Whether you want to follow in the footsteps of Jane Austen with a visit to Oxford, London, Bath, and Pemberly, or trace the path of heroic women—the likes of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Lucille Ball—closer to home, there is a brand new Jestermester exploration that will get you there. 

Interested in underwater robotics? We have you covered. More inclined to bike through New Zealand on a quest akin to The Lord of the Rings? Let’s do it! Keen to get up close and personal with horses? Immerse yourself in the culture and people of Côte d'Ivoire? Recreate all the techniques you admire in a video short? Screenprint your original designs on anything and everything? Cook (and eat) foods that speak to your soul? Unleash your creativity through Dungeons and Dragons? Explore the spirit of the indigenous cultures that preceded us on this land? Nurture your inner hard-hitting journalist? In all cases, there’s a Jestermester for that.

Emma Willard School faculty and staff spent an entire Morning Reports block pitching their carefully planned Jestermester experiences to the Emma community. Their enthusiastic appeals, often accompanied by costumes, theme music, and theatrics, led up to a lunchtime Jestermester Fair where students could ask questions and begin ranking their top choices. 

In addition to the twelve new Jestermester offerings, favorites like Democracy: Yea or Nay?, The Music Biz, Art from Art, Fitness Flurry, and Game Masters are still in play. Students can still relive the Revolution at historical sites in New York State, hit the ice in Lake Placid to experience Winter Olympic sports in “Are the Winter Olympics Melting?” or spend a couple of days on Essex Farm growing “Food for a Happier Planet.” The Intersection of Biodiversity and Culture will offer an exploration of Puerto Rico, and A Different Land will reveal the vast array of life experiences of refugees in our own neighborhoods. Artists and writers and actors can find their place in Unleashing the Senses, Writer’s Retreat, and the “Choose Your Own Adventure” theatre ensemble (this year, a reproduction of The Oregon Trail). 

In all, 25 Jestermester adventures await Emma students this Spring. These passion projects have everyone on campus wishing they could be a student for one week!