Humans of Swarthmore: Lucy Saxon

Lucy Saxon has lived in Swarthmore since she was five. Photo: Satya Nelms

My family moved here in 1989. I’ve grown up in Swarthmore since I was five, and had a wonderful, really an idyllic childhood, running around the woods. And I feel so lucky that we have the college here, and I was able to attend so many amazing concerts and dance programs, terrific pieces of theatre. I remember seeing “The Magic Flute,” and I remember seeing Pig Iron Theatre’s “Twelfth Night.” 

I love the college. Back when I was a kid, in high school, the college was really generous about allowing kids to take classes there. I’ve always loved French, and when I finished up the French at the high school, my mom called up Micheline Rice-Maximin, who is a professor, and she was like, “Sure, have Lucy come take the placement exam.” So I took it, and she said I could come take her class.

So I took this amazing class, and I just loved it! I learned so, so much. She completely changed my life and made me really, really passionate about French. Now, I teach French at SRS, and sometimes I still bump into Micheline, and it just makes me so happy to see her. 

In the spring after I took her class, she hooked me up with another professor, and I got to take another class. It was a fairly small French conversation class in the spring. I remember one of the Swarthmore students saying to me, “Oh, you don’t go to the college?” And I was like, “No, I’m in high school.” And he said “Oh, so, are you a ville-rat?” And I was like “No! I am not a ‘ville-rat.’”

It turns out, “ville-rat” was what they called the townies, what the students called us. I feel like that kind of sums up my life in Swarthmore. I’ve always benefited from the college, and been this hanger-on to the amazing opportunities. But deep down, I’ve always been a ville-rat.