Second annual ‘Notes from the Farm’ creates ‘piece of posterity’

The student-led project ‘Notes from the Farm,’ a compilation of student testimonies, is back for a second year. The team hopes to hand out over 1,500 books during admit weekend, exceeding last year’s distribution. In doing so, the team hopes to foster a sense of belonging for prospective freshmen (ProFros) before they officially arrive on campus. 

“I think that a big part of [Notes from the Farm] is just being like, ‘Wait, everyone comes in [as a freshman] not knowing what they’re supposed to do, what they’re supposed to be, and then they figure it out along the way,’” said Solange Sylvain ’26, a current editor for “Notes from the Farm”.  Sylvain worked to help source stories from friends and the Stanford community for this edition. 

The book will have eight chapters “that are in service to facilitating a sense of belonging for frosh,” said “Notes from the Farm” president Emi Sakamoto ’28. 

The book began as Lucy Duckworth ’25’s senior year design capstone project, inspired by psychology professor Greg Walton’s work to foster a sense of belonging for vulnerable college students. A main goal of Duckworth’s was to “pass on institutional wisdom more broadly” through the pages.   

The book looks to provide incoming freshmen with mentorship, advice and a tangible way to remember the stories of those who came before them at Stanford.

“The second goal is really about preserving institutional knowledge and tradition and the whimsy and secrets of student life that makes Stanford so special,” Duckworth said.

For contributing writers, who are primarily seniors or new graduates, their stories are still unfolding. 

“I still am dealing with my own struggles that I haven’t fully settled. And I think everyone, to some degree, has to go through their own path so I didn’t want to kind of claim to be any expert, or make too broad or overarching claims,” said Nathan Kuczmarski ’26, a contributing writer for this year’s edition. “But at the same time, I think just sharing my experience and my story can be useful.”

Kuczmarski wrote about his experience as a transfer student and the struggle to establish solid roots in a new community in his testimonial. 

Sylvain said “Notes from the Farm” is “dispelling the myth” for students who may experience imposter syndrome upon arrival to campus.

The “Notes from the Farm” team has received interest from Yale and other universities hoping to create similar wisdom-bearing books. “I think we’re trying to kind of break through the performative glass ceiling, so to speak, that underlies a lot of these institutions,” said Sakamoto. 

Sakamoto mentioned the book also works against trends like imposter syndrome, workaholism or perfectionism, which may affect students at Stanford and other competitive schools. 

“I think it’s really hard to be at a school that has this depth and richness in intellect and passion, and to enter this bubble and try to fit in and try to find yourself within it,” said Sakamoto. “That’s a really, really, really daunting task.” 

The book will primarily be distributed to frosh before entering Stanford, but it is available to current students as well. 

“I also have so much to still learn from my peers so I’m excited to also read through,” wrote contributing writer Mary Lee ’26 to The Daily. 

“Notes from the Farm” will co-host an event with On Call Cafe for Admit Weekend where incoming students will get a chance to talk to writers about their stories. On top of expanding distribution, this team also hopes to make the “Notes from the Farm” book available digitally in the future. 

Duckworth, as the initial visionary of the project, hopes to see the book continue each year and even become cemented as an essential part of the matriculation process into Stanford. 

“I have, in my experience, tried to build traditions, and I think it’s a very hard thing to do. I would certainly [say] Lucy is one of the people that I would bet on creating a tradition that lasts,” said Kuczmarski.

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