Seniors plan celebrations, graduation week

“The importance of the Senior Committee is that it serves as a forum for seniors to decide on the senior class gift and plan events for the senior class,” said Senior Committee co-chair Julisa Salas ’10. The committee kicked off its programming with the seniors-only 200 days party in McCullough Student Center on Nov. 24.

“The 200 days party was a great start to the list of events that we will plan throughout the year,” added co-chair Samantha Maytag ’10.

“The inspiration behind the ‘Party in the USA’ theme was to serve as a reminder that although senior year comes with its share of challenges, it is also our last year to celebrate our achievements with our friends,” Salas added.

At the 200 days party, the co-chairs, including Salas, Maytag, Chris Lam ’10 and Will Silton ’10, announced the seniors’ chosen class gift. Seniors’ donations will create the “Class of 2010 Scholarship.” The scholarship will fund the financial aid of a future Middlebury student and is intended to favor international students.

“I am very pleased about the choice our class has made,” said Lam. “Not because I’m an international student, but more because it shows how much we value the opportunity to study in Middlebury and the need to maintain the diversity and talent in our college even under such an economy. It would be really sad to think that someone who is absolutely eligible to get such a great education has to be denied because of his financial status.”

Samantha Maytag is an environmental economics major with a minor in Spanish from Hillside, Colo. She enjoys skiing and showing horses. Maytag is on the Relay for Life Committee and participates in the Student Investment Committee and the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing, as well as a number of volunteer organizations on campus.

Maytag shared her not-so-secret motivation for chairing the committee. “I hope to use the Senior Committee budget to maximize on fun senior parties and events throughout the year,” she said. “I’m also looking forward to planning an exciting senior week for the Class of 2010!”

Julisa Salas is an English and American Literatures major and a French minor from New York City. She has been a part of the Community Council and the Student Government Association.

Salas brings experience in fundraising to the committee.

“As a student manager for the [alumni gift-giving] Phone-a-thon and a former intern for the Office of Annual Giving, I bring in an understanding of the incredible amount of work and effort that it takes to work toward our fundraising and participation goals,” she said. “We started fundraising at the 200 days party and will continue to fundraise until the end of the school year. I hope that every member of our class will donate to this worthwhile cause.”

Will Silton is an international studies/European studies major with disciplines in economics and Spanish from Sudbury, Mass. Silton is a member of Fletcher House, is the SGA Chair of Alumni Affairs and leader of the 2010 Winter Term installment of “the Hunt,” a competition among teams of students seeking to complete a list of obscure tasks. He also participates in soccer and basketball intramurals.

Silton recognizes the heavy responsibility of representing the entire class. “I think it is important that the Senior Committee include a diverse set of individuals in order to provide the most thorough representation of the senior class,” he explained. “In this way, we hope to reach out to everyone and field all potential ideas on parties, fundraising and our general Class of 2010 legacy.”

Chris Lam is a biology major with a Japanese minor. He hails from Toronto, Canada and Hong Kong. On campus, Lam sings with the a cappella group Stuck in the Middle, participates in Relay for Life and is involved with the International Student Organization and the Middlebury College Musical Players.

Lam said that he brings something different to the senior committee. “I think, being an international student, I can bring in a viewpoint that is different from the majority of the student body,” he said. “I am able to raise opinions or comments that are specific to certain groups of students on campus. Since I have worked very closely with the International Student Scholar Services office in the past, I also have a very good knowledge regarding the administrative side and diversity issues.”

All of the co-chairs acknowledged that they are not the only ones responsible for planning the senior events and encourage other seniors to get involved.

The senior committee meets as a whole nearly every other week. During the off-weeks, the sub-committees meet to work on their respective projects.

“This way [with the sub-committees], it is more efficient in getting things done, as we are all seniors and are very busy with our other work,” Lam acknowledged. “But the goal of the committee is essentially to create a place where we can discuss and pool ideas and subsequently craft a senior year experience that is unique and special to us.”

“We need more seniors to get involved, which will give us a better chance of throwing an epic party and making graduation week that much more spectacular,” Silton added. “Remember that Thursday night committee meetings are open to all seniors — don’t worry, they don’t cut into bar time.”