Besides FSMs proximity to food, the gym, and bus routes, there are a lot of great things that the residents this year have experienced or learned about it. Meet Ellie, Tenzin, and Emmie! They allowed us into their worlds to photograph their spaces and hear about their year in FSM!
Name: Ellery
Hometown: Well I grew up in Farmington, Maine. I’d say I have a few “homes” though.
Hobby/favorite pastimes: playing music, hiking, knitting, playing with cats
Major or academic interest: linguistics
Name: Tenzin
Hometown: Portland USA / Dharamsala, India / Kathmandu, Nepal
Hobby/favorite pastimes: Reading / Music / Homework / Food / Spirituality
Major or academic interest: Physics / Math
Name: Emmie
Hometown: Springfield, Ohio
Hobby/favorite pastimes: Dancing, Reading, Spending time with friends here
Major or academic interest: Currently Economics, specifically interested in International Relations
- What excited you most about Reed when you decided you were coming here?
Emmie: I was excited to find a place that could truly feel like home, with new friends with similar interests.
Tenzin: I have always wanted to be in a place where learning is valued above everything else. I was an engineering student and then a math major in India before arriving here in the US as a Tibetan refugee from Nepal, so being a life-long learner is very important to me.
- Were you scared about having a roommate?
Ellie: I definitely had that image of the nightmare roommate… But, having a roommate was wonderful when I first got here. I didn’t really know her that well but she was still a buddy to explore campus with.
Tenzin: Not really. It all begins by acknowledging they are a human being just like yourself. They have their needs and their rights. If you really are struggling, we have a House Advisor (HA) that lives on the floor and a Resident Director (RD) who lives in the building to help sort things out.
- What is your favorite thing about having a roommate?
Tenzin: My roommate is an international student, so most of his friends in the beginning of the year were from abroad. They became some of my closest friends here at Reed. Through him I was introduced to them and to the International Student Services (ISS) office. We had different classes because he’s interested in American studies and I’m a prospective physics major, but it’s always nice to have a friend to celebrate with or complain to in the evenings.
Ellie: Having a roommate was wonderful when I first got here. I had a person–I didn’t really know her, but she was still a buddy to explore campus with. As the year progressed we made our own separate friends, but have continued to happily live together.
- What is/are the best thing(s) about FSM?
Emmie: The community. I found my best friends here on my floor, and we do everything together. Our floor is super tight, and it makes a world of difference. The common room is a place to always find a friend, you can walk down the hall whenever you need someone or something, we cook, watch movies and T.V., or decorate our common room together.
Tenzin: Also, the Rhododendron garden is across the street and the flowers are beautiful during spring. Oh, FSM is also the host of BaconFest every year.
- What is/are something(s) you wish you had known about living on-campus/Reed?
Tenzin: The gym is free and really easily accessible and there’s always help for anything you face, all you need to do is ask.
- Do you have any advice for incoming first years?
Ellie: My advice for incoming first years is and will always be–sleep at night, eat well, and move your body. Take advantage of the beautiful canyon and the health services that Reed provides.
Tenzin: Be nice to one another. And sleep. Everything else can wait, but a good seven to eight hours sleep at the end of the day is always needed… you deserve it!
Emmie: Find a time to do laundry, the best times are the weird hours in the middle of the day. Make your room a positive space you want to return to and spend time in. Spend time decorating it; having cleaning parties with loud music and your roommate is great.
Here are some shots of rooms in MacNaughton and Foster! From window decorating, to one wall in each room painted a different color on each floor, Foster, Scholz, or MacNaughton can be a wonderful and vibrant place for you to call home.
This is a panorama of a divided double, taken from the shared doorway into the second room. [click the picture to zoom in]
This is the inside room of a divided double, with a spacious closet, just behind the door.
Interviews by Lindsay Hammond, Resident Director
