By Katie Catulle ’24
Spring semester. We return from break to a cold, occasionally snowy campus. Seniors scramble to meet requirements, finish theses, finalize postgrad plans, catch up with old friends, and take advantage of every opportunity while we still can. Between the stress of the semester’s start and the chaos of the end of college, it can be difficult to remember to take time to reflect. To breathe.
I decided to ask a few seniors to do just that: to sit and reflect on entering senior spring.
Caroline Dent ’24 expresses the fear of graduation shared by many seniors. “I am in complete denial about graduating. I wish I had one more year here. I just learned to love it; it’s so messed up that they’re making me leave.”
Perhaps this sentiment is best summarized by Abby Golden ’24, who when asked how she was feeling about senior spring, said, “Bad.”
Dent also reflects on the opportunities she found at Harvard. “I’ve created such a rich intellectual community and found such unlikely opportunities. It’s a privilege to have found such a home in such a star-studded place.”
Alison Forchoh ’24 is optimistic about the final semester. “I feel confident in all of the decisions I’ve made this far because I feel solid with my undergraduate career coming to a close. I love all of the lessons I’ve learned and the people I’ve met have taught me so much about myself and life in general. I’m just very excited to close it all out.”
Isabella Madrigal ’24 shares that, “This senior spring is filled with a lot of stress and uncertainty for the future but also a lot of nostalgia. Everything feels more romantic because I’m doing it for the last time.” Madrigal explains that she changed her major during her time at Harvard, which leaves her with a sense of lost time, “but I think figuring it out is part of the process.” Overall, Madrigal emphasizes the “amazing people” she met while here.
May Moorefield ’24, originally class of ’23, is in an especially unique place as a “Super Senior.” She was on campus with her blockmates last spring during senior week, so she is “going into the spring with an attitude for what to do and an awareness of how quickly the time slips.” This unique position makes her feel “extra fatigued but determined to make the most of everything.” It can seem like she has seen everything, “but keeping an eye open to novelty is important to me.”
Some seniors, like Mia Taylor ’24, reflect on the changes they have witnessed during their time here. “I’m just glad I made it far enough to see the arrival of vegan fro-yo in the dining hall. Godspeed everyone.”
As I enter my final semester, I hope to carry these reflections with me. I am grateful for all of the unbelievable opportunities, supportive mentors, funded travel, and encouragement to try new passions. But most of all, I am thankful for the wonderful friends I have made.
Katie Catulle ’24 is an English concentrator in Adams House.