With the beginning of second semester comes new classes, the start of team sports, different schedules and the fabulous first-year Febs. After months of setting aside their education to see and experience the world, they have finally come to join the rest of us in Middlebury, Vt. — but not without a few good stories. Despite their conspiciousness on campus, the Febs are enjoying stepping in to their new lives at college. “Being a Feb,” said Damon Hatheway ’13.5, “is probably one of the coolest things that’s ever happened to me. I feel bad for everyone who’s not a Feb!” A special group of kids who have all taken the time to acquire unique experiences, the Febs are able to connect with each other in a different way. “It’s like having our own little clique on campus,” said Jake Springer ’13.5. Despite that connection, coming into school when everyone else has already been there for a semester is a difficult thing to do. “It’s kind of frazzling,” said MacDonald “because I don’t know where I am, but everyone has been really helpful in showing me the ropes.” So as spring semester continues, let the Middlebury student body open its arms and welcome the new Class of 2013.5.
— Michelle Smoler, Staff Writer
The Teacher
Jake Springer ’13.5 of Brunswick, Maine was not the least bit excited about being a Feb when he was given notice December of 2008. But all of that changed when he stepped off the plane in northern India. For three months Springer volunteered at a school in a small Indian village where he taught English to kids from first grade through 10th grade. “My favorite part,” Springer said, “was working with the little kids. I’d never taught before so it was a new experience.” While volunteering at the school, Springer lived with its principal, who was glad to open his home up to a volunteer. “I lived in a house with all four generations of their family. Only two of them spoke English, which was tough, and they were really traditional Buddhists,” Springer explained. “I would sit on the side and watch as they went through their chants.” After his three months volunteering in the village, Springer traveled through central India to places such as Delhi and Agra, and even saw the Taj Mahal before preparing to return for school.The Conservationist
Traveling across oceans down into southern Africa, Damon Hatheway ’13.5 of London spent the first part of his Feb-mester in Namibia with the Cheetah Conservationist Fund (CCF). A conservationist organization, CCF is dedicated to maintaining and saving the cheetah’s habitat. The CCF has 250 hectares of land and is home to 52 cheetahs whose parents were shot and killed by farmers. “Farmers find the cubs of the cheetahs they’ve killed and they call the CCF to rescue them,” explained Hatheway. While in Namibia he did everything from lab work to cleaning out the goat chorale, even once assisting in an operation on a young cub. “I’ve always loved Africa and cheetahs and I’d never been to Namibia before, so this was a great experience for me,” said Hatheway. His next two months were spent interning with Fox Sports radio in Seattle. “I worked for a morning radio show from five to eleven. I set up interviews with journalists who would come on to talk about the game from the night before.” After weeks of work, he even got his own weekly segment — an update on a unique high school football team in Arkansas. “Working there was like a dream come true.”The Patriot
For Joaquin Marandino Peregalli’s ’13.5 Feb-mester he remained home in Montevideo, Uruguay, but not without purpose. He spent his time working for Foro Juvenil, a non-profit NGO which aims to bring help to children in areas of inequality in Uruguay and the public institutions that exist in those sectors of poverty. “I did workshops in schools in both the city and rural areas,” explained Peregalli. “The topic was culture in different parts of the world.” These talks happened every 2-3 weeks in schools all in and around the Montevideo area. “I also worked in a center for teens with ‘problematic’ families. It was really nice because I was able to live at home.” Though accepted in September as a Reg, Joaquin had other intentions. “I deferred my acceptance because I wanted to give back to my country,” said Peregalli, “I wanted to help my people before leaving for four years at college in America.”The Deep-sea Diver
Devin MacDonald ’13.5, of Portland, Conn.swapped her first semester at college for a few incredible months at sea. Deep in the Caribbean, on an 88-ft schooner, she and nine other students got a new kind of education. Starting in Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands, her sea voyage first took her to Nevis to pick up supplies, and then on a 2.5-day passage to Grenada from where, for the next 70 days, she would proceed to island-hop her way back to the British Virgin Islands. This was not simply a lesson in sailing. MacDonald participated in research on coral reef health, earned her science research diver certification, helped a woman get her Ph.D and hiked all of the mountains in the Caribbean. “If there was a mountain or volcano nearby, we were climbing it,” said MacDonald. Her explorations also took her beyond the ocean floor. “To try to immerse us in the culture, they would just drop us off on a dock and we would wander around the towns for hours on end.” As a student on board, MacDonald was also required to take classes such as marine biography, oceanography, student leadership and development and basic seamanship. Yet, every morning and night she was confined to the classroom. MacDonald’s favorite part was all of the diving, which was totally new to her. “We did it literally every day and I would see amazing things like shipwrecks and plane wrecks.”The Adventurer
Leaving the shores of Martha’s Vineyard to venture into the wild, Sophie Lew ’13.5 spent the first three months of her Feb-mester trekking through the Himalayas with the “Where There Be Dragons” program. “I applied to be a Feb because I really needed a break before going to school,” explained Lew. She and the 11 other kids accompanying her flew into northern India where they explored and trekked through the Himalayan Mountains, helped build a nunnery and participated in service projects such as working with orphans. “My favorite part about my whole experience,” she said, “was learning [about] and experiencing a new culture.” Her explorations into Nepali culture included immersing herself in a home-stay with a Nepali family, spending time in a Buddhist monastery and meditating. She then spent the next month before school in France. “I’m half-French-Parisian, so I went with my sister to visit family.” From the rich culture of the Himalayas to the cosmopolitan streets of Paris, “my whole experience,” said Lew, “has been great.”The Coach
Taking a break from his busy city life, New York, N.Y. native Craig Thompson ’13.5 spent his Feb-mester in beautiful Santiago in the Dominican Republic. Though he was not originally excited about being a Feb, his outlook changed over the next few months in the DR. His time there was based in community service. He taught English at local schools and volunteered in the local baseball league, where he spent much of his time as a coach. But it was not all fun and games — Thompson was required to take a Dominican class, which involved learning Dominican slang and getting to know the city. “We would basically go through the city and talk to random people on the streets,” explained Thompson, “It was really fun.” Other classes that were required were history class and dance class where he was taught such native dances as meringue, bachata, salsa and reggaeton. While in Santiago, Thompson stayed with a host family consisting of a single mom and her 16-year-old son, both of whom he described as “fantastic.” I didn’t spend much time with them, but when I did they were both incredibly nice and I really enjoyed my time with them.”
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