My name is Avery Matteo, and I’m an Environmental Studies major from Skillman, New Jersey.

I figured there’s no better time to give you all a glimpse into my life as a Bryn Mawr student than during the strikingly beautiful month of April. The cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom, the weather is nice, and the campus feels quite blissful.

Now that I’m done gushing about spring at Bryn Mawr, let’s get started with my day!

10 a.m.

I’m not enrolled in any classes that begin earlier than 11:10 a.m. this semester, which is relieving for a night owl like myself. I appreciate having a leisurely start to my days, and usually retrieve a late breakfast or jump straight to lunch.

I also live in Erdman, so it only takes a few moments to run downstairs and grab meals from the dining hall. This morning I picked up a gluten-free waffle, vegan sausages (my favorite!), scrambled eggs, and strawberry-flavored water.

10:30 a.m. 

After breakfast, I spent half an hour finishing a book for my English class at Haverford called Planetary Lines. As an Environmental Studies major and English minor, the course is a perfect fit for my academic interests. We read eco-fiction and other environmental texts, and watch weekly documentaries to supplement the readings. There’s only a handful of students enrolled in the course, though, so I always make sure to review the week’s content before joining class and jumping into discussion.

11:10 a.m.

We stayed busy in Planetary Lines today. We were engaged in a lengthy discussion about the history of colonization in the Dominican Republic, environmental protection, Afro-Carribean religious traditions, and the theme of fluidity. Interesting, right?

12:30 p.m.

Once class ended at 12:30, I headed to lunch. While waiting in line, I stocked up on some of my favorite snacks — fruits and yogurts — for my mini fridge.

I also grabbed some noodles, vegetables, and tuscan minestrone soup, which is one of my favorite items to see on the lunch menu.

1:30 p.m.

After lunch, I walked to Campus Center to pick up some packages, and seeing the blooming flowers in front of Denbigh on my way there really brightened my mood!

Before heading back to my room, I picked up an iced coffee from Uncommon Grounds. The café is offering two dollar iced coffees of any size during the month of April, and I couldn’t help but purchase one.

2 p.m.

I worked on my midterm essay for Post-1945 American Literature, an English class here at Bryn Mawr. I decided to write about domestic pleasure in Gwendolyn Brooks’ Maud Martha, one of my new favorite novels. I’m excited to work on the essay more extensively over the next several days.

I also squeezed in another brief walk to capture photos of the emerging signs of spring before my next class. The row of trees that lead to Rockefeller Hall are my favorite natural feature on campus!

2:40 p.m.

At 2:40 I attend Fish and Community, a Praxis course at Haverford in the Environmental Studies department. My peers and I help run Haverstand, a locally sourced fish and farmstand that happens bi-weekly at Haverford College and in Ardmore. I am responsible for marketing and outreach efforts, so I spend most of my time on flyer distribution, social media, and other promotional endeavors. 

We’ve also begun planning community engagement projects that we’ll be working on for the rest of the semester. I learned during class today that I’ll be collaborating with Philadelphia high school students on a podcast documenting the oral histories of people of color in the seafood harvesting and processing in the Mid-Atlantic — and I feel honored to have a chance to share these locally and culturally important narratives.

5:30 p.m. 

In the evening, I met up with my friend and hallmate for dinner. She also has an adorable emotional support kitten named Morrigan, so we spent some time cuddling and playing together before I retreated back to my room to complete homework.

6:30 p.m. 

From 6:30 until bedtime, I wrote down a list of summer internships and their deadlines before cracking down on more midterm assignments. Being busy at this time of year isn’t always fun, but munching on Smartfood popcorn and seeking the support of friends is more than enough to get me through a work-heavy day.

From quiet mornings in my dorm room to laughing with friends before retiring to bed, I feel so fortunate to be fully immersed in the environments and communities that Bryn Mawr has provided me. I hope you enjoyed following a day in my life, and feel free to leave a comment if you have additional questions about the Bryn Mawr student experience!

As finals season approaches this semester, the famed phrase “Done is good” drifts into my head more frequently than it ever has before.

This is because dealing with the lifestyle changes brought on by COVID-19 has, admittedly, taken a toll on me. Although I used to dislike boarding the Blue Bus to Haverford for my late-night TA sessions and loathed sprinting between my back-to-back classes, the chaos became something I ached to get back after spending an entire semester in my room.

I eventually grew accustomed to the new normal on campus, but it took until nearly Thanksgiving break to do so. And now that I’m once again living at home in New Jersey, I’m having to readapt all over again. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to be living with my lovely family, but returning home means that it’s easy to fall into the “school break” mindset. It doesn’t help that I have to participate in classes from my bedroom, which means the allure of taking a nap often trumps my desire to complete homework during the afternoon.

In response to the temptations that are an inherent part of living at home, I developed some almost infallible productivity rituals after we were sent home early last April — many of which have continued to benefit me as finals week approaches.

First, to put my most organized foot forward, I write down the academic tasks I need to complete after waking up on Mondays. Normally this is something I would dread, but using my colorful pens makes the endeavor feel more like an art project than a boring list of obligations. While my list always grows throughout the week, it’s helpful to have a basis of tasks I should complete before the weekend sneaks up on me.

Also pictured here is my favorite spider plant. There are 10 additional plant friends that reside on my window seat, and caring for them is another part of my routine that I cherish taking part in. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed, glancing over at my family of well-watered, well-cared-for plants always makes me feel more composed. After all, if I can keep so many plants alive, I can definitely pass my classes!

Another thing I’ve discovered is that designating one location in your house — whether that’s a specific room, chair, or corner  — as your schoolwork spot will make life much easier. Since my parents are often working or venturing around downstairs, I decided to set up a makeshift desk at the foot of my bed where I participate in Zoom classes and complete readings. Now, whenever I’m seated in front of my desk, my brain snaps into work mode almost seamlessly.

Here’s a photo of my setup. While the lap desk I own is relatively small, I’m usually able to fit my computer, a small notebook, and, most importantly, my iced coffee onto it.

The last thing I want to share doesn’t have much to do with academic success, but never fails to boost my mood.

This is my adorable dog, Cosmo. While he isn’t a fan of cuddling with me for extended periods of time, it’s still a joy to walk down the steps in the morning and be greeted excitedly by a furry friend. Spending time with him whenever I’m able has exponentially reduced my stress as I race to complete assignments.

If you don’t have an animal in your household, watching cute animal videos on YouTube after a long day is the second-best method to melt away school anxieties. My personal suggestion is to watch videos of capybaras — you know, the giant rodents — sitting in baths, interacting with other animals, or glancing stoically at the camera. Their calm nature is mesmerizing, and they’re incredibly endearing!

While many of the organization and coping strategies I’ve shared here are personal to me, I hope that you are able to modify some of these tips so that they’re helpful assets for you and your lifestyle. School can feel burdensome sometimes, but with some trial and error, we’re all capable of making the experience more bearable for ourselves. 

Happy studying — and I’m wishing you all a restful upcoming holiday!

The moment I stepped out of Dalton after declaring my Environmental Studies major, I was already daydreaming about the wealth of exciting opportunities that were now available to me.

My heart swelled with happiness as I researched study abroad programs in Australia, browsed 360° Program clusters, and made plans to enroll in a Praxis course. While I  was fortunate enough to participate in the Fall 2019 Borderlands 360° and spend two weeks studying in Yunnan, China, the COVID-19 pandemic took hold the following semester and threw a wrench in the remaining plans I’d made for my time at Bryn Mawr. 

What felt most disheartening was that I’d likely be unable to participate in my major’s Praxis course and engage in weekly fieldwork. While I thoroughly enjoy reading about topics ranging from soil science to environmental justice in my classes, my heart was invested in the experiential possibilities—and I wanted more than anything to learn from and work with the Philadelphia community.

My initial expectation was that courses requiring travel or community engagement would be canceled for Fall 2020, but I was surprised to discover that ENVS 204: Place, People and Praxis in Environmental Studies was still open for enrollment. While I knew that the course would look radically different due to Bryn Mawr’s COVID-19 rules, the existence of the listing was an encouraging sight. I could still build relationships with organizations and members of the Philadelphia community if I wanted to, albeit digitally!

After much deliberation, I decided to enroll in the course despite pandemic limitations—and I don’t regret my decision. While I was initially concerned about our ability to do relevant, purposeful work, I felt more optimistic after learning the specific details of our semester-long project. We would be consulting with LandHealth Institute to develop a stewardship organization proposal for Cobbs Creek, which links Haverford’s campus to Philadelphia.

Photo: Section of Cobbs Creek near Haverford College, courtesy of Chengpei Li (HC ‘22)

In one of our early class meetings, we decided to delegate responsibilities according to our individual interests. This means some of my peers are exercising their scientific chops by evaluating the ecological health of the creek, others are using GIS technology to map stakeholders that would benefit from a stewardship organization, and my group is responsible for documenting the history of Cobbs Creek.

While the organizational structure I described might sound flawless, this isn’t necessarily the reality. This is the first time many of us have had to navigate project management, and there are plenty of unknowns that we tackle each week. Luckily our professor, Joshua Moses at Haverford, keeps us grounded when our efforts feel disorganized or overwhelming. He also frequently invites local community leaders to speak to us about project management, water quality, Philadelphia history, and other topics, which helps us to recenter our perspectives in an ever-evolving learning environment.

All of these shared insights and background research will be put to use this week, as my team is developing an annotated bibliography with historical context for the proposal. I’m hoping that the information we’ve gathered will paint a comprehensive picture of Cobbs Creek—and most importantly, address the concerns of the socioeconomically and racially diverse communities that the Cobbs flows through. 

While developing an extensive narrative of the creek’s past, present, and future has been difficult without the ability to visit sites and speak to stakeholders in person, we’ve learned invaluable lessons on adaptability in what is now a primarily online working world. Despite the obstacles we’ve encountered, I take pride in knowing that my peers and I share a unified goal to build a proposal that locals see promise in. 

As long as we continue to march forward, share our knowledge, and assert our investment in the well-being of the greater Philadelphia community, I have no doubt that we’ll accomplish something we’re proud of—pandemic hurdles and all.

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