Students, CRSSJ team up to refurbish Herrick Chapel reading room
July 23, 2026 — Not long after Rev. Cassandra Lawrence, associate chaplain, arrived at Grinnell College in January 2025, she added an entry to her lengthy to-do list: refresh the Pearl Neel Fellows 1914 Reading Room inside Herrick Chapel.
“I noticed this space could use some help, but it was way down on my priority list,” she said. “It was just a some day that will happen kind of thing. But when students asked if they could help spruce up the space, I quickly responded, “Let’s do it.’”
Anu Sanumi ’26, left, and Rev. Cassandra Lawrence have a conversation in Herrick Chapel’s choir room, which also received new furniture.
Students from the Herrick Chapel leadership team and two Christian student organizations, the Catholic Student Association and Gateway, worked together with the Center for Religion, Spirituality and Social Justice (CRSSJ) and Facilities Management to refresh and enliven the room.
Located in the basement of Herrick Chapel, the Reading Room is a place for prayer, reflection, reading, and small gatherings. To better serve today’s needs, the room was painted, new furniture was added, and the books were sorted.
“Everything that was done in here – from the paint on the walls to the rug – really transformed the place,” said Hays Marionneaux ’28. “It’s been inactive in the past. But I think with this new look there will be more activity. When the Catholic Student Association meets, we’ll probably do it in here at times. We’re very thankful for this.”
Marionneaux was one of several students, alums, and community members who attended the rededication of the space on May 13.
Hays Marionneaux ’28, left, and James Snyder ’26, give a thumbs up inside the refurbished Pearl Neel Fellows 1914 Reading Room.
“It’s a lot less intimidating than when I first came down here as a first-year,” said Olivia Pluska ’25 during the rededication. “There’s less books now, but they are more topical. It’s a more dedicated space. First-year me would have appreciated it.”
Plaque in memory of Pearl
Neel Fellows 1914
The room is named after Pearl Neel Fellows, a 1914 Grinnell College graduate originally from Webster City, Iowa. An Alumni Award recipient in 1954, Fellows became the first class fund director for the class of 1914 when the CFD program began in 1972. In the 1950s, she was active in the formation of the Mayflower Home and served as assistant to the director of the home. She later was a Mayflower resident and trustee. Fellows passed away in 1982 at the age of 89.
Pearl and her husband, L.E. Fellows, a physician, had two daughters, both of whom were Grinnell graduates, Jean Fellows DeBartolo ’41 and Beth Fellows Green ’42. Jean also received an Alumni Award in 1981, and both of her children are Grinnell alums. In 1985, Pearl’s family and friends made memorial gifts to dedicate the room to her.
“We will share with the family how their gift continues on many decades later,” Lawrence says.
In addition to new furniture being added to the reading room, Facilities Management installed furnishings in the room at the other end of the hallway. That space is used for various functions, including as a choir room for the Young, Gifted, and Black Gospel Choir (YGB) to put on robes before they perform upstairs.
“For YGB, I know the students will have fun times in the choir room while having a place to sit and get ready,” said Anu Sanumi ’26. “Since I was a first-year, I’ve wanted to help create a sense of community and family within the choir. I think we are closer than ever before in building that, whether it’s being together for Sunday services or crashing out together during exam week.”
The refurbished Pearl Neel Fellows 1914 Reading Room.
Altogether, the lower level of Herrick is a more comfortable and hospitable venue.
“It’s really inviting and welcoming,” said Haley Klatt ’29. “It looks wonderful, and I’m excited to utilize the books.”
—by Jeremy Shapiro