1. Funny Hats, Medallions, and Tattoos POGO's Rally Day Adventure

2. POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian told the Smith College community about her experience investigating the federal government and helping them to find solutions in a talk titled " Going Above the Influence to Make a Difference: How to Beat Lobbyists and Have Fun Doing It."

3. The room was packed.

4. The audience included old friends from Smith and Danielle's professors (if you can't tell who's who, here's a hint: Smith is a women's college) .

5. Showing up to her talk was the least that friends could do after taking Danielle out for cocktails the night before.

6. Between Smith Medal events, POGO staffers were hard at work...

7. Well, working when one POGO staffer wasn't getting a tattoo retouched at Lucky's in Northampton.

8. Danielle also used her visit to Northampton to repay a $2 debt she owed when she was short on a concert ticket. Accountability FTW!

9. For the award ceremony, Danielle walked in to a crowd of senior Smithies wearing "inventive hats of the students' choosing (and sometimes of their own making), in keeping with the 'rallying' and spirited nature of the day."

10. Danielle was one of five Smith alums to receive an award.

11. All of the Rally Day Medal winners sat on a panel to discuss their successes and challenges. Smith President Carol Christ's observation that these women did not follow a "straight path" elicited laughter from the crowd.

12. Following the panel, Elizabeth B. Wyandt Gavel Awards were given to Julie Toico and James Hume. Danielle created the award for Smith College staff "who have given extraordinarily of themselves to the Smith College community as a whole "when she was president of Smith's Student Government Association.

13. But as excited as they were about Danielle, the crowd really went crazy when Smith College President Christ announced that Rachel Maddow would be the commencement speaker for the class of 2010.

14. Danielle was happy to be joined by her family in celebrating the occasion.

15. Fin.