The ultimate Skidmore bucket list: 100 things to do before you graduate

by Abby Kanter ’26

Abby Kanter ’26 knows that four years at Skidmore go by faster than anyone expects. As a graduating senior, she has learned that some of the most meaningful moments happen between classes, through spontaneous plans, and in the small traditions that make campus feel like home.

With Commencement on the horizon, Abby put together a list of 100 things every Skidmore student should do before they leave, whether it is a classic like Chicken Finger Friday or something they have never even heard of before. 

Her advice? Try something new, revisit your favorites, and make the most of every moment. Here are Abby's top 100 things to do before graduation: 

1. Have a movie night in your dorm.  
2. Leave a note on a friend’s whiteboard. 
3. Stay at Scribner Library until closing. 
4. Take a class just because you want to. 
5. Sign up for as many clubs as you can at Club Fair.
6. 

   Held twice a year, Club Fair is one of our biggest — and most loved — campus traditions, bringing students together to explore clubs, meet new people, and have fun.

   Play spike ball/football/hacky sack.  
7. Play an intramural sport. 
8. Go swimming during open swim. 
9. Take a picture of your cozy window seat. 
10. Make friends with the people living in your first-year dorm. 
11. Check your mailbox! You never know what might be in there. 
12. Have a dinner party at your apartment.  
13. Go sledding/play in the snow. 
14. Stargaze. 
15. Bask in the sun in an Adirondack chair. 
16. Lay in a hammock on Case Green. 
17. Chicken Finger Friday, duh.  
18. Get late-night food at D-Hall. 
19. Attend a themed dinner at D-Hall. 
20. Cheer on the Thoroughbreds at a home game.  
21. Try as many muffins from D-Hall as possible.  
22. Make a Michelin-star-worthy salad at the salad bar.  
23. Eat some soft-serve from the ice cream machine with lucky charms.  
24. Grab lunch from The Spa.   
25. Get a coffee or tea from Burgess.  
26. Grab a coffee and bagel from Uncommon Grounds.  
27. Check out a book for fun from Scribner Library.   
28. Explore the Saratoga Springs Public Library. 
29. Visit an exhibition at the Tang.  
30. Check out the Schick Gallery.  
31. See a show at JKB Theater.  
32. Go to a concert at Zankel Music Center.  
33. Go to Big Show. 
34. Listen to someone’s Academic Festival presentation.  
35. Read historic documents in the Pohndorff Reading Room.  
36. Watch a movie in the library’s screening room.  
37. Create your own podcast in LEDS. 
38. Visit the WSPN studio. 
39. Listen to someone’s radio show on WSPN — or start your own.  
40. Make something in the IdeaLab.  
41. Make something in the new Falstaff’s kitchen. 
42. Attend the Big Green Scream. 
43. Go to Pack the Rink.  
44. Go to Stable Games.   
45. Go to Skidmania.  
46. Attend Comfest. 
47. Attend Earth Day celebrations.  
48. Go to the Harvest Dinner.  
49. Buy some holiday gifts at the Tang Bazaar.  
50. Pet the therapy dogs.
    

    Therapy dog visits are a campus favorite, giving students a chance to relax, recharge, and connect during the semester.

51. Pet a llama on Case Green.  
52. Have a cookout in the apartments.
53. Stroll through the North Woods.  
54. Take pictures by the water towers in the North Woods. 
55. Go for a hike in Moreau Lake State Park. 
56. Do a science experiment in BTCIS.  
57. Attend an outdoor summer concert at the Tang’s Upbeat on the Roof. 
58. Play volleyball at the Northwoods Apartments volleyball courts.  
59. Go to the local farmers market.  
60. Retail therapy downtown.  
61. Take a walk through Congress Park.  
62. Visit Saratoga Spa State Park. 
63. Visit the Saratoga Battlefield. 
64. Peruse the Saratoga Springs Art District. 
65. Take a free tour of the Saratoga Race Course during the summer.  
66. Get ice cream at Dairy Haus.  
67. Get pints of ice cream from Stewart’s.  
68. Go thrifting at Treasures. 
69. Buy someone a gift at the Skid Shop.  
70. Find your next read at Northshire Bookstore (and use your Skidmore ID for a discount).  
71. Check out the vaults and old books at Lyrical Ballad. 
72. Grab breakfast at Sweet Mimi’s. 
73. Grab breakfast at Shirley’s Diner.  
74. Go to an open mic night at Caffe Lena.  
75. Drink some warm and cozy tea from Saratoga Tea & Honey. 
76. Go apple picking. 
77. Go leaf peeping during the fall season.
    

    In Upstate New York, peak fall foliage typically arrives in early to mid-October, transforming campus with brilliant shades of red, orange, and gold.

78. Check out the downtown area during the holidays. 
79. Go to “Rocky Horror Picture Show” around Halloween.  
80. Go to the Adirondack Balloon Festival. 
81. Go to Chowder Fest. 
82. Go swimming in the Hudson River in Corinth. 
83. Take a swim in Lake George.  
84. Go ice skating at the Saratoga Ice Rink or Saratoga Spa State Park Ice Rink. 
85. Go snow tubing at West Mountain. 
86. Get a student pass through the Ski and Snowboard Club and go visit the local mountains (Gore, Whiteface, or West). 
87. Go bowling at Saratoga Strike Zone. 
88. Attend a Lively Lucy’s concert. 
89. Go to a concert at SPAC. 
90. Read Skidmo’ Daily and have a good laugh. 
91. Get free sushi at Wasabi on your birthday. 
92. Go to yoga at Wilson Chapel.  
93. Attend an event at the Surrey-Williamson Inn. 
94. Borrow a piece of artwork through Roommate at the Tang. 
95. Go to the Career Fair. 
96. Picnic in Saratoga Spa State Park. 
97. Go to the Tang Bazaar. 
98. Try as many restaurants as you can. 
99. Find the rope swing spot. 
100. Watch a sunset. 

Abby Kanter ’26 is an anthropology and English double major with a minor in the Periclean Honors Forum.