Mercer Times

Princeton University's Wintersession program marked its fifth year, offering a variety of workshops and events aimed at fostering intellectual curiosity among students, faculty, and staff. The two-week program took place from January 13 to 26, featuring 384 daytime workshops, 74 off-campus trips, and 51 evening events. More than 6,600 participants registered for this year's sessions.

W. Rochelle Calhoun, vice president for campus life at Princeton University, emphasized the community spirit encouraged by the program. "The program encourages participation and a spirit of community," she said.

Judy Jarvis, executive director for the Office of Campus Engagement, expressed pride in the development of Wintersession over five years. "Now that Wintersession is five years old, we’ve gotten to realize many of our goals," she stated.

Participants engaged in diverse activities such as blacksmithing with the Princeton Blacksmithing Club and masonry workshops led by Professor Sigrid Adriaenssens at the International Masonry Institute in Bordentown, New Jersey. Adriaenssens highlighted the collaborative nature of these activities: “Individually, you are challenged, but also you're working on something collectively."

A reconciliation workshop was conducted by Rev. Theresa Thames with facilitators from Rose Castle Foundation. Thames described it as an opportunity to incorporate reconciliation skills into personal and professional lives: "What I most appreciate about the Rose Castle model of reconciliation is that it is not about consensus."

Jean Tom led a crystallization experiment involving ammonium phosphate spikes on toy hedgehogs to demonstrate chemical engineering principles. Tom explained her aim to showcase the diversity within chemical engineering: "Chemical engineering is about using the laws of nature — thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and kinetics — to make molecules to enhance our life."

Brooke Shields participated in a book talk discussing her memoir "Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old" with Idra Novey. Shields reflected on her time at Princeton as "four years of safety."

The event also featured Olympic athletes Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall in conversation with Judy Jarvis during the "Beyond the Resume" keynote session.

Wintersession's varied offerings included cultural events like folk dancing sessions and practical workshops such as financial literacy panels organized by Princeton's Office of Finance and Treasury.