Jeff Sadowski prepares some Italian cuisine during "Cooking with Chef Jeff," a special J-Term event held January 9. (Left to right) Lindsay Theile '04 and Anna Peterson '04 look on. Photo by Fred LeBlanc.

At a time when many people suffer from winter blues or cabin fever, MHC students can't possibly succumb—not with all that January Term has to offer. On campus, in between cross-country skiing on the golf course and enjoying hot chocolate in their residence halls, MHC students are taking classes for credit in areas ranging from ballet, contemporary American theatre, and Virgil's Aeneid to English grammar and the importance of food in Chinese culture (in which they are learning to wield chopsticks). Students planning a career in teaching are getting their feet wet in middle-school classrooms—completing supervised fieldwork at schools in the Five College area and beyond. And for those who wanted a less academic January, noncredit classes on identity questions, lapidary and silversmithing, and catering have filled the twenty days of J-Term.

In addition, during the first half of J-Term, students have participated in a wellness workshop series that has included sessions on relaxation, fitness, and connecting with one's inner spirit. A leadership series is planned from January 15 through 19, and a three-day “Passport to Reality” workshop series begins January 22, complete with sessions on making career and life decisions, managing money, and finding a first apartment, among other topics. Special events have included “Cooking with Chef Jeff,” films, skiing, and shopping trips.

Mount Holyoke students are also spending January helping others—speaking with local high school students about college, providing homework help, working in a local soup kitchen and food bank, and providing child care for parents of children with behavioral difficulties.

Off campus, more than eighty students are testing out careers in the arts, banking and business, communications, education, law and government, health, the sciences, and social services at internship sites that include Meet the Press, Action for AIDS, the Anne Frank Center, Boston University Medical Center, Corning Incorporated, and Goldman Sachs. Some of their experiences will be described in the spring issue of Vista.

Winter convocation, scheduled for Monday, January 29, will kick off the second semester.