From the Nominator

"This Cambridge Life" was born out of a desire to show the heart and soul of our university, which is often hidden behind our iconic buildings and under the weight of our history. We wanted to celebrate the people who are our lifeblood: from prize-winning academics, to doctoral students diving into the detail of a discipline, to undergraduates taking their first steps in their studies.

From college gardeners who cultivate spaces where students can rest and relax, to museum technicians who fix installations to inspire new trails of thought, to operations staff who make sure buildings are safe and equipment works–the success of our university is due to the passion and dedication of every member of our community.

The series showcases this rich tapestry of life at the university through personal, honest, and open interviews. Our hope is that this series will inspire potential academics, students, and staff to come to Cambridge and that, through the words of these interviews, they will hear loud and clear: “whatever your background, whatever your beliefs, wherever you are from, you are welcome here.”

From the Judges

This series of first-person essays is deceptively simple at first glance; It’s so well-executed that all the behind-the-scenes work the editorial team did to find, curate, and edit these pieces is almost invisible to the reader. These essays are just the right length, rich with memorable details and anecdotes (“You know how people always end up in the kitchen at parties? Well we always end up at the compost heap.”) that colorfully get at the heart of each person and their passions. The stories appear to have no agenda other than to humanize the folks who make up the Cambridge community, and that makes for a refreshing reading experience. As one judge noted, “They paint the full picture of life on campus.” The series makes smart use of beautiful photography and portraiture, as well. And the fact that’ it is produced in-house at no additional cost makes this all the more noteworthy.