As one of the many students world-wide who had an unconventional start to her first year of college due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was overjoyed to have the opportunity to take Harvard Summer School classes and live on campus at Harvard this summer before I start my sophomore year.

As the College prepares for full campus residential density and in-person classes for the Fall semester, this summer in Cambridge really helped me to become familiar with on-campus and nearby resources and logistics that I will definitely continue to use in the fall as this summer comes to an end. Here are some of the resources I have come in contact with from the school and city I am learning to call my home.

Harvard University ID (HUID)/the ID Card Services Office

Your HUID is an extremely valuable resource. Equipped with a wonderful picture of yourself, your HUID is how you gain access to the buildings on campus, swipe into the dining halls for meals, and, through the Crimson Cash program, pay for expenses on campus like your laundry. Some nearby restaurants and merchants even allow you to pay for food with your HUID through Crimson Cash!

If you ever misplace or need to receive your ID, the ID Card Services Office is located in the lobby of the Smith Campus Center (a great study space!) on the 1^st floor. I went to ID Card Services to get my updated HUID printed, and it was super quick and easy. It took about three minutes, and I did not even need to retake my picture!

The T 

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) better known as simply “the T” is Boston's transportation system. Because downtown Boston is less than five miles away from Cambridge, many Harvard students become very familiar with the 10-minute subway ride via the T to the broader Cambridge and Boston area. This is also another great advantage of your HUID – instead of getting and keeping up with an MBTA CharlieCard, you can upload money for the T directly onto your HUID.

If you are someone like me who is from a smaller city that does not have a lot of public transportation, I have two tips. First: Google Maps is your friend. Going on the subway for the first few times can be a bit daunting especially when it seems like everyone else automatically knows when to get on, how many stops until getting off, and inbound vs. outbound (inbound means going into downtown Boston while outbound is away from it). However, just as Google Maps has directions to your destination via driving or walking, it also provides directions for how you can get to your destination via public transportation (whether it is via bus, subway, train, or even ferry) as well as how long it will take to walk to the nearest station and which color lines to take. Speaking of subway lines, my second piece of advice would be to be cognizant of when a line color changes. A couple days before I moved in to my dorm, my parents and I went on a ferry tour of Boston harbor. The tour guide explained each of Boston’s four major subway lines’ significance, and his summary has helped me if I ever get a little turned around in the station.

• The Red Line leads you to Cambridge and Harvard Square. Harvard’s color is Crimson Red, so that is a great way to remember that the Red Line leads to home.
• The Green Line leads to an area known for very beautiful (and green) parks. One park many of my friends like to visit is Boston Common which, along with the Boston Red Sox’ Fenway Park, can be reached via the Green Line.
• The Blue Line leads to Boston harbor and, you guessed it, a very blue ocean. Keeping with the water theme, you can also find the New England Aquarium and Boston's main airport along the Blue Line.
• The Orange Line leads to a street that was formerly named Orange Street. However, this street along the Orange Line has since been renamed to Washington Street as the former President occupied the area during the Revolutionary War.

Of course, these descriptions are just summaries, and each subway line has multiple stations along its line. As such, there are many other destinations, communities, and neighborhoods that can be reached via each subway line way outside of the realm or areas above.

Shuttle service

Most students do not bring cars to campus, because pretty much everything you need can be reached via walking or public transportation. Sometimes, though, students may not want to walk because it is raining, a little too far, or they just do not want to travel alone – enter Harvard Evening Van (Harvard’s on-demand shuttle van service) which is in addition to Harvard’s bus system (which operates on a fixed route). I have found the Harvard Evening Van (whose hours this summer were 8am – 12:15am (Monday – Friday) and 5pm – 12:15am (Saturday and Sunday)) to be very efficient. Via their app, Harvard Evening Van allows students, faculty, and staff to indicate their current location and desired destination within Cambridge to be transported for free. The app will then let them know how long before a shuttle van can get to them as well as a short distance to walk to a safe pickup location. From there, you get picked up and dropped off at your destination.

Building Management Office

Each Harvard Residential House has a Building Management Office. The building manager is the go-to contact for anything dorm and maintenance related. Lost your room key? Building Management. Locked out of your suite? Building Management. Need a lightbulb replaced in your room? Building Management. Need a vacuum? Building Management. The Building Management team has been so great in welcoming us to summer housing and helping me to feel like I live in a safe, well-kept environment.

Harvard Yard Mail Center 

Over the summer, we received mail from the Harvard Yard Mail Center (where first-years receive their mail during the academic year) located in the Science Center. My first week at summer school, I definitely made quite a few trips to the Mail Center to get things I forgot at home. The process was quite easy. I received an email from the Harvard Yard Mail Center notifying me that my parcel had arrived as well as a reminder of their hours. I would then walk over to The Yard, show my handy dandy HUID, and be given my parcel.

These are just a few of the resources which will help you acclimate to Harvard fairly quickly.  For those who will come to campus for the first time in the fall, Harvard is definitely worth the wait!