Pearl M Dinner

Every year at Mills, there's a dinner for the senior class and alumni of Mills - the Pearl M Dinner, named after a pin (with pearls, in the shape of an M) that is presented to one (in this year's case, two) student(s) who have shown great commitment to the college. There's a lovely backstory to the pin - starting in 1913 when someone sketched a design for one, and there was only one jeweler in San Francisco who was allowed to make the pins, and a Mills student had to go with a letter signed by the president of the college to said jeweler to be allowed to have one made, etc. Nowadays, various alumna donate their pins to the college so they can be passed on to new graduating seniors, and that presentation is made at the Pearl M Dinner. After the dinner, there's a procession with lanterns to one of the ponds on campus, we sing the school song, and then there's a champagne and chocolate reception afterwards. That procession is of both graduating seniors and the alumni who come back to Mills to share in the tradition, and it marks the transition of students to alumni, technically - though we have to wait 23 more days to graduate.

We had that lovely dinner tonight and here are some pictures from it!

Carly! Finallly caught on camera.

The lovely hall where we ate -a dining hall in one of the freshman dorms, actually, but one that I had never been in. The lovely Mills grad from years ago who sat next to me said that when she went to Mills, all meals were eaten in the dining halls in the dorms, not just in the central dining hall we have now.

Processing to the pond to sing 'Fires of Wisdom'  - the students used to walk around the lake on campus, but that lake is no longer in existence. Where it once was is still quite pretty, but alas, no water. It's part of my normal jogging route.

Lovely shoes of friends and the lantern we were carrying. It would have been a bit more dramatic had it been dark enough for the lights to really show from our lanterns, but then again, none of us will complain about it starting to be summer!

A friend of mine hiding behind the pile of chocolate at the reception!

Champagne, candles, and another lovely night full of reminders about this amazing event coming up!

Of course, the chocolate massacre. We did very well. Any tutees who come to my office hours will be rewarded with the spoils! I couldn't leave any on the table to go to waste.