Students who stayed at Vassar over the summer months had a front row seat for an array of scenes: they heard the “bang bangs” of seasonal construction, ate in a quiet Deece and saw famous actors and actresses showcased at Powerhouse Theater. Some watched grazing goats at The Preserve, while a lucky few made eye contact with wandering YouTubers.
Students went to work too, participating in the Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI), the Ford Scholars Program, artistic training at Powerhouse Theater, or jobs in the library, mail room, Computer Center, Wimpfheimer Nursery, etc.
Ashleigh McDermott ʼ26 participated in research at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center: “I was a Ford Scholar working with John Murphy (Curator of Prints and Drawings) doing research on Frederick Church.” Church was a prominent example of the landscape painters that made up the Hudson River School. Two paintings of his are in Vassar’s collection, and McDermott has helped with the construction of a mini exhibit to celebrate and critique Church’s impact, examining his role in producing ideologies like Manifest Destiny.
Hunter Farhat ’28 [disclaimer: Farhat is Webmaster of The Miscellany News] worked in a Cognitive Science lab with Professor Josh de Leeuw. His URSI project’s focus, you may ask? “We created standardized experiments for researchers to contribute to—like an open source repository of experiments.” The project involved programming and was nicely aligned with Farhat’s Computer Science major. Above all, the lab of five students was a nice community. “My favorite part was working with a chill professor and making friends with my labmates,” he added.
At Vassar’s Preserve across the street, Apollo Marks ’28 spent the season working as a stewardship and research assistant. He shared, “We did all of the land management and data collection for research projects and ecological restoration projects.” Some of his favorite summer moments? “All of our lunch breaks,” Marks quipped.
The Retreat was the only dining option until June 20th, but summer dining stayed interesting with “Womp Womp Wednesdays.” Once a week at The Retreat for May and June, and then at the Deece a few weeks after, students and staff picked up barbecue-style meals under tents outdoors. Each Wednesday had a theme. President Bradley provided students with lawn games and mozzarella sticks at her house in July, and Dean Luis hosted a summer cookout outside of Main Building in August.
Students largely enjoyed the relative peace. Miranda Fishkin ʼ27, who spent time working in the Office of Student Living and Wellness, shared, “I think I’m starting to retroactively appreciate how quiet the Deece has been.” As for recommending a summer in Poughkeepsie? Matthew Rawson ʼ26, who worked at the Infant Toddler Center (ITC), thinks, “It’s definitely worth it. It’s great if you’re on financial aid.” The cost for summer housing and meals is reduced based on how much aid a student receives during the academic year.
Magda Sharff ʼ26, who was the lone student working at the music library in Skinner Hall, admired the ease of transitioning back into the fall semester—“It’s a nicer way to start the school year, having already settled in.”
The vast majority of summer students were in Jewett House or Ferry House for June and July. Those in doubles were eventually able to receive AC units, although Hana Afiz ʼ27 wished they had arrived a little sooner. Despite the heat, Afiz enjoyed many parts of her summer, saying, “I think the weather, especially at night when it cooled down, it was really nice walking around—and I like my job!” Afiz spent the summer working for Campus Activities, valiantly manning the Information Desk.
Farhat and Ahmed Hashim ʼ26, who split his time interning in the city with an on-campus job, reminisced over a large WhatsApp group chat for summer students. The two spent their free time staying active by playing soccer. They got creative with their games as the days went on: “We invented tennis-soccer.” Hashim wishes, however, that people had more energy after working their 9 to 5. He added laughing, “People were just a little lazy.”
Summer life was sometimes lethargic. McDermott admitted, “Life was pretty slow.” But when energy struck, students found ways to keep busy in the area. McDermott spent time at a local swimming hole and drove around the Hudson Valley. Marks went bike riding at the local Rail Trail, and Afiz stopped by the farmers’ market in Arlington. There were visits to Beacon, an organized trip to see “Superman” and local 4th of July fireworks near the river.
Students also took time to attend shows. Fiskin shared, “It was nice to be here to see the Powerhouse shows. I think ‘The Holes’ especially was one of the favorite scripts I’ve seen.” The play reading Fiskin saw featured Dominic Sessa, of the 2023 movie “The Holdovers.” The play was written by Max Wolf Friedlich and directed by Michael Herwitz. Rounding out the cast was Ben Levi Ross, who performed as Evan Hansen in “Dear Evan Hansen,” both on Broadway and a national tour, Kyle Beltran and Tina Benko. Fiskin was impressed with their performances: “It was a super strong cast.”
A former Elphaba on Broadway, Julia Marney, performed in the musical “It’s Kind of a Funny Story.” She was joined by James Monroe Iglehart, a former Genie for Broadway’s “Aladdin,” who won a Tony for his performance in the show in 2014.
Students also worked on or shadowed an independent film production. Shooting took place in Pratt House, the President’s House, in front of the sycamore on Library Lawn and elsewhere. According to IMDb, the film is titled “What May Be,” about a Shakespeare professor whose life starts to mix with fiction. Fisher shadowed production, an opportunity set up through the Film department.
Also bearing cameras in the summer heat were YouTubers Ryan Trahan and Haley Pham, who visited Poughkeepsie for a charity tour where they visited 50 states in 50 days. They can be seen walking by The Loeb in their Connecticut video on Day 27, before heading to the massive Barnes & Noble on South Road.
When students flock back and summer seems far away, there are a few standout moments that will remain. For Afiz, “My favorite part of ‘Poughkeepsie Summer’ was when my childhood best friend came up, and she visited me,” she shared. This memory took a turn, however, when the two discovered a cockroach in a Jewett hallway. For Farhat, he will remember celebrating the end of URSI at an all-you-can-eat Korean restaurant in New York City. A trip that ended where it all began, in good old Poughkeepsie.
In the summer of 1975, I had a job scrubbing empty dorm rooms on a cleaning crew that included Vassar students, folks who cooked at the All College Dining Center during the school year (one of whom gave me recipes I still use), and Poughkeepsie locals. It was one of the best summer jobs I ever had. I lived in one of the Town House apartments with several guys I’d never met, one of whom had a very old, nearly blind dog. Also a great experience. I wonder if that’s still a summer housing option.