A Beautiful Sketch of the Everett Mansion Accompanies Each SVC Diploma - a Magical Combination Indeed!

Pen and ink drawing of the Everett Mansion, SVC.

After graduation, my Southern Vermont College diploma sat concealed on a shelf for years, obscured by books and carrying a thin layer of dust. And then the greatest tragedy in American higher education took place - the closing of SVC.

Sad and emotional, I took a trip down memory lane and held the diploma in my hands for the first time in a dog's age.

You can imagine my shock and surprise as I opened the plush leatherette cover to reveal a pen and ink drawing of the Everett Mansion! It's not as if I was unaware of the drawing. Surely, I must have noticed it on graduation day. But these minor details have a way of escaping our memories, only to come back and enchant us when we make the discovery anew.

Like most new grads, I inspected the diploma to confirm its authenticity soon after receiving it in my hands. A cloud of serenity comforted me after a quick verification that my name was spelled correctly. College President Barbara Sirvis had signed my diploma, entitling me to all of the rights and privileges of an SVC grad - it was truly a miracle on Mansion Drive!

Having spent four years at SVC, walking into the Everett Mansion was comfortable, like slipping into a well-worn shoe. It's been forever and a day since I've walked through the doors of that majestic building, but a quick glance at my SVC diploma brings the memories of Bennington flooding back.