The QC Mushroom Majesty Bids Farewell
Jamie Calderon | STAFF WRITER
April 23, 2026
I honestly haven’t known Nadia Miller for a long time.
The first time I formally met Miller, I was gushing over their dress with a map pattern, and they excitedly showed me the pockets it had. That’s when I knew I was gonna like them.
But it wasn’t until I joined the Quaker Campus that I really got to know them. To do them justice, I sat down with them in the always-hot Ettinger Lounge. The sun was shining in my eyes through the windows, but Miller’s energy was somehow brighter.
When they sat down with me, they had a refreshing presence that made me forget about why we were even meeting in the first place. We got sidetracked easily.
Miller has that energy. They’re magnetic and have a way of making people feel welcomed. That’s some of the energy I think the College will miss the most.
Miller plans to return to their hometown of Thornton, Colorado, after they graduate, leaving behind the never-ending hills and buildings for the Rocky Mountains they love so dearly.
They told me a lot about their time before Whittier College.
“I would go into downtown all the time. I basically watched the Union Station in downtown Denver be built from my dad’s old office building.”
Their original intent was to become a teacher, but Miller studied Creative Writing and Graphic Design after deciding they wanted to write and illustrate their own book.
Miller credits that decision in part to their eighth-grade English teacher.
“He would always say, ‘Nadia, you’re gonna be an author and I’m gonna buy all your books.’”
And Miller has spent a lot of time honing their craft.
Their senior project is a combination of their two studies. It’s a magazine of self-written poems and art pieces highlighting seven endangered sea creatures of the California coast.
It’s a labor of love, with the pieces connecting the animals to Miller and their family members.
“This is kinda my last goodbye to California, in a sense […] yeah, this is my last hurrah and my goodbye to California.”
Though Miller has done more at the College than just study.
During their time here, they were a member of The Arthurian Order of the Knights of Pendragon (AOKP), the string ensemble and Quaker Campus.
In fact, what they’ll miss most about Whittier is their participation in these organizations.
“But it’s mostly like the people and getting to interact with other people’s stories.”
Miller and I shared a lot of laughs and stories during our interview to make this article happen. And although I’ve only really known them for a month, they’ve left their mark on me.
The Quaker Campus won’t quite be the same, losing a section head and graphic designer. But Whittier’s community will also feel a little less whimsical without them.
If you get the chance to sit and chat with Miller as they sit in the Spot and crochet in between classes, as they always do when they have free time, you may get some interesting stories about their time here at the College, their adventures with AOKP, or you may just be lucky enough to share some good laughs.