Christina Smith and Michelle Kwon think the luckiest thing about their living experiences at Stanford is that they've largely shared them as roommates. And now they're headed into senior year together with bonus karma: In a tandem bid, they won the No. 3 Slot in the Housing Draw, guaranteeing them their first choice—the Casa Italiana theme house.
What does it mean to hit that jackpot? In preparation for whatever number they might get out of the roughly 3,200 that were issued, they ranked some 68 housing choices ahead of time.
In Michelle, Christina has found her "Stanford sister—someone who patiently puts up with my infatuation with the Middle Ages and my ardor for traditional Scottish fiddling. She's the person who reminds me to take myself less seriously, who makes tea and holiday treats with me for all those in our hall, and who lives faith."
In Christina, Michelle has discovered a roommate with whom she can take "countless pictures together, laugh like crazy with each other, stay up late together, cry together through difficult situations, sing with each other and get to know each other on a deeper level."
Michelle's only roommate time with Christina in their just-completed junior year was fall quarter—memorable for "never-ending jam sessions"—in "CroMem" (Crothers Memorial), before she went on to Stanford in Washington and Florence. She says they are both ecstatic about the upcoming senior year in Casa Italiana. "We're confident that the house will be a fun-loving, excitable place full of awesome people. The food is pretty much the best."
Christina compared the "shockingly low" draw number to being on a mountaintop: "Like that feeling of amazement when you're standing on the top of Ben Nevis and the fog lifts, allowing you to look out at the Scottish Highlands, a place I love dearly. It's the sort of thing that doesn't happen often, but you're grateful when it does."
Christina emphasizes that "it doesn't matter so much where I live as much as whom I live with. . . . I can't think of anyone else I'd want to spend my final year on the Farm with."
