Winner Crowned in 117-Year-Old College Tradition

This year will be my first Wellesley College commencement (I started here around the time I wrote ). I've worked in higher education my entire career, but this past weekend, I had the pleasure of witnessing one of the most unique commencement traditions I've ever seen -

Hoop Rolling, a 117-year-old tradition at Wellesley College, involves seniors racing each other down a hill rolling wooden hoops... vying for the honor of being the first to cross the finish line and get thrown in the lake! This year's Hoop Rolling took place last Saturday. If you haven't seen this great gallery from The Metrowest Daily News, check it out.

A big congratulations to winner Morgan McKinney, a political science major from Plattsburgh, NY who will attend Syracuse University College of Law in the fall. The significance of winning Hoop Rolling has evolved over the years; it used to be said that the winner would be the first in her class to marry, later it was said that she'd be the first to become CEO, and now she's said to be the first in her class to achieve success -- however she defines it. Wishing Morgan much success! 

I understand the seniors will be getting together again on Friday, May 4, the last day of classes, to try to out-sing the other classes in another long-standing Wellesley tradition, step singing. I expect to share a few guest posts from graduating seniors in the coming weeks -- comment below if you have questions for the seniors!