One of the many unique aspects of Lasell College is that there are Victorian homes on campus that are used as offices and dorms. This year, we live in Pickard House, which is in a more secluded part of campus, making it very peaceful and quiet to live in. It is better than being in a noisy dorm building when you are trying to study. Before it was a dorm building at Lasell, Pickard House belonged to the former mayor of Newton, Massachusetts. The house was named after him when Lasell College bought it from the Pickard family.
Pickard House has three floors, which can house up to twelve residents total. In addition, the house has a kitchen and a common room for everyone to use. We live in one of the two double rooms on the first floor. Living in one of the houses feels a lot more cozy and friendly than traditional dorm life.
Our room is very spacious and we try our best to keep it well-organized through the chaos of college life. When you walk into the room, the first thing you see is the three large windows lining the far wall, giving us lots of natural light as well as a beautiful view of the sunflower garden right outside. The windowsill is also home to our collection of potted cacti and succulents.
In front of the windows are our desks. As a fashion merchandising major, Emalee’s desk tends to be covered in more makeup and jewelry, while Melina is an English major who prefers to keep books and notebooks on her desk.
One of the coziest spots in the dorm is our coffee corner, which has a Keurig, a variety of mugs and K-cups, and cute coffee-related wall art. Our favorite drinks include Junior Mint hot chocolate and caramel vanilla coffee.
The decor in the room includes strings of lights lining the windows, wall art hung around the room, and two tapestries hung above each bed. We covered much of the blank wall space to make the room feel a little more like home.
Our dorm is the place where we spend most of our time, doing everything from stressing over projects that are due the next day, to binge-watching old episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Office.
We both enjoy living in the Victorian home more than living in a large dorm building. We recommend living in a house to anyone who has the opportunity!