Leah Kennedy woke up in the middle of the night, shivering. She reached for more blankets in an attempt to get warm, but her thin covers didn’t help. At home, in Dayton, Nev., she rarely needs extra sweatshirts or blankets. But in Jones Residential College, she said she needs them every night.

“My room is freezing, Fisk Hall is frigid, and I am always cold,” Kennedy said. “I had to go buy sweats just to be able to sleep through the night. I brought too many tank tops and not enough covers.”

Kennedy was not the only cherub who forgot to bring a few necessities from home for five weeks at the journalism program at the National High School Institute.

Cherubs walked to Main Street to cover the Evanston Fourth of July parade. Blisters and aching made many cherubs wish they had included a pair of walking shoes in their suitcase.

“Comfortable shoes and clothes became a must,” Kennedy said. “Extra socks even became important after I suffered blisters the first week.”

Zanny Lannin, of Edina, Minn., brought plenty of sweatshirts and zip-ups to take on the cold, but she said she wished she had packed more basic clothing like simple shorts and shirts for days when she wanted to rest or was dressing in a hurry to get to class on time.

Laundry also presented problems for cherubs. Jason Jung, of Los Angeles, said that he never had enough quarters for the laundry machines.

“When I ran out of quarters, I couldn’t do my laundry, and it would build up in the dorm, making my room smell worse than usual,” Jung said.

Cherubs were able to go into Evanston and buy necessities at local stores. Kennedy said she and her friends spent hours in town the first weekend, loading up on items that they had not brought with them.

Cherubs also had things shipped from home. Anna Scalamogna, of Clearwater, Fla., arrived at class dripping wet after taking on a thunderstorm without an umbrella. She had her mother mail one to her the next week.

NHSI was an opportunity for cherubs to learn to be prepared.

“I felt like I was always running out of everything,” Andra Lim, of Orinda, Calif., said. “But now I’ve learned how to prepare, and I’ll be ready in the future.”