Room tours: LeBaron-Briggs (LB)

From silly to sentimental, this dorm’s room decor is anything but cliché.

Photo by Celine Ding

In LB, room decor means a lot. From a “white box” on move-in day to a museum of keepsakes and memorabilia days later, LB’ers are quick to make their rooms feel like home.

Dinero Jelley ‘26 keeps with her a best friend since birth with a sweet backstory. When Dinero was two years old, a destructive fire burned her babysitter’s apartment and Krabby, her stuffed crab, was stuck in the home as it went up in flames. Thinking they were forever separated, baby Dinero solemnly returned back from the hospital dejected until she spotted Krabby waiting for her on her bed. A firefighter had bravely entered the burning apartment and brought Krabby to safety. Now, Dinero keeps Krabby on her bed, the now old, worn stuffed animal forever holding a special place in her heart.

Elizabeth Welles’ ‘27 stuffed animal holds a special place in her heart too. Crocheted by her 102 year old great-grandmother when Elizabeth was young, Elizabeth feels a sense of comfort and a closer proximity to her home back in North Carolina. The stuffed animal also serves as an unwavering symbol of her great-grandmother’s deep care and love for Elizabeth, even after her passing years ago.

Mollyana Nuki ‘25 displays her pride for her Jewish identity through the banner of the Stars of David hanging on her dorm wall right when you open the door. Her mom had gifted the banner to her after the terror attack by Hamas on Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people on October 7th of 2023. Mollyana’s mom ensures that Mollyana is unafraid to practice Judaism, and Mollyana states that the banner is a daily reminder to “be proud to be Jewish.”

Kat Stephens ‘27 hangs a reminiscent photo wall directly in front of her desk, made by her close friend before leaving for boarding school. When Kat looks at the photo wall, she gets snippets of cherished memories from the summer. One photo is a picture of Kat and her friend riding horses led on a trail by a guide that they called Cowboy Bob. Now, Kat still chuckles when thinking about a Cowboy Bob inside joke that they shared. Kat is also reminded of the carefree, memorable summer camp in which she embraced and danced in the rain, reminiscing on her carefree summer with her best friend.

Going away from one’s house to a barren dorm room can be a difficult transition. LB’ers, however, make their home-away-from-home a place of comfort where they can truly be by themselves.

Michelle Cai