Blog

After summer ends, people often ask me: What do you do in the off-season? The easy answer is: We stay busy! While September feels a little quieter on campus, by October, Usdan is buzzing again.

I once saw a sign that read: "The EARTH without ART is just EH." As we have been dealing with challenging weather this summer, I find myself thinking often of this slogan. A memory of this week could be of a torrential downpour or could be of music echoing between dewy trees, a photograph of an emerging mushroom, or a poem describing nature's vastness.

Usdan summers move quickly. In just three weeks, students are already showcasing inspiring artwork, performing in full length Theater productions and at Festival, and publishing a weekly Comic-Art zine. Next week, these student exhibitions culminate during our biggest fundraiser of the year.

One of my favorite parts about this summer in particular is our community-wide agreement to spend our summer days away from smart phones and computers — immersed in creativity, nature, and friendship. I often think that the whole world could be like Usdan, all we have to do is make different choices, together.

The a cappella group Black to Gold opened our summer season with a Festival celebrating the possibilities of individual and collective VOICES. In their rendition of a song from the Broadway musical "Hamilton," they sang the lyrics, "Look around, look around / at how lucky we are to be alive right now." Hearing those words captured exactly what it feels like to be at Usdan right now.