My alma mater has a long tradition of assigning one of four specific animals to each incoming class of first-year students, along with a designated color. In recent years, they’ve also added the phoenix to represent those enrolled in the college’s program for students of non-traditional age (their color is purple).
Yeah, it is like Hogwarts, and it is AWESOME.
And even before I ever set foot on campus, this tradition fascinated me; it did seem like something out of a novel. During my time there, I had the privilege of drawing cartoon versions of the class animals for the covers on at least two editions (maybe three) of the 1st-year student handbook — although honestly, I cannot now remember if the college asked me to — or if I just kept volunteering to do it until I exhausted the people in charge.
The drawings were cringingly awful (they’re still in the college archives, somewhere), and anyway, I’d never gotten to do a version of my own class animal. So I always meant to go back and do better versions.
Thirty years later–jeez, tempus really does fugit–I finally got around to it.
Products featuring my class animal designs are now available in my Zazzle store: http://www.zazzle.com/twofifthsfudge* (include the asterisk)
There are over 100 items available, including shirts, mugs, bags, jewelry, & buttons. Shirts are available in a huge variety of styles and sizes, including women’s sizes up to 3X & men’s sizes up to 4X. (Phoenixes, as well as designs featuring all five animals, should be available on or around May 2nd.)
There’s obviously no obligation for anyone to purchase, or even like, my designs. But if you do like them, I’ll be much obliged if you could share the link above with Mount Holyoke alumna & students as widely as possible.
Lastly, just so you know, these designs/products have no official connection to, and were not designed/created with the approval of, Mount Holyoke College, the Mount Holyoke Alumnae Association, and/or any MHC class or organization.
Kelly Komics 
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