BY MIMI HUCKINS ‘20
“Convocation is a moment to celebrate affinities, including class year identity,” said President Sonya Stephens, promoting applause from the tightly packed amphitheater. “And to loudly declare that affinity!” Stephens said, as if in response to the prideful roar. This year’s convocation came with the announcement of an addition to a century-old Mount Holyoke tradition.
“Today, I am delighted to announce that we are adding a new class color and a new class symbol to those you see around you today,” Stephens said. “The students who earn graduate degrees at Mount Holyoke through PaGE [Professional and Graduate Education] will henceforth add a color.”
Stephens revealed the new addition to be the Teal Owl, representing “focus, intuition, vision and wisdom.”
In 1909, the original class colors and mascots were decided and they have not changed since. It has been 100 years since the emergence of this Mount Holyoke tradition, yet the College is only now recognizing graduate students with the addition of the Teal Owl.
The Master of Arts program was established in 1893-1894, and was expanded to include a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in 1935-1936. The first graduate student at Mount Holyoke was Helen Currier Flint, who earned her Master of Arts in 1895 after her undergraduate education also at Mount Holyoke.
Master’s degrees began to be listed on commencement programs in 1901. Currently, the graduate program only offers Master of Arts in Teaching programs.
Tiffany Espinosa, Executive Director of Professional and Graduate Education at Mount Holyoke, believes that although this is the only degree offered, the programs are able to serve a wide array of students.
“One of [the programs] is about really helping people who want to become teachers, either [with] career switching or [if] they’re going to be a teacher for the first time. With the other two programs that we have, one is focused on teacher leadership ... the third is a program for elementary school or middle school teachers which focuses on mathematics.” Espinosa estimates the programs have around 120 traditional students each year, but serve around 2,000 teachers with other professional development opportunities.
Despite the longevity of the programs and their wide audience, some graduate students still feel isolated from the Mount Holyoke community.
“I think the challenge for us is that our students come to classes in the evenings and our students are on campus in the summer,” Espinosa said. “There are some things logistically about how we operate that make it less obvious to folks.”
In previous years, the graduate program didn’t have a lot of students at any given time, so it did not have much of a centralized identity. Regardless, she believes the graduate students and programs are well worthy of recognition.
“Honestly, I think it’s a hidden gem,” Espinosa said.
Earlier this year, graduate students and alumni were contacted in regards to a possible color and mascot. The response was reportedly overwhelmingly positive and the hunt for a fitting mascot began. Sarah Lopez GR ’18, who earned her MAT from Mount Holyoke, was the first to suggest an owl as the mascot.
“When you think of owls, you think of wisdom, and, for me, I think way back to that Tootsie Roll lollipop commercial with the owl, so I feel like it just was a no-brainer,” Lopez said. “We’re training ourselves to be the wisdom-givers to the next generation. I’m really happy it got picked.”
Espinosa adds an extra dimension to the symbol of the owl.
“We wanted to make sure it was anchored somehow and so we anchored it to Athena ... She was the city protectress [of Athens] and a symbol of knowledge,” she said.
The administration was purposefully left out of the decision, with the goal of the new color and mascot being a product of the program’s students and alumni.
The final options for the colors were teal and graphite, and the mascot choices were the owl or the laelaps, a mythical dog. Ultimately, the teal owl was a clear winner.
“I think the beautiful history of it is that it’s always been student-led,” Espinosa said, regarding the exclusion of administration from the decision.
“It’s not an administrative thing, so we asked folks. Because it certainly struck me, as the Executive Director, that it didn’t exist and it wasn’t a proud tradition,” she said.
With the announcement came high hopes for a new appreciation of Mount Holyoke graduate students. Lopez reflected on the announcement in relation to her time on campus.
“It’s a positive step. I still feel like ... some undergraduates still don’t know that there are some [post-baccalaureate] options,” Lopez said. She recalls receiving emails about events and traditions primarily directed towards undergraduates. But, after receiving an email about the Stoling ceremony for graduating students of color, she decided to take a risk and attend.
Her incredibly positive experience at the ceremony led her to see “how amazing the undergrad program is.”
Lopez also had a positive experience at the Laurel Parade, another Mount Holyoke tradition.
“[It was] really moving to see the unity and to see the history of the College come together,” she said.
Through her experiences with undergraduate classes, Lopez feels positively about the idea of the graduate and undergraduate classes interacting more through traditions, class colors and mascots.
“I think this is just another step forward in integrating the two programs,” Lopez said. “I hope that this is something that will allow graduate students to want to participate more in the traditions.”
By being included in this century-long tradition, there is hope for greater acknowledgement of the graduate program at Mount Holyoke.
As Executive Director of Professional and Graduate Education, Espinosa has had years to interact with students and observe the dynamic. Ultimately, her conclusion is that graduate students at Mount Holyoke aren’t so different from the undergraduate students. “They’re cut from the exact same cloth,” Espinosa said. “They’re people who are dedicated to social justice, equity and education and are really trying to shape the world. They’ve got that same Mount Holyoke spark that I find really compelling and makes me really proud to be a part of the College.”