Joel Kiernan

Gingerbread Mem Chu

My freshman year, Stanford had a 7-week long winter break. I wanted a project to work on, so I decided to build a gingerbread cathedral. There were instructions for how to build it in the back of one of my family's cookbooks, and I'd always dreamed of making it some day. After three weeks of intense work, I completed it, and it was raffled off to raise money for a local homeless shelter.

For years, I have been dreaming of making a gingerbread version of Stanford’s Memorial Church. Since this is my last year at Stanford, I decided this was the year to finally do it! I emailed the Office of the President to see if they were interested in using such a project for any events. The answer I got was a resounding “Yes!” They helped me introduce the project to R&DE, who provided me with gingerbread. I even made the frosting batches in the kitchen at the GSB, thanks to the help of the chef Raul there.

Because of being busy at the end of the quarter, I started making my gingerbread creation 36 hours before I wanted to deliver it to the president’s office. I put out a plea for help to my fellow PRL CAs, and they helped out in a big way. This project was only possible because of them. After an action-packed weekend, the “Gingerbread MemChu” was completed.

The Gingerbread MemChu showed me that it takes a whole community to make a big project like this happen. R&DE provided me with the gingerbread. I used the tools and expertise of the PRL. My friends helped me get this done in time.

To me, this project is an homage to two places at Stanford that were formative in my time here. The first place is MemChu. I’m Catholic, and am lucky to get to attend mass at MemChu every Sunday. The building is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever been in, and it brings me a certain peace. Whenever I walk back from the Caltrain station, I like to pause in the center of Main Quad and just admire the facade. The second place is the PRL. I could dream of building something like this from scratch purely because of the experience and community I gained at the PRL. 

The Gingerbread MemChu is getting shown at various holiday gatherings the Office of the President is holding, including the Professor Emeriti/ae Holiday Reception. After all of the events, we’re donating it to the Ronald McDonald House at the Stanford Children’s Hospital. I hope it brings joy to the families and children there!