As Saturday’s deadline approached, students began to trickle into the coffee shop at the Bl. Frassati Student Center. There, each senior climbed to the upper balcony to hand in his or her thesis to the registrar, Dr. Patrick Gardner, as classmates and underclassmen cheered. While California seniors tolled a ceremonial “thesis bell” upon the submission of their theses, the New Englanders each rang a “thesis gong” as a joyful proclamation of completion to the crowd clamoring below. The cheers and the chanting became louder as the deadline drew ever closer.
Within just a few minutes of 11:00 p.m., the final senior burst triumphantly into the coffee shop like an Olympics torch bearer, flash drive in hand. At the last toll of the gong, the crowd roared, and friends embraced each other, tearing up with joy.
“I felt like I had taken a 1,000-pound weight off my chest,” recounted Suzie Pfeiffer (’25). The celebration continued with well into the night with singing, snacks, and excitement.