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Celebrating 150 Years
Since it opened its doors in 1875, Smith has been educating women to take on the world’s toughest and most important challenges. Celebrate with us!

Give to Financial Aid for Smith’s 150th

Financial aid is helping Smith sustain its founding commitment to educational access. Current students call these grants “life changing,” “transformative,” and a sign that they belong at Smith. Give before the end of the year to support these determined Smithies!

Donate Now More About Giving to Smith

Reasons to Celebrate Smith

Our biggest classroom blooms year-round.

Established in 1895 by Smith’s first president, Laurenus Clark Seelye, the botanic garden is a 127-acre living laboratory. Plant research, art installations, classroom visits, and guest lectures all make the garden an integral part of the Smith curriculum. “It is not simply the presence of the plants in our collections,” says director John Berryhill, “but the work we choose to do with them that will define us.”

A photo of a woman at the mum show in the 50s.

Smith, in the Moment

Stay current with all things Smith. Learn about upcoming events and peruse the news on Smith Today.

Smith Quarterly

The Gospel of Welcome

Sarah Buteux ’95 came to Smith as a fundamentalist evangelical—her experience reshaped her faith.

  • Smith Quarterly
  • November 17, 2025

A Culture of Curiosity

Keona Edwards ’26

Engineering major; Study of Women, Gender & Sexuality minor

What has surprised you the most about attending a women's college?
How much more confident it has made me feel in all areas of my life. I was always too afraid to participate in dance performances in high school, but now I’m president and co-chair of two dance clubs on campus and perform multiple times each semester. I feel so much more certain in my ability to pursue what makes me happy with all of the support I receive from professors, staff, and other Smithies! 

Alya Mikhasiova ’28

Art major

Describe a moment in class that left a lasting impression on you.
I remember making a zine about my country for Sara Newland’s Comparative Politics class, and seeing people in class actively reading and discussing it. Later, the professor reached out to me, and advised me to submit my work to a zine competition. I felt seen and appreciated!

Eleanor Wu ’26

Linguistics major; Translation Studies concentrator

What is your favorite thing about Smith?
The individualized education and small classes have pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to challenge myself. I think of myself as a listener who has trouble truly exchanging with others in an educational setting. Smith has taught me a different mode of learning.

Eleanor Wu

Phoebe Dennison ’26

Chemistry and Spanish double major

Is there a piece of advice you wish you could go back and tell yourself as a first-year?
Don’t be afraid of finding new things you like and how that might change your future. Coming into Smith I felt like I knew what I wanted to do in my future or at least the main area of what I wanted my career to be in. Now, I am unsure. Through my various experiences at Smith I have realized new things I am interested in and I am thinking about how they can all fit into my future or what they mean for my career path.