Most of us blindly followed the Chance card that sent us from high school graduation to Harvard matriculation; Go Directly to College. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200. We barely allowed three months to pull ourselves together and really consider the journey.

But Boe drew again. And while she eventually ended up on the Boardwalk of higher education with everyone else, she probably has a much deeper appreciation for it. Boe’s road to Smith has been long and complex—and an education in and of itself.

Veering off the path can be the scariest thing imaginable. Boe knows that. All the same, she reminds me, “There’s a lot of magic in the world if you’re open to it.”

Jonelle M. Lonergan ’02, an English concentrator in Winthrop House, is photography chair of The Crimson. This summer, she is working as a junior dean at Trinity College and developing a taste for beers other than Guinness.