When I was at Stanford, nearly all the undergraduates lived in on-campus housing. Students banded together in small groups of various sizes–drawgroups–and were assigned a number through a random lottery or draw. This number was the group’s priority order for on-campus housing selections.
My drawgroup was a group of seven. We were thrown into the same dorm as freshmen through random luck, roomed together as sophomores, and lived in neighboring houses as upperclassmen. We met as girls on our very first day on the Stanford campus. We were just eighteen years old–kids really.
The last time we were all in one place was in May of 2003. So much and so little has changed since then.
The drawmate from Vermont works in product design and development for a sports footwear, apparel and accessories company and is recently engaged. The drawmate from Montana is on the verge of finishing her MFA in film at Tisch and recently returned from film projects in Cuba and Spain. The drawmate from Maryland just finished her Masters while simultaneously teaching science in a public school in Brooklyn after a solo trek through India and Southeast Asia. The drawmate from Southern California runs Gmail (how awesome is that!?!). The drawmate from Colorado just finished her MPH after spending months in Africa implemented sex ed programs, and is recently engaged. I just finished my JD/MBA. And the drawmate from New York just finished her MD and will start a surgical residency once she gets back from her honeymoon. She’s the one the managed to bring us all to the same place and the same time–NYC the weekend before graduation for her wedding, a very happy occasion.
Seven years later. A group of accomplished young women, each and every one of the verge of something very exciting. I am so proud of these women. I am so energized and inspired after our brief reunion. And I am heartened that the kindness and camaraderie endures.
Drawgroup: I missed you far more than I knew!
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