Thursday, February 27, 2014

Sophomores gonna put a ring on it... joining the Black Ring Mafia

You are probably asking yourselves: "What is that mysteriously sounding Black Ring Mafia?" I can ensure you that it has nothing to do with an organized crime group or any illegal activity. Rather, it is a colloquial term by which Scotties refer to one of the greatest traditions at Agnes Scott - the Sophomore Ring Ceremony. Every year in February, second- year class (the sophomores) at Agnes Scott participate in this formal event. They invite their families and friends to join them in this celebration during which they officially become a part of Agnes Scott legacy. Black onyx rings became a symbol of this membership. In fact, this tradition has been present in our community for many years. It originated from a jewel, first awarded in 1929 as a way to recognize the contributions that Dean Nannette Hopkins had made to the college at that time. Later on, the jewel changed its form to the black onyx ring that we use today. Last week, on February 22, my very own class of 2016 joined the "Black Ring Mafia" and was welcomed to the circle of Agnes Scott women from the past, present and the future.
As you can imagine, a lot of organizing was involved for many weeks before the actual event. It must be that the class of 2016 is very hard working and has a big class spirit because everything turned out very successful. The Sophomore Ring Ceremony committee was formed with the supervision of Hiram Ramirez (director of the Center for Student Engagement) and Emaline Laney (the president of the sophomore class). We prepared a slide show, set up decorations, communicated with the rest of the class members - in short, there were many opportunities to a leadership role and to practice teamwork skills. 
Megha Patel, representing the creative part of our committee.

We spent many hours working on different projects.

One of our committee goals was to get the entire sophomore class excited. I think we succeeded.
 
Even though President Elizabeth Kiss didn't graduate from Agnes Scott, she is highly respected among Scotties and therefore she also proudly wears the Black Onyx ring. Photo credit: Lena Glowka

All the students and even their parents wanted to take a picture with President Kiss. Photo credit: Hannah Plank

Blue and purple dresses dominated during the ceremony, as they are the colors of our class and Agnes Scott, respectively. Photo credit: Celeste Whitman
I felt so honored to join the Black Ring Mafia. Photo credit: Lena Glowka

The traditions at Agnes Scott make me so proud to be a part of this
Photo credit: Nana Nimako
community. The Sophomore Ring Ceremony will forever remind me about the values that I am exploring during my education here. A lot of times we hear stories from Agnes alumna about their own rings and places all around the world where they were able to meet other Scotties because of this symbol on their fingers. I hope that one day a similar experience will happen to me or that someone asks me about the meaning of my ring. I know for sure that there will be a lot I would want to share with them about the impact Agnes had on me.





Karolina Klimczak '16
Office of Admission International Fellow
141 E. College Ave
Decatur GA 30030
globaladmission@agnesscott.edu


2 comments:

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    Thanks!

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