She was Urbana born and central Illinois raised. They were from the north suburbs of Chicago.
But put them all together in the same UI campus housing complex and — presto — pals for life.
“Three of my best friends from college also were women I lived with for a couple of years,” says Yale law Professor Tracey Meares (BS '88, general engineering). “We remain close friends to this day. We came from very different backgrounds, but somehow we clicked, and we’ve grown up together.”
Among Meares’ other favorite memories of attending college in the same town she spent part of her childhood in:
— An administrator: “Bob Lumsden, who was the ‘adult in charge’ of Student Ambassadors when I was there. SA taught me a lot about student leadership and, therefore, leadership.
“Stan Levy was also influential. He created a group of students to advise him about issues going on on campus. The group, born of a crisis of diversity and inclusion, I think became something more longstanding later.
“In any case, it was my experience in that group, I think, when i first thought about being a lawyer.”
— A spot: “So many. But I would say there were two favorites, neither of which probably exists anymore.
“Lox Stock and Bagel — my friends and I lived there. They were the first good bagels I ever had in my life, but having had really good wood-fired bagels from Montreal, I don’t even know if they were actually that good.
“Also, I loved a coffee place that sold — horror — flavored coffee beans, which I loved and made coffee in my Mr. Coffee coffee maker. My friends today would laugh hysterically at the thought of cold-brewing-coffee-snob me drinking flavored coffee from a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker, but there it is.”
