Four years, three words

Gazette photographer Stephanie Mitchell returns for the final edition of the experiment she has been conducting with six College seniors ever since they arrived at Harvard. Inspired by Nora Ephron, who told her Wellesley College graduating in 1996, “You are not going to be you, fixed and immutable you, forever,” Mitchell met with undergrads during the first week of their first year, sophomore year, and then junior year, photographing and asking each to describe themselves in three words. Now in their final year, the students participated in the exercise for the last time. Tracing from their first year, the three words they select appear in gray (2022), dark gray (2023), brown (2024), and black (2025).

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Free. Independent. Friendly.

Independent. Free. Possibility.

Free. Independent. Creativity.

Independent. Free. Curious.

Each year, Sofia Chavez included “free” and “independent” in her descriptors, and this year, she added “curious.” “I’m curious to be out in the world as a student, but more now as part of society, as a citizen. Now, I’m more curious than ever, and that excites me,” she said.

Settling into senior year, Chavez, who is a government concentrator, has been preparing to write her senior thesis about politics and the judiciary system in Mexico. She honed her writing skills in a junior seminar, incrementally writing longer papers and focusing on how to organize and defend ideas — “a transformative experience.” Many of her closest friends are also writing theses and she expects they will bond over the process. “It’s formidable, but I’m really, really excited.”

Reflecting on personal change she has felt since her first year, she said, “I was very worried that I need to be perfect … now I feel mistakes and hard situations build character, and that character is the tool you need to face the world outside.” She respects people who make mistakes and carry on.  “It shows resilience, and it shows courage,” she said.

Initially scared to leave her home in Mexico, she now feels a sense of pride in her family values and traditions and carries them wherever she goes. “Paradoxically, being away from home connected me more with home … I only noticed that once I left and it gave me perspective. … It is not something that I can acquire in reading a book or in a text, but only through experience.”

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God-loving. Adventurous. Passionate.

God-loving. Adventurous. Kind.

God-loving. Grateful. Composed.

God-loving. Intentional. Bold.

Zimbabwe native Bradley Chinhara chose “God-loving” as his first word all four years —“That one is never going to change” — and this year added “Intentional” and “Bold.” “I’ve been trying to take more control of my life. Think things through before I do them. Be intentional with the people in my life, my relationships, my faith, and my work. … I’ve been teaching myself to learn to be uncomfortable and to be courageous and do things even though I’m scared or even though I’m anxious,” he said.

Chinhara’s mother died the summer before his junior year. To help with the grieving process, he kept busy the fall semester with academics from his computer science concentration, rugby, and extracurriculars such as Harvard Product Lab and Harvard African Students Association. “It was overwhelming, but it was a good way to keep myself going, because I had so much to do.” His circle of close friends was essential.

Reflecting on his four years, Chinhara shared: “I thought I knew stuff, because most of that stuff was dreams, goals, a lot of excitement, and that’s good. It’s good energy to have for a freshman. Now that I’m a senior, now that I’ve experienced classes, extracurriculars, social relationships, I’ve pursued my faith even more, I’m more composed, more settled into those dreams. I’m more aware of what I need to do in order to succeed, in order to have healthy relationships, in order to take care of my mental health.”

“I’m grateful for how I’ve held onto my values and morals, that stayed as a constant. I always tell my friends, before you go out and try something in college ask yourself, am I growing or changing? If you’re changing, maybe reconsider doing it, if you’re growing, then do it,” he said. “I’ve focused on growing but not changing my values.”

“Freshman year, my mom was still alive, and senior year, my mom’s not here anymore, and she was the most important person in my entire life. I want anything and everything I do from here to be in honor of her. I want to try my hardest to succeed, to be a good role model for my little brother, and to do her proud.”

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Excited. Determined. Outgoing.

Excited. Passionate. Ambitious.

Growth. Excited. Passionate.

Grateful. Hopeful. Proud.

As she rounds the corner to her senior year, Riley Flynn, who comes from Phoenix, feels grateful. “I’ve met all these incredible people that I get to call my best friends from classes, school, softball, and athletics.” She is hopeful for the future and proud of how far she has come since her first year.

Being on the softball team all four years has provided helpful perspective. “I could see our freshmen come in every year and relive those freshman-year feelings, and that has really helped me keep grounded.”

As a human development and regenerative biology concentrator, junior year was “the year of organic chemistry … a defining moment in every STEM concentrators’ years here.” She pushed through the difficult semesters by bonding with her classmates, and in a dynamic stem cell class where she was able to witness all three parts of healthcare (research, doctors, and patients), which solidified her resolve to continue in the field.

She finds herself still working through future plans and being content with this. “I am just focused on being grateful for being here and trust in the process,” she said. “I know where I want to go, and if it’s not, then I will reassess and change.”

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Friendly. Excitable. Ambitious.

Approachable. Adaptable. Vibrant.

Evolving. Ambitious. Present.

Faithful. Accepted. Joyful.

Over the last year, Dara Omoloja, who calls Milwaukee home, embarked upon a faith journey, became Christian, and at Easter was baptized. “The way God has worked in my life in the past year has been really extreme,” she shared. “I trust in something that’s bigger and stronger than myself.”

Having finished her pre-med requirements and nearly done with her neuroscience concentration requirements, she is planning to complete her academic requirements and also go on as many trips as possible, exploring local museums, Cape Cod, and Six Flags amusement park, as well as taking trips to New York and Mexico.

Considering her years at Harvard, Omoloja said, “I’m the closest ever to knowing who I am … I feel College is really that experience of discovering what makes you, you. … It is a transformative experience, and years that really do shape you for the rest of your life. I would have been a completely different person if I didn’t go here.”

Thinking back to her first days as a first-year, she shared, “I was still a people pleaser, deeply insecure, and I think I changed for the better in that way. I truly embrace my flaws and the things that I am good at. I’m just more authentic, and that brings me a lot more peace.”

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Adventurous. Ambitious. Authentic.

Excited. Fun. Adventurous.

Excited. Relaxed. Melancholy.

Happy. Sad. Excited.

At the start of his final year, Austin Wang, from Waterloo, Canada, feels mixed emotions — both excited for the possibilities ahead and surprised by how quickly his College years have passed.

He has continued with activities such as ringing the Lowell House bells every Sunday morning and volunteering at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, the latter being “really rewarding, definitely the most impactful thing I do.”

Wang, who is studying chemical and physical biology with a secondary in computer science, is preparing a thesis project where he will “image how cells eat stuff,” a process that is not well understood. “It’s a good mix of comp bio and bench work. I’ve always loved microscopy a lot.”

During junior year, he branched out from his concentration and enjoyed a wide variety of studies, including learning how to make books with binding techniques taught at the Weisman Preservation Center and participating in a creative writing workshop with senior lecturer and fiction writer Paul Yoon.

Reflecting on how he’s changed, Wang said: “I don’t think I was super confident that first year. I didn’t really talk a lot … I definitely grew a lot in College, and hopefully that continues. I’ve also stayed the same in some ways … definitely a bit more mature.”

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Fun. Kind. Excited.

Grateful. Motivated. Hopeful.

Energized. Grateful. Inspired.

Reflective. Capable. Loved.

“I’m a naturally sentimental person,” said Myra Bhathena, a native of Andover, Massachusetts. “As a senior, it’s making everything a little bit more sentimental for me. I’m just trying to soak it all in.”

An economics concentrator with the global health and health policy secondary and on the pre-med track, her junior year classes were intense. “I’ve been building skills throughout my almost four years here, so it has made me capable. I’m a more confident person.” For her senior thesis on healthcare, Bhathena is writing “about non-communicable diseases, specifically diabetes, because of the huge epidemic that America is currently dealing with, which is predicted to get worse.”

She continues to work as a section leader for EC 10, an introductory economics course. “It was a little daunting at first,” she said, “I have learned that I am capable of teaching concepts and connecting with students, and I found a lot of meaning through that role.”

As a first-year, Bhenthena shared, “Building relationships is the most important thing to me. I believe it is important to have empathy and show love for others,” and as she rounds out her senior year, that hasn’t changed. “I am a very loving person, but that’s because I’ve been lucky enough to be loved so much by my family, by my friends in College and out of College. I chose that one [word] as the last one, because I think it’s my favorite quality of mine, that I am lucky to have so many people that love me.”