Marguerite Manela '10
The following are excerpts from Marguerite Manela’s “A Tribute to Ellen Clark Revelle,” delivered October 3, 2009:
I am in love with Scripps College. It started out as many love affairs do, with intense and passionate attraction to the physical — when I visited for the James E. Scripps (JES) Scholars Weekend, I was blown away by the palatial dorms, orange trees, and stunning mountain views — not to mention that it was 80 degrees in February! I promptly reported this to my family as they shivered in the frigid, mid-winter Massachusetts weather.
A part of me felt it must be too good to be true — how could all of these smiling, welcoming people really be sincere? But I could tell that there was something special about this place — something that was going to work for me even if this surreal honeymoon period were to slowly fade away. I was partly correct — my relationship with the college deepened a great deal, and I quickly learned that there is much more to Scripps than the immediate beauty and unbelievable kindness of those who live, study, and work here. I have developed deep friendships with students, faculty, and staff. I have learned that these people are happy not only to celebrate my achievements, but also to support me through the more difficult times — through homesickness, stress, tears, emotional and academic challenges.
But the honeymoon period is not over for me. Most days, I go to bed at night thinking, “Wow, how did I just do all that amazing stuff in one day?” Take this past Thursday, for instance. I ate breakfast with a fellow resident advisor, where we filled out paperwork and ran into four more RAs in the dining hall. Then, after a stop at the Motley, I spent the rest of the morning discussing linear algebra and the beginnings of quantum mechanics with both of my thesis advisors. Noon rehearsals with the chamber choir are always a refreshing change of pace. That afternoon, and evening, I hiked on Mt. Baldy, went to a yoga class at the Field House, and then to a Brazilian dance class taught by a Scripps student. After a bit of environmental studies reading, my thoughts before sleeping were definitely, “What a day!”
We are all lucky to be here, but what matters most is that we are here with each other. My best friends and countless other Scripps women who inspire and challenge me daily are all here because of Ellen Clark Revelle [whose generous gift in 1985 established the James E. Scripps Scholarship program].
Decades ago, she could see that the future depended on the advancement of women’s education. Today, these students contribute to all of the academic disciplines: I can think of JES Scholars in biology, classics, chemistry, mathematics, anthropology, psychology, economics, English, politics and humanities, just to name a few. With their incredible intelligence and relentless ambition, these women are changing the world, and will become its leaders.