Celebration for Mid-year Graduates Set for Saturday, February 6
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – A unique Middebury tradition – the annual “Feb Ski-Down” at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl – will take place this Saturday, February 6, when 114 mid-year graduates ski and snow board down the mountain in caps and gowns. The ski-down is part of a two-day February Celebration. Though not a formal graduation ceremony — “Febs” and their families are invited back to campus in May to participate in commencement — the event at the college-owned ski area is a beloved tradition.
The celebration will begin on Friday, February 5, when students and their families are invited to the President’s Reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Mahaney Center for the Arts. Author and environmentalist Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury, will be the guest speaker at the reception.
On Saturday morning, February 6, students will process in academic regalia to Mead Chapel, where President Laurie Patton will address the “Feb” class at 9 a.m. Rebecca Goodman, a film and media studies major from New York City, will be this year’s student speaker. As part of the ceremony, each member of the class will receive a replica of Gamaliel Painter’s cane from the Alumni Association. Painter was one of the founders of the College.
Following the ceremony at Mead Chapel, festivities will move up the mountain to the Middlebury Snow Bowl for the ski-down at 11:30 a.m. Non-skiers will also join the fun, either hiking or snowshoeing down the mountain with their classmates.
The celebration will conclude back on campus with a luncheon from 1:30–3:00 p.m. in Proctor Dining Hall, with students, families and friends invited.