Use Our Digital Edition PDF. Mobile users: Visit the mobile site for the best experience.

Past Reads

Check out some articles from past issues of the Smith Quarterly to see how members of the Smith community have been working to push the world forward.