😫 Prepare to feel old reading this

It’s Monday, Boston.

🏒 Coping with the Bruins being out of the playoffs? Here’s a distraction: The Social Security Administration dropped its 2023 list of most popular baby names and Olivia is no longer the No. 1 girl name in Mass. But can someone help us understand how Jaxon managed to crack the top 100? 

👀 What’s on tap today:

• MBTA Communities Act updates 

• Incoming: New bike lanes

• The cutest glamor shots

Up first…

HIGHER ED

Masks: Out. Work/life balance: In.

Want to feel old? The COVID class is graduating college. Masks and hand sanitizer were on the back-to-school shopping lists for students four years ago as the class of 2024 entered college during the thick of the pandemic. And while graduating on a COVID-less note, those years are shaping how students approach their next chapter.

Here’s what to know:

😬 To recap: The first two years of school were ROUGH. “My lowest-ever GPA was first semester freshman year because I couldn’t understand what was being taught to me with masks,” said Ilgen Aydiner, a graduating senior at Babson College and self-described “social butterfly” who couldn’t spread her wings early on. And remember: This class also missed out on high school graduation festivities, adding another “sense of loss and grief,” said Dr. Lawrence Ward, Babson College’s dean of campus life.

😷 The motto for junior and senior years: “You don’t know what you got until it’s gone.” Whether it was the return of in-person internships or being able to (finally) apply to study abroad, this class “took advantage of opportunities differently as they became available because they knew what it was like to go without them,” said Jen Pollard, executive director of career education at Wellesley College.

🧑‍💻 One thing the COVID class wants to hang onto? The hybrid lifestyle. Their formative years of swinging between online and in-person learning explain why this generation is “adept” at working hybrid, said Sean McLoughlin, VP of operations at HireMinds, a local recruiting company. And while they want the flexibility and work/life balance that hybrid life brings, they still crave connection since they “saw how hard it [was] to go through a huge life transition and not be able to connect in person,” Pollard said. Simple activities like grabbing drinks with coworkers are coveted.

🙌 Purpose, a liveable wage, and support are also top-of-mind. Not everything “is about saving the Earth,” McLoughlin said, “however, it does need to have some sort of intrinsic value.” Babson senior Sophia Bishop discovered that feeling after watching her internship colleagues “be motivated by the mission.” And for a generation that’s grown up understanding self care (and has often had on-campus mental health support), UMass Boston senior Mackensize Pitittieri wants to be “in an environment that actually cares about its workers.”

📝 So … is the job market up for the COVID class’s wishlist? It’s a two-way street. Students need to “recognize that they need to bring their employers something,” McLoughlin said, and the employers that are well-positioned are those who can explain “‘here’s why we function the way that we do.’” But he predicts a current trend will remain true: If recent grads are seeing that the grass is greener at another company, their tenure may be short-lived. 

QUICK QUESTION

👀 What’s the most important thing to you when looking for a job?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🏘️ The MBTA Communities Act might not be all it's cracked up to be. ICYMI: The act, which requires communities served by public transit to zone for multi-family housing, was marketed as a way to add up to 300,000 affordable homes across the state, and has caused major NIMBY controversies since its passage. But a new review by the Globe shows that many towns have found loopholes in the act which allow them to limit the amount of new housing that’ll actually be built.

🚴 Biking in Boston is about to get a whole lot better. Remember Mayor Wu’s 2022 plan to add about 10 miles of bike lanes to Boston? Well, the city is breaking ground in the next few weeks. Phase One will create a one-way separated bike lane on Boylston Street that’ll run from Mass. Ave. all the way to the Common in an area that’s historically been ripe with crashes. Bonus: The construction will also include a newly dedicated peak-time bus lane on the street. Check out a map of the plan here.

🚇 It’s MBTA shutdown news o’clock. First up, Orange Line riders, this is your final reminder that from now until Friday, shuttle buses will replace trains between Wellington and North Station after 8:45 p.m., with a bigger shutdown to follow next week. And in some much better news: Starting today on the commuter rail, the Fairmont Line will see an increase in the frequency of trains every 30 minutes, and the Worcester express train and service to South Attleboro station are BACK. Bonus: The CapeFLYER train, offering round-trip service between Boston and Cape Cod, returns this weekend.

❤️ One of Boston’s favorite foodies is in need of some help. Local IG and TikTok legend Joseph Calcavecchia, a.k.a. The Roaming Foodie, was seriously injured in a car pile-up last week on I-93. The accident landed Calcavecchia in the ICU with some major injuries, and he’s working toward recovery now. Calcavecchia’s sister has since posted a GoFundMe to support him and his family in their paying for medical expenses, a new car, medicine, and to give him a cushion for work money as he recovers, and they’re nearing their goal!

THINGS TO DO

Weekday checklist

🌮 Grab a gourmet crunchwrap supreme. This Tuesday, Yellow Door Taqueria is bringing back its Taco Bell night, where they chef up TB classics at all three locations. 

🧘 Find your zen (without spending a dime). On Thursday, the Brighton BPL is hosting a free hour of yin yoga suitable for all experience levels. Just bring a mat!

🌺 Kick back at a city luau. No, really. Pier 6 is hosting a waterfront pig roast (yup) and luau on Wednesday evening. TBH, we’d go just to see what it’s like.

🤜 Learn some self defense. Roxbury Community College is putting on a women’s self defense course on Friday tailor-made for Boston residents. 

🍸 Celebrate the start of rooftop bar season. Rooftop@Revere is throwing a launch party on Wednesday to officially kick off the start of their summer season. 

🎉 Want more things to do recommendations? Refer five friends to unlock three bonus items. For those who already have, enjoy below.

ONE LAST THING

The cutest glamor shots

OK, we might have found the cutest possible pet adoption promo. In anticipation of National Dog Adoption Day, the Animal Rescue League of Boston gave some of their adoptable pets a professional photoshoot at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel.

Let’s just say it was giving … “America’s Next Top Rescue.” From puppies behind a gorgeous velvet curtain, to bunnies with fancy chandeliers, or (our personal fave) a guinea pig in a silver bowl among diamonds, if the goal of these pics is to make us want them all, it’s definitely working.

Check out this reel documenting the (adorable) photoshoot process.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🐩 Thanks for reading! I feel like they should do this … all of the time. 

⛴️ The results are in: B-Siders have spoken. Spectacle Island is the one for them, with over 50% of polled readers voting that it was the most like their vibe. 

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].