Hey everybody,
After a long break, I'm happy to report that the fall term has finally begun and I'm back answering your emails and blogging away for the admissions office. Now that I'm actually taking classes again and my extra-curriculars have recommenced, I ought to be able to write (somewhat) interesting entries twice a week or so. So keep coming back for new posts!
One of the things I'm most excited about for this year is my participation in the Rockefeller Center's Senior Leadership Fellows Program (or RLF). The Fellows are a select group of student leaders from all over campus who meet once a week to discuss our personal philosophies on leadership, political engagement, social responsibility, and other topics with leaders from various industries. We also participate in workshops on facilitation, public speaking, and risk taking. In other words, it's a great transition program from the life as an undergrad to life outside of College.
We had our first session this past Thursday and our guest was Nathanial Fick, a Dartmouth '99. Nate entered Officer Candidate School for the Marines right out of Dartmouth, was commissioned as a 2nd Luitenant, and reached the rank of Captain before retiring after 5 years of service. The best-selling book Generation Kill by Rolling Stone embedded reporter Evan Wright was about Nate's unit and its experience in Iraq. This book was eventually made into a miniseries on HBO with the same name. Meanwhile, Nate wrote his own book because he felt that the perspective of the soldiers was not being told enough. Called One Bullet Away: the Making of a Marine Officer, it was itself a New York Times Bestseller back in 2005.
Anyway, over dinner from Mai Thai, Nate gave a presentation about his leadership experience and talked a great deal about decision-making processes. As undergrads, it was a really great opportunity for us to hear from someone who's been so well accomplished out in the real world. After all, that's where we'll be next year. In theory, anyway.
The RLF schedule this year is filled with amazing presenters, and I'm really excited to continue to work with and get to know my fellow... Fellows. This weekend we're going on a retreat to the Lake Morey Resort over in Vermont. I'm know I'm going to learn a lot about leadership and even get to practice my skills, but mostly I think it's just going to be a great time.
'Til the next time,
John
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Interim!
Hey everyone! I just want to apologize for not having written a blog entry recently. We're in the interim period between the summer and fall terms right now, and I've been busy with UGA training and rehearsing and taking care of some business to get the Cords ready for Orientation and auditions, which are coming up next Tuesday. Once all this craziness is over (and the REAL craziness begins with the start of the term), I'll be back in the office and will resume posting. Until then, I hope all is well!
John
John
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
First-Year Trips
After going home this past weekend to spend some time with my parents, I returned to campus last night and am back working in McNutt - just in time to hear H-Croo begin to welcome the first arrivals for the DOC's First-Year Trips in front of Robo, the building next door.
"Woah, woah, woah," you say. "Back up. H-Croo? DOC? Robo? What is all this?"
Funny thing is, that's pretty much exactly how the freshmen feel when they arrive here. But I've decided to give you all a bit of an inside scoop into how trips go down. Don't worry though - I won't spoil any of the surprises.
First of all, DOC stands for the Dartmouth Outing Club, the oldest and largest collegiate outing club in the country. You can read all about it here, but basically it's the umbrella organization for about a dozen smaller clubs that each have developed their own ways to take advantage of the incredible environment in which Dartmouth exists. It's run out of Robinson Hall (Robo), the building next door to McNutt, home of the Admissions Office. You can't miss it - there's a giant wooden "DOC" sign right out front.
So now all that's left is to explain what First-Year Trips are. And who better to do that than the DOC itself?
"'Trips', as we call it, is a totally fun five-day outdoor pre-orientation program designed to welcome you to Dartmouth in style! Trips is a unique and incredible opportunity for you to bond with other incoming students, spend a few days in the beautiful area surrounding your new home, and meet upperclass leaders who can answer all your questions. Trips will smooth your transition to college by immediately connecting you to a whole host of new friends, and helping you find your place and your passion here."
Each year, about 91% of the incoming class participates on one of these trips, of which there is a wide variety. For example, students can go: whitewater or flat water canoeing or kayaking; climbing; road cycling or mountain biking; fishing; horseback riding; one of five different levels of hiking; and even nature painting, photography, or writing or organic farming for those less inclined to brave the wilderness. There are usually about 8 or 9 freshmen on each trip along with two upperclass leaders who come from all corners of the campus. After a night in Hanover organized by the Hanover Croo (the aforementioned H-Croo), trippees, as we call them, spend two nights sleeping in cabins, shelters, or, on some trips, lodging they've constructed themselves. On the last night, the entire trip section - about 100 students in all - meets at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, an old ski lodge the College owns about 50 minutes from campus. There, the trippees are greeted by Lodj Croo, who put on a spectacular dinner-theater type performance for the weary travelers while serving them probably the best food they'd ever tasted (seriously, after 3 days of Annie's Mac and Cheese, GORP, and peanut butter wrapped up in pitas, the Lodj dinner is amazing!)
Trips are a really great way to acclimate our incoming students into the Dartmouth environment and for them to meet a lot of their fellow classmates. After making some great memories hiking through the woods on C-34, moderate hiking, I ended up meeting Bill Lundin, who's still one of my best friends, at the Lodge. And before departing for campus the next morning, we all broke up into small sections for question and answer sessions with upperclassmen. I remember talking with Andrew, an '05 who'd worked at the Lodge that summer and stayed on through Trips. His insight was incredibly helpful, and I think it was at about that point that I thought "Man, Dartmouth really is a special place. I mean, everyone totally goes all-out to welcome new people to campus." And it's true - over the last three years, I've continued to be amazed (though no longer surprised) at how passionate Dartmouth students are about our school, and how excited we get about welcoming freshmen to it.
As I finish writing this, another bus filled with '12s has pulled up in front of Robo next door. There's music blasting from the front porch, and H-Croo is shouting hysterically as our bewildered travelers step off onto the lawn. I can't help but smile at the fact that they have no idea what is ahead of them.
"Woah, woah, woah," you say. "Back up. H-Croo? DOC? Robo? What is all this?"
Funny thing is, that's pretty much exactly how the freshmen feel when they arrive here. But I've decided to give you all a bit of an inside scoop into how trips go down. Don't worry though - I won't spoil any of the surprises.
First of all, DOC stands for the Dartmouth Outing Club, the oldest and largest collegiate outing club in the country. You can read all about it here, but basically it's the umbrella organization for about a dozen smaller clubs that each have developed their own ways to take advantage of the incredible environment in which Dartmouth exists. It's run out of Robinson Hall (Robo), the building next door to McNutt, home of the Admissions Office. You can't miss it - there's a giant wooden "DOC" sign right out front.
So now all that's left is to explain what First-Year Trips are. And who better to do that than the DOC itself?
"'Trips', as we call it, is a totally fun five-day outdoor pre-orientation program designed to welcome you to Dartmouth in style! Trips is a unique and incredible opportunity for you to bond with other incoming students, spend a few days in the beautiful area surrounding your new home, and meet upperclass leaders who can answer all your questions. Trips will smooth your transition to college by immediately connecting you to a whole host of new friends, and helping you find your place and your passion here."
Each year, about 91% of the incoming class participates on one of these trips, of which there is a wide variety. For example, students can go: whitewater or flat water canoeing or kayaking; climbing; road cycling or mountain biking; fishing; horseback riding; one of five different levels of hiking; and even nature painting, photography, or writing or organic farming for those less inclined to brave the wilderness. There are usually about 8 or 9 freshmen on each trip along with two upperclass leaders who come from all corners of the campus. After a night in Hanover organized by the Hanover Croo (the aforementioned H-Croo), trippees, as we call them, spend two nights sleeping in cabins, shelters, or, on some trips, lodging they've constructed themselves. On the last night, the entire trip section - about 100 students in all - meets at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, an old ski lodge the College owns about 50 minutes from campus. There, the trippees are greeted by Lodj Croo, who put on a spectacular dinner-theater type performance for the weary travelers while serving them probably the best food they'd ever tasted (seriously, after 3 days of Annie's Mac and Cheese, GORP, and peanut butter wrapped up in pitas, the Lodj dinner is amazing!)
Trips are a really great way to acclimate our incoming students into the Dartmouth environment and for them to meet a lot of their fellow classmates. After making some great memories hiking through the woods on C-34, moderate hiking, I ended up meeting Bill Lundin, who's still one of my best friends, at the Lodge. And before departing for campus the next morning, we all broke up into small sections for question and answer sessions with upperclassmen. I remember talking with Andrew, an '05 who'd worked at the Lodge that summer and stayed on through Trips. His insight was incredibly helpful, and I think it was at about that point that I thought "Man, Dartmouth really is a special place. I mean, everyone totally goes all-out to welcome new people to campus." And it's true - over the last three years, I've continued to be amazed (though no longer surprised) at how passionate Dartmouth students are about our school, and how excited we get about welcoming freshmen to it.
As I finish writing this, another bus filled with '12s has pulled up in front of Robo next door. There's music blasting from the front porch, and H-Croo is shouting hysterically as our bewildered travelers step off onto the lawn. I can't help but smile at the fact that they have no idea what is ahead of them.
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