{"id":168813,"date":"2025-05-09T15:19:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T19:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=168813"},"modified":"2025-05-12T11:04:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T15:04:11","slug":"say-what-quotable-quotes-from-bates-folks-may-8th-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/09\/say-what-quotable-quotes-from-bates-folks-may-8th-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Say What? Quotable quotes from Bates folks: May 8, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our latest in an occasional roundup of quotable Bates quotes, this time about a bald eagle named Jeff, the fun of adulting off campus, and the joys of reading, writing, and learning at Bates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe have this bald eagle named Jeff that sometimes comes and says hi.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Women\u2019s rowing captain Hannah Burdick \u201925 of Lyme, N.H., on the joy and beauty of rowing on the Androscoggin River, adding, “last Friday morning we watched the sunrise from the water, which just starts your day out in the best mood you\u2019ve ever imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Mount David Summit is one those many full-circle moments. I came freshman year to the summit and was like, \u2018Oh my gosh, so many students doing so many things.’ Now I’m lucky enough to have my Google Calendar so full of all of all my friends\u2019 presentations.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Sloan Phillips \u201925, of Evergreen, Colo., on the feeling of being among senior friends at Mount David Summit, where Phillips presented biochemistry research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Phyllis
Presenting biochemistry research at Mount David Summit, Sloan Phillips \u201925 of Evergreen, Colo., talks with Bates President Garry W. Jenkins. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe cannot punish our way to excellence.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Associate Professor of Education Mara Tieken in her op-ed in The Daily Yonder<\/em><\/a>, explaining how school closures and consolidations harm students and their rural communities. “Closure is not an answer to budget shortfalls, academic underperformance, or educational inequality. There is no cheaper alternative.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Associate
Mara Casey Tieken\u2019s research focuses on racial and educational equity in rural schools and communities. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)
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\u201cI want to thank you guys for doing it with me and for being a part of me.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Blessing Akinmade \u201925, a biochemistry major from Newark, N.J., speaking at a three-senior thesis binding ceremony on the steps of Coram Library, sharing appreciation for fellow seniors Sophia Ibeh, a biochemistry major from Houston, and Darlene Igiraneza, a biology major from Glendale, Calif. “What was hard work is now a small picture of who we are, and a snippet of what college was to us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\u201cAfter
Blessing Akinmade \u201925 (right) of Newark, N.J., with classmates Darlene Igiraneza (center) and Sophia Ibeh (right). (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cI am endlessly mesmerized by the depths of the underwater world, and as I go deeper into its mystery I find my internal world mirrored back.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Miryam Keller \u201925, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on her mixed-media senior thesis in studio art<\/a>, in which she used salt water from the Maine coast to create abstract beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Taking
Miryam Keller \u201925 with her work in her Olin Arts Center studio. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit like meeting some celebrities.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Women\u2019s rowing captain Maddie Kemp \u201925 of Bethesda, Md., after the President’s Cup regatta in April when Bates honored the women’s team that captured the NCAA Division III <\/em>rowing title in 2015. \u201cThese are names that would get tossed around as way back when. These are people who have done the job of Bates rowing and done an excellent job of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI get to say hi to every single person who enters the library.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Ruslan Peredelskyi \u201925 of Kyiv, Ukraine, on the side benefits of his job at the circulation desk, located close to the front doors of Ladd Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cI beat the finals choker allegations.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Max Corey \u201926 of Dublin, Calif, on his breakthrough victory in the 100-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in March, in which he beat the field and his own self-doubt.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Maximillian
Max Cory \u201826 of Dublin, Calif., poses in the Alumni Gym lobby on March 26, 2025. (Theophil Syslo\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cIf I\u2019m working on it, chances are I\u2019m passionate about it. I don\u2019t really see the point in working on something I don\u2019t care about.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Matthew Peeler \u201926 of New York City, winner of a 2025 Truman Scholarship for future public service leaders<\/a>, on his zeal for the study of constitutional law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Matthew Peeler poses in a bookshop during his 2024\u201325 junior year abroad at Oxford University. (Photograph courtesy Matthew Peeler)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cIt’s kind of funny to go through that adultness together.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Women\u2019s lacrosse captain Olivia Hall \u201925 of Boston, describing off-campus Bates life with fellow senior teammates. “There\u2019s a lot of silly things that I kind of wasn\u2019t expecting, just taking the trash out or having to deal with the heating not working and stuff.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“It’s a very friendly environment to dive into a very scary thing.\u201d <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Brandon Villalta Lopez \u201925 of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, on presenting his research at Mount David Summit, where students seek both to communicate their work “and make people excited about it.” The summit is a “brilliant opportunity to do this in a place that feels safe and home but still reaches so many people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI felt like if I\u2019m able to finish this the way I started it, it\u2019s going to go really well.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Track and field athlete Campbell Johnson \u201928 of Naples, Maine, on a recent long jump that places her fourth-best in Bates history. \u201cYou can feel it when you get into the air, whether your body position is going to be good or not.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c I feel lucky to end my Bates experience where it started, where I fell in love with reading, with writing, with learning.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Max Olson \u201925, of Beverly, Mass., whose senior thesis analyzes JRR Tolkein\u2019s works through a social and historical lens, recalling his fourth-grade book project on The Hobbit<\/em> and being encouraged by his teacher pursue reading and writing. “That\u2019s something I didn’t forget.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI feel like I’m always in this microcosm of really diverse opinions and preparedness from students.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies Carrie Diaz Eaton, speaking about her students’ varied attitudes toward AI <\/a>on Maine Calling<\/em>, Maine Public\u2019s weekday radio program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Associate
Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies Carrie Diaz Eaton discussed artificial intelligence and her students\u2019 perception of the changing technology on Maine Calling, Maine Public\u2019s weekday radio program. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cI start laughing in my head. I start to sing a song to myself.”<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Baseball player Ben Genser \u201925 of Newton Center, Mass., on his mindset at the plate when he has two strikes. “It\u2019s weird to say, but I feel more relaxed hitting. You can kind of be a kid again and just protect the zone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe have our regulars, which we love seeing. I asked one, \u2018Do you get tired of me kicking you out?\u2019 They say no, it’s a good reminder \u2014 they tend to lose track of time.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Karla Chichester, a member of the Ladd Library access services staff, on her late-night routine as the 1 a.m. closing time of the library approaches<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Karla Chichester (left) walks out the front doors of Ladd Library with her colleague from access services, Zeke Sturgeon. (Samuel Weidenthal \u201927 for Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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 \u201cCoach came over and said, \u2018You are going to row terribly today. The waves are going to come over you, and your oar is going to get stuck. It\u2019s going to be brutal. But you just need to stay determined and gritty \u2014 because everyone is facing the same conditions.\u2019\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u2014 Izzy Beck \u201925 of Montclair, N.J., coxswain of the men\u2019s second varsity eight, on head coach Peter Steenstra’s advice before a windy regatta on the Charles River that saw Bates defeat Trinity and the MIT on April 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our latest in an occasional roundup of quotable Bates quotes, this time about a bald eagle named Jeff, adulting off campus, and the joy of reading, writing, and learning at Bates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1819,"featured_media":168951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,11012],"tags":[12192],"class_list":["post-168813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-student-life","tag-say-what"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1819"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168813"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168996,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168813\/revisions\/168996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}