Last week was midstream week for the off-cycle interns, when all of us returned to campus to check in and share what we've been doing for the last three months. It also marked the halfway point of our internships and the last time the entire class will be together until the on-cycle midstream week in September. Time is flying by! It was so wonderful to see everyone again and to be able to catch up in person while trading stories from our internships and catching up with everyone heading off for their on-cycle internships across the world. And it was definitely reassuring to hear that we're all facing similar issues (i.e. most of us haven't started writing our theses!).
Thursday and Friday were dedicated to celebrating the career and retirement of the extraordinary Don Rosenfield, the outgoing director of LGO. The celebration included a private party at Fenway Park followed by a day-long conference on Don's career and legacy at LGO. He's been there since the start of the program and has really shaped it into the incredible program it is today. Words cannot express how much gratitude and respect we have for him, and we wish him all the best in retirement (such as it is; he'll still be teaching a few classes and I'm sure we'll see him around!). Alumni from previous LGO classes flew in from around the world to celebrate his retirement and it was great to meet / catch up with everyone!
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| The man, the myth, the legend that is Don Rosenfield |
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| Great view of Fenway! |
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| World Series Trophies! |
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| 2015 Class Photo at Fenway. Pete has the right idea! |
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| Hearing from an Alumni Panel at DonFest |
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| LGO/LFM Themed Boeing Gift to Don |
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| Our incoming director Thomas Roemer. The program is in great hands but he's got big shoes to fill! |
It's been a busy spring and despite working in Connecticut, somehow I've ended up in Boston almost every weekend since February. Here's a sampling of some other shenanigans...
Sloan Olympics
Every semester, the cohorts of Sloan face off in the head-to-head competition of brains and brawn that is the Sloan Olympics. Events this year included a human wheelbarrow, centipede, whirly bat, field goal kick, trivia, and team jump rope. The Baltics represented proudly and did well as always!
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| Baltics at the Sloan Olympics |
Grad Gala
For a quick break from the busy term, the MIT Grad Association hosted the annual Grad Gala at a hotel downtown. It was an excuse to dress up (ala "Mad Men" style) and enjoy a night out on the town.
BAA 5k
This is the first of three races in the 2014 Medley and also the one with the most participants. I learned the hard lesson that it's hard to run a fast 5k when surrounded by 8,000 other runners but it was still a lot of fun and a great day to run!
Boston Marathon
This was the first time I've been in Boston for the marathon and it was quite the experience to be a spectator. The entire city came together to mark one year since the terrible events of the marathon last year, and it was a truly great experience to be surrounded by almost a million spectators who were out on the streets to support the runners. And to top it all off, an American won the race!
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| Meb Keflezighi one mile away from winning the marathon! |
MIT Sustainability Summit
Cynthia was on the organizing committee for the
MIT Sustainability Summit this year and I was able to attend as a volunteer. The event brought together people from around the campus and around the world to discuss issues related to sustainability. The conference this year was focused on the sustainability issues of coastal cities. Here's a great
article about the event, and some additional
pictures.
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| View from the MIT Media Lab - A great venue for a conference! |
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| Sustainability art! |
Spring
It seemed like spring got off to a late start, but once it came it arrived all at once. Despite the fact that I seem to be allergic to the entire city right now, it's been great to see the colors and temperatures of spring!
Salem / Gloucester / Twin Lights Half
In a rare weekend not spent in Boston, we headed up north to the coastal cities of Salem, Gloucester, and Rockport. After an overnight at a nice B&B near the water, we woke up and ran the Twin Lights Half Marathon. The distance was the longest run I had done all year but it actually went pretty well. Cynthia also had a great run and cut over 10 minutes off her time!
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| Downtown Salem, MA |
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| One of the last standing structures from the Witch Trial era |
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| Twin Lights Half Marathon! |
Birthday
My birthday turned out to be on a Thursday this year, which meant spending most of the day working in Connecticut. But I made up for it the following weekend when Cynthia planned a surprise party that involved painting pottery, and then we headed up for a day trip to New Hampshire and Maine.
New York
On the last weekend before Cynthia heads off to start her internship in Detroit, we headed down to NYC for the day and had fun sampling the food at the
9th Street Food Festival and seeing Walter White himself in a Broadway play.
It's definitely been a busy couple of months, but this is no time to rest. There's lots more fun to be had! Next up: a quick trip to Portland, a drive to Detroit, and a camping trip on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And maybe one of these days I'll start writing that thesis...
