As part of my master’s program, I taught as an adjunct at a small women’s college a few blocks up Fifth Avenue from Pitt, and everything about it made me understand even more why I cherished Smith.

A classroom of female students created a sense of order and respect , without anyone trying to humiliate someone else. The students came to learn and grow, and maybe they found something out about each other, and about themselves. Conflict was smart, organized and sometimes cutting, but somehow, there was an underlying sense that the community was fractured. And on a campus of women, the cracks would quickly appear. I liked to think that at Smith, the students ultimately had each other’s backs, despite whatever interpersonal rifts there seemed to be.

Still, nothing made me grasp what I gained...

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