BeJuniors: the 23-24 School Year in Photos
Quinn shares some of their experiences at Carleton through her photo reel
Quinn shares some of their experiences at Carleton through her photo reel
Running It Back…
Like many others of my generation, I am a devoted fan of the app BeReal, which prompts you to take photos of your day at a random time every day. The result is a collection of little moments that, when compiled, create a pretty accurate picture of life at Carleton! Last year I shared a collection of my BeReals from my time at Carleton thus far, and I thought it would be fun to do an updated junior year version — I humbly present just some of the moments I captured during the 23-24 school year.
Fall ’23 – Quinn in Europe!
During fall term I had the opportunity to go abroad on Carleton’s Women’s and Gender Studies in Europe program, which was an amazing experience. I spent 3 weeks in Utrecht, 4 weeks in Berlin, and 5 weeks in Prague studying gender studies in a European context while also completing an independent research project — stay tuned for a future blog with a more complete recap! I also got to travel to Vienna and Budapest during the program which was a huge bonus.
We had class in a community center in Berlin, conveniently located immediately next to a great coffee shop — a lifesaver for 9 am lectures.
We had the opportunity to listen to a master organist play in one of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen. As a music nerd, this was one of my favorite moments of the whole program.
One unexpected perk of my program was that a lot of us spoke Chinese, so when the Mid-Autumn holiday rolled around we knew we had to celebrate in style. Berlin Chinese food isn’t half bad if you pick the right spot!
Winter ’24 — Returning to Campus
Coming back to campus during the winter was bittersweet. I loved my abroad program, particularly the opportunity to travel, and it was hard to say goodbye to new friends. It just made coming back home to old friends all the sweeter! I moved into a triple in Nourse, which I loved for its convenient location and gorgeous exterior. (Not to mention my amazing roommates, including fellow blogger Hannah!)
I must’ve just come back inside when this was taken — see my flushed cheeks and big scarf. A true portrait of winter at Carleton! I loved the view from my windows, particularly at sunset.
The high point of my winter was being elected Station Manager of KRLX, our student radio station. I’ve been involved with KRLX since fall term freshman year, and I love it more than anything, so it was incredibly exciting (albeit a bit nerve-wracking) to be handed the keys to the station. Tune in at content.krlx.org during the school year!
This winter I was also lucky enough to have the opportunity to be in my good friend’s film for the CAMS department! Senior CAMS majors can choose to create a short film for their comps exercise, and I got to star in a horror movie set in the Northfield Public Library. The floors were squeaky all by themselves — no sound effects required.
Spring ’24 – Wait, I’m a Senior Now?
Spring term brought a new home for me, a lot of fun college-sponsored events, hours spent soaking up the sun, and a marked anxiety about the fact that I only have a year left to figure things out! I did get to move into Farm House, our sustainable living interest house, which was particularly special as it was the last term of Farm — it’s getting demolished as part of our new housing plan. We were all very sad to say goodbye to a special place with so much history, but we’re getting excited about the new super-sustainable house we move into in the fall.
I consider myself so lucky to have gotten to live in Farm, even if it was just briefly. The community is really special, and I loved living outside of a dorm context for the first time. We also got to host FarmStock, a student band showcase. Every year Farm roasts a pig (sustainably sourced, of course) and it was crazy to finally be part of the pig process!
Spring means a big uptick in concerts for the Music Department as our seniors perform their final recitals — here, I’m working one of those concerts in Applebaum Recital Hall, just upstairs in the Weitz. This was a particularly fun concert as it happened to be a close friend of mine performing!
Believe it or not, I did do academic work this year! My favorite study spot is the study rooms on Second Libe, pictured here. I like the seclusion of the space, but I need someone to keep me on task while I’m there.
So ends my year-end recap, through a series of stony-faced BeReals — I hope that by showing you these silly moments, you can begin to picture what YOUR time at Carleton could look like!
Quinn (she/her/hers) is an American Studies Major and Chinese Minor. Quinn has a deep love of the Carleton community; she says she is so lucky to be surrounded by such brilliant and kind people. Quinn is an active member of the student-run radio station KRLX, the orchestra, the equestrian club, and the music department! Following her love of music and radio, her favorite place on campus is the record library. And finally, a fun fact about Quinn is that her family helped to found the Minneapolis St. Patrick’s Day Parade!