Every year, Wellesley College hosts two conferences to celebrate the research and hard work of Wellesley students and their colleagues. Each fall, Wellesley hosts the Tanner Conference, and every spring semester, Wellesley hosts the Ruhlman Conference. During the Ruhlman Conference, classes are canceled, and students are invited to speak on panels, give formal talks, and present posters documenting their research. Every semester, hundreds of students present their independent work, while hundreds more attend talks and support their fellow Wellesley sisters. This year’s Ruhlman Conference was held on April 24th, 2013. Just to give you a sense of the diversity of Ruhlman presentations this year: I started off my day listening to a panel on food and cultural identity, swung by a formal talk on body image, and narcissism (which included data from a survey among Wellesley students), and wrapped things up at a poster presentation on magnetic resonance imaging. Even some student organizations present their own work, like WAA, the Wellesley Asian Alliance, who spearheaded the creation of Wellesley’s brand new Asian-American studies minor this year!
Student Research Posters from the Ruhlman Conference, Spring ’13
On a side note, another highlight of my week included trying to get to a celebratory dinner after Ruhlman. After my roommate’s presentation, I offered to take her to dinner at a Tapas restaurant in Waltham. We booked a ZipCar to drive to dinner, to then find out that one of the tires was flat! So, instead of making it to dinner, we got down and dirty trying to change a tire for 2 hours. Here’s a picture of the donut we finally managed to put on the car:
The boot we finally put on a Wellesley College ZipCar!
As the semester wraps up, the campus is becoming more and more full of energy. Every evening there seems to be a play, or concert, or performance. This weekend alone, I attended a concert in Wellesley’s pub, an a capella concert, a jazz concert, and even a play. Just this afternoon, I passed a Holi celebration on the Chapel lawn, while heading to the Blue Jazz concert. Getting ready to take my first walk around Lake Waban, will fill you in with Wellesley’s springtime joys!
Students enjoying Lake Waban and the beautiful weather!