Every incoming freshman arrives on campus with a mix of excitement, nerves and unanswered questions. In an effort to ease the transition, a senior design capstone project called “Notes from The Farm” attempts to offer incoming freshmen a student-created guide to Stanford, featuring 50 personal essays from upperclassmen. 

Originally envisioned by alumna Annie Reller ’24, “Notes from The Farm” was brought to life by senior Lucy Duckworth ’25 and her team — Evelyn Hur ’25 on design, Stella Li ’25 on editing and Kenji Zaharchuk ’25 on research. The goal was to create a personal, student-to-student guide that complements official campus resources with honest reflections. 

“We wanted something more personal — something that captures what the transition really feels like,” Duckworth said. 

According to Duckworth, the project aimed to fill in emotional and experiential gaps that traditional guides may overlook. “People are worried about making friends, being liked, finding their place,” she said. “This book says, ‘It gets better, and here’s how.’”

The “Notes from The Farm” team recruited essayists through flyers, email lists and social media. More than 100 students expressed interest and the final 50 were selected and refined over three months of editing. The team was especially mindful of striking a balance — offering vulnerability in the essays without overwhelming the reader — and constantly considered what an 18-year-old just starting college would want, or need, to hear.

Hur, who led the project’s creative direction, aimed to make the book feel warm, polished and nostalgic — something that could be read and revisited like a personal keepsake. Hur, Duckworth and Li were also the founding designers of On Call Cafe and saw how their designs brought people together. They hoped to bring that same sense of community and comfort with the physical book. 

The project was funded with $25,000 in an alumni donation from David Hornik ’90. A longer digital version of the guide, featuring 80 essays, will also be available online. 

The inspiration for the project drew heavily from the work of psychology professor Greg Walton, whose research focuses on social belonging and narrative-based interventions. Walton previously explored how student stories can improve outcomes for those adjusting to college life.

“Storytelling can be a powerful way to create connection and reduce anxiety,” Duckworth said. “We felt that creating our own collection of narratives could do just that for incoming students.”

The essays reflected a wide range of student experiences, from academic challenges and imposter syndrome to identity exploration and building community. Each story was shaped to be introspective and meaningful, with contributors encouraged to be vulnerable and specific.

One contributor, Joanne dePierre ’25, who also serves as the diversity, equity and inclusion co-chair at The Daily, used her essay to speak to students who might not immediately feel like they belong. She saw herself as part of the “forgotten middle,” or students who don’t fall into highly visible identity groups or support networks but still carry quiet doubts about their worth. 

Having attended the same small, academically intense private school from the age of two through high school, dePierre was surrounded by conversations about Ivy League ambitions from a young age. Yet, she never saw herself as one of the standouts. When she arrived at Stanford and heard a convocation speech listing the accomplishments of her peers, she questioned whether she truly belonged, despite coming from a place with resources and opportunity.

“I started to realize that Stanford wasn’t asking me to prove I belonged, it was asking me to discover who I already was,” dePierre wrote in her “Notes from The Farm” essay. 

She hopes her experience reassures new students that it’s okay to arrive uncertain, and that self-discovery is at the heart of the college experience.

Another essayist, Ecy King ’23 MS ’24, reflected on her early setbacks in introductory computer science course CS 106A: “Programming Methodology” and how she developed a growth mindset that helped her succeed academically and personally. Her story explained how her persistence led her to becoming a teaching assistant for the course and writing a CS106-themed educational comic book, “Bit by Bit.” 

King hopes incoming freshmen walk away with a sense of relief for their future selves, for the challenges they’ll face and for the growth that will follow, anchored by a mindset that carried her through her own struggles.

“If I can’t do it now, I can’t do it yet,” she said. 

The team said they hope that “Notes from The Farm” will become a lasting Stanford tradition with future editions written annually by each senior class, creating a continuous cycle of student reflection and mentorship. Duckworth has already begun assembling a team to continue the project and is actively seeking students who want to carry it forward.

For the project’s creators, the value of “Notes from The Farm” lies not just in the stories shared, but in the act of sharing them. According to the team, these essays gave seniors a chance to reflect on how far they’ve come and to realize that nearly everyone struggles to find their place at first.

For Duckworth, the dream is that one day, contributing to this book will be a senior rite of passage — an opportunity to say, “You’re not alone. And you will find your way here, too.”

A previous version of the article misspelled David Hornik and misrepresented Ecy King’s class year. The article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling and year. The article has also been updated to accurately reflect that funding for the project came from Hornik and not the alumni association.