MIT student leaders: Q&A with the co-president of McCormick Hall

Sydney Baller loves her dorm and its community and wants to serve as a bridge to its next residents as the building heads into renovations. 

A Colorado native who planned to attend college close to home, Sydney Baller decided to come to MIT for the strong academic community. She knew she had found a home in McCormick Hall when she attended their Campus Preview Weekend events in 2023. As a Mechanical Engineering major, year-round athlete (basketball and outdoor track), crafting enthusiast, and co-president of the residence’s student government, her schedule is packed—but Baller, a rising senior, wants future MIT women to have the same powerful residential experience she has had. 

McCormick Hall is MIT’s women-only residence. It was first opened in 1963 and this will be its first major renovation. To support continuity of the McCormick community, MIT has established a dedicated McCormick lounge in W20, funded efforts to maintain community and dorm traditions, and set up a temporary gym for use by McCormick students. 

The residence is scheduled to open again in August, 2028—the year after Baller graduates. As co-president, Baller is trying to maintain a sense of community among the dorm’s residents and incoming first-year students during the renovation process.  

Q: Why did you choose to live in McCormick? 

A: I was recruited to play basketball in college, and other schools were pressing me for a decision. MIT was like—“Well, you got in. It’s up to you what you want to do.”  

So I came to CPW to find out what the campus is like. I stayed in Baker with one of my teammates, and when I went into the bathroom one day to take a shower, a guy came in. It was weird for me. I could have probably adjusted to it, but I guess I bristled at the concept of being in a living space with men. I grew up in a Christian household, so I was used to certain things. I shared a bathroom with my sister, not my brother. 

What really set it in stone was going to the other CPW events at McCormick. They were like—“We’re an all-women’s community. The dorm is quieter. Everyone’s super nice. We like to do crafts.” Then they showed us the craft room. A whole room dedicated to crafts? I was sold. 

Q: How would you describe the community in McCormick?

A: On the day my dad helped me move in, we had three suitcases I brought from Denver. He and I sorted out my stuff, and then we went down to the laundry room. I thought I saw a big spider or something, and a girl who was standing there asked, “Are you talking about Despereaux?” I had never even talked to this girl before. “Anytime we see the mouse, we call it Despereaux. We like to assume there’s just one.” Even this was a way to bond! 

There are things we don’t love as much, like the mouse, but there’s also a lot we love. Our heads of house are amazing. After the last day of class every semester, they have a tea and churro study break. They make the churros themselves. So we just come down, drink tea, chat with our friends, and eat churros and little tea sandwiches. That’s very McCormick—a little break with some good chatting. 

The heads of house also run something called “karao-cake.” When I first heard about it, I was like—”I’ll go for the cake.” They have a karaoke machine with a bunch of microphones attached, and we all sing songs together. And if they pick a song we don’t like, we all yell “No!” Everyone’s on the same page. It gives really good sisterhood vibes. 

Also, I personally loved our all-women’s gym. As someone who has been an athlete for many years, I can say: we had amazing equipment in there. I’d rather work out where I don’t have to fight for a rack. I can just go and lift and do my workout.

Overall, the McCormick community is what you make of it. You can choose to be invested and have a great time. You can also just choose for it to be the place you come back to every night. I was in the same room sophomore and junior year, and so were a lot of the girls around me. By the end of last year it was like that scene from the Barbie movie—when they’re all in their houses, and say “Good night, Barbie! Good night, Barbie!”

Q: How did you get involved in the renovation project? 

A: I originally joined house government to be the craft chair and athletic chair. Later, I decided to run for co-president because McCormick was my first home away from home. I had honestly planned to go to college close to home, or where my friends were going. The thought of going to another state and being on my own just seemed too out of the ordinary. When I came here, I knew one person. 

When MIT first told us the dorm was being renovated, I was pretty excited to see what they were going to do. They held all-dorm events, brought donuts, and asked us to come and talk about what we envisioned for renovation. I said I wanted the biggest craft room you can imagine, pianos in every corner, and to get rid of the study cubicles in the penthouse no one uses. We really got to dream, right? 

But then MIT announced a one-year delay in the renovation, and you have the emotions. McCormick was home—and then they say it’s going to get renovated, then they say next year. When my friend and I decided to run to become co-presidents, the rest of the dorm really didn’t want to talk anymore. We started meeting with Student Life on zoom, but it was hard to get resident engagement. I appreciate that we’re in the conversations. We get to hear the numbers before other people do, but that’s just information.

Q: How do you keep the community together while the residence is being renovated? 

A: We do things that keep the energy alive. McCormick is more than just a building. The housing office just told us more than 300 incoming students expressed interest in the McCormick community even though the dorm is being renovated.

To bring momentum into the renovation, we did an end-of-semester party where we dropped nice crew necks, got a food truck and had popcorn, cotton candy, a DJ, games, face paint—all the stuff. We also enjoy dorm movie outings, which would be a great tradition to continue. When the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie was in theaters, we all got to have the experience of going over on the T together, and then sitting together singing Taylor Swift songs. We also saw Wicked, and then Wicked for Good. We have chill events, too, like crochet, painting, and eating pastries. All of this is about being together. Even if we’re not sitting there having a conversation, we’re existing together. That feels like home.

I’m also trying to help people who are dealing with the transition. It can be hard. You can’t have our heads of house move with you, or the craft room. You can’t have the cute merch that one of our students designs with mice on it. If someone who has been moved to Maseeh doesn’t know anyone else on their floor, they don’t get to have that Barbie moment. But maybe McCormick is holding a study break where they can hang out—a throwback to the old days, where we would craft, or drink boba, or whatever. 

Q: Has the effort been worth it? 

A: It’s worth it to me because I get to keep the momentum going, but I won’t know for sure until the dorm is open again and a freshman checks into their room and experiences the community.

They took our feedback doing the donuts and stuff, and they put a lot of our ideas into the design, but now I’ve got to see the finished product. I know MIT has to balance a lot of things, so they’re not necessarily going to do everything just because we asked. 

Q: What are your goals for when the renovation’s finished? 

A: The building won’t reopen before I graduate, so I guess there’s two things.

When I graduate, I would hope to see a house government team that’s excited to continue the traditions. It’s different to be affiliated with a community than to be living in it. I would love to graduate and leave here knowing McCormick is in good hands and the momentum our generation started helped drive us through to reopening. 

And when the dorm reopens, I want to come back and get a tour. I would just love to see the excitement around being back in the dorm. I’ll buy my own plane ticket!